6. USSR's control over Eastern Europe (NEW) Flashcards
When was Hungary
1956
Life in Hungary under the Soviets - Leadership
Hungarian leader: Rákosi, hard-line communist, fully under control of Moscow, unpopular amongst people
Life in Hungary under the Soviets - Soviet presence
1000s of Soviet troops/officials in Hungary
Draining Hungarian resources -> poverty
Life in Hungary under the Soviets - language/religion
Russian language being forced on Hungarians
Communists discouraged religious beliefs - many Hungarians were religious, leader of Catholic Church imprisoned
What happened in June 1956?
Hungarian people began to protest against Rakosi’s refime, Moscow replaced him with Gero
How was Gero seen? What did this lead to?
- unpopular
- students and workers revolted, supported by Hungarian army
- riots spread, Soviets agreed to form a new government under Imre Nagy, popular, communist and more liberal
What were Nagy’s reforms?
- free elections
- impartial legal system
- total withdrawal of Soviet roops
- private ownership
- Hungary leave Warsaw Pact
- declare neutrality in Cold War
Response of USSR to Nagy’s reforms
- couldn’t accept idea of Hungary leaving Warsaw Pact - gap in USSR’s buffer zone
- prioritized Soviet security
What did the USSR do to stop Nagy
November 1956: soviet tanks crossed Hungarian border, 30 000 killed
Nagy captured and executed in 1958
Nagy replaced by Kadar, who wiped out remaining resistance
Response of the West to Hungary in 1956
- sympathetic but no intervention
- basically did nothing
- preoccupied with anglo-french invasion of Suez
- NATO couldn’t advance through neutral Austria to get to Hungary
- Eisenhower for reelection
- NIKITA threatened Britain and France with rockets if they intervened
Consequences of Hungary 1956
- 200 000 refugees fled to West
- Nagy executed
- Kadar in power
- Hungary under strict communist control
- realisation that USSR would not tolerate attempts from leaving Warsaw Pact
- showed Soviet sphere of influence not to attempt anything, USSR had power over them
Consequences of Hungary 1956 on international relations
- West more or less powerless to influence events behind iron curtain
- West determined to resist Soviet expansion
- West accepted USSR’s determination in Eastern Europe, that they might be brutal
- despite everything West, accepted EE as soviet sphere
- Khrushchev determined to maintain communist control at any cost
Warsaw Pact
- May 1955
- defense against attacks on Soviet Bloc
- response to NATO
- military security pact between Eastern European countries
Causes of the Prague Spring
- Czech economy in recession
- workers: poor housing and lifestyle
- farmers suffering
- products exported to USSR
- students resentful of limited freedom
- living standards bad: poverty, food shortages, inflation
What was the Prague Spring
1968
Czech people tried to exert some power over their own lives + reform communist system
‘socialism with a human face’
lasted for 4 months, until crushed by Soviet Red Army
Dubceks reforms
5
- less censorship
- freedom of speech increase
- legalisation of political opposition groups
- less secret police
- capitalist elements into economy
still wanted to be in Warsaw Pact and COMECON - not enough for USSR though
Soviet response in Czechoslovakia
- USSR feared proposals went against communist control + liberal ideas would spread, causing instability in Eastern Europe
- many eastern european countries concerned
- 500,000 troops entered czech after brezhnvez recieves a letter from czech communists requesting help
- czzech gov asked people to passivley resist- flower power
- dubcek arrested
- new leader husak installed- reversed reforms
Brezhnev Doctrine
Brezhnev declared that the USSr would not allow Eastern Europe countries to reject communism
USSR feared liberal ideas which caused instability and threatened security of USSR
feared growing trade links between Czech and WG would lead to more Western influence
Response of the West to Prague Spring
did nothing
accepted Soviet Sphere of influence
focused on Vietnam war
LBJ did not want to provoke Moscow
consequences of Prague Spring + Brezhnev doctrine internationally
- end to peaceful co-existence
- revival of traditional cold war tactics
- USSR and USA continuing stockpile weapons
- SALT and Helsinki accords
- suggested that USSR’s grip on satellite states was weakening
Reasons for growing tension over Berlin
- Berlin divided into 4 zones
- source of tension throughout Cold War (apparent in crisis of Berlin Blockade)
Brain drain
- highly skilled people were able to escape hardships of EG and EB for benefits of capitalism in WG and WB
- lack of smart people in Eastern sectors
- between 1949 and 1961, 2.7 million East Germans left for West Germany
Khruschev response to brain drain
- bad impression of EG
- Nov 1958: speech, giving West ultimatum. demanded that the Western powers should withdraw their troops from Berlin within 6 months
U2 plane incident
May 1960: U2 spy plane shot down over USSR
US claimed it was weather plane that was lost
It was clear that it was a spy mission piloted by Gary Powers
June 1961: Khruschev demanded that USA leave WB again
Kennedy refused, increased US spending on weapons
