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
