Central & Eastern: Evaluate the impact of Stalin’s economic and political policies in the Soviet Union between 1945 and 1953. Flashcards
Intro/thesis
Paragraphs
-Political force and repression
-Removal of existing governments
-Increased economic control- Comecon (add Warsaw Pact if dates are extended- Warsaw Pact was in 1955)
Political force and repression- examples
-There were purges and mass arrests. Thousands of political prisoners were sent to new camps, similar to Gulags. There were 97 concentration camps in Poland by 1950.
-Religion was suppressed. The new communist Polish government separated church and state and nationalized church property.
-Surveillance: Each country had become a police state by the end of the 1940s, with the secret police of each respective country coalescing with the KGB to exercise control over the population through widespread surveillance and intimidation.
Political force and repression- explanation
-These purges and arrests did increase compliance, as people were shown the reality of the USSR’s willingness to exert terror tactics on dissidents.
-The introduction of the KGB not only increased the repression of existing opponents, but warned possible opponents that the Soviets were willing to use extreme methods to suppress this.
Political force and repression- counterargument
However, did also build up frustration and caused opposition. Nevertheless, the Soviets’ ability to suppress this opposition overrode this dissidence.
Political force and repression- mini judgment
Removing existing governments- examples
-In Poland’s 1947 elections, the Polish Peasant Party had 246 candidates disqualified and 149 arrested.
-In Czechoslovakia, the communists seized power in the 1948 ‘coup’.
-Elections in Bulgaria in 1946, and Hungary in 1947, were rigged before opposition leaders were executed
Removing existing governments- explanation and historiography
-The Soviets used what was later dubbed ‘Salami tactics’ by Hungarian leader Rakosi; all other political parties were removed in stages, “like slicing of a salami, piece by piece”.
-These tactics allowed the USSR to gradually suppress existing governments in Eastern Europe. As this process was not very rapid, there was not as much opposition, meaning that by the time people in Eastern Europe were frustrated enough to oppose these actions, the Soviets had too much power.
-In this way, force was used by the Soviets to gain control in Eastern Europe. Although this force was not as direct as the use of surveillance and sending people to the Gulags, it still demonstrated the increasing presence of the USSR in Eastern Europe.
-Hugh Seton-Watson believes that this method was not planned in advance and instead began with a genuine coalition.
-In contrast, other historians assert that this process was established in order to purposefully gain control and was “Machiavellian”.
Impact of Comecon- examples
-Comecon was set up in January 1949, with the aim of ensuring closer economic cooperation between the Soviets and the other states under their control.
-Comecon’s members coordinated 5-year plans and promoted specialization within each state. Specialization tended to focus on the needs of the Soviet economy. The Soviets pressured other states to develop their agricultural sectors.
-Most trade agreements were signed bi-laterally between the USSR and individual central and eastern European states.
Impact of Comecon- explanation and historiography
-This maintained Soviet domination and reinforced the isolation of each state.
-COMECON demonstrated another way that the Soviets were able to assert their dominance in Eastern Europe.
-Mark Mazower: The formation of Comecon as a rival to the Marshall Plan did not ease the discontent of countries like Romania and Bulgaria, which saw themselves destined to serve as agricultural producers in the new communist division of labor.
