Topic 6: The USSR in the post war worlds

Question 1

what were the results of victory for the USSR?

Answer 1

• the USSR became a superpower
• communist ideology was vindicated
• Stalin was held up as the USSR’s saviour so the cult of Stalin was strengthened
• massive territorial expansion of the USSR and its ‘sphere of influence’
• 20 million soviet citizens were killed
• much of economy and infrastructure destroyed
• cold war tensions developed

Question 2

how much of the population was lost?

Answer 2

• 1/8
• 12 million civilians
• 25 million Russians were homeless in 1945

Question 3

what happened to industry after the war?

Answer 3

• Stalin promised in 1945 that the USSR would be the world’s leading industrial power by 1960
• 4th 5YP launched in March 1946
• reconstruction of Ukraine was particular focus, as it was an important industrial and agricultural region that had been devastated by war

Question 4

what were the problems with Soviet industry post-wartime?

Answer 4

• in 1945, mining production, electricity generation and steel production were 1/2 1940 levels
• transport and infrastructure were disrupted
• foreign aid through LL ended in August 1945
• high investment in military production (25% of total expenditure by 1952) as a result of cold war meant less investment in other areas

Question 5

was industrial recovery under the 4th 5YP successful?

Answer 5

• rapid and successful
• by 1950, Ukraine’s industrial output was higher than before the war; As early as 1948, the average Soviet incomes were back to 1938 levels

Question 6

how did coal production progress under the 4th 5YP?

Answer 6

• 1945- 149.3 million tons

- 1950- 261.1 million tons

Question 7

how did oil production progress under the 4th 5YP?

Answer 7

• 1945- 19.4 million tons

- 1950- 37.9 million tons

Question 8

how did cotton fabrics production progress under the 4th 5YP?

Answer 8

• 1945- 1617 million tons

- 1950- 3899 million tons

Question 9

what problems did agriculture face in 1945?

Answer 9

• 98k collective farms had been destroyed by war
• food production in 1945 was at 60% of 1940 levels
• 1946 the driest year since 1891 and famine killed 1.5 million

Question 10

when was the Tehran conference?

Answer 10

1943

Question 11

when was the Yalta conference?

Answer 11

February 1945

Question 12

when was the Potsdam conference?

Answer 12

July-August 1945

Question 13

what happened at the Tehran conference?

Answer 13

the Allies agreed to demand unconditional surrender from Germany. But there were ideological differences, and Stalin was very critical of his Western allies not opening a ‘second front’

Question 14

what happened at the meeting between Stalin and Churchill?

Answer 14

Moscow 1944- disagreements over Poland’s future

Question 15

what happened at the Yalta conference?

Answer 15

showed conflict over post-war borders of Germany and Poland

Question 16

what happened at the Potsdam conference?

Answer 16

ended with no final peace agreement. By this time, it was clear how the USSR was asserting political control over the countries it had liberated

Question 17

in what ways had the USSR emerged as a military superpower after the Great patriotic war?

Answer 17

• a military- industrial war machine with 7.5 million well-equipped soldiers
• increased territory
• satellite states
• atomic power
• UN permanent member

Question 18

where did the USSR increase their territory?

Answer 18

Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Belarus, Ukraine, Moldova

Question 19

what were the satellite states?

Answer 19

• the Soviet Union consolidated its dominance over East Germany and states of central east Europe (Romania, Bulgaria, Albania)
• ‘Salami tactics’ enabled pro-Soviet governments to control Hungary (1947) and Czechoslovakia (1948)

Question 20

what atomic power did the USSR develop?

Answer 20

developed an atomic bomb by August 1949 (to respond to the USA’s in 1945

Question 21

what was the ‘Long Telegram’?

Answer 21

a report from Moscow by the American diplomat George Kennan in 1946, urging the USA to contain the spread of communism in Europe

Question 22

when was the iron curtain speech?

Answer 22

March 1946

Question 23

what was the iron curtain speech?

Answer 23

• given by Winston Churchill in March 1946

- warned of an ‘iron curtain’ dividing Europe, advising that ‘strength’ was needed to deal with the USSR

Question 24

when was the announcement of the Truman doctrine?

Answer 24

March 1947

Question 25

what was the Truman doctrine?

Answer 25

• announced in March 1947
• committed the USA to a policy of containment
• In June 1947, the Marshall Plan (providing US aid for European economic recovery) received a hostile Soviet response, as Stalin believed it would extend US influence

Question 26

why did Stalin launch the Berlin blockade?

Answer 26

• truman doctrine
• Marshall plan
• alarmed by the introduction of a separate currency in the Western zones of Germany in June 1948

Question 27

what was the Berlin blockade?

Answer 27

Stalin cut off all road and rail links between Berlin and the Western zones of Germany between 1948-9. This hardened the division of Germany

Question 28

what was NATO and when was it formed?

Answer 28

• formed in 1949
• The North Atlantic Treaty Organisation
• seen by the USSR as a hostile act

Question 29

what was the grain harvest like in 1945?

Answer 29

grain harvest was down from 47.3 million tons in 1945 to 39.6 million in 1946, half the amount produced in 1940