How secure was the USSR's control over Eastern Europe, 1948 - 1989? Flashcards
1
Q
What did the communists do after the Second World War?
A
The communists quickly gained control of Eastern Europe with the help of the Soviet Union and the Red Army.
2
Q
Who was the Soviet leader?
A
Stalin.
3
Q
What was Stalin determined about in Eastern Europe?
A
He was determined that Eastern Europe would be a Soviet Sphere of influence.
4
Q
What does Soviet Sphere of Influence mean?
A
Terms agreed at Yalta conference 1945 - Western powers agreed that Poland and other parts of Eastern Europe would be under Soviet influence.
5
Q
What did this Soviet Sphere of Influence mean for Eastern Europe?
A
This meant that Eastern Europe would be dominated politically and economically by the USSR.
6
Q
How were the Eastern European countries governed?
A
The Eastern European countries were controlled by their communist governments, but Stalin kept tight control of them, particularly through the Cominform.
7
Q
What would Eastern Europe serve as for Stalin?
A
- It would serve as a buffer against a future attack on the USSR.
- He also wanted the resources of eastern Europe to help rebuild the USSR’s industries and economy after the terrible damage caused by the war against Germany. He used Comecon to ensure this.
8
Q
What was the role of Cominform?
A
It was an organisation to spread communist ideas and also make sure communist states followed ideas of communism practised in USSR.
9
Q
What did Cominform stand for?
A
Cominform stands for the Communist Information Bureau.
10
Q
What was Cominform set up as?
A
Stalin set up the Cominform in 1947 as an organisation to co-ordinate the various communist governments in eastern Europe.
11
Q
Where was Cominform based?
A
The office was originally based in Belgrade in Yugoslavia but moved to Bucharest in Romania in 1948 after Yugoslavia was expelled by Stalin because it would not do what the Soviet Union told it to do.
12
Q
In effect, why was cominform used?
A
Cominform ran meetings and sent out instructions to communist governments about what the Soviet Union wanted them to do.
13
Q
What was the role of Comecon?
A
It was an organisation to control economic planning in communist countries of Eastern Europe.
14
Q
What did Comecon stand for?
A
Comecon stands for the Council for Mutual Economic Assistance.
15
Q
What was Comecon set up as?
A
It was set up in 1949 to co-ordinate the industries and trade of the eastern European countries.
16
Q
What was the main aim of Comecon?
A
The idea was that members of Comecon traded mostly with one another rather than trading with the West.
17
Q
Was Comecon fair?
A
No
18
Q
Why wasn’t Comecon fair?
A
Comecon favoured the USSR far more than any of its other members. It provided the USSR with a market to sell its goods. It also guaranteed it a cheap supply of raw materials. For example, Poland was forced to sell its coal to the USSR at one-tenth of the price that it could have got selling it on the open market.
19
Q
What did Comecon do in 1964?
A
It set up a bank for socialist countries.
20
Q
How was communism welcomed in Eastern Europe?
A
For some people in Eastern Europe the communists initially brought hope.
21
Q
What were the people of Eastern Europe’s hopes?
A
The Soviet Union had achieved amazing industrial growth before the Second World War. Maybe, by following Soviet methods, they could do the same.
22
Q
Did the Eastern European’s get what they hoped for?
A
However, the reality of Soviet control of eastern Europe was very different from what people had hoped for.
23
Q
What did they hope for?
A
- Freedom.
- Wealth.
- Consumer goods.
24
Q
What was the reality of their freedom?
A
Countries that had a long tradition of free speech and democratic government suddenly lost the right to criticise the government. Newspapers were censored. Non-communists were put in prison for criticising the government. People were forbidden to travel to countries in western Europe. Protests, such as those in East Germany in 1953, were crushed by security forces.
25
What was the reality of their wealth?
Between 1945 and 1955 eastern European economies did recover, but soon wages in eastern Europe fell behind the wages in other countries. People in eastern Europe were short of coal to heat their houses. Clothing and shoes were very expensive.
26
What was the reality of consumer goods?
People could not get consumer goods like radios, electric kettles or televisions, which were becoming common in the Nest, The economies of Eastern Europe were geared towards helping the Soviet Union. Factories produced items such as machinery or electric cables, not what ordinary people wanted.
27
When did Stalin die?
In 1953.
28
What did the Easter Europeans hope for after the death of Stalin?
A more relaxed form of rule.
29
Who was the new leader, appointed in 1955?
Nikita Khrushchev.
30
Were Stalin and Khrushchev similar?
No.
31
How do we know that Stalin and Khrushchev were different?
- He appeared to be very different from Stalin.
- He talked of peaceful co-existence with the West.
- He talked of improving the lives of ordinary citizens.
- He closed down Cominform and released thousands of political prisoners.
- In an astonishing speech in 1956 he openly denounced Stalin for his harsh rule.
32
Did people like Khrushchevs new rule?
This new approach from the Soviet leader encouraged some critics of communist rule. In the summer of 1956 large demonstrations broke out in Poland.
33
What did the protestors demand in Poland?
Protestors demanded reforms and the appointment of the Polish war-time resistance leader Wladyslaw Gomulka as the new Polish leader. There were violent clashes between protesters and Polish police.
34
Did Khrushchev like Gomulka?
Gomulka was not the loyal ally Khrushchev would have wanted, but he compromised and accepted Gomulka as the new Polish leader.
35
How did Khrushchev make it clear that he would only compromise so far with Poland?
At the same time he moved Soviet tanks and troops to the Polish border just to make it clear that he would only compromise so far.
36
What were people wondering?
Who was the real Khrushchev - the compromiser with new ideas or the Soviet leader who moved tanks to the Polish border?
37
How did people find out who the real Khruschev was?
In Hungary, October 1956.
38
Case study 1:
Hungary, 1956.
39
Who was Hungary ruled by from 1949 to 1956?
From 1949 to 1956 Hungary was led by a hardline communist called Mátyás Rákosi.
40
Did Hungarians like Matyas Rakosi?
Hungarians hated the restrictions imposed on them.
41
What did they hate about Matyas Rakosi and his rule?
- Most Hungarians felt bitter about losing their freedom of speech.
- They lived in fear of the secret police.
- They resented the presence of thousands of Soviet troops and officials in their country.
- Some areas of Hungary even had Russian street signs, Russian schools and shops.
- Worst of all, Hungarians had to pay for Soviet forces to be in Hungary.
42
What is an outline of what happened in Hungary?
- Opposition.
- Protest.
- Reform.
- Plans.
43
What was the opposition in Hungary?
In June 1956 a group within the Communist Party in Hungary opposed Rákosi. He appealed to Khrushchev for help. He wanted to arrest 400 leading opponents. Moscow would not back him. Khrushchev ordered Rákosi to be retired 'for health reasons'.
44
What was the protest in Hungary?
The new leader, Ernö Gerö, was no more acceptable to the Hungarian people. Discontent came to a head with a huge student demonstration on 23 October, when the giant statue of Stalin in Budapest was pulled down.
45
What was the reform in Hungary?
The USSR allowed a new government to be formed under the well-respected Imre Nagy. In October Soviet troops and tanks that had been stationed in Hungary since the Second World War began to withdraw. Hungarians created thousands of local councils to replace Soviet power. Several thousand Hungarian soldiers defected from the army to the rebel cause, taking their weapons with them.
46
What were the plans made by Nagy in Hungary?
Nagy's Government began to make plans.
- It would hold free elections, create impartial courts and restore farmland to private ownership.
- It wanted the total withdrawal of the Soviet army from Hungary.
- It also planned to leave the Warsaw Pact and declare Hungary neutral in the Cold War struggle between East and West.
- There was widespread optimism that the new American President Eisenhower, who had been the wartime supreme commander of all Allied Forces in western Europe, would support the new independent Hungary with armed troops if necessary.
47
How did the Soviet union respond to all these changes in Hungary?
Khrushchev at first seemed ready to accept some of the reforms.
48
What was the one change that Khrushchev didn't accept?
He could not accept Hungary leaving the Warsaw Pact.
49
What happened because Khrushchev could not accept Hungary leaving the Warsaw pact?
In November 1956 thousands of Soviet troops and tanks moved into Budapest.
50
How did Hungary react?
The Hungarians did not give in. Two weeks of bitter fighting followed.
51
How many casualties were there in the two weeks of bitter fighting?
Some estimates put the number of Hungarians killed at 30,000. However, the latest research suggests about 3000 Hungarians and up to 1000 Russians were killed. Another 200,000 Hungarians fled across the border into Austria to escape the communist forces.
52
What did the Western powers do?
They protested to the USSR but sent no help; they were too preoccupied with a crisis of their own (the Suez crisis in the Middle East).
53
Who were the Western powers?
Term generally used to refer to USA and its allies in the Cold War.
54
What was the outcome of this battle?
Khrushchev put Janos Kadar in place as leader. Kadar took several months to crush all resistance.
55
What kind of resistance did Kadar need to crush?
Around 35,000 anticommunist activists were arrested and 300 were executed.
56
Did Kadar introduce the reforms demanded by the Hungarian people?
Kadar cautiously introduced some of the reforms demanded by the Hungarian people. However, he did not waver on the central issue - membership of the Warsaw pact.
57
Case study 2:
Czechoslovakia and the Prague spring, 1968.
58
What happened twelve years after the brutal suppression of the Hungarians?
Czechoslovakia posed a similar challenge to Soviet domination of Eastern Europe.
59
Was Khrushchev still leader?
No, Leonid Brezhnev had replaced him.
60
What happened in the 1960's in Czechoslovakia?
A new mood developed and this is due to:
- A new leader.
- New ideas.
61
How did a new leader change the mood in Czechoslovakia?
In 1967 the old Stalinist leader was replaced by Alexander Dubcek. He proposed a policy of 'socialism with a human face. He had learned the lessons of the Hungarian uprising and reassured Brezhnev that Czechoslovakia had no plans to pull out of the Warsaw Pact or Comecon.
62
What did Dubcek mean by socialism with a human face?
- Less censorship.
- More freedom of speech and a reduction in the activities of the secret police.
- Dubcek was a committed communist, but he believed that communism did not have to be as restrictive as it had been before he came to power.
63
What were the new ideas in Czechoslovakia?
As censorship eased, opponents were able to criticise the failings of communist rule, expose corruption and ask awkward questions about events in the country's recent past.
64
What did this period become known as?
Prague Spring.
65
What was Prague spring?
Reform movement in Czechoslovakia to change communist rule in Czechoslovakia, eventually crushed by Soviet forces.
66
What happened by the summer of Prague Spring?
By the summer even more radical ideas were emerging. There was even talk of allowing another political party, the Social Democratic Party, to be set up as a rival to the Communist Party.
67
What does radical mean?
Term used to describe extreme political views.
68
How did the Soviet Union respond to these changes?
The Soviet Union was very suspicious of the changes taking place in Czechoslovakia. So were the other communist leaders in eastern Europe.
69
What were they worried about?
They worried that the new ideas might spread.
70
What did the East German and Polish leaders do?
Brezhnev came under pressure from the East German and Polish leaders to clamp down on reform in Czechoslovakia.
71
How did the USSR try to slow Dubcek down?
- To intimidate the Czechs, Soviet, Polish and East German troops performed public training exercises right on the Czech border.
- It thought about imposing economic sanctions - for example, cancelling wheat exports to Czechoslovakia - but didn't because it thought that the Czechs would ask for help from the West.
- In July the USSR held a summit conference with the Czechs. Dubcek agreed not to allow a new Social Democratic Party. However, he insisted on keeping most of his reforms. The tension seemed to ease.
72
What happened on 20 August 1968?
Then on 20 August 1968, to the stunned amazement of the Czechs and the outside world, Soviet tanks moved into Czechoslovakia.
73
How did Czechoslovakia react to this hostility?
There was little violent resistance. Dubiek was removed from power.
74
Did Dubcek's experiment in socialism with a human face fail?
It had not failed; it had simply proved unacceptable to the other communist countries.
75
What were the outcomes of this response from the Soviet union in Czechoslovakia?
Unlike Nagy in Hungary, Dubiek was not executed. But he was gradually downgraded.
76
How was he gradually downgraded?
First he was sent to be ambassador to Turkey, then expelled from the Communist Party altogether. Photographs showing him as leader were 'censored'
77
What was clear about how reforming ideas was regarded to the communist party?
It was clear that reforming ideas were regarded as a threat to communist rule by all of the communist leaders. We now know from a release of documents from the Soviet archives that the suppression of Czechoslovakia was driven just as much by other eastern European leaders (particularly Walter Ulbricht of East Germany) as it was by Brezhnev.
78
Where did this feeling of threat come from?
These leaders feared that their own people would demand the same freedom that Dubiek had allowed in Czechoslovakia.
79
What did the Czechoslovakia episode give rise to?
The Brezhnev Doctrine.
80
What was the Brezhnev doctrine?
Policy of USSR from 1968 which effectively meant no Eastern European states would be allowed to have a non-communist government.
81
How were the essentials of communism defined?
- A one party system.
- To remain a member of the Warsaw pact.
82
Case study 3:
The Berlin Wall.
83
How was Berlin used in the cold war?
It was a battleground of the Cold War.
84
What happened to Berlin in 1961?
In 1961 it also became the focus of the Soviet Union's latest attempt to maintain control of its east European satellites.
85
Why was there trouble concerning control of East European satellites?
The crushing of the Hungarian uprising had confirmed for many people in eastern Europe that it was impossible to fight the communists. For many, it seemed that the only way of escaping the repression was to leave altogether.
86
Why did they want to leave?
Some wished to leave eastern Europe for political reasons - they hated the communists - while many more wished to leave for economic reasons.
87
What happened as standards of living in Eastern Europe fell further and further behind the West?
The attraction of going to live in a capitalist state was very great.
88
What was capitalism?
Political, social and economic system centered on democracy and individual freedoms such as free speech, political beliefs and freedom to do business.
89
Where was the contrast between capitalism and communism very great?
The contrast was particularly great in the divided city of Berlin.
90
How could you explain this contrast?
Living standards were tolerable in the East, but just a few hundred metres away in West Berlin, East Germans could see some of the prize exhibits of capitalist West Germany - shops full of goods, great freedom, great wealth and great variety.
91
Was it an accident that Western Berlin looked so desirable?
This had been done deliberately by the Western powers. They had poured massive investment into Berlin. East Germans could also watch West German television.
92
What was travel like between East and West Berlin in the 1950s?
In the 1950s East Germans were still able to travel freely into West Berlin.
93
Why would people go into West Berlin?
From there they could travel on into West Germany.
94
Why did everyone want to leave East Germany?
It was very tempting to leave East Germany, with its harsh communist regime and its hardline leader, Walter Ulbricht.
95
What had happened by the late 1950s?
By the late 1950s thousands were leaving and never coming back.
96
What is a diagram of a bar chart which shows the rate at which people were crossing from East to West Germany?
97
Who was defecting?
Those who were defecting were very often highly skilled workers or well-qualified managers.
98
Why was this such a problem?
The communist government could not afford to lose these high quality people.
99
How did Khrushchev view all these people leaving from East Berlin?
From Khrushchev's point of view, the sight of thousands of Germans fleeing communist rule for a better life under capitalism undermined communism generally.
100
What happened in 1961?
In 1961 the USA had a new president, the young and inexperienced John F Kennedy.
101
What did Khrushchev think about Kennedy?
Khrushchev thought he could bully Kennedy and chose to pick a fight over Berlin. He insisted that Kennedy withdraw US troops from the city. He was certain that Kennedy would back down.
102
How did Kennedy react?
Kennedy refused.
103
What happened because Kennedy refused?
At 2am on Sunday August 13 1961, East German soldiers erected a barbed-wire barrier along the entire frontier between East and West Berlin.
104
What was the purpose of this barrier?
It ended all free movement from East to West.
105
Did it stay a barbed wire?
No, it was quickly replaced by a concrete wall.
106
Did this wall seal every crossing point from East to West Berlin?
All the crossing points from East to West Berlin were sealed, except for one.
107
What did this unsealed crossing point become known as?
Checkpoint Charlie.
108
What was Checkpoint Charlie?
Most famous point where travel between communist East Berlin and US-controlled West Berlin was possible.
109
What effect did the Berlin wall have on people?
- Families were divided.
- Berliners were unable to go to work; chaos and confusion followed.
- Border guards kept a constant look-out for anyone trying to cross the wall.
110
What did border guards do if they saw people crossing the wall?
They had orders to shoot people trying to defect.
111
How many were rumoured to have been killed over the next three decades?
Hundreds were killed over the next three decades.
112
How did people take the wall?
For a while, the wall created a major crisis.
113
Why did it create a major crisis?
Access to East Berlin had been guaranteed to the Allies since 1945.
114
What happened in October 1961?
In October 1961 US diplomats and troops crossed regularly into East Berlin to find out how the Soviets would react.
115
What happened on 27 October?
Soviet tanks pulled up to Checkpoint Charlie and refused to allow any further access to the East.
116
What had formed because of the Soviet tanks at Checkpoint Charlie?
All day, US and Soviet tanks, fully armed, faced each other in a tense stand-off.
117
What happened after 18 hours in this stand off?
Then, after eighteen hours, one by one, five metres at a time, the tanks pulled back. Another crisis, another retreat.
118
What was the international reaction to this retreat?
The international reaction was relief.
119
What did Khrushchev tell Ulbricht?
Khrushchev ordered Ulbricht to avoid any actions that would increase tension.
120
What was Kennedy's outlook on the matter (of the wall)?
Kennedy said, 'It's not a very nice solution, but a wall is a hell of a lot better than a war'. So the wall stayed.
121
What did the wall symbolise over the following years?
It became a symbol of division.
122
What kind of division did it symbolise?
- The division of Germany.
- The division of Europe.
- The division of communist East and democratic West.
123
How did the communists (East Berlin) present the wall?
As a protective shell around East Berlin.
124
How did the West present the wall?
As a prison wall.
125
What happened in October 1964?
Brezhnev replaced Khrushchev as First Secretary of the Communist Party.
126
Case study 4:
Solidarity in Poland, 1980-81.
127
What was frequent throughout the years of communist control in Poland?
There were regular protests.
128
What were these protests about?
However, they were generally more about living standards and prices than attempts to overthrow communist government.
129
What happened during the first half of the 1970's in terms of industry in Poland?
During the first half of the 1970s Polish industry performed well so the country was relatively calm.
130
What happened during the late 1970's in terms of industry in Poland?
But in the late 1970s the Polish economy hit a crisis and 1979 was the worst year for Polish industry since communism had been introduced.
131
What are some timestamps which will reveal what happened after this bad year for Poland's industry?
- July 1980.
- August 1980.
- 30 August 1980.
- September 1980.
- October 1980.
- January 1981.
132
What happened in July 1980?
The Government announced increases in the price of meat.
133
What happened in August 1980?
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. They also started a free trade union called solidarity. Poland had trade unions but they were ineffective in challenging government policies.
134
Who was Lech Walesa?
- Born 1943. His father was a farmer.
- He went to work in the shipyards at Gdansk.
- In 1976 he was sacked from the shipyard for making malicious statements about the organisation and working climate.
- In 1978 he helped organise a union at another factory. He was dismissed.
In 1979 he worked for Eltromontage. He was said to be the best automotive electrician. He was sacked.
- With others, he set up Solidarity in August 1980 and became its leader.
- He was a committed Catholic.
- In 1989 he became the leader of Poland's first non-communist government since the Second World War.
135
What was Solidarity?
Polish trade union which emerged in the 1980s and opposed the communist government there.
136
What happened 30 August 1980?
The Government agreed to all 21 of Solidarity's demands.
137
What happened in September 1980?
Solidarity's membership grew to 3.5 million.
138
What happened in October 1980?
Solidarity's membership was 7 million. Solidarity was officially recognised by the Government.
139
What happened in January 1981?
Membership of Solidarity reached its peak at 9.4 million - more than a third of all the workers in Poland.
140
What did the government do in term sof solidarity?
They gave in to solidarity in 1980.
141
What were the reasons as to why the government gave in to solidarity?
- The union was strongest in those industries that were most important to the Government.
- In the early stages the union was not seen by its members as an alternative to the Communist Party.
- Lech Walesa was very careful in his negotiations with the Government and worked to avoid provoking a dispute that might bring in the Soviet Union.
- The union was immensely popular.
- Solidarity had the support of the Catholic Church, which was still very strong in Poland.
- The Government was playing for time. It hoped Solidarity would break
into rival factions. Meanwhile the Government drew up plans for martial law.
- The Soviet union also had half an eye on the West.
142
What industries did the union operate in?
Like shipbuilding and heavy industry. A general strike in these industries would have devastated Poland's economy.
143
Why, in the early stages was the union not seen by its members as an alternative to the communist party?
More than 1 million members (30 per cent) of the Communist Party joined Solidarity.
144
What shows that the union was immensely popular?
Almost half of all workers belonged.
Lech Walesa was a kind of folk hero.
145
What is martial law?
Rule by the military rather than a civil police force.
146
How did the Soviet union have half an eye on the West?
Solidarity had gained support in the West in a way that neither the Hungarian nor the Czech rising had. Walesa was well known in the Western media and people in the West bought Solidarity badges to show their support. The scale of the movement ensured that the Soviet Union treated the Polish crisis cautiously.
147
What happened in February 1981?
The civilian prime minister 'resigned' and the leader of the army, General Jaruzelski, took over.
148
What did the Polish people expect to happen, from the first moment he took over?
From the moment he took office, people in Poland, and observers outside Poland, expected the Soviet Union to 'send in the tanks' at any time, especially when the Solidarity Congress produced an 'open letter' saying that they were campaigning not only for their own rights but for the rights of workers throughout the communist bloc.
149
What was the communist bloc?
Eastern European states controlled by communist governments from the end of the second world war to 1989.
150
What did the letter proclaim?
It proclaimed that the Poles were fighting 'For Your Freedom and For Ours'.
151
What happened between Jaruzelski and Walesa?
Jaruzelski and Walesa negotiated to form a government of national understanding.
152
Did this government last for long?
It broke down in December, after nine months of tense relationships, the communist Government acted.
153
What did Brehznev do?
Brezhnev ordered the Red Army to carry out 'training manoeuvres' on the Polish border.
154
What did Jaruzelski ultimately do?
Jaruzelski introduced martial law. He put Walesa and almost 10,000 other Solidarity leaders in prison. He suspended Solidarity.
155
What were the reasons as to why Jaruzelski crushed solidarity?
- Solidarity was acting as a political party.
- Poland was sinking into chaos.
- Solidarity itself was also tumbling into chaos.
156
How was solidarity acting as a political party?
The Government declared that it had secret tapes of a Solidarity meeting setting up a new provisional government - without the Communist Party.
157
In what ways was Poland sinking into chaos?
Almost all Poles felt the impact of food shortages. Rationing had been introduced in April 1981. Wages had increased by less than inflation. Unemployment was rising.
158
How was solidarity itself tumbling into chaos?
There were many different factions. Some felt that 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 had ordered them to stop.
159
Long story short, what was the Soviet Union as a whole's take?
The Soviet Union had seen enough. It thought the situation in Poland had gone too far. If Poland's leaders would not restore communist control in Poland, then it would. This was something the Polish leaders wanted to avoid.
160
What role did solidarity play in Poland?
In the story of Soviet control of Eastern Europe, solidarity was very significant.
161
Why was solidarity significant?
- It highlighted the failure of communism to provide good living standards and this undermined communism's claim to be a system which benefited ordinary people.
- It highlighted inefficiency and corruption.
- It showed that there were organisations which were capable of resisting a communist government.
- It showed that communist governments could be threatened by people power.
162
What else did solidarity do?
It highlighted the nature of Soviet control.
163
How did it highlight the nature of Soviet control?
The only thing that kept the communists in power was force or the threat of force backed by the USSR.
164
What happened when Jaruzelski decided to use force?
Solidarity was crushed.
165
What was a clear idea that was taken then?
If military force was not used, then communist control seemed very shaky indeed.
166
What would happen if Soviet policy changed in terms of communist control?
Communist control would not survive.
167
What happened in 1985?
Gorbachev became leader of the Soviet Union in 1985.
168
Who was Gorbachev?
- Born 1931. One grandfather Was a Kulak - a landowning peasant - who had been sent to a prison camp by Stalin because he resisted Stalin's policy of collectivisation. The other grandfather was a loyal Communist Party member.
- His elder brother was killed in the Second World War.
- Studied law at Moscow University in the 1950s. Became a persuasive speaker.
- Worked as a local Communist Party official in his home area. By 1978 he was a member of the Central Committee of the party and in charge of agriculture.
- In 1980 he joined the Politburo.
- He was a close friend of Andropov, who became Soviet leader in 1983. He shared many of Andropov's ideas about reforming the USSR. When Andropov was leader, he was effectively second in command.
- In 1985 he became leader of the USSR.
- In October 1990 he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.
169
What was Gorbachev's political stance?
He was an unusual mix of idealist, optimist and realist.
170
What does idealist mean?
Person motivated by particular beliefs, i.e commitment to right of peoples to rule themselves.
171
What does realist mean?
Politician who accepts a particular course of action even though it is not what they would prefer to do.
172
What did the realist in him see?
The realist in him could see that the USSR was in a terrible state. Its economy was very weak. It was spending far too much money on the ARMS RACE. It was locked into an unwinnable war in Afghanistan.
173
What did the idealist in him see?
The idealist in Gorbachev 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.
174
What did the optimist in him see?
The optimist in Gorbachev 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.
175
Were Gorbachev and Brezhnev similar?
No, Gorbachev's policies in eastern Europe Gorbachev also had a very different attitude to eastern Europe from Brezhnev.
176
What did Gorbachev do in March?
In March he called the leaders of the Warsaw Pact countries together. This meeting should have been a turning point in the history of eastern Europe.
177
What did he say in this meeting?
He had two messages:
- 'We won't intervene'.
- 'You have to reform'.
178
Where did this message of 'We won't intervene' come from?
Gorbachev made it very clear to the countries of eastern Europe that they were responsible for their own fates.
179
What did the Warsaw pact leaders think of the 'We won't intervene' message?
However, most of the Warsaw Pact Leaders were old-style, hardline communists. To them, Gorbachev's ideas were insane and they simply did not believe he meant what he said.
180
Where did this message of 'You have to reform' come from?
Gorbachev also made it clear that they needed to reform their own countries. He did not think communism was doomed. In fact, he felt the opposite was true. Gorbachev believed the communist system could provide better healthcare, education and transport.
181
What was the main task that came with the message of 'You have to reform'?
The task in the USSR and eastern Europe was to renew communism so as to match capitalism in other areas of public life.
182
What did the Warsaw pact leaders think of the 'You have to reform' message?
They did not believe him on this count either.
183
What would the leaders then go on to realise over the next few years?
In the next few year these leaders would realise they had made a serious error of judgement.
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With what attitude did Gorbachev declare his policies?
He had to be cautious, because he faced great opposition from hardliners in his own Government, but gradually he declared his policies.
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What were the two key ideas of his policies?
- Glasnost.
- Perestroika.
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What was glasnost?
Openness and transparency - Policy of Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev in the 1980s designed to allow people to have their views heard and criticise the government.
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How did he use the idea of 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.
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What was perestroika?
Restructuring - The idea of Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev in the later 1980s so that the USSR needed to reform.
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How did he use the idea of perestroika?
In 1987 his perestroika programme allowed market forces to be introduced into the Soviet economy. For the first time in 60 years it was no longer illegal to buy and sell for profit.
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After achieving these two key ideas, what other two things did he go on to do?
- Reduce defense spending.
- Improve international relations.
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Was reducing defense spending a good idea?
The nuclear arms race was an enormous drain on the Soviet economy at a time when it was in trouble anyway. After almost 50 years on a constant war footing, the Red Army began to shrink.
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Was improving international relations a good idea?
Gorbachev brought a new attitude to the USSR's relations with the wider world. He withdrew Soviet troops from Afghanistan, which had become such a costly yet unwinnable war. In speech after speech, he talked about international trust and co-operation as the way forward for the USSR, rather than confrontation.
193
What happened in January 1981?
Ronald Reagan became US president in January 1981.
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How long was Ronald Reagan's presidency?
7 years, he was president until 1988.
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What was Reagan's ONE policy towards the USSR?
Get tough.
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How did Reagan criticise the USSR?
He criticised its control over eastern Europe and increased US military spending.
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How did Reagan influence gorbachev?
In a way, Reagan's toughness helped Gorbachev.
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What are two ways in which Reagan's toughness helped Gorbachev?
- It was clear by the late 1980s that the USSR could not compete with American military spending. This helped Gorbachev to push through his military spending cuts.
- Reagan got on quite well with Gorbachev 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.
199
What happened as Gorbachev introduced his reforms into the USSR?
As Gorbachev introduced his reforms in the USSR the demand rose for similar reforms in eastern European states as well.
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Why did this demand rise in Eastern European states as well?
Most people in these states were sick of the poor economic conditions and the harsh restrictions that communism imposed. Gorbachev's policies gave people some hope for reform.
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What did Gorbachev's policies give people?
Some hope for reform.
202
What did Gorbachev do in July 1988?
In July 1988 Gorbachev made a speech to the leaders of the Warsaw Pact countries.
203
What did this speech, made in July 1988, consist of?
He planned to withdraw large numbers of troops, tanks and aircraft from eastern Europe. Hungary was particularly eager to get rid of Soviet troops and, when pressed, Gorbachev seemed to accept this.
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What did he make clear in March 1989?
In March 1989 he made clear again that the Red Army would not intervene to prop up communist regimes in Eastern Europe.
205
What are some timestamps that show the collapse of communism in Eastern Europe?
- May 1989.
- June 1989.
- September 1989.
- October 1989.
- Early November 1989.
- Late November 1989.
- December 1989.
- In Hungary.
- In Bulgaria.
- March 1990.
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What happened in May 1989?
Hungarians begin dismantling the barbed-wire fence between Hungary and non-communist Austria.
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What happened in June 1989?
In Poland, free elections are held for the first time since the Second World War. Solidarity wins almost all the seats it contests. Eastern Europe gets its first non-communist leader, President Lech Walesa.
208
What happened in September 1989?
Thousands of East Germans on holiday in Hungary and Czechoslovakia refuse to go home. They escape through Austria into West Germany.
209
What happened in 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.
Gorbachev makes it clear that Soviet tanks will not move in to 'restore order'.
210
What happened in early 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.
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What happened in late November 1989?
There are huge demonstrations in Czechoslovakia. The Czech government opens its borders with the West, and allows the formation of other parties.
212
What happened in December 1989?
In Romania there is a short but very bloody revolution that ends with the execution of the communist dictator Nicolae Ceausescu.
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What happened in Hungary?
The Communist Party in Hungary renames itself the Socialist Party and declares that free elections will be held in 1990.
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What happened in Bulgaria?
In Bulgaria, there are huge demonstrations against the communist government.
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What happened in March 1990?
Latvia leads the Baltic republics in declaring independence from the USSR.
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What was a word given to explain all these events?
People power.
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How can people power be attributed to the fall of communism?
Communist control was toppled because ordinary people were not prepared to accept it any longer. They took control of events. It was not political leaders guiding the future of Eastern europe in 1989, but ordinary people.
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What happened due to the fact the Berlin wall went down?
West German chancellor Helmut Kohl proposed a speedy reunification of Germany.
218
What did Germans think of this proposed reunification?
Germans in both countries embraced the idea enthusiastically.
219
What was Gorbachev's outlook despite his idealism?
Gorbachev was less enthusiastic.
220
Why was he less enthusiastic?
He expected that a new united Germany would be friendlier to the West than to the East.
221
When did Gorbachev accept the reunification of Germany?
After many months of hard negotiations, not all of them friendly, Gorbachev accepted German reunification and even accepted that the new Germany could become a member of NATO.
222
Why was this so hard for Gorbachev to accept?
Like all Russians, he lived with the memory that it was German aggression in the Second World War that had cost the lives of 20 million Soviet citizens
223
When did Germany become a united country?
On 3 October 1990, Germany became a united country once again.
224
What is a timeline for the Collapse of the USSR?
- March 1990.
- May 1990.
- July 1990.
- April 1991.
- August 1991.
- December 1991.
225
What happened in March 1990?
- Gorbachev visited the Baltic state of Lithuania - part of the Soviet Union. Its leaders put their views to him. They were very clear. They wanted independence. They did not want to be part of the USSR. Gorbachev was for once uncompromising. He would not allow this. But in March they did it anyway.
- Almost as soon as he returned to Moscow from Lithuania, Gorbachev received a similar demand from the Muslim Soviet Republic of Azerbaijan. What should Gorbachev do now? He sent troops to Azerbaijan to end rioting there. He sent troops to Lithuania.
But as the summer approached, the crisis situation got worse.
226
What happened in May 1990?
The Russian Republic, the largest within the USSR, elected Boris Yeltsin as its president. Yeltsin made it clear that he saw no future in a Soviet Union. He said that the many republics that made up the USSR should become independent states.
227
What happened in July 1990?
- Ukraine declared its independence. Other republics followed.
- By the end of 1990 nobody was quite sure what the USSR meant any longer. Meanwhile, Gorbachev was an international superstar. In October 1990 Gorbachev received the Nobel Peace Prize for his contribution to ending the Cold War.
228
What happened in April 1991?
The Republic of Georgia declared its independence.
229
What happened in August 1991?
- The USSR was disintegrating. Reformers within the USSR itself demanded an end to the Communist Party's domination of government. Gorbachev was struggling to hold it together, but members of the communist elite had had enough.
- Hardline Communist Party members and leading military officers attempted a coup to take over the USSR. The plotters included Gorbachev's prime minister, Pavlov, and the head of the armed forces, Dimitry Yazov. They held Gorbachev prisoner in his holiday home in the Crimea. They sent tanks and troops onto the streets of Moscow. This was the old Soviet way to keep control. Would it work this time?
- Huge crowds gathered in Moscow. They strongly opposed this military coup. The Russian
president, Boris Veltsin, emerged as the leader of the popular opposition. Faced by this resistance, the conspirators lost faith in themselves and the coup collapsed.
- This last-ditch attempt by the Communist Party to save the USSR had failed. A few days later, Gorbachev returned to Moscow.
230
What happened in December 1991?
Gorbachev might have survived the coup, but it had not strengthened his position as Soviet leader. He had to admit that the USSR was finished and he with it. In a televised speech on 25 December 1991, Gorbachev announced his own resignation and the end of the Soviet Union.
231
What was the Nobel Peace prize?
Prize awarded to politicians who have made major contribution to bringing an end to conflict.
