Chapter 24 - The transformation of the Soviet Union's international position Flashcards
What years did the Red Army advance into East Central Europe?
1944-45
What year did the Yalta and Potsdam summit conferences take place?
1945
What year did the US Marshall Plan and ‘Truman Doctrine’ take place?
1947
What year did the communist coup in Czechoslovakia start?
1948
What year did the Berlin Blockade begin?
1948
What year did the Berlin Blockade end?
1949
When was there a successful test of the Soviet atom bomb?
August 1949
When did Stalin die?
5 March 1953
What did the successful test of the atom bomb comfirm about the USSR?
Its status as the world’s only other superpower to rival the USA
What were the 5 features of the USSR as a superpower?
- A military-industrial war machine
- Increased territory
- Satellite states
- Atomic power
- UN permanent member
Why was the USSR considered a ‘military-industrial war machine’?
It had 7.5 million well-equipped soldiers
How had the USSR’s territory increased?
By the end of the war, it controlled the Baltic states and eastern Poland
What were satellite states?
A country that is formally independent but under heavy political, economic or military influence/control from another country (in this case they were governed by parties closely linked to the USSR)
What were ‘salami tactics’?
Communist parties would join with socialists and liberals to gain power, but then isolate and eliminate their rivals ‘slice by slice’
Describe how Poland became a satellite state
Provisional government set up in Lublin in 1945, dominated by pro-Moscow communists
Describe how eastern Germany became a satellite state
Became a Soviet zone of occupation in 1945; Moscow-trained communists took political control in 1946
Describe how Hungary and Czechoslovakia became satellite states
‘Salami tactics’ enabled pro-Soviet governments to control Hungary in 1947 and Czechoslovakia in 1948
Describe how the Baltic States became satellite states
Occupied by the USSR in 1940 under the terms of the Nazi-Soviet Pact
Describe how eastern Poland became a satellite state
Annexed by the USSR in 1939 under the terms of the Nazi-Soviet Pact
Describe how Yugoslavia became a satellite state
Communists led by Josip Tito gained control in 1945
What was agreed at the 1943 Tehran conference?
The Allies agreed to demand unconditional surrender from Germany
What were the tensions at the 1943 Tehran conference?
- Ideological differences
- Stalin very critical of his Western allies not opening a ‘Second Front’ to relieve the Red Army
When did Stalin and Churchill meet in Moscow?
Late 1944
What did Stalin and Churchill disagree about in Moscow in 1944?
The future of Poland
What was the February 1945 Yalta conference dominated by?
Conflicting ideas about the post-war borders of Germany and Poland
How did the 1945 Potsdam conference end and why?
With no final peace agreement because differences that had been ignored at Yalta became more urgent
What was clear by 1945?
How the USSR was asserting political control over the countries it had liberated
What were the 3 main stages of the breakdown of East-West relations?
- 1946
- 1947-48
- 1948-49
Key aspects of Stage 1 of the breakdown of East-West relations
- The USA and Britain were concerned by Soviet expansionism and the demand for a ‘buffer zone’
- ‘The Long Telegram’
- Churchill’s ‘iron curtain’ speech
What was ‘The Long Telegram’?
A report from Moscow by American Diplomat George Kennan in 1946, urging the USA to contain the spread of communism in Europe
What was Churchill’s ‘iron curtain’ speech?
Speech from former PM in March 1946, warning of an ‘iron curtain’ dividing Europe, advising that ‘strength’ was needed to deal with the USSR
Key aspects of Stage 2 of the breakdown of East-West relations
- Economic decline and instability in Western Europe by 1947
- Strong communist parties in Italy and France
- The Truman Doctrine and the subsequent US policy of containment in 1947
- The Marshall Plan
What was the Soviet response to the Marshall Plan and why?
Hostile, Stalin believed it would extend US influence
What was the Marshall Plan?
A policy to provide US aid for European economic recovery announced June 1947
Key aspects of Stage 3 of the breakdown of East-West relations
- Control of Berlin
- The Berlin Blockade
- NATO
- First successful test of the Soviet atomic bomb
- Victory for the communist party in the Chinese Civil War
Why was control over Berlin a contentious topic?
Because it was the capital city but was located in the Soviet zone
What happened in the Berlin Blockade of 1948-49?
Stalin cut off all road and rail links between Berlin and the Western zones of Germany, hardening the division of Germany
What does NATO stand for?
The North Atlantic Treaty Organisation
When was NATO formed?
1949
How did the USSR see the establishment of NATO?
As a hostile act
Why was NATO set up?
For the defence of Europe
Why might Stalin’s inner circle have delayed calling for a doctor after his stroke?
Many felt under threat of a new purge; Stalin’s behaviour was increasingly menacing and unpredictable in early 1953, suggesting a new wave of repression and terror might occur if he recovered
What are the 9 elements of Stalin’s legacy at home and abroad?
- He left no clear successor
- Cold War tensions
- Long-term underinvestment in agriculture and consumer goods
- Psychological damage to survivors of terror
- Demographic damage to the USSR from terror and famine
- The spread of Stalinism to Europe and Asia
- National prestige following victory over Germany
- The USSR as a nuclear superpower
- The USSR as an industrial power
