Khrushchev And The East-West Relations, 1955-60 Flashcards
1
Q
When did Stalin die?
A
- march 1953
2
Q
Who took over after Stalin’s death?
A
- George Malenkov + Nikita Khrushchev
- launched immediately into wide-ranging fundamental reforms, including attempts to improve relations with the west
- done at a rapid pace
- at Stalin’s funeral, the new head of government, Malenkov was talking about detente
3
Q
What measures were taken right after Stalin’s death?
A
- millions of prisoners released from the Gulag under an amnesty
- powers of the security police were curtailed
- more consumer goods and public housing were promised, cultural controls were loosened
4
Q
What were Khrushchev’s aims?
A
- wanted to redefine the relationship between the Soviet Union and its eastern bloc satellite states
- wanted to achieve long term political stability, economic growth and improved living conditions through the process of de-stalinisation - but without changing the basic structures of the communist system
5
Q
When was Khrushchev’s secret speech ?
A
- February 25th, 1956
6
Q
What was mentioned in the secret speech?
A
- nucleus of a far reaching de-stalinisation campaign intended to destroy Stalin’s image
- Khrushchev recalled Lenin’s testament - a document arguing that Stalin would abuse his power, citing numerous instances where this has been proven eg great purge of 1930s, where innocent communists were falsely accused of sabotage and espionage
- condemned Stalin for wrongfully deporting a range of ethnic groups - eg Karachay
- criticised Stalin for his policy towards Yugoslavia
7
Q
What impact did the secret speech have ?
A
- had profound implications for stability in the eastern bloc in 1956
8
Q
Which Polish leader died in 1956?
A
- boleslaw bierut
9
Q
Who was nominated to replace bierut?
A
- Edward Ochab, Khrushchev nominated him to implement stalinisation in Poland
10
Q
What happened in Poland after the secret speech?
A
- many poles began to demand more political freedom and national sovereignty
11
Q
When did the poles begin to revolt?
A
- June 28th 1956
- workers went on strike in protest at wage cuts and poor working conditions
- known as the poznan protests
- crowd of approximately 100,000 people
- 400 tanks and 10,000 soldiers of the polish people’s army were instructed to crush the protests
12
Q
When was Gomulka reinstated?
A
- October 1956 - elected as first secretary of the polish united workers party
- Khrushchev threatened military intervention if Gomulka refused to cooperate - standoff was resolved when Gomulka agreed to not carry out reforms that ma threaten local communist rule,or unity of the soviet bloc
- Poland would remain part of the Warsaw pact
- much force to suppress the revolts was not used due to Mao’s support for the polish communists
13
Q
Why did many poles support Gomulka?
A
- believed he had preserved a polish path to socialism rather than conforming to the USSR
- Gomulka skillfully balanced the need for Polish security with the presence of Soviet troops in Poland
14
Q
Why was the Polish uprising significant?
A
- showed that the USSR would allow its satellites a measure of national independence if the regimes were led by trustworthy men
15
Q
When did the uprising in Hungary begin?
A
- October 1956, ended by November
16
Q
What happened during the Hungarian uprising?
A
- October 23rd, Hungarian students took to the streets to demand that the Stalinist puppets be replaced with imre Nagy along with 15 other demands ; eg withdrawal of soviet troops from Hungary, freedom of speech, multi party elections
- workers joined students and the riot spread
-Khrushchev agreed to give power to Nagy, but that was not considered enough (appointed PM the next day)
17
Q
How did Imre Nagy try to calm the revolt?
A
- he argued that military force was not necessary
- assured USSR of Hungary’s loyalty
18
Q
What did Khrushchev agree to do on the 28th of October in Hungary?
A
- agreed to withdraw soviet troops from Budapest and declared that they would withdraw from Hungary as a whole during the next two days - in part due to pressure from china
- USSR did not want to engage in further military conflict in china, but also did not want to undermine communist influence in Hungary
19
Q
When did Khrushchev reverse his decision in regards to Hungary?
A
- 31st October
- this was because he feared the collapse of communism in Hungary +the introduction of a multi-party political system + dissolution of the secret police - all unacceptable
20
Q
What did Imre Nagy announce after the USSR reversed its decision?
A
- November 1st - Nagy announces withdrawal from the Warsaw pact and declared neutrality
- this resulted in 15 divisions of the red army and about 4000 tanks surround in Budapest + the rising was crushed
21
Q
Who did the Soviets install in Hungary after the uprising?
A
- Janos kadar - hardline communist+ loyal to Moscow
22
Q
How many Hungarians were killed during the uprising?
A
4000
23
Q
How many Hungarians went into self-imposed exile?
A
- 20,000
24
Q
What was Eisenhower’s response to the uprising?
A
- argued they could not use force
- condemned soviet actions - but not carry out any direct military intervention
- did not want to risk nuclear war, + also preoccupied with the suez crisis
25
Q
What were the impacts of the Hungarian revolution?
A
- lack of intervention from the west had confirmed that the post-war status quo had been accepted + reassured the ussr that the west would not assist any Eastern European country that tried to defy the USSR (Eastern Europe was back under soviet control)
- UN did not interfere
- rising showed that there was a need for social and political reform in Eastern Europe
26
Q
When was the suez crisis?
A
- began on the 29th of October 1956
27
Q
What happened during the suez crisis?
A
- July 1956; Nasser announced the nationalisation of the Suez Canal Company, which was also owned by the British- french
-his announcement came after months of political tensions between Egypt and Britain & France - Nasser did state that the two powers would be compensated for this - however by nationalising the canal, he demonstrated Egypt’s anti colonialism stance
28
Q
How did the US try to calm the suez crisis?
A
- the Eisenhower administration feared the prospect of an outbreak of hostilities between their NATO allies + possible involvement of the USSR
- therefore - the US suggested a diplomatic settlement
- September : Dulles proposed the creation of the Suez Canal Users’ association (SCUA)- this would have given Britain, France and Egypt equal access to the canal, but the proposal failed
29
Q
What happened on October 29th 1956 in regards to the suez crisis?
A
- Israeli forces attacked across Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula, advancing to within 10 miles of the Suez Canal
- Britain and France landed troops there the next few days
30
Q
What was the USA’s response to Israeli forces advancing in Europe?
A
- Eisenhower wanted the USA to disassociate from European colonialism + especially in light of of their lack of action in Hungary - USA forced Britain and France to sign a ceasefire through the UN on November 6th
31
Q
What were Khrushchev’s foreign policy aims in 1956?
A
- the Soviet Union must remain the unchallenged leaders of the socialist community - both within Eastern Europe + in the face of growing threat from china
- firm grip must be retained over the satellite states
- Germany must be prevented from rearming + becoming a future threat to the USSR
- the USSR must continue to expand its nuclear capacity + stay firmly implanted in the nuclear arms race between the east and west
- spending on military security, including Soviet conventional forces in Eastern Europe, has to be reduced
- international tension has to be defused and care taken to not unnecessarily provoke the USA
32
Q
What did Khrushchev mean by peaceful coexistence?
A
- aimed to counter the growing power of the USA through a policy of peaceful coexistence
- it was not a move to end the Cold War - but a strategy to consolidate the influence of the USSR internationally as well as their security - in a less volatile environment
- this policy involved engaging the USA in diplomacy to diffuse tensions where possible + prevent direct confrontation
33
Q
Why did Khrushchev criticise Stalin’s approach to the Cold War?
A
- he believed his aggression led to an escalation of expenses and government debt at a time when when Khrushchev wanted to concentrate soviet resources on domestic developments
34
Q
When was the Austrian state treaty?
A
- may 1955
35
Q
What did the Austrian state treaty establish?
A
- like Germany, Austria had been divided into occupation zones, and the USSR had focused on receiving economic aid from Austria as they had from their zone in Germany
- Austrian leaders in the west promoted the idea that Austria could easily be absorbed into the soviet sphere of influence in the same way Czechoslovakia had been in the prior years
- the Austrian state treaty declared that occupying powers would be withdrawn + that Austria would remain neutral - which went in line with the Soviet Union willing to accept Finland and Yugoslavia as neutral states
36
Q
Why was the Austrian state treaty important?
A
- showed a serious intent towards mutual cooperation
- removed a major potential source of conflict - to some extent, Austria had the potential to become as great an issue dividing east and west Germany had been until 1949
37
Q
When was the Geneva summit?
A
- September 1955
38
Q
What happened at the Geneva summit?
A
- Eisenhower presented his open skies proposal - an attempt to end the deadlock over the issue of the superpowers inspecting each other’s nuclear arsenals, and thereby taking a step closer to disarmament- Eisenhower called for each side to provide details of military instillations and to allow aerial reconnaissance
- Khrushchev rejected the open skies proposal
- Eisenhower also proposed a reunified Germany, free elections and Germany’s freedom to ensure its own security - effectively meaning it would become part of NATO
-Khrushchev stated he would only contemplate a reunification if a future Germany was demilitarised and neutral
39
Q
Why was the Geneva summit significant?
A
- an agreement on the principle of free elections in Germany was agreed
- first summit with the “big 4”
- seemed to mark a point of calm in international relations - the crises in Poland and Hungary however placed peaceful coexistence under huge strain
40
Q
When was the Paris summit?
A
- may 1960
41
Q
When was camp David?
A
- September 1959, discussed disarmament and the issue of Berlin
- this visit was a reaffirmation of Khrushchev’s faith in peaceful coexistence - this visit likely also caused a deterioration in the USSR’s relation with China
- camp David served to calm the issue of Germany and led directly to the Paris summit
42
Q
What happened at the Paris summit?
A
-summit collapsed with the new that an American u-2 spy plane had been shot down while on a mission to the Soviet Union - gave Khrushchev the opportunity to calm opposition from china
43
Q
When did china’s nuclear arsenal come close to being complete?
A
- may 1960
44
Q
When did JFK take office?
A
January 1961
45
Q
What were JFK’s Cold War aims?
A
- declared in his inauguration speech that the USA would do whatever was necessary, regardless of cost, to support the survival of liberty and freedom
- his agenda seemed to undermine the future of peaceful coexistence - he increased the defence budget + promised more flexible conventional forces
46
Q
A
