How secure was the USSR's control over Eastern Europe?

Question 1

What were the attitudes of Hungarian people towards Rakosi and who was he?

Answer 1

• The country was led by a hard-line communist called Matyas Rakosi.
• Most Hungarians felt bitter about their loss of speech, and they lived in constant fear of the secret police.
• Hungarians also had to pay Soviet forces to be in Hungary.

Question 2

Why was Rakosi forced to resign and when?

Answer 2

• In June 1956, a group within the Communist Party in Hungary opposed Rakosi.
• He appealed to Moscow for help. He wanted to arrest 400 leading opponents. Moscow would not back him.
• The Kremlin ordered Rakosi to be retired for ‘health reasons.’

Question 3

Describe Nagy’s government in Hungary

Answer 3

• The USSR allowed a new government to be formed under the well-respected Imre Nagy
• Hungarians created thousands of local councils to replace Soviet power
• Several thousand Hungarian soldiers defected from the army to join the rebel cause
• Nagy’s government was making plans to hold free elections, create impartial courts and restore farmland to private ownership. It also wanted the total withdrawal of Soviet troops from Hungary, to withdraw from the Warsaw Pact and to declare Hungary neutral in the Cold War

Question 4

Describe the reaction of the Soviet Union to Nagy’s reforms and their consequences

Answer 4

• Khrushchev at first seem ready to accept some of the reforms but he could not accept Hungary’s leaving the Warsaw Pact.
• In November 1956, thousands of Soviet troops and tanks moved into Budapest. Two weeks of bitter fighting followed.
• Roughly 3000 Hungarians and 7500 Russians were killed.
• Another 200,000 Hungarians fled across the border into Austria to escape the communist forces.

Question 5

What were the outcomes of the Hungarian uprising?

Answer 5

• Khrushchev put Kadar in place as leader, who took several months to crush all resistance.
• Around 35,000 anti-communist activists were arrested and 300 were executed.
• He cautiously introduced some of the reforms being demanded by the Hungarian people but did not waver on the central issue: membership of the Warsaw pact.

Question 6

Describe the Czech opposition to the communist government

Answer 6

• The opposition was led by intellectuals who felt that the communists had failed to lead the country forward.
• As censorship had been eased, they were able to launch attacks on the communist leadership, pointing out how corrupt and useless they were.
• Communist government ministers were grilled on live television and radio about how they were running the country.
• This period became known as the Prague spring because of all the new ideas that seem to be appearing everywhere.
• By the summer, there was even talk of allowing another political party, the Social Democratic Party, to be set up as a rival to the Communist Party.

Question 7

Why did Brezhnev restrain reform in Czechoslovakia? Why was Czechoslovakia so important?

Answer 7

• Czechoslovakia was one of the most important countries in the Warsaw Pact as it was centrally placed and had the strongest industry.
• The Soviets were worried that the new ideas in Czechoslovakia might spread to other countries in Eastern Europe.
• Brezhnev came under pressure from the East Germany and Poland to restrain reform in Czechoslovakia.

Question 8

How did the USSR respond to the reforms in Czechoslovakia?

Answer 8

• Originally the USSR tried to slow Dubcek down by arguing with him.
• In addition, Soviet, Polish and eastern German troops performed very public training exercises right on the Czech border.
• In July the USSR had a summit conference with the Czechs. Dubcek agreed not to allow a new social democratic party. However, he insisted on keeping most of his reforms. The tension seemed to ease.
• In August, to the stunned amazement of the world, Soviet tanks moved into Czechoslovakia to maintain political stability.
• Many Czechs refused to cooperate with the Soviet troops but there was little violent resistance.
• Dubcek was removed from power.

Question 9

What were the outcomes of the Czechoslovak episode?

Answer 9

• Unlike Nagy, Dubcek was not executed but instead gradually downgraded and eventually expelled from the Communist Party
• Czechoslovakia had become resentful of their Soviet connection, despite originally being a pro-Soviet country
• The Czechoslovak episode gave rise to the Brezhnev Doctrine. The essentials of communism were defined as being a one-party system and remaining a member of the Warsaw Pact.

Question 10

What were the similarities between events in Hungary and Czechoslovakia?

Answer 10

• They were both the result of long-standing resentment.
• Both countries wanted to give their people more rights and liberty.
• Both involved protests.
• The USSR intervened because it was worried about the impact of changes on its control of the eastern European bloc.
• In both cases, the uprisings led to mass emigration.
• In both Hungary and Czechoslovakia, the leader was removed from power.
• In both cases, the wider world was critical of the Soviet response.

Question 11

What were the differences between events in Hungary and Czechoslovakia?

Answer 11

• Hungary wanted to withdraw from the Warsaw Pact, but Czechoslovakia did not.
• In Hungary, the people acted first. However, in Czechoslovakia the people followed the lead of Dubček.
• The Hungarian Uprising was a rebellion against the Soviets, whereas the Prague Spring challenged the nature of communist rule itself.
• In Hungary, the people fought against the Soviets. However, the Czechs did not, although there were some suicides in protest.
• Some Warsaw Pact members were shocked by the Prague Spring, and complained about the Soviets’ actions.

Question 12

Why was solidarity successful?

Answer 12

• The union was strongest in important industries such as shipbuilding and heavy industry, so a general strike in these areas would have devastated Poland’s economy
• The union was not regarded as an alternative to the Communist Party
• Lech Walesa tactfully negotiated with the government and worked to avoid provoking a dispute that might bring in the Soviet Union
• Solidarity had the support of the Catholic church
• Solidarity had gained support from the West, so the scale of the movement ensured that the Soviet Union acted cautiously

Question 13

Describe the lead up to the crushing of Solidarity

Answer 13

• In 1981 the civilian prime minister ‘resigned’ and the head of the army, General Jaruzeleski, took over.
• The public expected the Soviet Union to crush Solidarity, especially when the Solidarity congress released an ‘open letter’ saying that they were campaigning not only for their rights but for their rights of workers throughout the communist bloc

Question 14

How did the Soviet Union crush Solidarity?

Answer 14

Brezhnev ordered troops to carry out ‘training manoeuvres’ on the Polish border and Jaruzeleski introduced martial law. He put Walesa and almost 10,000 other Solidarity leaders in prison.

Question 15

Why was the Berlin Wall created?

Answer 15

• Many people wished to leave East Germany because of political reasons – they hated the harsh communist regime- while many wished to leave for economic reasons as their standard of living was so poor
• The western powers had deliberately poured massive investment into West Germany so that East Germans could see how capitalism brought wealth, freedom and high standards of living
• In the 1950s, as East Germans could freely travel into West Germany, thousands were leaving and never coming back

Question 16

What was the solution to the problem in Berlin?

Answer 16

• Khrushchev thought he could bully Kennedy into withdrawing US S troops from east Berlin, but Kennedy refused to do so.
• On the 13th of August 1961, East German soldiers erected a barbed wire barrier along the entire frontier between east and West Berlin, ending all free movement into the West.
• It was quickly replaced by a concrete wall.
• All the crossing points from east to West Berlin were sealed, except for one called ‘checkpoint Charlie.’

Question 17

How did glasnost cause the collapse of the Soviet Union?

Answer 17

• Gorbachev introduced the idea of Glasnost, which called for open debate on government policy and honesty in facing up to problems.
• Whilst Gorbachev intended to simply reform the Soviet Union by creating create a more democratic and prosperous society, this policy created a wave of criticism of the Soviet Union.
• As a result, the state lost control of both the media and the public factor, which gave momentum to democratic reform movements throughout the Soviet Bloc.

Question 18

How did perestroika cause the collapse of the soviet union?

Answer 18

• Gorbachev introduced the idea of Perestroika, which called for the restructuring of the Soviet economy.
• Although peeled back restrictions on foreign trade and loosened centralized control over many businesses was intended to jumpstart the sluggish soviet economy, it backfired and lead to inflation, food prices and government spending soaring.
• Overall, Gorbachev’s policies increased political and economic instability, which undermined the foundation of the USSR.

Question 19

How did Gorbachev’s policy of non-intervention in Eastern Europe cause the collapse of the Soviet Union?

Answer 19

• Gorbachev loosened soviet control over Eastern European countries, which enabled democratic reform movements to succeed.
• He replaced the Brezhnev doctrine with the Sinatra doctrine, which encouraged eastern European countries to choose how they wanted to be run.
• He also began to shrink the Red Army after almost 50 years on a constant war footing, as the soviet union would no longer use force to supress political opposition to communism in Eastern Europe.
• In October 1989, the East German leader Honecker attempts and fails to crush demonstrations with his troops, and Gorbachev makes it clear that Soviet tanks will not move in to restore order.
• Gorbachev accepted the reunification of Germany in 1990 and even accepted that the new Germany could become a member of NATO.

Question 20

How did Solidarity cause the collapse of the Soviet Union?

Answer 20

• It highlighted the failure of Communism to provide good living standards, and this undermined Communism’s claim to be a system which benefited ordinary people.
• Lead to the spread of anti-communist ideas and movements throughout the Eastern Bloc, including in Hungary, Czechoslovakia and East Germany. These movements, in turn, put pressure on the Soviet Union and its satellite states to reform and open up their political systems.
• Provided inspiration for other movements.

Question 21

How did people power cause the collapse of the Soviet Union?

Answer 21

• In May 1989, Hungarians began dismantling barbed wire fence between Hungary and non-Communist Austria.
• In November, there are huge demonstrations in Czechoslovakia, and as a result, the Czech government opens its borders with the West and allows the formation of other parties.
• In November, thousands of East Germans march to the checkpoints at the Berlin wall and dismantle it.