Pressures on the USSR Flashcards
When does Brezhnevs leadership of the USSR begins
October 1964
When Alexander Dubcek is appointed leader of Czechoslovakia after pressure from the USSR?
Jan 1968
When do Soviet troops and tanks move into prague?
August 1968
Why did Czechoslovakia revolt?
- 1963 negative economic growth recorded
- this economic downtown led them to reconsider their relationship to socialism and the communist party
How did the revolt begin?
-Professor Ota Sik proposed economic reforms eg existence of consumer rights and allowing individual enterprises to function and these gained support of the public.
- The communist Party was not going to allow these changes to take place and felt there needed to be a change in leadership.
What did Dubeck advocate for once in power?
- political reform
- ‘a new start to socialism’
- began to replace key officials with those who wanted reform
- eliminated press censorship
What did actions in Czechoslovakia coincide with?
Growing discontent in Poland, the phrase ‘Poland awaits her own Dubeck’ echoed across the land
When was the prague spring? And what was it?
1968- Dubeck’s action programme- the communist party’s determination to achieve socialism through:
- freedoms of speech, press and movement
- recognition of trade unions
-shift in economic priorities away from heavy industry and towards consumer goods
Why was it called the prague spring?
sense of renewal and hope in Czechoslovakia
How did everyone react?
Most Eastern European states were alarmed but USSR watched with interest to see how far they would go (Dubeck assured Moscow that they would remain loyal to the Warsaw pact)
What did the lack of intervention spur them onto do?
Further reform:
- ended all press censorship
- opened borders with the West
- began discussions on a trade agreement with West Germany
How did the Soviets get involved?
- hoping to intimidate the Warsaw Pact countries conducted military exercises in Czech in 1968.
- Initally had meetings with Dubeck to pressure him to repeal reforms but after he failed to do so…
- Warsaw Pact forces invaded 20-21 August 1968
Aftermath in Czechoslovakia
1) Complaints from China and Romania- undermined the possibility that change could be achieved through nay party-led reform
2) Brezhnev emphasises the responsibility of communist states to intervene in order to protect the good of the whole communist community
3) Dubeck remains in power until April 1969 and then replaced by Gustav Husak who remained until collapse of communism in 1989
4) Red army remained in Czechoslovakia until 1990
What was responsible for the Sino-Soviet split by 1962
1) Mao saw peaceful coexistence as revisionist
2) Khrushchev indirectly supported India in its border dispute with China
3) USSR withdrew technological aid from China 1960
4) Cuban missile crisis - USSR didn’t tell China and China criticised unwillingness to use nuclear weapons and for removing them.
5) USSR undermined Chinese nuclear programme
How did division deepen further under Brezhnev?
- Initally he wanted to improve relations so that both nations could support North Vietnam against the US
- A representative was sent over to China, this attempt failed and relations were further strained by the Malinovsky incident
- China committed to hindering what they saw as the USSR trying to keep China in an inferior position
What was the Malinosky incident?
At Sino-Soviet talks in 1964 Soviet defence minister suggested to a Chinese delegate that the Chinese should just get rid of Mao just as the USSR had removed Khruschev
How did Vietnam deepen divisions?
- April 1965 USSR request meeting with China and N Vietnam but China refuse.
- Mao didn’t want to facilitate any more soviet involvement in the Vietnam war than necessary.
-USSR proposed a Soviet air force base in China to protect the Sino-Vietnamese border against US aggression. China view this as Soviet military intrusion on it’s territory
What was the cultural revolution?
1966- to return China to it’s communist roots.
- Boys and Girls aged 9 to 18 formed the ‘red Guard’ citing Quotations from Mao in the ‘Little Red book’- to intimidate the USSR
- The revolution spun out of control - Mao had to call army to end it 1969
How did Border disputes worsen the Sino-Soviet relationship?
- USSR station troops in Mongolia and eastern Kazakhstan 1967. This build up of Soviet forces on the Sino-Soviet frontier alarmed the Chinese and reinforced their idea that the USSR wanted to attack.
- As part of an ‘active defense’ strategy, a soviet border patrol was ambushed by Chinese forces.
- Although it was resolved with talks, Mao remained insecure
