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AQA A-Level History: The Cold War 1945-1991 > The Origins of the Cold War, c1945–1949: Developing Tensions - the Soviet Union Occupation/Control of Eastern and Southern Europe > Flashcards

The Origins of the Cold War, c1945–1949: Developing Tensions - the Soviet Union Occupation/Control of Eastern and Southern Europe Flashcards

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1
Q

Timeline of development of Soviet Union occupation/control of Eastern and Southern Europe

A

• 1945
- No clear evidence Stalin wanted communist bloc in Europe

• June 1945
- Provisional Government of National Unity formed (Poland)

• October 1946
- Nikola Petkov wins over 20% of popular vote (Bulgaria)

• 1947
- Gottwald accepted Marshall Aid (Czechoslovakia)

• January 1947
- Polish communists and socialists combined

• By April 1947
- All other political parties had been banned (Bulgaria)

• September 1947
- Nikola Petkov executed (Bulgaria)

• 1948
- Gomulka accused of ‘national deviation’ and replaced by Boleslaw Bierut (Poland)

• By 1948

  • USSR established buffer zone based on satellite states
  • Soviet influence in Yugoslavia limited

• June 1948

  • Benes resigns (Czechoslovakia)
  • Yugoslavia expelled from Cominform

• 1949
- Hungarian communist leader, Laszlo Rajk, executed

• By 1949
- All political opposition in Hungary disappeared

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2
Q

What were Stalin’s initial post-war aims in Europe?

A
  • Stalin believed all states the USSR liberated from Nazi occupation would fall under Soviet sphere of influence due to Yalta and percentages agreement
  • In 1945, no evidence that Stalin wanted to create a communist bloc in Eastern Europe
  • Initially, Stalin sought influence rather than ideological expansion
  • Stalin’s initial intent to create a buffer zone based on satellite states was completed by 1948
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3
Q

In what year was there no clear evidence that Stalin wanted a communist Eastern European bloc?

A
  • 1945
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4
Q

In which countries had the USSR successfully established communist regimes?

A
  • Poland
  • Hungary
  • Bulgaria
  • Romania
  • Albania
  • Czechoslovakia
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5
Q

By what year had the USSR established communist regimes in Poland, Hungary, Bulgaria, Romania, Albania and Czechoslovakia?

A
  • By 1948
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6
Q

Why was communism appealing to countries in Eastern Europe?

A
  • Communists made up anti-fascist wartime resistance and were patriots
  • Communism offered better prospects than capitalism in states with mass unemployment and economic chaos
  • Communism offered employment and social mobility
    -Soviets helped liberate these countries from Nazis in war
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7
Q

Which parties usually acted as rivals for communists?

A
  • Pro-agrarian parties
  • Political parties focused on interests of farming communities e.g redistribution of land
  • Many rural peasants supported pro-agrarian parties
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8
Q

How important was ideological purity to Stalin?

A
  • Ideological purity came second to power
  • Power needed for security
  • Stalin willing to temporarily ally with other political parties to gain power
  • Needed Stalinist puppets
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9
Q

Poland

A
  • Lublin Poles
  • During WWII, Polish government existed in exile in London
  • But Stalin created pro-Stalin Lublin Government
  • By agreeing to free elections at Yalta, Stalin able to preserve role of Lublin Poles
  • Pluralist
  • In June 1945, the Provisional Government of National Unity was formed
  • Contained parties across the political spectrum
  • Facade of free multi-party elections
  • Opposition
  • Polish Peasant Party weakened as communists allied with Polish socialists
  • In January 1947, communists and socialists merged, making communists dominant group
  • Deputy PM Wladyslaw Gomulka wasn’t pro-Moscow
  • Gomulka believed in Poland’s right of self-determination
  • In 1948, he was accused of ‘nationalist deviation’ and replaced by pro-Stalinist, Boleslaw Bierut
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10
Q

When was the Provisional Government of National Unity formed?

A
  • June 1945
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11
Q

Which party acted as rivals to the Polish communists?

A
  • Polish Peasant Party
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12
Q

When were the Polish communist and socialist parties merged?

A
  • January 1947
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13
Q

Which Polish politician was not pro-Moscow?

A
  • Deputy Prime Minister Wladyslaw Gomulka
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14
Q

When was Gomulka replaced? Who was he replaced by?

A
  • 1948
    -Bierut, pro-Stalinist

- Replaced by pro-Stalinist, Boleslaw Bierut

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15
Q

Romania

A
  • Easy for Stalin
  • Communists popular as offered alternative to pre-war regime
  • Red Army occupied Romania
  • Minimal opposition
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16
Q

Bulgaria

A
  • Involved gradualism, manipulated elections and forced removal of opponents
  • Strongest political opponent was the Agrarian Party, led by Nikola Petkov
  • In October 1946 elections, Petkov won over 20% of popular vote
  • Petkov faced with trumped-up charges and was executed in September 1947
  • Agrarian Party forcibly absorbed by communists
  • By April 1947, all other political parties banned
17
Q

Which party acted as a rival to the Bulgarian communists? Who was their leader?

A
  • Agrarian Party

- Led by Nikola Petkov

18
Q

How much of the vote did Petkov win? Which election was this?

A
  • Petkov won over 20% of popular vote

- In October 1946 elections

19
Q

When was Nikola Petkov executed?

A
  • September 1947
20
Q

By what time had all other political parties been banned in Bulgaria?

A
  • By April 1947
21
Q

Hungary

A
  • Communists allied with greatest opponent, Smallholders Party
  • Political opponents arrested and elections rigged
  • Many Hungarian communists not loyal to Moscow and formed close links with Yugoslavia
  • In 1949, Hungarian communist leader, Laszlo Rajk, was executed for ‘anti-Soviet’ activities
  • By 1949, all political opposition to Moscow-backed Hungarian communists had disappeared
22
Q

Which party acted as a rival to the Hungarian communists?

A
  • Smallholders Party
23
Q

Who was the leader of the Hungarian communist party? When were they executed?

A
  • Laszlo Rajk

- 1949

24
Q

By what year had all political opposition disappeared in Hungary?

A
  • By 1949
25
Q

What was Czechoslovakia’s political and economic climate like?

A
  • Unlike most of Eastern Europe, Czechoslovakia was industrialised and had large unionised working class
  • Czech communists popular among rural peasants because they had given them land at end of war
26
Q

Czechoslovakia

A
  • Czech Communist Party leader, Klement Gottwald, became prime minister
  • In 1947, Gottwald made mistake of accepting Marshall Aid
  • Growing opposition to communists, but members of these groups resigned in 1948
  • Allowed communists to paint this as attempt to create alternative right-wing group
  • President Edvard Benes agreed to support communist-dominated government
  • Benes resigned in June 1948, leaving pro-Moscow communists in full control
27
Q

Who was the leader of the Czech Communist Party?

A
  • Klement Gottwald
28
Q

When did Gottwald accept Marshall Aid?

A
  • 1947
29
Q

When did members of Czechoslovak opposition groups resign?

A
  • 1948
30
Q

Which Czechoslovak president agreed to support a communist-dominated government? When did this president resign?

A
  • Edvard Benes

- June 1948

31
Q

Yugoslavia

A
  • Initially in Soviet camp
  • Marshal Josip Broz Tito was committed Stalinist
  • When war ended, communist movement firmly in place
  • By 1948, Soviet influence on Yugoslavia limited
  • Conflict arose after Stalin wanted heavy control over Yugoslavia’s economic and foreign policies
  • In June 1948, Yugoslavia was expelled from Cominform
  • Leaders accused of abandoning Marxist-Leninism
  • Yugoslavia able to survive due to aid from US
32
Q

Who was the leader of Yugoslavia?

A
  • Marshal Josip Broz Tito
33
Q

By what year was Soviet influence on Yugoslavia limited?

A
  • 1948
34
Q

When was Yugoslavia expelled from Cominform?

A
  • June 1948
35
Q

How did Yugoslavia survive without Soviet support

A

from US’s economic aid, as they viewed any anti-Soviet country as an ally, communist or not - not just about ideology

AQA A-Level History: The Cold War 1945-1991 (70 decks)

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