Stalin Flashcards
Past Paper Q
The main reason why communism spread across Europe by 1948 was because Stalin was aggressive and expansionist. Assess the validity of this view
1) Stalin saw a ned to defend the SU from future attack by securing his borders
Faced hostil capitalist encirclement in post war years and his motives were efensive not aggressive
The West thought the Soviets wanted to take over East and Southern Europe because of their ideology to pursue world revolution
The WEst thought the SU were aggressive and expansionist because of their salami tactics and use of the Red Army at the end of the war to exert control.
What’s the evidence that Stalian was aggressive and expansionist?
- Katyn Forest in Poland - 1943 massacre of Polish officers - demonstrated that Soviets wanted to control Poland
- Failure of the Red Army to to support Polish resistance during the Warsaw uprising 1944
- Free elections were agreed at Yalt but Soviets did not nonour the promise
- 1945 a coalition of National Unity took power but Stalin arrested the non communist leaders
- 1947 the London exileswho were allowed into the Lubin coalition by Stalin were removed from officeand the communists aboloished all political parties
What other reasons explain Stalin’s aggression in Poland?
- Russia had been invaded 3 times via poland - so they had to ensure Polish security
- The Soviets had to prevent a repeat of history Russia lost more men than the entire Western alliance in ww2
It was not a territory grab, it was a way to create a buffer zone
How was Stalin expansionist in Romania?
1946 elections were rigged to return a communist government and the repression of communist parties
How was Stalin expansionist in Czech?
1948 coup took place
No evidence of Stalin’s involvement
There were only 500 Russian troops stationed in Czech - it disproved the view that they were instrumental in forcing European countrie sto adopt communism
Eastern and SOuthern parts of Europe already had communist movements
What was the role of communist countries?
The leader of Yougslavia Tito offered solutions to the economic crisi that gripped their countries
Tito had his own views on the path to communism and ws thrown out of Cominform in 1948 - Stalin could not control him
This was not evidence of aggressive or exapnsionist manoevuvres coordinated by Stalin, but of some communist groups able t exploit the post war political vacuum
What attempts at peaceful negotiation did Stalin make?
- Settled for a peace deal in Finland on the understanding that Finland would remain independent and neutral if they supplied USSR with supplies
Stalin could have taken over Finland but his foreign policy did not seem motivated by a desire for expanionusm - He honoured his pledge to Churchill by not interfering in the Greek civil war 1944 - 49. He could have aided the communist insurgency but he did not. Stalin maintained that Greece was part of the British sphere of influence at the percentage agreement 1944
Stalin negotiated at Yalta 1945 and Potsdam 1945 - indicates that the Western allied could have reached a more reasonable deal on Eastern Europe
Why did Stalin tighten his grip on Cominform and Comecon?
T control the more aggressive anti communist leaders Trueman and Attlee
A response to the containment strategy that witnessed the arming and financing of the enemies of communism
It could be seen as a defensive strategy against the hostile and uncooperative west
In what wasy did Stalin feel threatened in 1946?
He gave a speech in Pravda saying that in battles with Germany the Sov Union had lost 7 million people in ww2 and in the camps and liberated many from Hitler However communist regimes had been oppressive nd he sent millions to his own gulags.
The speech was in reposnse to Churchill’s speech in Misouri
He claimed he was trying to ensure the securiry of the Soviet Union for the future as the WEst were pushing the USSR into oblivion and forgetting the damage they had suffered
However the speech could be seen as propaganda for the Soviet people
Churchill in his speech at Missouri implies that Soviets felt entitled to the fruits of war. Is this correct?
In Albania, Bulgaria and Yugoslavia communism was strong and needed little encouragement. It wasn’t being forced on the entire people of E Europe
The percentages agreement meeting between Churchill and Stalin shows that STlin had no intention of extending his control into Greece
what were Stalin’s priorities in 1945?
To make sure that Eastern Europe lay iwithin a oviet sphere of influence
To turn Germany into communist state
Stalin thought the dismemberment of Germany would not be in Soviet interests
He thought it was best to keep Germany economically weak until it could be secured as a commuist state
What was the percentages agreement?
Churchill and STlin met at Moscow. It was decided the USSR could have 90% of Romania and Britain 90% of Greece. Hungary was divided 50/50
