US-USSR Relations 1945-6, Soviet Occupation Of E.Europe Flashcards
When did the USA drop atom bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in Japan?
6 & 9th August 1945 to end WW2
How did the development of the atom bombs make the USA and the west feel?
More confident/secure. Could use it to persuade Stalin to hold free elections in Eastern Europe
What did Stalin do in reaction to the bomb?
- He made a buffer zone between eastern European countries and the West
- Tested their own atom bomb in 1949
How did the development of the atom bomb affect USA/USSR relations?
- Increased Cold War tensions as the bomb was so powerful
- Made both sides reluctant to go to war
- Arms race between USA and USSR
What was the Kennan Long telegram?
A telegram discussing US-Soviet relations sent by George Kennan, the US ambassador in Moscow.
What was the Novikov telegram?
Telegram sent by Nikolai Novikov, a Soviet diplomat in Washington that said that the USA wanted to dominate the world
How did both telegrams in fact American-Soviet relations?
Both sides now distrusted the other side even more. Lead eventually to America’s policy of containment as the USA felt that the USSR was now looking to spread communism and lead to the Soviet desire to protect itself
Why did Stalin ensure that every government in Eastern Europe was pro-communist?
Stalin wanted to create a buffer zone between east and west. The USSR had suffered 2 invasions in the last 30 years - If Eastern Europe was under his control, this would make any future invasion less likely
How did the USA interpret this move by Stalin?
The USA believed this was part of starlings aimed to spread communism throughout the world-In particular they thought countries in Western Europe where under threat
What was the Iron Curtain speech?
In March 1946 Churchill visited the USA where he made a speech in which he declared that Europe was being divided by Soviet policy. In the west were free and democratic states but in the east countries were living under the domination of communism and the USSR-An ‘Iron Curtain’ separated the two
How did the Iron Curtain speech affects American-Soviet relations?
It increased tension and mistrust and led the USSR to step up its campaign of anti-Western propaganda. Intensified hostility
What were the satellite states?
Countries that were freed from Nazi rule by the Red Army. These included: Poland, Czechoslovakia, Hungary and Romania.
How did Stalin set up pro-Communist governments?
Although Stalin did hold elections, these were rigged to ensure communists won. Politicians from other parties were beaten, intimidated or even murdered (e.g Jan Masaryk). Even after the war, 6 million Soviet troops remained in Eastern Europe to stamp out opposition
How did Stalin set up a pro-Communist government in Czechoslovakia?
After WW2, A coalition government led by Benes tried to restore democracy in Czechoslovakia. Starlings saw this as a threat to his buffer zone. He got communists to stage a coup and Jan Masaryk, A pro-democratic supporter was pushed out of the window and murdered. A pro Communist government was set up under the leadership of Gottwald
How did Stalin set up a pro Communist government in Poland?
In 1944 during WW2, The polls had stage the Warsaw uprising against the Germans. The Soviets promised to help them but instead waiting until the Germans had crushed them. They then installed a pro Communist government (Lublin Poles) in Poland. Some of the London polls were included at first but then forced to flee after rigged elections in 1947.
