How Secure Was The USSR’s Control Over Eastern Europe? Flashcards
(16 cards)
What was Cominform?
- Communist Information Bureau
- Stalin set up in 1947 as an organisation to coordinate various communist governments in Eastern Europe
- Office originally based in Belgrade in Yugoslavia but moved to Bucharest in Romania in 1948 after Yugoslavia was expelled by Stalin because it wouldn’t do what the Soviet Union told it to do
- Ran meetings and sent out instructions to communist governments about what the Soviet Union wanted them to do
What was Comecon?
- Council for Mutual Economic Assistance
- Set up in 1949 to coordinate industries and trade of the Eastern European countries
- Ideas was members traded mostly with one another rather than with the West
- Favoured USSR more than other members, provided USSR with a market to sell its goods and guaranteed a cheap supply of raw materials
- Set up a bank for socialist countries in 1964
What was the impact of the Soviet control on Eastern Europe?
Freedom: countries with 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 from travelling to countries in Western Europe, protests were crushed by security forces
- Wealth: Eastern European economies recovered between 1945-1955, but wages bell behind wages in other countries, people were short of coal to heat their houses, and clothing and shoes were very expensive
- Consumer goods: couldn’t get consumer goods like radios, electric kettles, or televisions, which were becoming common in the West. The economies were geared towards helping the Soviet Union, and factories produced items such as machinery or electric cables
What did the ruler after Stalin do?
Nikita Khrushchev in 1955, talked of peaceful coexistence with the West, improving lives of ordinary citizens, closed down Cominform and released thousands of political prisoners, openly denounced Stalin for harsh rule in 1956. Encouraged critics of communist rule, large demonstrations broke out in Poland in 1956, protesters demanded reforms and the appointment of Polish war-time resistance leader Wladyslaw Gomulka as the new Polish leader. Khrushchev compromised and accepted Gomulka as the new leader, but moved Soviet tanks and troops to the Polish border to make it clear he would only compromise so far
What happened in Hungary in 1956?
Hungary was led by hardline communist called Mátyás Rákosi from 1949-1956. Hungarians resented him and restrictions posed on them, loss of freedom of speech, and they lived in fear of the secret police, resented the presence of Soviet troops and officials in their country, and they had to pay for Soviet forces to be in Hungary. Group within the Communist Party opposed Rákosi, he appealed to Khrushchev for help, wanted to arrest 400 opponents, Moscow would not back him and Khrushchev retired Rákosi for ‘health reasons’. New leader Ernö Gerö, was no better, there was a huge student demonstration on 23 October and the giant statue of Stalin in Budapest was pulled down. USSR allowed a new government to be formed under Imre Nagy, Soviet troops and tanks began to withdraw, and Hungarians created hundreds of local councils to replace Soviet power, with several thousand Hungarian soldiers defecting to join the cause, taking their weapons with them. Nagy’s Government planned to hold free elections, create impartial courts, and restore farmland to private ownership, get the total withdrawal of the Soviets from Hungary, leave the Warsaw Pact, and declare Hungary neutral in the Cold War. Khrushchev drew the line at leaving the Warsaw Pact. Thousands of Soviet troops and tanks moved into Budapest in November 1956, fighting for 2 weeks, 3,000 Hungarians died and Nagy was executed. West protested to the USSR but were preoccupied and didn’t send help. Khrushchev made János Kádár leader, who crushed all resistance in several months, then cautiously introduced some of the reforms demanded by people, but stayed firm on membership of the Warsaw Pact
What happened in Czechoslovakia with the Prague Spring in 1968?
Khrushchev replaced by Leonid Brezhnev. In Czech, old Stalinist leader replaced by Alexander Dubček in 1967, proposed a policy of ‘socialism with a human face’; less censorship, more freedom of speech, and a reduction in the activities of the secret police. He believed communism didn’t have to be that restrictive. He reassured Brezhnev that Czechoslovakia had no plans to pull out of the Warsaw Pact or Comecon. As censorship eased, opponents began criticising the failures of communist rule, expose corruption, and ask awkward questions about recent events. This became known as the ‘Prague Spring’ because of all of the new ideas that seemed to be appearing everywhere. There was even talk of the Social Democratic Party being set up as a rival to the Communist Party. Soviet Union and other communist leaders were suspicious of changes, didn’t want new ideas to spread, started to pressure Brezhnev. To intimidate the Czechs, Soviet, Polish, and East German troops performed public training exercises on the Czech border, USSR thought about imposing sanctions but didn’t as they thought Czechs would ask for help from the West, and USSR held a summit conference with the Czechs in July, where Dubček agreed not to allow a new Social Democratic Party, but insisted on keeping most of his reforms. Tension seemed to ease. Then, on August 20, 1968, Soviet tanks suddenly moved into Czechoslovakia. Little violent resistance, Dubček was removed from power; his ‘socialism with a human face’ had not failed, but simply proved unacceptable to other countries. He wasn’t executed, but gradually downgraded then expelled from the Communist Party all together. Brezhnev Doctrine implemented: essentials of communism were defined as a one-party system, and remaining a member of the Warsaw Pact
What was the Berlin Wall?
After Hungarian uprising, people realised fighting the communists was impossible, and the only way of escaping the repression was to leave. Some left for political reasons, some left for economic reasons; standards of living fell further and further behind the West, increased attraction of living in a Capitalist state, especially in divided city of Berlin, where East Germans could see shops full of goods, great freedom, great wealth, and great variety in West Berlin. This was done deliberately by the West. By the late 1950s, thousands were leaving and not returning, mainly highly skilled workers or well-qualified managers, and the government couldn’t afford to lose them, and the fleeing to capitalism undermined communism. When Kennedy became president in 1961, Khrushchev tried to bully him and chose to pick a fight over Berlin, insisting Kennedy remove US troops from the city, however Kennedy didn’t back down. Sunday 13 August 1961, East German soldiers erected a barbed-wire barrier along the frontier between East and West Berlin, then replaced by a concrete wall. Families were divided, Berliners couldn’t go to work. Border guards kept a constant look-out for anyone trying to cross the wall, with orders to shoot. Since access to East Berlin had been guaranteed to the Allies since 1945, US diplomats and troops crossed regularly into East Berlin to find out how the Soviets would react in October 1961. On October 27, Soviet tanks pulled up to the only crossing point and refused allow access into the East. US and Soviet tanks faced each other in a tense standoff for 18 hours until the tanks pulled back. Khrushchev ordered Ulbricht to avoid any actions that would increase tension.
What was Solidarity in Poland in 1980?
Regular protests were normally about living standards and prices instead of communist government. By late 1970s, Polish economy hit a crisis, and 1979 was the worst year for Polish industry since communism had been introduced. 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, also started a free trade union called Solidarity. Poland had trade unions, but they were ineffective in challenging government policies. On 30 August 1980, the government agreed to all 21 of their demands, and by October 1980, Solidarity was officially recognised by the Government.
What were the reasons for Solidarity’s success?
- The union was strongest in those industries that were most important to the Government: shipbuilding and heavy industry. A general strike would have devastated Poland’s economy
- The union was not seen as an alternative to the Communist Party in the early stages
- Lech Walesa was careful to avoid provoking a dispute that might involve the Soviet Union
- The union was immensely popular
- Had the support of the Catholic Church, still very strong in Poland
- Government was playing for time, hoping Solidarity would break into rival factions, while they drew up plans for martial law
- Solidarity gained support from the West, leading to the Soviet Union treating it cautiously
What happened to Solidarity in 1981?
In February 1981, the civilian prime minister ‘resigned’ and General Jaruzelski, leader of the army, took over. Jaruzelski and Walesa negotiated to form a government of national understanding, but it broke down in December, and Brezhnev ordered the Red Army to carry out ‘training manoeuvres’ on the Polish border. Jaruzelski introduced marital law, put Walesa and almost 10,000 other Solidarity leaders into prison, and suspended Solidarity.
What were the reasons for the crushing of Solidarity?
- Solidarity was acting as a political party, government declared they had secret tapes of a Solidarity meeting setting up a new provisional government without the Communist Party
- Poland was sinking into chaos, there were food shortages, food rationing had been introduced in April 1981, wages had increased by less than inflation, and unemployment was rising
- There were many factions in Solidarity, some felt the only way to make progress was by pushing the communists until they cracked under the pressure, and strikes were continuing long after leaders had ordered them to stop
What was the significance of Solidarity?
- Highlighted failure of communism to provide good living standards, which undermined communism’s claim of being system that benefited ordinary people
- Highlighted inefficiency and corruption
- Showed there were organisations capable of resisting a communist government
- Showed communist governments could be threatened by ‘people power’
- Highlighted nature of Soviet control was military force
What were Michael Gorbachev’s beliefs?
Idealist/optimist/realist
Realist: could see the USSR was in a terrible state, weak economy, spending far too much money on the arms race, and locked in an unwinnable war in Afghanistan
Idealist: believed communist rule should make life better for the people of the USSR and other communist states, was offended by the shoddy goods made in Soviet factories, that living standards were higher in the West, and many Soviet citizens had no loyalty to the government
Optimist: believed a reformed communist system of government could give people pride and belief in their country; didn’t want to dismantle communism but wanted to reform it
What were Gorbachev’s reforms?
Glasnost (openness): called for open debate on government policy and honesty in facing up to problems
Perestroika (restructuring): perestroika programme in 1987 allowed market forces to be introduced into the Soviet economy, no longer illegal to buy and sell for profit
Reduce defence spending: nuclear arms race was an enormous drain on Soviet economy; the Red Army finally began to shrink
Improve international relations: withdrew Soviet troops from Afghanistan, talked about international trust and cooperation as the way forward for the USSR rather than confrontation
What was the impact of Gorbachev’s reforms on Eastern Europe?
Demand rose for similar reforms in Eastern European states, most people were sick of the poor economic conditions and harsh restrictions, huge demonstrations in Eastern European countries and revolutions. ‘People power’: Communist control was toppled because people weren’t prepared to accept it any longer
When did Germany become reunified?
Berlin Wall was down, West German Chancellor Helmut Kohl proposed reunification. Gorbachev expected a united German to be friendlier to the West than the East. After months of hard negotiations, he accepted and allowed Germany to become a member of NATO
