6.1 - 1946-55: How did USSR extend control over Eastern Europe Flashcards
What did Stalin want to create in Eastern Europe?
A defensive zone on the Western border of the USSR
How did the USA interpret the actions of the USSR from 1945 to 1948?
To spread communism rather than a desire for protection
What type of tactics did Stalin use to take control?
Salami tactics
THE BALTIC STATES
THE BALTIC STATES
When did the Baltic States first become independent of Russia?
At the end of WW1 with the signing of the Treaty of Brest-Litvosk
What did the USSR tell the foreign ministers of the Baltic States at the start of the WW2?
That they faced invasion unless they signed a treaty of assistance with the Soviet Union
When were the Baltic States occupied by the Red Army?
June 1940
What happened once the Red Army occupied the Baltic States?
Pro-Soviet governments were imposed
What % voted for for the Baltic States to be incorporated into the Soviet Union in a rigged referendum?
90%
What did many in the Baltic States see the Nazis as when Germany invaded in June 1941?
Liberators
When did the Red Army reoccupy the Baltic States?
Summer of 1944
How many people were deported from the Baltic States after the Soviets took over again?
500,000
What was the West’s response to the reoccupation of the Baltic States?
They accepted the takeover with minimal opposition
Where and when did Roosevelt accept Stalin’s assurances that there would be a referendum held in the Baltic States once they were ‘liberated’?
At the Tehran Conference in 1943
When did the referedum take place?
Never happened
When did the Baltic States regain independence?
When the USSR collapsed in 1991
POLAND
POLAND
Why was Poland vital to Soviet security?
It was needed as a buffer to prevent the threat of invasion from a resurgent Germany
What were the two rival governments in Poland?
The London Poles and the communist Lublin poles
What happened to the London poles in March 1945?
16 representatives of the London Poles met for talks, were arrested by the NKVD, tortured and then confessed to collaboration with the Germans at show trials in Moscow
Why did Stalin not hold free elections despite promising them?
The Polish Communist Party was unpopular
What Polish political party did the West support?
The Peasant Party
What % of the vote did the Communist party win in massively rigged elections in January 1947?
80%
How many seats did the Communist party win in January 1947 rigged elections?
394 seats
What % of the vote did the Peasants party win in Polish January 1947 rigged elections?
10%
How many seats did the Peasants Party win in Polish January 1947 rigged elections?
28 seats
ROMANIA
ROMANIA
What increased the popularity of the communist-led coalition (the Democratic Front) in November 1946?
The decision to redistribute land to the peasantry
What % of the vote did the Democratic Front win in rigged Romanian elections in November 1946?
70%
When was King Michael forced to abdicate?
December 1947
What did Romania become after King Michael abdicated the throne in December 1947?
A pro-Soviet peoples’ republic and a one-party state
BULGARIA
BULGARIA
Who was the leader of the Bulgarian communists?
Georgi Dimitrov
What coalition government was set up in Bulgaria in 1945 and what did it consist of?
The Fatherland Front, consisting of both communist and non-communist members
What did the communists control in the Fatherland Front?
The Ministries of the Interior and Justice
What did Stalin do once non-communists demanded that power of the Ministries of the Interior and Justice be shared?
The army was purged of non-communists and in another rigged referendum Bulgaria voted to become a republic and the monarchy was abolished
When were leaders of Bulgarian opposition parties executed?
September 1947
HUNGARY
HUNGARY
Why was Stalin more cautious in his approach towards Hungary?
He had agreed to split Hungary 50/50 with Churchill in October 1944
What was established in Hungary in 1945?
A genuine coalition government
Why did the communists not have much power in the Hungarian coalition government?
They were in a minority and in charge only of the Ministries of Trade and Agriculture
What % of the vote did the communists win in relatively free elections in November 1945?
17%
What % of the vote did the Smallholders Party win in relatively free elections in November 1945?
57%
What Hungarian communist leader was appointed as minister of the interior, giving him control over the police?
Imre Nagy
Why was the Prime Minister and leader of the Smallholders Party forced to resign?
His son was kidnapped
When were elections rigged to ensure a communist victory?
August 1947
By when had communists taken complete control of Hungary’s government?
1948
CZECHOSLOVAKIA
CZECHOSLOVAKIA
What did Stalin allow in Czechoslovakia in 1945?
He allowed the government in exile to return to Prague from London and form a coalition with the communists in 1945
Why did many Czechoslovaks feel a bitterness towards the West?
After the betrayal at Munich in 1938
What % of the vote did the Communist Party win in free elections in May 1946?
38% - largest share of the vote
How did the Czechoslovaks enrage Stalin?
The Czechoslovaks appeared enthusiastic about receiving money from Marshall Aid
FINLAND
FINLAND
What did the Finns agree to when they signed an armistice with the Soviet Union at the end of WW2?
To cede 10% of their territory
How much did Finland promise to pay in reparations to the USSR over a period of 5 years?
$300 million in the form of goods
What % of the vote did the Communist party win in the 1945 Finnish election?
25% - served in several post-war coalition governments
YUGOSLAVIA
YUGOSLAVIA
How was Yugoslavia different from all other Eastern European countries?
They escaped Soviet domination in the post-war period
Why did Yugoslavia escape Soviet domination?
They liberated themselves from the Nazis
