WW2 Flashcards
wha was the nazi soviet pact between russia and Germany?
when was it formed?
temporary peace between russia and Germany, unlikely to last
1939
what did russia hope to use this time for?
prep for possible Japanese of German attack
what happened June 1941?
operation Barbarossa, nazi invasion of the USSR- signalled start of Russias involvement in war
what was the ideology impact on russia?
their govt was already centralised and authoritarian
would be difficult to argue it become more totalitarian bc of war, esp bc other govts had to adopt similar measures due to conflict
how did the structure of govt remain?
stable
structure of gov-
what did Stalin become? what did this mean?
supreme commander of military and chairman of the state defence committee
meant he had absolute control over military and over arms supply factories
structure of govt-
who did Stalin listen to? name specfics?
what did he rely on?
key advisers-
members of politburo (molotov, mikoyan)
their judgement
repression-
what did NVKD do?
when was it active?
active during war and continued after it ended
what did NVKD do during war?
what did they do post-war?
purged the part of minority groups accused of aiding Nazis
reverted to purging the party + other dissidents
repression-
what happened to the cult of Stalin?
strengthened as result of ‘heroic’ efforts in pushing nazis out of russia
foreign policy-
what did Yalta and Tehran conferences confirm?
Russias claims to territorial frontiers established under nazi soviet pact
foreign policy-
what did western powers permit Stalin to do?
why was this critical?
exert sphere of influence over much of eastern Europe- critical to create buffer zone between west + USSR
foreign policy-
when Germany was divided into 4 zones what did russia control?
control over east
foreign policy-
what happened in 1948?
what did this worsen?
what problem was not resolved?
Berlin blockade + Berlin Wall
relations between russia and west
unifying Germany not solved
