THE TRANSFORMATION OF THE SOVIET UNION'S INTERNATIONAL POSITION Flashcards

1
Q

During the war what was built up?

A

a vast new military-industrial war machine

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
2
Q

By May 1945, the armed forces of USSR consisted of how many people?

A

7.5 million well equipped troops

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
3
Q

How did the USSR increase its territory?

A

by absorbing the Baltic states and large areas of Eastern Poland

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
4
Q

What was the USSR, Britain and the United States alliance?

A

The Grand Alliance

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
5
Q

What were the major summit meetings?

A

Tehran, Yalta, Potsdam

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
6
Q

When was Tehran?

A

November 1943

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
7
Q

When and where did Stalin meet Churchill?

A

Moscow October 1944

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
8
Q

Where and when did the Big Three meet?

A

Yalta February 1945

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
9
Q

What happened at Potsdam?

A

The Three Allies met
by this stage it was becoming clear than Britain, exhausted and bankrupt by the war

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
10
Q

when was Potsdam?

A

July 1945

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
11
Q

When did the US reveal it had developed an atomic bomb?

A

in 1945

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
12
Q

what was this bomb used for?

A

to end the war with Japan

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
13
Q

Who was in charge of soviet bomb?

A

Beria

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
14
Q

When was the first successful test ?

A

August 1949

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
15
Q

when was the United Nations formed

A

1945

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
16
Q

why was UN significant

A

the USSR was one of the 5 permanent members of the UN security council

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
17
Q

How did the USSr exert military presence over neighbouring national states?

A

used military presence to encourage the formation of governments that were friendly to the Soviet Union

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
18
Q

What had happened to most of these states by 1948

A

most had became satellite states

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
19
Q

what were satellite states

A

countries which retained their national identity but had pro-soviet governments

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
20
Q

What were buffer states?

A

a term used to describe the satellite states of Eastern Europe emphasising Stalin’s intention that these should provide security for the USSR’s western borders

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
21
Q

What happened at the Katyn Forest Massacre

A

22,000 Polish army officers were killed by the NKVD in the forest to eliminate Polish nationalist elements who might oppose communism

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
22
Q

when was the Katyn Forest Massacre

A

April –> May 1940

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
23
Q

What happened when the Red Army entered Poland?

A

A provisional government was set up in Lublin

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
24
Q

which other countries did Communist regime dominate?

A

Bulgaria and Romania

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
25
Q

what were ‘salami tactics’

A

Tactics used to extend the soviet bloc in east Central Europe
Allowed pro-soviet governments to gain power in Hungary in 1947 and Czechoslovakia 1948

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
26
Q

why were they named salami slice tactics/what did they consist of?

A

the subverting of bourgeois parties to gain power from within by small, incremental steps
e.g. infiltration of trade unions
e.g. harassment or violence E

27
Q

why were they named salami slice tactics/what did they consist of?

A

the subverting of bourgeois parties to gain power from within by small, incremental steps
e.g. infiltration of trade unions
e.g. harassment or violence E

28
Q

examples of harassment/violence - salami slice tactics

A

in 1948, the anti-soviet foreign minister Czechoslovakia died in a fall from a high window in Prague

29
Q

What issues became clear in the conference at Tehran in 1943

A

the Allies agreed to demand unconditional surrender from Germany to prevent Britain and the US from making separate peace with Hitler

30
Q

what disagreement arose at the meeting between Stalin & Churchill in Moscow 1944?

A

disagreements about future of Poland

31
Q

what conflict was present at Yalta conference

A

conflicting ideas about the post-war borders of Germany and Poland

32
Q

What happened at Potsdam?

A

ended with no final peace agreement

33
Q

how was the US fear of Soviet expansionionism exacerbated?

A

by a telegram sent to Washington from Moscow in February 1946

34
Q

who was the telegram sent by?

A

George Kennan
a long serving American expert on soviet affairs who had been sent to moscow after the war

35
Q

who was the telegram sent by?

A

George Kennan
a long serving American expert on soviet affairs who had been sent to moscow after the war wha

36
Q

what did the telegram become known as?

A

the long telegram

37
Q

When did Churchill make a speech about the horror of what was happening in Eastern Europe?

A

March 1946

38
Q

where did he make the speech

A

Missouri USA

39
Q

what is significant about Churchill at this point?

A

he is EX prime minister here

40
Q

what did the speech suggest

A

that an ‘iron curtain’ had descended over Europe

41
Q

what did he speak of during the speech?

A

‘communist filth columns’ in western and souther Europe & advised strengh in dealing with the USSR

42
Q

By which year was Western Europe in a crisis?

A

early 1947 1

43
Q

When did the Truman Doctrine assert new policy?

A

March 1947

44
Q

What was the new policy?

A

‘containment’ and ‘rolling back’ of Communism

45
Q

what new plan was put forward by the US?

A

The Marshall Plan

46
Q

When was the Marshall Plan put forward?

A

June 1947

47
Q

what was the Marshall plan?

A

massive injection of aid to rebuild Europe
the plan was supposedly generous offer of assistance open to all countries

48
Q

What did Stalin think of the plan?

A

That it was hostile to Soviet interests and was a part of the US drive for dominance

49
Q

What did Stalin instruct soviet bloc countries to do?

A

reject Marshall Aid

50
Q

What set the context for the Berlin crisis of 1948?

A

the communist take over in Czechoslovakia

51
Q

How did Stalin view Berlin?

A

as a single city where soviet interests ought to be paramount

52
Q

What alarmed Stalin?

A

the introduction of a separate currency in Berlin in June 1948

53
Q

What happened the next day?

A

Stalin launched the Berlin Blockade

54
Q

What did the Berlin Blockade do?

A

cut off all road and rail links between Berlin and the west

55
Q

What defeated Stalin’s plan with the Berlin Blockade?

A

The Berlin Airlift

56
Q

What was the Berlin Airlift

A

a massive operation led by US military governor which flew in essential supplies to West Berlin

57
Q

After how many days was it called off?

A

318 days

58
Q

when was it called off?

A

May 1949

59
Q

what did the end of the Berlin Blockade confirm?

A

the division of Germany and of Berlin

60
Q

What was NATO

A

North Atlantic treaty organisation

61
Q

why was NATO formed

A

formed to defend Western Europe against Soviet aggression

62
Q

In CHina, what happened?

A

the long civil war ended with victory of Chinese Communist revolution

63
Q

What alliance was struck between China and USSR

A

met in Moscow to agree a treaty of alliance