USSR Control over Eastern Europe Flashcards
Why did Stalin want tight control over Eastern Europe?
- So it would serve as a buffer zone
- To benefit the USSR economically and rebuild it after the war
When was the Cominform established and what does it stand for?
1947
Communist Information Bureau
When was the Comecon established and what does it stand for?
1949
Council for Mutual Economic Assistance
What were the purposes of the Cominform?
- To coordinate and control the countries in the eastern sphere of influence (and keep them in it’s buffer zone)
- To inform them of what the USSR wants them to do
Where was the Cominform originally established and to where/when/why was it moved?
- First established in Belgrade, Yugoslavia
- Yugoslavia expelled from the cominform after disobeying Stalin
- The cominform moved to Bucharest, Romania, in 1948
What were the purposes of the Comecon?
- To coordinate the economy of Eastern Europe and make it relatively independent
- To produce favourable deals to the USSR and guarantee them a supply of cheap raw materials
Give an example of the eastern economy being favorable to the USSR
Poland was forced to sell it’s coal at a price that was 1/10th of what it could sell it for on the open market
Who established the bank for socialist countries and when was this?
Comecon, 1964
What was the world’s first impression of Kruschev?
He was popular as he had risen from poverty, had criticised Stalins actions and proposed a ‘peaceful coexistence’ between the superpowers
When did Kruschev seize the power of the USSR?
1956
What are Kruschevs actions towards ‘peaceful coexistence’?
- Closed down the Cominform
- Released thousands of political prisoners
- Denounced Stalin for harsh rule
- Redirected large funds to military to the space race and launched Sputnik
What did Kruschevs actions towards ‘peaceful coexistence’ result in?
- His approach encouraged critics of the communist rule to protest
- 1956 large demonstations broke out across Poland
- War-time resistance leader Wladyslaw Gomulka is appointed as new Polish leader, and reforms are demanded by protesters
- Kruschev accepted but stationed tanks on the Polish border
What happened to change Kruschevs political personality from peacemaker to explosive and threatening?
After a period of thaw, the US had kept sending U2 spy planes over the USSR and kruschev shot one down 1960
He gave up trying to mantain peace
What were the impacts of the Soviet control over East Europe concerning freedom?
- Countries that were used to free speach and democracy lost the right to criticise the government
- Newspapers were censored
- Non-communists were put into prison for criticising the government
- People were forbidden to travel to countries in Western Europe
- Protests were crushed by security forces
What were Eastern Europe’s population’s initial reaction to communism?
Hope that it would lead to industrial growth and increase to quality of life like what happened to the USSR before WW2
What were the impacts of the Soviet control over East Europe concerning wealth?
- From 1945-55, it recovered, but wages began to fall behind those of other countries
- People were short of coal to heat their houses
- Clothing and shoes were low quality and very expensive
What were the impacts of the Soviet control over East Europe concerning consumer goods?
- People could not get consumer goods such as radios, electric kettles or televisions, which were becoming common in the west
- The economies in Eastern Europe were made to benefit the USSR
- Factories produced thinsg like machinery or electric cables, which were not necessary or in demand from the people
Who was in power from 1949-1956 in Hungary?
Mátyás Rósoskí
Describe Mátyás Rósoskí
He was an extremist, hardline communist who blindly followed the USSR
Why did the Hungarian people overthrow Rósoskí
The Hungarian people were embittered by losing their freedom. Hungarians had to use Russian road signs and had to attend Russian schools in some areas. The Hungarians had to pay the Soviet forces to be in Hungary.
Describe how Rósoskí lost his power
1956, A group withing the Communist party of Hungary opposed himand he appealed to Kruschev for help, and so he could arrest 400 political enemies. Kruschev refused and said Rósoskí was to be replaced for ‘health reasons’. He was replaced by Ernö Gerö.
Describe how Ernö Gerö lost his power
There were protests against him, especially during a large student demonstration on 23rd October where they pulled down a giant statue of Stalin. The USSR allowed a new government to be formed under Imre Nagy.
Describe Imre Nagy’s reforms
- Soviet troops and tanks that were stationed in Hungary since WW2 were withdrawn
- Hungarians created local councils to replace Soviet power
What were Nagy’s plans?
- Free elections
- Impartial courts
- Restore private ownership to farmland
- Total withdrawal of Soviet army from Hungary and become neutral in the cold war
- Leave the Warsaw Pact
Why did Nagy make so ambitious reforms?
He hoped president Eisenhower would support an independant Hungary with armed troops
What was the tipping point that caused Soviet intervention in Hungary 1956?
Nagy’s plans to leave the Warsaw Pact
Why did Kruschev intervene in Hungary 1956?
- If Hungary leaves the Warsaw Pact, other countries in the East might do the same
- The soviet sphere of influence is needed as a buffer zone to protect the USSR
- Hungary benefited the USSR economically
What did Kruschev do November 1956 after Nagy announced his intentions to leave the Warsaw Pact?
He sent thousands of Soviet troops and tanks to Budapest.
What were the consequences of the fighting in Budapest November 1956?
- 3000 Hungarians and 1000 Russians were killed
- 200,000 Hungarians fled to Austria
How long did the fighting last for in Budapest 1956, and why was the fight sparked in the first place?
2 weeks
The Hungarians refused to have their freedoms lost a second time
How did the Western Powers respond to the soviet retaliation in Budapest 1956?
They protested but did not send aid as they were busy with the Suez crisis
Why was Budapest is such a bad condition after WW2?
It was partially destroyed as the Nazi forces had orders to fight back there till the very end, destroying many buildings in the process.
The Red Army looted it afterwards.
What percentage of the parliament vote did communists get in Hungary 1945 and what does this demonstrate?
17%
The communits party was not at all popular, even after the propaganda
How did Mátyás Rósoskí establish communist power in Hungary against the populations will
- Intimidation of political adversaries
- Imprisonment and executions
- Salami tactics
- Final rigged vote
Hungary finally becomes a one-party state under Rósoskí
Why were the Hungarians bitter and fustrated during 1945 - 56?
- They had a lack of food and consumer goods were overpriced, and of bad quality
- The communists churned out propaganda but most Hungarians knew what they were being told was not true
- They could not express their opinions freely
- Targets were set to industrialise Hungary that were so high that workers had to have lower wages and work longer
- Cheating was used to meet these targets such as hammering nails instead of screws into machines resulting in bad product quality
- The secret police, the Argo, was everywhere and spread fear as the dissidents were sent to concentration camps
Describe the victory of the Hungarians as their revolution got Nagy into power
- They started protesting, then sent students to negotiate reforms with the government
- The students did not come back, feuling restlessness
- The Argo starts to shoot at the protesters
- The protest turns into a revolution in which the hungarians ush back the tanks
- USSR withdraws partially an lets Nagy get power
What happened to Nagy after the 2 week revolution was finished
He fled and was executed
When does the Prague spring occur?
1968
Give the context needed about Czechoslovakia in 1968 since the incident in Hungary
- Twelve years after brutal suppression in Hungary
- Kruschev has been ousted by Brezhnev
- The Czechoslovaks lived in similar conditions to Hungary, with pent-up bitterness afraid to manifest itself
Who was Alexander Dubcek and when did he come to power?
The old stalinist leader in Czechoslovakia had been replaced by Dubcek in 1967. He was full of new ideas about reforms to give socialism a human face.
What were Dubceks ideas and plans?
- He was a commited communist but wanted to make communism less restrictive
- He wanted to introduce new policy - ‘socialism with a human face’
- Less censorship
- More freedom of speech
- Reduction of activities of the secret police
- He had learnt from Hungary and assured Brezhnev he would not withdraw from the Comecon or the Warsaw pact
What ideas spread as a result of Dubcek’s new policy and the Prague Spring?
- Political opponents were able to criticise the failings of communism
- They also exposed corruption
- And asked awkward questions about events in the country’s recent past
- New ideas appeared everywhere
- Radical ideas emerged, such as introducing a rival party to the communist one - the Social Democratic Party
How did the USSR respond to Dubcek’s reforms?
- It attempted to intimidate Czechoslovakia by carrying out army drills on their border with the help of East German and Polish forces
- It thought about imposing sanctions on Czechoslovakia but did not want them to ask the west for help so refused this idea
- They held a summit in July 1968 where Dubcek assured Brezhnev that he wold not let the Social Democratic party take place. Tensions eased slightly.
- They sent in tanks and paratroopers to end the spring
Why did the USSR respond to Dubceks reforms?
- It was pressured by Eastern Europe as Dubcek’s ideas and ambitions for a freer communist country spread across their populations and it threatened to cause protests. Their fears were that their people would demand the same reforms that Dubcek had alowed in Czechoslovakia.
- The USSR did not want to lose their buffer zone
- They refused to let opposition to their one-party system spread
What happened on 20th of August 1968?
Soviet paratroopers and tanks moved into Czechoslovakia
When did Soviet paratroopers and tanks move into Czechoslovakia?
20th of August 1968
Why was the Soviet response to the Prague Spring met with almost no resistance from the Czechoslovaks?
- The citizens were afraid to be massacred like in Hungary 12 years earlier, and of the consequences of protesting
- Dubcek urged the Czechoslovaks to stay calm and not resist to stop things fon getting worse
What was the freedom like during the Prague Spring?
A ‘spasmic freedom’
This means people were still scared that the secret police would take them away, and they were not used to being free.
What were the outcomes of the Prague Spring?
- Dubcek not executed. Gradually downgraded and then expelled from the Communist party
- Photographs showing Dubcek as a leader were censored
- Reforming ideas was regarded as a threat to communist rule by all of its leaders
- The rise of the Brezhnev Doctrine
What was the Brezhnev Doctrine?
- Countries must run on a one-party system
- Countries must remain a member of the Warsaw pact
- It becomes the responsibility of the entirety of Eastern Europe to suppress reform or the capitalist system
For which reasons did people leave from East Germany to the West
- Economic reasons - Standards of life were so much better on the West side
- Political reasons - Some people hated communism
Who was the leader of East Germany during 1950s?
Walter Ulbricht
Why did the West pour so much money into their side of Berlin?
To show the contrast and the better living oportunities that capitalism would bring the East Germans
the Eastern quality of life was falling behind the Western one.
Give examples of these investments that the West poured into their side of Berlin
- The East Germans could watch Western programs
- Western shops were always full of various goods
- Western Berliners had much more freedom
Compare the Eastern vs Western living standards in Berlin
- Eastern standards were tolerable
- Western standards, however, led to a a much greater quality of life
What was Berlin a symbol of, and why was it so important for the West to keep it?
- It was pictured as ‘an island of freedom in a communist sea’
- It is a symbol of hope, freedom, and the resistance of capitalism
- It also symbolises the conflict of the Cold War
- The side that wins over Berlin, the zone between them, symbolically wins the Cold War
What kind of people mostly defected from East Germany?
Highly skilled workers/Well qualified managers
This was called ‘brain drain’
Why did Kruschev not appreciate the emigration from the East, and Western Control of West Berlin?
He felt the image of people fleeing communist in search of a better life in capitalism was a dangerous idea that might undermine communism.
This idea could spread and more people would believe communism was the source of their problems.
West Berlin was also a symbol of a small area that defected in the communist sea, of resistance
What was Kruschev’s first solution to the problem of Berlin in 1961?
How was it met?
He first attempted to intimidate Kennedy, who was relatively young and inexperienced, to withdraw US troops from Berlin.
Kennedy refused
When was the Berlin wall erected?
Sunday 13 August 1961
What was the Berlin Wall made of?
Firstly a barbed wire fence, then replaced with a concrete wall
What happened to the crossing points between East and West Berlin in 1961?
They were sealed, and only one remained, nicknamed checkpoint Charlie
What were the immediate results of the Berlin wall
- Freedom of movement from East to West was ended
- Families were separated
- Berliners were unable to go to work
- Border guards kept a lookout for people trying to cross the wall, and shot them
Due to this last point, hundreds were killed in the next three decades
Did the West do anything against the construction of the Berlin wall?
NO
What were Kruschev’s excuses to building the Berlin Wall?
- He claimed the West was using Western Berlin to send out spies into East Germany and sabotage assets
He said he was doing it for the safeguard of West Berlin
Why did Kruschev build the Berlin wall?
- To mantain control over Berlin
- To prevent western influence in the east
- To prevent the drain of skilled workers from East Germany (a.k.a the ‘brain drain’)
- To prevent US espionage
How did the West present the Berlin Wall?
A prison wall
How did the East present the Berlin Wall?
A protective shell around East Berlin
What did the Berlin wall infringe?
Acess to East Berlin had been guaranted to the allies since 1945
What happened on the 27th of October 1961?
Soviet tanks gathered at Checkpoint Charlie and stopped US troops from entering East Berlin
Before that, US diplomats/troops crossed over into East Berlin at times
What was the international reaction to the Crisis of the Berlin Wall?
Relief
It was better that another war
What happened after the tank face-off at Checkpoint Charlie?
The tanks backed down slowly, to the relief of the international community
Kruschev ordered Ulbricht to not augment the tensions between the East and the West
What were the result of the USSR’s higher investment in East Germany?
Unlike Hungary and Czechoslovakia, a lot of money was injected in it, but it still could not keep up with it’ neighbouring capitalist economies.
What did Ulbricht want for East Germany in 1961?
The right to make allies and gain more independence
Kruschev kept tight control, as East Germany making Allies would threaten the West and increase tensions
What was the Solidarity Movement?
At first, it was a Trade Union led by Lech Walesa, but it soon began to make political as well as economic demands
It was illegal at first
When was Solidarity formed?
1980
After a woman lost her retirement funds for participating in an illegal trade union
What were the five main demands of the Gdansk strike?
- More pay
- End to censorship
- Same welfare benefits as police and party workers
- Broadcasting of Catholic church services
- Election of factory managers
Explain the economic situation in Poland from the 1970s
The conditions were good in the early 1970s but started to deteriorate towards the end, and a recession followed by an economic crisis occured.
What things lead up to the creation of Solidarity?
- Conditions for workers are really harsh and the price of meat rises
- This causes workers at Gdansk Shipyard to put forward 21 demands to the government (led by Lech Walesa)
- These workers started a free trade union called Solidarity
Poland had a few trade unions before that, but they were ineffective
Describe the Key events that led to the peak membership of the Solidarity movement
July 1980 - Increase in meat price
August 1980 - Worker strike in Gdansk (putting forward 21 demands)
30 August 1980 - Government accepts demands
September 1980 - Solidarity membership grows above 3.5 million
October 1980 - Solidarity membership 7 million. It is finally officially recognised by the government
January 1981 - Solidarity reches peak - 9.4 million, over a third of all polish workers
What were the reasons for Solidarity’s success?
Why did the Government give in to Solidarity’s demands?
- The union was strongest in the industries the Government was most reliant on e.g. shipbuilding & heavy industry. The effect of a general strike would have been disastrous
- The union was not seen as an alternative to the communist party in the beginning (Over 1 million communists joined Solidarity)
- Lech Walesa was careful while negotiating and avoided potential disputes that would bring in the USSR
- Almost half the workers in Poland joined the union and it was very popular (Lech Walesa was a folk hero)
- Solidarity had the support of the Catholic church, which was still influential in Poland
- The government hoped Solidarity would break apart into factions so they waited and prepared martial law
- The USSR was cautious as Solidarity had gained support in the West, unlike in Hungary or Czechoslovakia
What happened in February 1981?
The prime minister of Poland ‘resigned’ to let army General Jaruzelski take over.
What happened during the majority of 1981?
- Citizens expected the USSR to send in tanks at any moment
- Solidarity said the were campaigning for the rights of communist workers as well as their own
- Jaruzelki and Walesa negotiated for 9 months, then that broke down
What happened during December 1981?
- Brezhnev ordered his read Army to carry out training manoeuvers on the Polish border as a clear threat
- Jaruzelski introduced martial law
- He put 10,000 Solidarity leaders, including Walesa, in prison
- He suspended Solidarity
Who was Lech Walesa?
And what happened to him?
- The leader of the Solidarity movement in Poland in 1980
- Born in 1943, son of a farmer
- Worker at the shipyards in Gdansk
- 1976, was sacked from the shipyard for making ‘malicious’ statements about the organisation and working conditions
- 1978, helped organise a union in another factory, and was dismissed
- 1979 worked for electromontage, said to be the best automotive technician, but was sacked
- Set up Solidarity in August 1980 and became leader
- Was a committed catholic
- In 1989 he became the leader of Poland’s first non-communist government since WW2
What were Jaruzelski’s reasons for crushing Solidarity?
- It was acting like a political party, and the Government declared to have a secret tape of a Solidarity movement setting up a provisional government without a communist party
- Poland was sinking into chaos as unemployment was rising, rationing had been introduced in April 1981, wages did not increase as fast as inflation and everyone was impacted by the food shortages. The people became increasingly restless.
- Solidarity was also disintegrating as different factions wanted different procedures such as pushing the government until they cracked. Strikes continued after Solidarity had ordered them to stop
Why was Solidarity significant?
- It highlighted the failure of communism to provide good living standards and contradicted the communists’ saying their system benefited the people
- It highlighted inefficiency and corruption in Poland (there was a surprising amount of inequality)
- It showed that organisations were capable of resisting a communist government
- It showed the communists that they could be threatened by ‘people power’
- It highlighted Soviet control as the only thing that kept the communists in power was force or the threat of force by the USSR. If military force was not used by the Soviets, communist governments would be very weak.
If the Soviet policy changes, communist control would not survive
What percentage of the people had faith in the Solidarity movement compared to the Communist Party
95%
vs less than
10%
11% of the people who were polled were communist party memebers!
What were the characteristics of Gorbachev’s personality?
- Realist - He realised that the USSR was in a bad state, as its economy was weak and falling behind other countries while it was locked into war with Afghanistan
- Idealist - He wanted to improve living conditions in the USSR and was dismayed that the living conditions were so bad and the trust in the government so low
- Optimist - He truly believed a communist system, if radically reformed, could work and benefit all of its members. He did not intend to dismantle communism
What were the problems the USSR faced in the 1980s
- The living conditions were terrible
- The system was stagnating and there was no innovation and a gerontocracy was in place
- The resources of the USSR were being drained by both the huge defence budget (that took up over 30% of the country’s funds) and the unending war in Afghanistan a.k.a a ‘bleeding wound’
- The communist system was crumbling, with its own citizens demanding for reform
What was the Glasnost Policy?
- A policy of transparency, honesty and openness
- Gorbachev awknowledges the problems the USSR is facing and hopes if they are not covered up, ideas will come up about how to solve them
- People lose their fears and get accustomed to more freedom of expression
What was the Perestroika Policy?
- A policy of restructuring and reform of the communist state
- Allowed capitalist policies such as market, so it was no longer illegal to buy or sell goods for a profit for the first time in 60 years
What outcomes does Gorbachev predict of the perestroika policy?
An increase in the USSR economy by 100% by year 2000
He would not have predicted the fall of the USSR
What were Gorbachev’s messages to Eastern Europe in 1987?
- ‘We won’t intervene’ - Gorbachev made it clear that the countries were now fully responsible for their fates
- ‘You have to reform’ - He also insists they need to reform their own countries, to renew communism to the level of capitalism and improve the quality of life
Hardline communist leaders of Eastern Europe did not believe Gorbachev
When did Gorbachev come to power?
1985
Who was Mikhail Gorbachev?
- Born 1931
- One grandfather was a Kulal - Soviet land owner - and was emprisoned for refusing to give away his land to collectivisation
- Another was a communist party member
- Studies law at Moscaow univeristy in 1950s and became a persuasive speaker
- Worked as a communist party official
- By 1978, he was a member of the central commitee of the party, in charge of agriculture
- In 1980, he joined the politburo
- Was a friend of Andropov (soviet leader 1983), became second in command
- When he died, Gorbachoev replaced him as leader of USSR
- Gets Nobel Peace Prize 1990
What did Mikhail Gorbachev do after introducing his new policies?
- He reduced defence spending, which had been draining the country’s resources for 50 years. The Red Army began to shrink
- He improved International Relations, meaning he removed Soviet troops from Afghanistan and talked about international trust and cooperation
What was the relationship between Gorbachev and Reagan?
(President Reagan of US)
- Reagan’s policy was to get tough on the USSR
- Reagan’s toughness helped Gorbachev:
- USSR could not match USA’s growing military spending, which helped Gorbachev cut his own spending
- Reagan got on well wth Gorbachev. Therefore superpower relations improved and the USSR was less threatened by the USA
- This meant there was less need for the USSR to control Eastern Europe as a buffer zone
What were the implications of Gorbachev’s reforms for Eastern Europe?
- Demand rose in Eastern Europe for the same reforms as were happening in the USSR
- Gorbachev gave hope to their people after the harsh conditions they had faced
- In July 1988, he made a speech to the leaders of the Warsaw Pact countries, as he was planning to withdraw large amounts of tanks, aircraft and troops
- Hungary was eager to rid itself of soviet troops, and Gorbachev accepted this
- In March 1989, he made it clear that he would not intervene or prop up more communist regimes in Eastern Europe
What did Reagan and Gorbachev do on their summit meeting to defuse international tensions?
They banned an entire category of nuclear missiles
What happened in Eastern Europe in May 1989?
Hungarians begin dismantling fence between Hungary and non-communist Austria
What happens in Eastern Europe in June 1989?
Free elections are held for the first time in Poland and the Solidarity wins almost all the seats. Poland is now led by Lech Walensa.
What happened in Eastern Europe in September 1989?
Thousands of East Germans go on holiday to Czechoslovakia and Hungary, then refuse to go home and flee through Austria to West Germany
What happened in Eastern Europe in October 1989?
There were large demonstrations as Gorbachev visited East Germany. Gorbachev ordered East German leader, Honecker, to reform, but he refused.
Honecker orders his soldiers to fire on the demonstrators but they refused
Gorbachev does not move in any tanks to ‘restore order’
What happened in Eastern Europe in November 1989?
East Germans march in thousands to Berlin wall checkpoints, and the guards throw down their weapons and join them. The Berlin Wall is dismantled.
Huge demonstrations occurred in Czechoslovakia. The Czech government then opened up its frontiers to the west and allowed the formation of other parties.
What happened in Eastern Europe in December 1989?
There is a short but bloody revolution in Romania where the communist dictator Nicolae Ceausescu is executed.
The Communist Party in Hungary renamed itself the Socialist Party and announced free elections in 1990.
There are huge demonstrations in Bulgaria against the communist government.
What happens in Eastern Europe in March 1990?
Latvia leads the Baltic republics in declaring independance from the USSR
What was the phrase Western media had come up with to explain the fall of the chain of events 1989 Eastern Europe?
Explain why
‘People Power’
The citizens took their lives into their hands as they had had enough of communism. Policical leaders suddenly lost their power.
What happened in Germany after the Berlin wall fell?
West german Chancellor Helmut Kohl proposed a reunification of Germany.
What were the reactions to German reunification?
Germans on both sides reacted enthusiastically
Gorbachev was not so enthusiastic, as he suspected the new Germany would be more friendly with the West than the East. He eventually accepted after months of hard negotiation.
When was Germany reunited and what happened?
3 October 1990
Germany became a member of NATO
Why was Gorbachev not keen on the reunification of Germany?
- Germany would become more friendly with the West than the East
- German aggression in WW2 caused the death of 20 million Soviet citizens, so it could become a threat for the USSR again
What happened in March 1990 in the USSR?
- Gorbachev visits Lithuania as they wanted independance
- Gorbachev refuses, but Lithuania declares it’s independance anyway
- Gorbachev gets a similar demand from Azerbaijan
- He sends his troops to Lithuania and Azerbaijan toend rioting and mantain control
What happens in May 1990 in the USSR?
The Russian Republic elects Boris Yeltsin to replace Gorbachev (he is backstabbed metaphorically, as Yeltsin was his friend. He sees no future in the USSR, and said the republics of the USSR shoud become independent
What happens in July 1990?
- Ukraine declares it’s independence and other republics do the same
- USSR was basically disintegrating
- Gorbachev gets the Nobel Peace Prize for his contibution to ending the cold war
What happens in April 1991?
- Republic of Georgia declares it’s independance
What happened in August 1991?
- Reformers within the USSR demanded to end the Communist Party domination of the government
- Gorbachev struggled to hold the USSR together but he was unsuccessful as members of the communist elite had enough
- Hardline Communist members and military officers attempt a Coup on the USSR
- They (including Grobachev’s former prime minister Pavlov and leader of armed forces Dimitry Yazov) hold Gorbachev prisoner in his holiday home in Crimea)
- Crowds gather in Moscow and oppose the coup. Yeltsin opposes the coup as the popular leader. The coup loses faith in itself and collapses (Gorbachev returns to Moscow afterwards)
What happened in December 1991?
Gorbachev admitted that the USSR had come to an end and resigned with a final speech on television
