The Soviet Union and Eastern and Southern Europe, 1945-48 Flashcards
March 1946
Churchill delivers his ‘Iron Curtain’ speech
Feb 1946
Kennan’s ‘Long Telegram’ is sent
June 1946
Communist-led Democratic Bloc wins the Polish elections
Oct 1946
Communists win 75% of the popular vote in Bulgaria
Nov 1946
Communists win 80% of the votes in Romania
Mar 1947
President Truman announces his Doctrine
Sept 1947
Cominform is created
June 1948
Communists control Czechoslovakia
what did the percentages agreement and the Yalta Conference confirm to Stalin?
the Eastern Europe and the states that the USSR had liberated from Nazi occupation would fall within a Soviet sphere of influence
what evidence was there of Stalin’s intentions of expansion in 1945?
there wasn’t clear evidence that Stalin was intent upon the creation of a communist bloc in Eastern Europe
what was Stalin’s initial focus instead of ideological expansion?
influence
what were Stalin’s actions in Eastern Europe motivated by?
a determination to do whatever was necessary to safeguard Soviet international interests and Soviet territory
what did Stalin complete by 1948?
a defence, buffer zone to the west of the USSR based on satellite states
which countries had pro-Soviet communist regimes in place?
Poland, Hungary, Bulgaria, Romania, Albania and Czechoslovakia
what would this buffer zone of allies do?
reinforce the defensive capability of the USSR against any possible future threat from the West
what was a common way of imposing communist regimes on Eastern European states?
for communists to form alliances with other left-wing parties and then taken control of them
what often happened to opposition candidates?
they were intimidated, and election results were manipulated to ensure a communist victory
what were key components for rising communist parties in the Eastern states?
predominantly in anti-fascist wartime resistance and emerged as committed patriots
how did the Communist party emerge in Czechoslovakia?
the Communist Party emerged as the largest single party and won 38% of the vote in the relatively free elections held in May 1946
why did WW2 lead to a rise in communism in Eastern Europe?
the war had left these states with mass unemployment and economic chaos. For many workers in these states, communism offered a much better prospect than capitalism and the dominance of the economic elite associated with it
How did many perceive communists?
as freedom fighters due to their struggle against Nazism
what did Communism promise?
employment and social mobility
which political party did the rural peasants look to?
the pro-agrarian parties - to deliver redistribution and to be responsive to the particular needs of the very large numbers of rural peasants
in what way did Stalin believe was the only was for the communist ideology to be fulfilled?
if the USSR was powerful and Stalin was all-powerful
