The Global War -> Khrushchev and East-West relations 1955-60 Flashcards
What phrase demonstrates Khrushchev’s aim for his policy?
‘peaceful coexistence’
What were Khrushchev’s aims for ‘peaceful coexistence’?
to defuse military tensions with the West and consolidate leadership over the communist bloc
How did Khrushchev become powerful?
- Following the death of Stalin on the 5th of March 1953, a ‘collective leadership’ comprised of four Politburo members (Malenkov, Beria, Molotov and Khrushchev) was created
- Nikita Khrushchev eventually emerged victorious from this power struggle.
What background did Khrushchev come from?
- a Stalinist background
- responsible for ‘collectivisation’ in Ukraine in the 1930s
- nearly 5 million people died
What was Khrushchev’s aims for the Eastern bloc satellite states?
wanted to achieve political stability, economic growth and improve living conditions through the process of destalinisation
How was Khrushchev involved in the space race?
Sponsored a variety of reforms and the build-up of the Soviet nuclear and space programmes
When did the Soviets put their first satellite in space?
October 4 1957 (Sputnik 1)
What is the relationship between the space race and the arms race?
Space race = arms race
Why did Khrushchev want nuclear weapons?
For security objectives to get peaceful coexistence as he acknowledged that the US military capacity outweighed the Soviet Union
What did Khrushchev announce to Congress in October 1961?
“Communism by 1980”
- by focusing on economic reform to avoid war
- will win the Cold War without fighting but by outproducing the West
How much had the economy grown from 1953-59?
5.9%
What signified Khrushchev’s narrow mindedness?
Khrushchev destroys Neizvestnyi’s non-conformist abstract art as ‘dog shit’
- signified how he was a ‘top down liberal’ who wanted to grant more freedom but imposed controls and limits to how much freedom there is
What were Khrushchev’s aims for his domestic policy?
- to consolidate power
- to begin a process of controlled liberalisation - signalled by the Secret Speech
- to shift resources away from heavy industry and the armed forces towards light industry
- cut down on corruption, distribute power more effectively to regions
- change the political culture of the USSR by freeing up channels of communication and shutting down the gulags
- to overcome the deficiencies of the collectivised agriculture system by bringing new lands into cultivation and introducing new crops (Virgin lands scheme in Siberia 1955)
Which Treaty demonstrated the USSR wanting to negotiate over the future of Austria?
The Austrian State Treaty in May 1955
What did the Austrian State Treaty mean?
Led to the withdrawal of all occupying powers and the declaration that Austria would be a neutral state in line with the USSR’s willingness to accept both Finland and Yugoslavia as neutral states
what were Khrushchev’s other aims for his foreign policy?
- summit diplomacy to regularly meet and find areas for cooperation
- rebuild relations with Tito’s Yugoslavia
- Cominform dissolved in April 1956, thus removing the direct control the Soviet Union had over Eastern European communists
- ensure that West Germany did not rearm and pose a threat again through the Warsaw Pact
- to develop the USSR’s nuclear capability to match the USA’s capability so that spending on conventional forces could be reduced
- to defuse international relations and avoid provoking the USA
- to enhance Soviet prestige in the Third World
What were Khrushchev’s aims for de-stalinisation?
It involved the removal of most of the Stalinist control system such as the cult of personality, a one-party political system, a secret police system and press censorship
What phrase describes Khrushchev’s approach to communism?
He wanted to base communism on consent rather than coercion
What is an example of summit diplomacy?
The Geneva summit in July 1955
- marked the beginning of dialogue between the superpowers
- marked a point of calm international relations
- foundations of peaceful coexistence firmly in place
- found areas for cooperation
What did Khrushchev’s dissolution of Cominform in April 1956 suggest about him?
He would be gentler and more consensual
When was the Warsaw Pact formed and what was it?
May 1955 and was a collective security strategy of the USSR and its satellite states
- legitimising its influence in Eastern Europe as the communist military counterpart to NATO legitimising US influence in West Europe
Why did Khrushchev form the Warsaw Pact in May 1955?
As West Germany had joined NATO in May 1955 and Adenauer created a new West German army known as the ‘Bundeswehr’, rearming Germany in November 1955
When did Khrushchev deliver his ‘Secret Speech’?
25 February 1956
Where did Khrushchev deliver his ‘Secret Speech?’
At the 20th Congress of the Communist Party