How did the Soviet Union control eastern Europe?

Question 1

Why was Stalin so determined for eastern Europe to be a Soviet sphere of influence?

Answer 1

• Stalin wanted eastern Europe to serve as a buffer against a future attack on the USSR
• Wanted the resources of EE to help rebuild the USSR’s industries and economy after the damage caused by the war against Germany

Question 2

What does Cominform stand for?

Answer 2

Communist Information Bureau

Question 3

Why did Stalin set Cominform up and when?

Answer 3

• In 1947
• It was an organisation to co-ordinate the various communist governments in eastern Europe

Question 4

What did Cominform do?

Answer 4

Cominform ran meetings and sent out instructions to communist governments about what the Soviet Union wanted them to do

Question 5

What does Comecon stand for?

Answer 5

Council for Mutual Economic Assistance

Question 6

When and why was it set up? (Comecon)

Answer 6

• 1949
• To co-ordinate the industries and trade of the eastern European countries.
• The idea was that members of Comecon traded mostly with one another rather than with the West

Question 7

Did Stalin create Comecon?

Answer 7

NO

Question 8

Which member of the organisation did Comecon favour the most?

Answer 8

• The USSR
• It provided the USSR with a market to sell its goods
• Also guaranteed a cheap supply of raw materials

Question 9

How did communism affect the freedom of countries?

Answer 9

• Countries that had a long tradition of free speech and democratic government suddenly lost the right to criticise the government
• Newspapers were censored (examine a book, film, etc. officially and suppress unacceptable parts of it.)
• Non-communists who criticised the government were put in prison
• People were forbidden to travel to countries in western Europe
• Protests were crushed by security forces

Question 10

How did communism affect the wealth of countries?

Answer 10

• Between 1945 and 1955 EE economies did recover, but soon wages in EE feel behind the wages in other countries
• Short of coal to heat their houses
• Clothing and shoes were very expensive

Question 11

How did communism affect the consumer goods of countries?

Answer 11

• People couldn’t get consumer goods such as radios, electric kettles or televisions, which were becoming common in the West
• The economies of EE were geared towards helping the SU
• Factories produced items such as machinery or electric cables, not what ordinary people wanted

Question 12

What year did Stalin die?

Answer 12

1953

Question 13

Who was the new leader of the USSR than emerged and when after Stalin’s death?

Answer 13

Nikita Khrushchev in 1955

Question 14

What was Khrushchev’s personality like?

Answer 14

• Appeared to be very different from Stalin
• Talked of peaceful co-existence with the West (BERLIN WALL HASN’T HAPPENED YET)
• Talked of improving the lives with ordinary citizens
• Closed down Cominform and released thousands of political prisoners
• In an astonishing speech in 1956, he openly denounced Stalin for his harsh rule
• This encouraged critics of communist rule

Question 15

What happened in Poland in 1956?

Answer 15

• Large demonstrations broke out
• Protestors demanded reforms
• The new Polish leader was Gomulka, the Polish war-time resistance leader
• Violent clashes between protestors and Polish police
• Gomulka wasn’t the loyal ally Khrushchev wanted, but he compromised and accepted him as the new leader of Poland
• However, he moved Soviet tanks and troops near the Polish border to make it clear that he would only compromise so far