Transformation of international position Flashcards
Military industrial war machine by 1945
Had over 7.5m troops and had expanded territory into Baltic states and areas of Poland, retained control of states it had liberated such as Romania and Hungary.
Summits of the Grand Alliance
First at Tehran November 1943
Stalin met Churchill October 1944
Two meetings of the Big Three at Yalta and Potsdam just before and after the end of the war, by Potsdam it was clear Britain was in decline and America and the Soviet Union were the dominant superpowers.
Nuclear weapons development
Huge amount of resources committed to project run by Beria, first successful test in August 1949, confirmed position as superpower, reinforced by position on the UNSC from 1945.
Significance of the Katyn forest massacre
1939 Beria was responsible for around 40 000 Polish prisoners, at Katyn around 22 000 were shot in 1940 to eliminate ‘nationalist elements’, after mass graves were rediscovered in 1943 propaganda blamed the Nazis, the truth was not revealed until the 1980s
Warsaw uprising
1944 as Red Army approached Warsaw Polish fighters led an uprising to liberate themselves from the Germans, Soviet forces halted and waited, rebellion was crushed, inaction likely motivated by political reasons.
Post-war Poland
Exiled communist party groups had been trained in Moscow, as soon as Poland was liberated a provisional government was set up dominated by them, 1947 a set of rigged elections confirmed pro-Moscow government and the London Poles were expelled.
Post-war Yugoslavia
Initial communist government elected under General Tito, expected to be important satellite state but was anti-Stalin, challenged Moscow by accepting Western aid, was expelled from the Cominform and sanctioned.
Salami tactics
Used in central Europe, named by Hungarian leader, subverting ‘bourgeois’ parties to get power from withing such as in trade unions, or local government in incremental steps, enabled them to build power in Hungary in 1947 and Czechoslovakia 1949, possibly even murdering their foreign minister.
Disagreements leading to East-West relations breaking down
Soviet expansion occupation and the ‘buffer zone’
The Long Telegram to US urging the stopping of the spread of communism.
Iron Curtain speech.
Truman doctrine and US containment.
Marshall plan and Stalin’s response.
Berlin Blockade 1948-49.
Establishment of NATO, seen as a hostile act.
When was the long telegram and the Iron Curtain speech
February 1946 and March 1946.
The Truman Doctrine
Launched in 1947 triggered by civil war in Greece, Truman committed military support and $400m to defeat the communist fighters, made clear his willingness to commit more resources to states resisting communism with democracy, signalled the end to isolationism of the USA.
The Marshall Plan
Put forward 1947 and confirmed just after Communists took full control in Czechoslovakia., massive aid offered to Europe, believed to be a political weapon to extend influence, Stalin pressured Soviet Bloc states to refuse aid.
Berlin blockade
Triggered by introduction of a different currency in West Berlin, Stalin launched Berlin blockade, cutting off all road and rail links to the west, Western powers not willing to risk war so hoped to prioritise Soviet influence in Berlin. However Berlin Airlift flew supplies into West Berlin 1948-9, blockade was called off in May 1949.
Stalin’s death
Had a stroke the night of the 28th February 1953, found on the floor but party members did not call a doctor, died 5th March, led to conspiracy theories as had obviously been planning another purge of top party officials such as Beria.
Stalin’s funeral
Last manifestation for the Stalin cult, body embalmed and displayed.
