US-Soviet relations 1945-6 and Soviet occupation of Eastern Europe Flashcards
When did the USA drop atom bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in Japan ?
August 1945
How did the development of Atom bombs make the USA feel ?
More confident/ secure, they could use it to ‘persuade’ Stalin to hold free elections in Eastern Europe
What was Stalins reaction to the bomb ?
He made a buffer zone between Eastern Europe countries and the west. Tested there own atom bomb in 1949
How did the development of atom bombs effect USA/ USSR relations ?
Increased Cold War tensions as the bomb was so powerful. Made both sides reluctant to go to war. Started an Arms race between USSR and USA
What was the Long telegram ?
A telegram sent by George Kennan ( US ambassador in Moscow ) saying Stalin wanted to destroy capitalism but the USSR would back down if threatened by the USA
What was the Novikov Telegram ?
A telegram by Nikolai Novikov ( a soviet diplomat in Washington ) saying that the USA wanted to dominate the whole world
How did both telegrams affect US-Soviet relations ?
Neither side trusted each other which lead to America’s policy of containment to stop communism from spreading
Why did Stalin ensure that every government in Eastern Europe was communist ?
He wanted to create a buffer zone between the East and west
How did the USA interpret The buffer zone by Stalin ?
The USA believed it was Stalin trying to spread communism throughout the world
When was the Iron Curtain speech ?
March 1946
What was the Iron Curtain speech ?
A speech by Churchill in the USA where he declared that Europe was being divided into east an west, The west were free and democratic and the East were living under USSR communism. An ‘Iron Curtain’ had separated the two
How did the Iron Curtain speech affect American-soviet relations ?
It increased tension and lead to the USSR increasing its anti-west propaganda
What were satellite states ?
Countries that were freed from the Nazi’s by the red army e.g. Poland, Czechoslovakia, Hungary, and Romania
How did Stalin set up pro communist governments in Eastern Europe ?
He held rigged elections, politicians from other parties were beaten, intimidated, or murdered. After the war he ensured 6 million soviet troops remained in Eastern Europe
How did Stalin ensure Eastern European countries relied on the USSR ?
he set up COMINFORM, an alliance of communist countries, this let Stalin restrict there contact with the west
