Final Exam Flashcards
1
Q
Who is Vaclav Havel
A
- He was a czech statesmen
- Writer and poet
- first president of czech republic
- critiqued communism
participated in a prague spring - helped end communism in czechoslovakia
- instrumental in the dismantling of the Warsaw pact and expanding NATO membership eastward
- direct democracy, humanitarianism, environmentalism, civil activism
2
Q
Who is Enver Hexha
A
- Albanian communist politician
- served as head of state of Albania (1944- 1985)
- First secretary of the party of labour of Albania
- 22nd PM of Albania
- rose to power after king Zog
- committed series of political repressions
- rule was characterized by Stalinist methods
- Focused on rebuilding country post WW2
- government characterized by firm adherence to anti- revisionist Marxism- Leninism
3
Q
Who is Nicolae Ceausescu?
A
- Romanian communist politician
- General secretary of the Romanian communist party- 1965- 1989
- second and last communist leader of Romania
- head of state and president of the state council
- overthrown in the Romanian revolution in 1989
- eased press censorship, openly condemned the Warsaw pact invasion of Czechoslovakia
- government became very repressive and authoritarian (most Stalinist in East Europe)
- Secret police- securtariate
- succeeded by Iliescu
4
Q
Who is Wladyslaw Gomulka
A
- Polish communist politician
- de- facto leader of post- war Poland until 1948
- post polish October he became leader 1956- 1970
- sought a polish way to socialism
- 1960s he became more rigid and supported the persecution of the Catholic church and intellectuals
- there was anti- zionist propaganda that turned into anti-semetic
- responsible for the persecution of protesting students
- supported participation in the warsaw pact invasion of Czechoslovakia
- treaty with west Germany ended his time in office is 1970
5
Q
What was the Prague Spring?
A
- Period of political liberalization in Czechoslovakia during era of its domination by the Soviet union post ww2
- was started january 1968 when reformist Dubcek was elected as first secretary of the communist party of Czechoslovakia
- Dubcek attempted to grant additional rights to citizens of Czechoslovakia- act of partial decentralization of economy and democratization- lead to normalization
6
Q
What is Stalinism?
A
- Means of governing and related policies that were implemented by Stalin
- Ideas included rapid industrialization, theory of socialism, centralized state, collectivization of agriculture, cult of personality
- promoted the escalation of class conflict, state violence, lot’s of persecution
- designed to accelerate development towards communism, rapid industrialization, mass collectivization of agriculture and urbanization
7
Q
Who is Laszlo Tokes?
A
- Romanian- born Hungarian pastor and politician
- Member of the European parliament for Hungary
- 2010- 2012 served as VP of the European parliament
- Bishop of the reformed church in Romania
- Former honorary president of the democratic union of Hungarians in Romania
- events involving him lead to the triggering of the Romanian revolution
- overthrew Nicolae Ceausescu- end of communist era in Romania
8
Q
What happened during Hungarian Revolution of 1956?
A
- Nationwide revolt against the government of the Hungarian people’s republic and it’s soviet imposed policies (Oct- Nov 1956)
- first major threat to soviet control since the USSR’s forces drove Nazi Germany from it’s territory at the end of WW2
- revolt began as a student demonstration, attracted thousands- marched through Budapest to parliament building
- delegation release was demanded by demonstrators- they were fired upon by the state security police- one student died- this started the revolution
- was going to be a withdrawal of soviet forced as violence and awareness spread- sike- they changed their minds
- soviet- installed government surpassed all public opposition
9
Q
Who is Janos Kadar?
A
- Hungarian communist leader and general secretary of the Hungarian Socialist worker’s party- 1956- 1988’
- Dissolved the communist party and reorganized it as a peace party
- He pushed for an improvement in living standards- he was given mixed reviews and faced various accusations
- increased international trade with non- communist countries
- He had very different policies in a positive way compared to other communist leaders
10
Q
Who is Imre Nagy?
A
- Hungarian communist politician who was appointed chairmen of the council of ministers of the Hungarian people’s Republic
- Second term ended when non- soviet backed government was brought down by soviet invasion in failed Hungarian Revolution
- Eventually executed on charges of treason
- Enlisted in the Austro- Hungarian army in WW1- prisoner in 1915
- Became member of Russian communist party and joined the red army
- post WW2 he retuned to Hungary and was minister of Agriculture in the government
- Hungarian revolution he withdrew from the Warsaw Pact and committed to Marxism
11
Q
Who is Ion Iliescu?
A
- Romanian politician who served as president of Romania from 1989- 1996, 2000- 2004
- Senator for the social- democratic party
- Joined communist party in 1953 and became a member of it’s central committee in 1956, starting 1971- gradually marginalized by Ceausescu
- Leading role in Romanian revolution- May 1990 became Romania’s first freely elected head of state
- Romania joined NATO during his terms
12
Q
Who is Nikita Khrushchev?
A
- Soviet statesmen, lead the Soviet Union during part of the Cold War as the first secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (1953- 1964)
- Chairmen of the council of ministers of the Soviet Union
- responsible for the desalinization of the soviet union
- initially supported Stalin’s purges
- post Stalin’s death, he delivered secret speeches that denounced Stalin’s purges
- domestic policies that encouraged the bettering of the lives of ordinary citizens
- ruled during the most tense years of the Cold War
13
Q
What was the Nomenklatura?
A
- Category of people within the soviet union and other eastern bloc countries who held various key administrative positions in the bureaucracy
- ran respective governments, industries, agriculture, education, etc.
- positions were granted with approval by communist party of each country/ region
- almost all member were members of the communist party
- formed a de- facto elite of public powers in previous eastern bloc
14
Q
Who is Josip Broz Tito?
A
- Yugoslav communist revolutionary and statesmen
- First president of Yugoslavia, presidency was criticized as authoritarian
- Viewed as a unifying symbol- internal policies maintained the peaceful coexistence of the nations of the Yugoslav federation
- partook in some events during the Russian revolution
- General secretary of the league of communists of Yugoslavia and went onto lead the WW2 Yugoslav guerrilla movement, the Partisans
- After war he was PM
- Also chief architect of the 2nd Yugoslavia socialist federation
