6.1 - 1946-55: How did USSR extend control over Eastern Europe Flashcards

1
Q

What did Stalin want to create in Eastern Europe?

A

A defensive zone on the Western border of the USSR

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2
Q

How did the USA interpret the actions of the USSR from 1945 to 1948?

A

To spread communism rather than a desire for protection

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3
Q

What type of tactics did Stalin use to take control?

A

Salami tactics

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4
Q

THE BALTIC STATES

A

THE BALTIC STATES

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5
Q

When did the Baltic States first become independent of Russia?

A

At the end of WW1 with the signing of the Treaty of Brest-Litvosk

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6
Q

What did the USSR tell the foreign ministers of the Baltic States at the start of the WW2?

A

That they faced invasion unless they signed a treaty of assistance with the Soviet Union

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7
Q

When were the Baltic States occupied by the Red Army?

A

June 1940

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8
Q

What happened once the Red Army occupied the Baltic States?

A

Pro-Soviet governments were imposed

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9
Q

What % voted for for the Baltic States to be incorporated into the Soviet Union in a rigged referendum?

A

90%

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10
Q

What did many in the Baltic States see the Nazis as when Germany invaded in June 1941?

A

Liberators

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11
Q

When did the Red Army reoccupy the Baltic States?

A

Summer of 1944

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12
Q

How many people were deported from the Baltic States after the Soviets took over again?

A

500,000

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13
Q

What was the West’s response to the reoccupation of the Baltic States?

A

They accepted the takeover with minimal opposition

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14
Q

Where and when did Roosevelt accept Stalin’s assurances that there would be a referendum held in the Baltic States once they were ‘liberated’?

A

At the Tehran Conference in 1943

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15
Q

When did the referedum take place?

A

Never happened

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16
Q

When did the Baltic States regain independence?

A

When the USSR collapsed in 1991

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17
Q

POLAND

A

POLAND

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18
Q

Why was Poland vital to Soviet security?

A

It was needed as a buffer to prevent the threat of invasion from a resurgent Germany

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19
Q

What were the two rival governments in Poland?

A

The London Poles and the communist Lublin poles

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20
Q

What happened to the London poles in March 1945?

A

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

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21
Q

Why did Stalin not hold free elections despite promising them?

A

The Polish Communist Party was unpopular

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22
Q

What Polish political party did the West support?

A

The Peasant Party

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23
Q

What % of the vote did the Communist party win in massively rigged elections in January 1947?

A

80%

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24
Q

How many seats did the Communist party win in January 1947 rigged elections?

A

394 seats

25
Q

What % of the vote did the Peasants party win in Polish January 1947 rigged elections?

A

10%

26
Q

How many seats did the Peasants Party win in Polish January 1947 rigged elections?

A

28 seats

27
Q

ROMANIA

A

ROMANIA

28
Q

What increased the popularity of the communist-led coalition (the Democratic Front) in November 1946?

A

The decision to redistribute land to the peasantry

29
Q

What % of the vote did the Democratic Front win in rigged Romanian elections in November 1946?

A

70%

30
Q

When was King Michael forced to abdicate?

A

December 1947

31
Q

What did Romania become after King Michael abdicated the throne in December 1947?

A

A pro-Soviet peoples’ republic and a one-party state

32
Q

BULGARIA

A

BULGARIA

33
Q

Who was the leader of the Bulgarian communists?

A

Georgi Dimitrov

34
Q

What coalition government was set up in Bulgaria in 1945 and what did it consist of?

A

The Fatherland Front, consisting of both communist and non-communist members

35
Q

What did the communists control in the Fatherland Front?

A

The Ministries of the Interior and Justice

36
Q

What did Stalin do once non-communists demanded that power of the Ministries of the Interior and Justice be shared?

A

The army was purged of non-communists and in another rigged referendum Bulgaria voted to become a republic and the monarchy was abolished

37
Q

When were leaders of Bulgarian opposition parties executed?

A

September 1947

38
Q

HUNGARY

A

HUNGARY

39
Q

Why was Stalin more cautious in his approach towards Hungary?

A

He had agreed to split Hungary 50/50 with Churchill in October 1944

40
Q

What was established in Hungary in 1945?

A

A genuine coalition government

41
Q

Why did the communists not have much power in the Hungarian coalition government?

A

They were in a minority and in charge only of the Ministries of Trade and Agriculture

42
Q

What % of the vote did the communists win in relatively free elections in November 1945?

A

17%

43
Q

What % of the vote did the Smallholders Party win in relatively free elections in November 1945?

A

57%

44
Q

What Hungarian communist leader was appointed as minister of the interior, giving him control over the police?

A

Imre Nagy

45
Q

Why was the Prime Minister and leader of the Smallholders Party forced to resign?

A

His son was kidnapped

46
Q

When were elections rigged to ensure a communist victory?

A

August 1947

47
Q

By when had communists taken complete control of Hungary’s government?

A

1948

48
Q

CZECHOSLOVAKIA

A

CZECHOSLOVAKIA

49
Q

What did Stalin allow in Czechoslovakia in 1945?

A

He allowed the government in exile to return to Prague from London and form a coalition with the communists in 1945

50
Q

Why did many Czechoslovaks feel a bitterness towards the West?

A

After the betrayal at Munich in 1938

51
Q

What % of the vote did the Communist Party win in free elections in May 1946?

A

38% - largest share of the vote

52
Q

How did the Czechoslovaks enrage Stalin?

A

The Czechoslovaks appeared enthusiastic about receiving money from Marshall Aid

53
Q

FINLAND

A

FINLAND

54
Q

What did the Finns agree to when they signed an armistice with the Soviet Union at the end of WW2?

A

To cede 10% of their territory

55
Q

How much did Finland promise to pay in reparations to the USSR over a period of 5 years?

A

$300 million in the form of goods

56
Q

What % of the vote did the Communist party win in the 1945 Finnish election?

A

25% - served in several post-war coalition governments

57
Q

YUGOSLAVIA

A

YUGOSLAVIA

58
Q

How was Yugoslavia different from all other Eastern European countries?

A

They escaped Soviet domination in the post-war period

59
Q

Why did Yugoslavia escape Soviet domination?

A

They liberated themselves from the Nazis