USSR control over Eastern Europe

Question 1

Why did the Hungarians resent Matyas Rakosi?

Answer 1

1. Between 1949-1956 Hungary was led by the Communist Matyas Raskosi and Hungarians felt oppressed under Communist rule because:
2. There was no freedom of speech
3. Secret police created terror
4. There were thousands of Soviet troops in their country
5. Hungarian street signs were replaced by Russian street signs and Russian was taught in schools
6. Hungarians had to pay for Soviet occupation

Question 2

What happened in 1956 in Hungary?

Answer 2

1. In June 1956 reformists in the Hungarian Communist Party opposed Rakosi, and Moscow ordered him to retire for ‘health reasons’
2. Erno Gero was the new leader, but Hungarians hated him too
3. On the 23rd of October there was a huge demonstration in Budapest and Hungarians pulled down a giant statue of Stalin
4. Imre Nagy was allowed by Moscow to be the new leader on 24th October

Question 3

Describe Imre Nagy’s rule

Answer 3

1. Soviet tanks and troops withdrew from Hungary
2. Several thousand Hungarian soldier defected from the army to the rebel cause, taking their weapons with them
3. Nagy’s government planned:
   - Free elections
   - Impartial courts
   - Restore farms to private ownership
   - To ask for the total withdrawal of the Soviet army from Hungary
   - To leave the Warsaw Pact and declare Hungary neutral in the Cold War
4. Nagy hoped that President Eisenhower of the USA would support Hungary, with force if necessary

Question 4

How did the USSR respond to Imre Nagy’s new rule and plans?

Answer 4

1. Khrushchev could not accept Hungary leaving the Warsaw Pact
2. November 1956 he sent thousands of tanks and troops into Budapest, and in two weeks of bitter fighting, over 3,000 Hungarians were killed and 7,000-8,000 Russians were killed and 2,000 Hungarians fled into Austria to escape from Communism
3. K put Janos Kadar in power instead of Nagy and he crushed the resistance by arresting 35,000 anti-communists and executing 300 and he kept Hungary in the Warsaw Pact

Question 5

Why did Czechoslovaks rebel?

Answer 5

1. In 1967 a new leader Alexander Dubcek took power
2. He proposed ‘Socialism with a Human Face’ which meant:
   - Less censorship
   - More freedom of speech
   - Reduction in the activities of the Secret Police
3. Dubcek told the President of the USSR, Leonid Brezhnev, that he would not take Czechoslovakia out of the Warsaw pact or Comecon

Question 6

Describe the Prague Spring 1968

Answer 6

1. Because there was less censorship, Czech intellectuals criticised the communist leader, and on live television and radio Communist leaders were challenged about how they were running the country
2. People started to talk about forming a new political party: The Social Democratic Party

Question 7

Why was Brezhnev angry about the Prague Spring?

Answer 7

1. Cz was strategically important to the defence of the USSR
2. It was economically important
3. They worried that other Eastern European countries would start to rebel, and the East German leader Walter Ulbricht and the Polish leader Gomulka told him he had to stop what was happening in Cz

Question 8

How did Brezhnev respond to the Prague Spring?

Answer 8

1. He order Soviet, Polish, East German troops to start doing very public military training exercises on the Czech border
2. He set up a conference in July at which Dubcek agreed not tot set up a Social Democratic Party, but he still wanted reforms
3. In August, a conference of all the other Warsaw Pact countries declared that Czech had to maintain political stability
4. On 20th August 1968, B moved tanks into Czech, and Dubcek was removed from power

Question 9

Describe the Brezhnev Doctrine

Answer 9

1. This was the new policy after the Prague Spring and it said that Communism meant:
   - A one-party system
   - East European countries staying in the Warsaw Pact

Question 10

When and why did the Poles rebel?

Answer 10

1. 1979

2. The Polish economy was in crisis and industry collapsed

Question 11

Describe 1980 in Poland

Answer 11

• During first half of 1970s Polish industry performed so well that the country was relatively calm. But by the late 1970s the Polish economy hit crisis and 1979 was the worst year fir Polish industry since Communism had been introduced
  1. July: Government announced increases in the price of meat
  2. August: Workers at the Gdansk shipyard led by Lech Walesa put forward 21 demands to the government including free trade unions and the right to strike
• And they started a free trade union called Solidarity
  3. 30th August: The government agreed to all 21 of Solidarity’s demands
  4. September: Solidarity’s membership grew to 3.5 million
  5. October: Solidarity’s membership is now 7 million and it is officially recognised by the government
  6. January 1981: Solidarity’s membership is now 9.4 million. More than 1/3 of workers in Poland belong to it

Question 12

Describe how the USSR responded to Poland in 1981

Answer 12

1. February 1981: The Prime Minister of Poland resigned, and the army leader General Jaruzelski took over
2. February 1981: Solidarity produced an ‘open letter’ saying that they were no just campaigning for Polish rights, but rights of workers across eastern Europe. Their slogan was ‘For you freedom and for ours’
3. December: negotiations about forming a new government collapsed between Jaruzelski and Walesa, and so President of the USSR Brezhnev ordered the Red Army to do training exercises on the Polish border
4. Jaruzelski also:
   - Introduced martial law
   - Imprisoned Walesa
   - Imprisoned 10,000 other Solidarity leaders
   - Banned Solidarity

Question 13

Why did the USSR ultimately crush Solidarity in 1981?

Answer 13

1. Solidarity was not just a trade union anymore, it was a political party that threatened Communist rule. The government declared that it had secret tapes of a Solidarity meeting setting up a new provisional government
2. Poland was sinking into chaos: rationing was introduced in April 1981, and wages had increased less that inflation (so people had less money and things cost more), unemployment was also rising
3. Solidarity itself was also tumbling into chaos as there were many different fraction. Some felt the only way to make progress was to push the Communists harder until they cracked under the pressure. Strikes were continuing long after the Solidarity leadership has order them to stop

Question 14

Why did the Polish government accept Solidarity to start with in 1980?

Answer 14

1. The union was strong in those unions that mattered to the government, like shipbuilding and heavy industry and they wanted to avoid a strike as a general strike in these industries would have devastated Poland’s economy
2. Initially Communists in Poland thought they could belong to Solidarity without betraying Communism: 1 million Communist Party members joined it
3. Lech Walesa was a good politician who wanted to avoid angering the USSR as in his negotiations with the government he was careful and he worried to avoid provoking a dispute that might bring in the Soviet Union
4. Solidarity was really popular: 1/3 of workers in Poland belonged to it and Lech Walesa was a kind of folk hero
5. The government thought that Solidarity would split into different factions in time
6. The USSR was cautious about crushing Solidarity violently because it was popular in the West as Walesa was well known on Western media and people in the West bought Solidarity badges to show their support
7. Solidarity had the support of the Catholic Church which was still very strong in Poland

Question 15

What did Solidarity prove, despite it being crushed in 1981?

Answer 15

1. That Communism was not making people’s lives better, and that Communism could not provide good living standards and this undermined Communism’s claim to be a system which benefitted ordinary people
2. That Party members had better lives than ordinary people and so it highlighted its inefficiency and corruption
3. That organisations could challenge and change government policies and showed that Communist governments could be challenged by ‘people power’

Question 16

Why did Communism collapse?

Answer 16

1. The effects of Solidarity 1980-81 in Poland
2. Mikhail Gorbachev, leader of the USSR from 1985 onwards
3. Ronald Reagan, leader of the USA from 1981 onwards

Question 17

Describe Gorbachev’s thoughts

Answer 17

1. He saw the USSR spending too much on the arms race and in the War in Afghanistan and the USSR economy was weak
2. He created a new policy as he said: ‘Neither the Soviet Union nor the USA is able to force its will on others’ which meant that eastern European counties could reform, and he wanted them to and he also said that east European countries had to reform their own countries
3. He believed that Communist rule should make life better for the people of the USSR and other Communist states. As a loyal Communist and a proud Russian, he was offended by the fact that goods made in Soviet factories were shoddy, living standards were higher in the West and that many Soviet citizens had no loyalty to the government
4. He believed that a reformed Communist system of government could give people pride and belief in their country, he definitely did not intend to dismantle Communism in the USSR and eastern Europe, but he did want to reform it radically

Question 18

Describe Gorbachev’s reforms in Russia

Answer 18

1. Glasnost: he called for open debate on government policy and honesty in facing up to problems, it was not a detailed set of policies but it did mean radical change
2. Perestroika: 1987, now it was not illegal to buy and sell for profit as allowed market forces to be introduced into the Soviet Economy
3. Defence spending: he began to shrink the size of the Red Army, and cut spending on defence
4. Afghanistan: he withdrew troops
5. USA: he (G) kept talking about international trust and cooperation as the way forward for the USSR, rather than confrontation

Question 19

What did Gorbachev say in 1988/1989?

Answer 19

• As G introduced his reforms in the USSR the demand rose for similar reforms in EE states as well. Mist people in these states were sick of their poor economic conditions and the harsh restrictions that Communism imposed, G’s policies gave people some hope for reform
  1. He made a big speech to the leaders of the Warsaw Pact countries in July 1988, saying he would withdraw his forces from their countries as he planed to withdraw large numbers of troops, tanks and aircraft from Eastern Europe
  2. In December 1988 Gorbachev promises at United Nations Assembly to withdraw Soviet troops from Eastern Europe
  3. In March 1989 he said he (and the Red Army) would not intervene to prop up Communist regimes in Eastern Europe (unpopular Communist governments)

Question 20

Describe the Reagan Doctrine

Answer 20

1. Policy on the Cold War: ‘We win and they lose’
2. He increased USA military spending, which helped Gorbachev to cut USSR spending
3. Reagan and Gorbachev liked each other, which meant that the USSR and the USA felt less threatened by each other

Question 21

How did Hungary collapse communism?

Answer 21

1. February 1989: Hungarian Communists renounce “leading role” and propose multi-party political system
2. May 1989: Hungarians begin dismantling the barbed -wire fence between Hungary and non-communist Austria (Hungarian government opened its frontier to Austria)
3. December 1989: The Communist Party in Hungary renames itself the Socialist Party and declared that free elections will be held in 1990

Question 22

How did Poland collapse communism?

Answer 22

1. April 1989: Polish Round Table concluded that Solidarity legalised again
2. June 1989: Free elections are held for the first time since WW2, and Solidarity wins
3. September 1989: Solidarity-led government takes power in Poland
4. December 1920: Lech Walesa elected President of Poland

Question 23

How did East Germany collapse communism?

Answer 23

1. September 1989: Thousands of East Germans on holiday in Hungary and Czech refuse to go home and they escape through Austria into West Germany
2. October 1989: there are enormous demonstrations in East German cities when Gorbachev visits the country he tells the East German leader Erich Honecker to reform. Honecker orders troops to fire on demonstrators but they refuse and Gorbachev makes it clear that Soviet tanks will not move in to ‘restore order’
3. November 1989: East Germans march in their thousands to the checkpoints at the Berlin Wall. The guards throw down their weapons and join the crowds. The Berlin Wall is dismantled

Question 24

How did Czechoslovakia collapse communism?

Answer 24

1. November 1989: There are huge demonstrations in Czechoslovakia. The Czech government opens its borders with the West, and allows the formation of other parts. Czechoslovakian Communist government resigns: “Velvet Revolution”
2. December 1989: Vaclav Havel chosen president of Czechoslovakia

Question 25

How did Romania collapse communism?

Answer 25

1. December 1989: There is a short but very bloody revolution that ends with the execution of the Communist dictator Nicolae Ceausescu

Question 26

How did the Baltic Republics collapse Communism?

Answer 26

1. May 1989: Baltic Republics (Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia) declare themselves to be sovereign)
2. March 1990: Latvia leads the Baltic republics in declaring independence from the USSR
3. July 1990: Ukraine declares sovereignty

Question 27

What does Gorbachev declare in July 1989?

Answer 27

Gorbachev announces that each country can take its own path to socialism

Question 28

What happens in October 1990?

Answer 28

1. 3rd October: Unification of Germany

2. Gorbachev awarded Nobel Peace Prize

Question 29

What happens in June 1991?

Answer 29

1. Croatia and Slovenia declare independence from Yugoslavia; Yugoslav Wars begin

Question 30

What happens in July 1991?

Answer 30

1. Soviet Republics negotiate new union treaty
2. Ukraine’s Supreme Soviet declares independence
3. Warsaw Pact dissolved

Question 31

What happens in August 1991? Describe the event

Answer 31

1. Hard-line Communists attempt a coup in Moscow
2. Plotters included Gorbachev’s Prime Minister Pavlov and the head of the armed forces Dimitry Yazov and they held Gorbachev prisoner in his holiday home in the Crimea
3. They sent tanks and troops on to the streets of Moscow
4. Huge crowds gathered in Moscow and they strongly opposed this military coup, and Yeltsin emerged as the leader of the popular opposition. Faced by this resistance the conspirators lost their faith in themselves and the coup collapsed
5. This last-ditch attempt by the Communist Party to save the USSR had failed and a few days later, Gorbachev returned to Moscow

Question 32

What happens in December 1991?

Answer 32

1. Ukraine votes overwhelmingly for independence
2. Gorbachev might have survived the coup, but it had not strengthened his position as Soviet Leader and he had to admit that the USSR was finished and he with it
3. In a televised speech of the 25th December 1991, Gorbachev announced his own resignation and the end of the Soviet Union
4. USSR ceases to exist

Question 33

How did Bulgaria collapse communism?

Answer 33

1. December 1989: there are huge demonstrations against Communist government

Question 34

What happens in March 1990?

Answer 34

1. Gorbachev visits the Baltic State Lithuania, part of the Soviet Union and its leaders told him that they wanted independence and did not want to be part of the USSR
2. Gorbachev was uncompromising and would not allow this
3. However in March they did it anyway
4. Almost as soon as he returned from Lithuania, he received a similar demand from the Muslim Soviet Republic of Azerbaijan and he sent troops there to end rioting and sent troops to Lithuania, but as summer approached the crisis situation got worse

Question 35

What happens in May 1990?

Answer 35

The Russian Republic, the largest within the Soviet Union elected Boris Yeltsin as its president and he made it clear that he saw no future in a Soviet Union and said that the many republics that made up the USSR should become independent states

Question 36

What happens in April 1991?

Answer 36

The Republic of Georgia declared its independence

Question 37

Describe the Soviet response to events in Hungary in 1956? (4)

Answer 37

1. On October 24th 1956 Imre Nagy was allowed by Moscow to be the new leader in Hungary
2. However Khrushchev could not accept Hungary leaving the Warsaw Pact along with his other reforms
3. November 1956 he sent thousands of tanks and troops into Budapest, and in two weeks of bitter fighting, over 3,000 Hungarians were killed and 7,000-8,000 Russians were killed
4. K put Janos Kadar in power instead of Nagy

Question 38

Why was the Soviet Union worried by developments in Czechoslovakia in 1968? (6) / Why did Warsaw Pact forces invade Czechoslovakia in 1968? (6)

Answer 38

1. Czechoslovakia was an influential Eastern European country. Therefore if Czechoslovakia went along with these reforms in the Prague Spring, other Eastern European countries may follow and want to leave the Warsaw Pact which would lessen the power and rule of the Soviet Union and so the Soviet Union was worried
2. Czechoslovakia was also strategically important to the Soviet Union as defence. Therefore if Czechoslovakia no longer supported the Soviet Union, they would become more vulnerable in the case of an attack making the Soviet Union worried

Question 39

Describe events in Hungary in October and November 1956 (4) / Describe the Hungarian revolution of 1956 (4)

Answer 39

1. On the 23rd of October there was a huge demonstration in Budapest and Hungarians pulled down a giant statue of Stalin
2. Imre Nagy was allowed by Moscow to be the new leader on 24th October
3. However Khrushchev could not accept Hungary leaving the Warsaw Pact along with his other reforms
4. November 1956 he sent thousands of tanks and troops into Budapest, and in two weeks of bitter fighting, over 3,000 Hungarians were killed and 7,000-8,000 Russians were killed

Question 40

What was the ‘Prague Spring’

Answer 40

1. A period of reform in 1968 led by the new leader Alexander
2. He proposed ‘Socialism with a Human Face’ which meant:
   - Less censorship
   - More freedom of speech
   - Reduction in the activities of the Secret Police

Question 41

Why did Berlin remain a focus of Cold War tensions during 1960s? (6)

Answer 41

1. Berlin still remained idologically conflicted between capitalism and communism. The country had been split between East Germany and West Germany and the capital similarly. The East Berlin people could still see the West Berlin people who were freer and seemed happier making people dislike communism more
2. Berlin Wall was trapping the people. Therefore people against communism were able to argue that communism was so bad a wall needed to be built to stop them from leaving and attracted Western media and so showed the different types of life creating tension

Question 42

Why was Solidarity formed in Poland in 1980? (6)

Answer 42

1. The polish people did not like Communism. Most of the Poles were Catholic and the Catholic Church was in support of Polish nationalism, therefore most of the Poles were nationalities and hated being under the control of the USSR
2. Living conditions were poor and the communist government had a large international debt in the late 1970s and in 1980 there were new price rises, they wanted better working and living conditions and higher wages

Question 43

Why did people want to leave Eastern Europe?

Answer 43

• They hated communism
• Economic reasons as standards of living in eastern Europe fell further and further behind the West, the attraction of going to live in the Capitalist state was very great

Question 44

Why was the Berlin Wall built?

Answer 44

1. The contrast between Western and Eastern rule was particularly great in the divided city of Berlin
2. Living standards were tolerable in the East but low:
   -Workers are poorly paid and there are shortages
   -Comecon runs the economy in the interests of the USSR, which is spending a lot of money on the arms race
   was industrial with low wages
3. Whereas in the West of Berlin, East Germans could see shops full of goods, great freedom, great wealth and great variety
   -Since 1947 Marshall Aid has helped West Germany to recover economically from the War
   -Living standards are high, there are plenty of well-paid jobs, especially for skilled workers and educated professionals
   -Consumer goods such as clothing are plentiful and cheap
   -Marshall Aid has also been used to build up West Germany’s defences, including nuclear missiles
   -This had been deliberately done by the Western powers

Question 45

Describe the state of Berlin in 1950s

Answer 45

• East Germans were still able to travel freely into West Berlin
• From there they could travel on into West Germany
• It was very tempting to leave East Germany with its harsh Communist regime and its hardline leader, Walter Ulbricht
• By the late 1950s thousands were leaving and never coming back

Question 46

Why was it bad that so many were leaving East Germany?

Answer 46

1. Those who were defecting were often highly skilled workers or well-qualified managers and the Communist government could not afford to lose these high-quality people
2. More importantly the sight of thousands of Germans fleeing Communist rule for a better life under capitalism undermined Communism generally

Question 47

What did John F Kennedy feel about the crisis in Berlin?

Answer 47

1. In 1961 the US had a new president John F Kennedy
2. Khrushchev thought that he could bully him into a fight over Berlin and he insisted that JFK withdraw US troops from the city
3. K was certain that Kennedy would back down, but he refused

Question 48

What happened August 1961?

Answer 48

1. At two o’clock in the morning on Sunday 13th August 1961, East German soldiers erected a barbed-wire barrier along the entire frontier between East and West Berlin, ending all free movement from East to West
   - 50Km built over the course of two days
2. It was quickly replaced by a concrete wall and all the crossing points from East to West were sealed except one and this became known as Checkpoint Charlie
3. 155Km long, 12 Border troops

Question 49

Describe the aftermath of the Berlin Wall

Answer 49

1. Families were divided
2. Berliners were unable to go to work
3. Chaos and confusion followed
4. Border guards kept a constant look-out for anyone trying to cross the wall
5. They had orders to shoot people trying to defect and hundreds were killed over the next three decades

Question 50

Describe the events leading up to construction of the Berlin Wall?

Answer 50

1. 5th May 1960: U2 Shoot
2. January 1961: JKF becomes president of USA
3. Vienna Summit June 1961: low point
4. July 1961: defence increase spending of the USA
5. 13th August 1961: beginning of Berlin Wall

Question 51

Why was there a crisis over Berlin?

Answer 51

1. Berlin split between East and West, a difference in capitalism and communism and a difference of rule and way of life (Marshall Plan and Refugee crisis)
2. In 1961:
   - After U2 spy plane incident discussions to withdraw ultimatum are cancelled and tensions increase
   - Refugee crisis increases further (bad for EG economy and look for Communism)
   - JFK comes to power and him and K do not get along and ultimatum enfolds
   - Defence spending on both sides increases meaning tensions rose further and then Berlin Wall

Question 52

Why did Ulbricht build a wall in 1961?

Answer 52

The ultimatum had been unsuccessful and if USA defence spending increases, military stronger and so then there is a military danger and this is a physical barrier preventing refugees

Question 53

What were the outcomes of the Berlin Wall regarding the people of Germany?

Answer 53

1. Families were split and travel restrictions between East and West made it difficult for relatives to see each other
2. Some Germans were cut ff form their jobs
3. German people wanted to see Germany reunified
4. They felt the USSR had broken the promises it made after the blockade in 1949
5. They also felt let down by Kennedy not stepping in
   - Overall less support for USSR and USA. The people feel angry and the leaders of both the countries could lose popularity
   - Both Communism and Capitalism look bad and more people became aware of the tension and so the fear would increase of a nuclear war/WW3

Question 54

What were the outcomes of the Berlin Wall regarding the USSR?

Answer 54

1. Khrushchev felt he had out-manouvered Kennedy and got his own way
2. The wall was effective in stopping the flow of refugees, which was good fro the East German economy
3. K presented the wall as protection for East Germans against spying by the West, he said that wall was ‘guarding the gates of socialist paradise’
   - The USSR feel powerful and as though they have the upper hand. This will give a push of confidence to the USSR as they now believe that Kennedy is weak
   - The East German economy can also not begin to recover and they will further believe that Communism is the best way of life as they can say that this method ‘proves’ it
   - Then the USSR may also become richer and so more money spent in nuclear warfare (increase tension/fear)

Question 55

What were the outcomes of the Berlin Wall regarding the USA?

Answer 55

1. Kennedy was relieved that the wall meant that he did not need to go to war over Berlin, as he said that he was no prepared to risk American lives or the possibility of nuclear war for ‘an argument about access rights on an autobahn’ and that a ‘wall is a hell of a lot better than a war’
2. However he did portray the wall as a prison wall and when he visited West Berlin in 1963, 1.5 million (3 in 5 people) turned out on the streets to welcome him, and he spoke to a crowd of 200,000. Some East Berliners listened on the other side of the wall and applauded too. He described the Wall as a demonstration of the failures of Communism, and said that West Berlin was a symbol of freedom
   - The tension was slightly decreased as war was avoided however the USA still view the USSR as an extremely aggressive power, therefore only tension and anger between these two superpowers would increase
   - He may lose support for ‘downplaying’ the Berlin Wall
   - Money was saved from no War
   - The USA would also seem as a ‘saviour’ as they ruled West Berlin and Capitalism would seem a lot better than communism

Question 56

What key points did Kennedy make in his speech at the Berlin Wall in June 1963?

Answer 56

1. The Wall shows the failures of Communism, as they had to put up a wall to stop people from leaving
2. The wall was a show of how aggressive and unfair the USSR was and how they did not care for the people as they split up families
3. How different democracy and communism is even though democracy is not perfect

Question 57

What happened following the building of the wall in August 1961?

Answer 57

1. For a while the Wall created a major crisis, access to East Berlin had been guaranteed to the Allies since 1945
2. In October 1961 US diplomats and troops crossed regularly into East Berlin to find out how the Soviets would react
3. On 27th October 1961 Soviet tanks pulled up at Checkpoint Charlie and refused to allow any further access to the East, all day the US and Soviet tanks, fully armed, faced each other in a tense stand-off. Then after 18 hours one by one five metres at a time the tanks pulled back

Question 58

Describe the refugee crisis in 1958 and what this results in

Answer 58

1. By 1958 there is a growing refugee crisis in East Germany, as skilled workers and professionals use West Berlin as a route to move to the West
2. 4 million have left East Germany since 1949
3. This is causing a ‘brain drain’ in East Germany and damaging the economy and makes the Communist system look bad
4. Khrushchev announces that West Berlin is really part of East Germany and issues his Berlin Ultimatum to the West, demanding that they withdraw their troops from West Berlin and hand it over to the Soviets within 6 months
   - K and USSR worried about image of Communism and USSR and East Berlin economy
   - USA probably concerned about the potential of War and the extent the USSR are willing to go

Question 59

What happened between 1959 and 1960?

Answer 59

1. Khrushchev and Eisenhower discuss the situation in Berlin at Eisenhower’s presidential retreat, Camp David in 1959
2. Their discussions are cordial and Khrushchev agrees to withdraw his ultimatum
3. In May 1960 they are about to meet for further discussions in Paris (the Paris Summit), when the USSR announces it has shot down an American U2 spy plane. Pilot Gary Powers taken prisoner and put on trial. Eisenhower refused to apologies and Khrushchev cancelled the summit meeting
   - Increases tensions and K and USSR worried about spying
   - America concerned they have lost the trust of the USSR

Question 60

What happened in January 1961?

Answer 60

1. The refugee crisis has escalated and more than 20,000 Berliners are leaving each month
2. Kennedy has just become President in the USA, he is young, inexperienced
3. Since Khrushchev stormed out of the Paris Summit, the problem of Berlin has not been resolved
   - USSR and K worried about EG economy
   - Kennedy worried about dealing with this and try to resolve it

Question 61

What happened in June 1961?

Answer 61

1. Khrushchev and Kennedy meet at the Vienna Summit
2. Instead of trying to agree a compromise, Khrushchev takes this opportunity, under pressure from Ulbricht, to repeat his ultimatum to the USA, they must withdraw their forces from West Berlin and hand it over to East Germany within 6 months
   - Kennedy worried and concerned as Khrushchev is being uncooperative
   - The USSR and K feel powerful
   - Tensions only continue to rise as the USSR and USA are only becoming more separated and hateful to each other

Question 62

Describe the events following the Vienna Summit in June 1961

Answer 62

1. Kennedy would not back down and increased US defence spending by $3.2 billion
2. Khrushchev increased his defence budget by 30%, so Khrushchev allowed Ulbricht to build a wall around West Berlin
3. On 13th August 1961 a barbed wire barrier was put up and this was quickly replaced by a concrete wall. East German border guards were ordered to shoot any East Germans trying to cross. US troops continued to cross through Checkpoint Charlie, until 27th October when Soviet tanks blocked them

Question 63

Why was Khrushchev determined to show his strength?

Answer 63

1. He emerged into power following the death of Stalin in 19523
2. He was confident that Soviet Communism would eventually triumph over Western democracy and capitalism
3. He believed that the communist world was just about to overtake the West in wealth and scientific research
4. October 1957 the Soviets launched the world’s first ever satellite, called Sputnik

Question 64

Who gained and who lost from the Berlin Wall?

Answer 64

1. The flow of refugees from East to West stopped almost completely. This allowed the communists to consolidate their control over East Germany
   - However outside world saw as prison and separated families losing support and needed so show communism as weak
2. Enemies of communism could argue that communism was so awful that people had to be walled in to make sure that they did not run away from communism
3. Between 1948 and 1961 there was a real possibility that arguments about Berlin would lead to a Third World War and both increased their spendings and in public both suggested they were ready for war over Berlin, but this possibility did stop with the building of the Berlin Wall
4. People in East Germany who did not support communism were now trapped and those who tried to get over the wall were shot
5. The building of the wall was a beginning of a clam in Europe. On both sides people accepted that there was not immediate prospect of change and the level of tension went down

Question 65

How did the USSR regain control over Poland?

Answer 65

• By December 1981 the Communist government had regained control of Poland
• However now the Polish people no longer trusted the Communists leadership
• The only thing that jet Communists in power was force or the threat of force backed by the USSR. When Jaruzelski finally decided to use force, Solidarity was easily crushed
• The lesson was clear that is military force was not used then Communist control seemed very shaky indeed

Question 66

What did Gorbachev say to the Warsaw Pact leaders in 1987?

Answer 66

1. In 1987 he told leaders of Warsaw Pact countries that they were responsible for their own fates, however most of the Warsaw Pact leaders were old style hardline Communists
2. G also made it clear to them that they needed to reform their own countries and he did not think that Communism was doomed, but he believed the Communist system could provide better healthcare, education and transport
3. The task in the USSR and eastern Europe was to renew Communism so as to match capitalism in other areas of public life

Question 67

Describe the relationship between Gorbachev and President Reagan

Answer 67

1. Ronald Reagan became US President in January 1981 (until 1988) and he had only one policy towards theUSSR, get tough
2. He criticised its control over EE and increased US military spending
3. It was clear by the late 1980s that the USSR could not compete with American military spending. This helped G to push through his military spending cuts
4. Reagan got on quite well with G himself. As superpower relations improved the USSR felt less threatened by the USA. This meant there was less need for the USSR to control eastern Europe

Question 68

Why was Soviet Communism in decline?

Answer 68

• The SU was in crisis by early 1980s
  1. The economy had failed to match the economies of America and Western Europe
  2. The arms race further reduced living standards
  3. There was widespread corruption
  4. The Soviet Union was fighting a disastrous war in Afghanistan (Brez invaded in December 1979 to support its Communist government), the 10 year war led to the death of about 15,000 Soviet troops and estimated to cost USSR about $8 billion dollars a year and the last Soviet troops left Afghanistan in February 1989

Question 69

Describe the Sinatra Doctrine and its effects

Answer 69

1. By 1987, G had made it clear to the countries of EE that they were responsible for their own affairs
2. In March 1989, he made it clear that the Red Army would not intervene to prop up Communist regimes in EE
3. However, many Warsaw Pact leaders were old-style hardline communists
   - More independence

Question 70

Describe Gorbachev’s reforms to defence spending

Answer 70

1. Nuclear Arms Race was a massive drain on Soviet resources at a time when it was struggling economically anyway
2. After almost 50 years of being on a constant war footing, the Red Army was reduced in size
3. Gorbachev declared in July 1988 that he would withdraw large numbers of troops, tanks and aircraft from EE
   - Less money spent on defence, more on improving living standards

Question 71

Describe Gorbachev’s reasoning for reforms

Answer 71

1. G made it clear that Warsaw Pact leaders needed to reform their countries
2. G believed the communist system could provide better healthcare, transport and education if it was renewed
   - More independence / better quality of life for WP countries?

Question 72

Describe Gorbachev’s reforms to international relations

Answer 72

1. Gorbachev withdrew troops from Afghanistan which had become costly and an unwinnable war
2. In speech after speech, he talked about international trust and cooperation as the war froward