Cold war - Mrs B

When did Joseph Stalin come to power in the USSR?

Stalin came to power in 1922 as the general secretary of the communist party, however in 1924 once Lenin died he became leader of the communist party.

What official title did Stalin hold as leader of the Soviet Union?

Stalin’s official title as leader of the soviet union was Premier of the Soviet Union

What were the Five-Year Plans designed to achieve

The five year plans were designed to ‘Collectivise’ farm land (put them under state control) and to build industry quickly to shift the Soviet Union to an industrial power.

What was collectivisation, and why did Stalin introduce it?

Collectivisation was the move to put all farms under state control, it was introduced to test his people to see if they would comply and to try solve the grain shortages.

What role did the secret police (NKVD) play under Stalin?

The NKVD was a secret police used to silence or kill political opposition and act as spies. An example of this is the great purge between 1936-38, where around 700,000 people were killed for opposing the soviet union

What agreement did Stalin sign with Hitler in 1939?

The USSR contributed to the defeat of Nazi Germany as Germany was being attacked on multiple fronts, making it harder to fight as the army was divided. Further the Soviet army captured Berlin in 1945 leading to the German’s surrender

At which wartime conferences did Stalin meet with Churchill and Roosevelt/Truman?

Stalin met Chuchhill and Roosevelt first at the Tehran conference and later at Yalta.

What territorial gains did Stalin secure for the USSR at the end of World War II?

Stalin secured both East Germany and East Berlin for the Soviet Union, as well as Polish, Finnish, and Japanese territories.

Which countries in Eastern Europe came under Soviet influence by 1950?

Albania, Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia, Germany, Hungary, Poland, Romania, Belarus, Ukraine, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania.

What was Stalin’s response to the Marshall Plan?

Stalin saw the Marshall plan as suspicious, believing it to be ‘Dollar imperialism’. He made any country under the soviet sphere of influence reject aid as it was seen as anti Soviet Union

What event in 1948–49 showed the first major Cold War crisis involving Stalin?

The Berlin blockade and airlift was the first major cold war crisis directly relating to Stalin, and his concerns over the US, UK, and France uniting their section of Germany alongside the ‘Brain drain’ as the smartest people in the soviet union left the east across the Berlin wall for the freedoms of America. This led to Stalin cutting off any way in or out of Berlin.

How did Stalin’s actions contribute to the creation of NATO in 1949?

NATO was an alliance formed to protect any European country involved against Soviet aggression. Events like the rejection of the Marshall plan, the Greek Civil War, Berlin, and a state sponsored coup in Czechoslovakia caused the west concern.

What was Stalin’s involvement in the outbreak of the Korean War (1950)?

North Korea invaded South Korea after the approval of Stalin, he planned to ‘distract’ the US by involving them in the Korean war so they could move freer in Eastern Europe. Stalin had hand picked the leader of North Korea who wanted to invade, but wouldn’t until Stalin said go. Stalin only allowed the invasion with the agreement and support of China.

How did Stalin’s policies shape relations with China after 1949?

After aiding the PLA’s invasion of Xinjiang, the Soviet Union and China signed a defense pact, promising assistance and aid.

When did Stalin die?

5th of March 1953

Who took over leadership in the USSR immediately after Stalin’s death?

After his death, Khrushchev became the first secretary of the Soviet Union whilst Malenkov became the Premier.

How did Stalin’s death affect the conduct of the Korean War?

After Stalin’s death, the new leadership in Moscow quickly wanted to sign a treaty to end the Korean war, signing a ceasefire on July 27th 1953

What was the 'collective leadership' that replaced Stalin, and who was involved?

‘Collective leadership’ distributed power across many people within the Politburo and Central Committee. It wanted to prohibit a one man dictatorship. Members of this collective leadership involved Malenkov, Molotov, Voroschilov, Berlia, Khrushchev, Kaganovich, and Mikoyan.

How did Stalin’s death create an opportunity for Khrushchev to later promote 'peaceful coexistence'?

Khrushchev wanted to ‘destalinise’ the Soviet Union, this allowed him to call for ‘peaceful coexistence’ with other nations as he appeared to be thawing the cold war.

Impact of Churchill’s Iron curtain speech

• American’s saw as too tough

• Warned the world of soviets

How many soviets died in ww2

17 million, 1/3 of all casualties

What was McCarthyism

Anti-communist feeling that spread through the US in the early 50s/

Aka ‘The Red Scare’

Encouraged by Republican’s in order to remove any communist sympathizers

What was NSC-68

Military report on cold war policy in April 1950 saying the world war ‘bipolar’ (Split between 2 ideologies).

Suggested policies

• Increase military to deter soviet forces

• Protect internal security of USA from spies

• Strengthen willingness to help other nations economically, politically, and militarily

• Place maximum strain between soviet power structures

• End of ‘Containment’ for new ‘Rollback’ policy