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what was the soviet sphere of influence?
the influence the USSR had over the communist countries in Eastern Europe that cooperated with the USSR
what relationship did countries in the SSI have with the USSR?
hey relied on it for support and acted under it’s direction
which three terms were given to countries in the SSI?
satellite states, buffer states, puppet states
what were ‘buffer states’?
states that formed a protective ring around the USSR, protecting it from west Germany and anti-communism
what was the function of ‘satellite states’?
to report information back to the USSR before it was widely available - keep surveillance on activities in western Europe
why were some states called ‘puppet states’?
because although they were technically separate states from the USSR, they acted purely on it’s wishes
when was cominform set up?
1947
what was cominform?
the communist information bureau
what was the function of cominform?
to coordinate the various communist governments, to run meetings between them and send instructions
where was cominform located?
it originated in Belgrade (Yugoslavia) but migrated to Bucharest in Romania (1948) after Yugoslavia was expelled
when was comecon set up?
1947
what was comecon?
the council for mutual economic assistance
what did comecon do?
it coordinated industries and trade of Eastern European countries
what was the basis of comecon?
the idea that members should trade with each other and not Western Europe
what bias did comecon have?
it favoured the USSR and provided a goods market to it - a cheap supply of raw materials - Poland was forced to sell coal to it for 1/10th of the open market price
when did comecon set up a bank?
1964
what was the political impact of communism?
there was a loss of free speech and democracy, newspapers were censored, political opponents were imprisoned, and travel was forbidden out of Eastern Europe
what was the economic impact of communism?
the economy recovered slightly but soon wages fell behind inflation, and there were shortages of coal and clothing/shoes were very expensive
which common western consumer goods were unavailable in the SSI?
radios, electric kettles, TV’s
when did Stalin die?
1953
who was he replaced by?
Khrushchev
how did Khrushchev appear?
he appeared to be very different to Stalin - he closed down cominform, released 1000s of political prisoners, he improved ordinary citizen’s lives and he moved toward peace with the west
what did Khrushchev’s nature encourage?
the spread of criticism of communist rule
what did the spread of this criticism lead to?
demonstrations in Poland demanding the implementation of the war time resistance leader Gomulka
how did Khrushchev react?
he did not want this, however he compromised and allowed it, but at the same time he sent Soviet troops and tanks to the Polish border to discourage further unrest
when was the Hungarian uprising?
1956
why was there unrest in Hungary - political reasons?
there were many restrictions on free speech and freedom of expression
wearing/doing anything that may associate you with the west was dangerous
why was there unrest in Hungary - economic reasons?
it was difficult to access commonly found western consumer goods
Hungarians had to pay excess taxes for things they didn’t want (see next)
why was there unrest in Hungary - military/culture reasons?
thousands of Soviet troops had occupied the country for 10 years
Hungarians had to pay for this
some areas were indoctrinated with Russian culture/language - e.g. schools and shops
who was the (original) communist leader of Hungary?
Rakosi
what problems faced the communist party in Hungary?
schisms had opened up in the party - a group opposed Rakosi
how did Rakosi react to this?
he appealed to the USSR for the power to arrest 400 opponents
how did the USSR react to Rakosi’s appeal?
they ordered that Rakosi should be retired for health reasons and implemented a new leader
how the hungarians react to the short-term leader after Rakosi?
they disliked the new leader so there were large protests - on the 23rd October the Stalin statue in Budapest was pulled down
soviets lost some influence
who was the new leader of Hungary?
Nagy - he had been de facto prime minister from 1953-55, but had been largely overruled by Rakosi - was now wholly leader
what was the significance of Nagy being made leader?
this meant that the Hungarian rebels had achieved some form of democracy
what was the immediate aftermath of Nagy’s leadership?
new government formed under Nagy
tanks and troops from the USSR began to withdraw
thousands of local councils were formed which replaced soviet power/indoctrination
many Hungarian soldiers defected to rebels with weapons
what political standing did Nagy have?
reformist communist
which reforms did Nagy propose?
free elections
restore farmland to private ownership
the total withdrawal of the soviet army
to leave the warsaw pact
to declare Hungary neutral in the cold war
to get support from President Eisenhower
how did Khrushchev very initially respond to these proposals?
he appeared open to the reforms, and it seemed like he might accept some
however, he could not accept Hungary leaving the Warsaw pact
what happened in November 1956 (Soviet response)?
Soviet tanks and troops moved into Budapest
what followed the Soviet ‘invasion’ of Budapest?
2 weeks of fighting
around 3000 Hungarians were killed and 1000 Russians
200,000 Hungarians fled into Austria to escape communist forces
how did the west react to the Soviet ‘invasion’ of Budapest?
they protested but offered no actual help, being preoccupied with the Suez crisis
what were the first outcomes of the invasion?
the USSR felt encouraged
Hungarians felt demotivated - they had thought the USA would intervene
who did Khrushchev place as the new leader of Hungary?
Kadar
what action did Kadar take?
arrested 35,000 activists and executed 300
some reforms were cautiously introduced
Hungary remained a part of the Warsaw pact
what problems faced those in East Berlin/Germany?
the living conditions were passable but were much worse than in West Germany
this could be seen in Berlin - many shop fronts that could be seen by EG were full and plentiful (form of propaganda)
low morale
what nickname was given to West Berlin?
an ‘island in a Communist sea’
what did many East Berliners do as a response to these problems?
left East Berlin for West Berlin (defection)
how many East Berliners/Germans defected in 1953?
over 300,000
who was the leader of Eastern Germany?
Ulbricht
how did defection make Communism/Ulbricht appear?
looked very bad, especially for
dictatorship vs democracy
communism vs capitalism
what impact did the defection have locally?
weakened the communist system - reduced work output
many defectors were highly skilled workers
what impact did defection have over the whole Soviet Union?
set a precedent for the rest of the bloc
made others think that they could defect
very bad for USSR
what was the solution to the problem of defection?
a barbed wire barrier was erected along the entire Berlin frontier, ending all free movement
not long after it was replaced by a brick-and-concrete wall
all crossings were closed except for Checkpoint Charlie - no EBs could cross to WB
what orders did Soviet soldiers have?
to shoot anyone who tried to cross the Berlin wall without permissionwha
when was the Berlin Wall erected?
Sunday 13 August, 1961
which freedom were allied diplomats/troops supposed to have?
be able to cross freely at crossings - Checkpoint Charlie
throughout October 1961 diplomats crossed it regularly to test it
what happened at Checkpoint Charlie on the 27th October, 1961?
Soviet troops + tanks pulled up to CC and refused to allow any further access
there was a full day stand off and people thought war was imminent
what happened after 18 hours of this stand off?
tanks began to slowly retreat, inch by inch
what was the international reaction to the withdrawal of tanks at CC?
relief
Ulbricht had ordered to avoid any actions that would increase tension
what was the Berlin wall a symbol of for the USSR/West?
Protection - USSR
Prison - West
what were the short-term consequences of the Berlin wall?
international tensions were greatly increased
people of Berlin were separated - jobs and lives were lost, telephone lines were cut
people went as far as to jump out of windows to escape (on wall lines)
what were the long term impacts of the Berlin wall/standoff?
international relations improved as the crisis was eased
the USSR did not want a war and the Americans did not keep testing the USSR at CC
same impact as ST for Berliners
when was the Prague Spring?
1968
who was the leader of Czechoslovakia in 1968?
Dubcek (e with a hat)
what political views did Dubcek hold?
he was committed to communism, but proposed a policy of ‘socialism with a human face’
what did ‘socialism with a human face’ entail?
the belief that communism did not have to be as restrictive
less censorship
more free speech
less activities of the secret police
what lessons had Dubcek learnt from the Hungarian uprising?
to not go to far
assured USSR he had no plans to pull out of Comecon/Warsaw pact
why were Dubcek’s actions/ideas worrying for the USSR?
Soviet communism thrived on restriction
worried Cz might have an uprising
worried this may lead to a loss of influence - did not want Cz to move toward democracy
what did Dubcek’s policy lead to?
a rise in the criticism of the failures of communist rule
also in exposure of corruption
asking about the past
what period of time emerged as a result of Dubcek’s policy?
the prague spring
what was the prague spring?
a time where new ideas flourished
a time of culture - especially for poets, playwrights, authors, singers, journalists
what was there talk of happening in the prague spring?
setting up a rival social democratic party
why was the prague spring a problem for the USSR?
could lead to dissatisfaction with communist rule and a loss of communist influence
demonstrated people actually engaged with reforms and so highlighted problems with SSI
diminished SSI - worried a domino effect would emerge
how did the USSR first respond?
intimidation - place troops on the border as a ‘training exercise’
which sanction did the USSR not impose?
economic sanctions as they were worried that Hungary would turn to the west
what happened in July 1968?
a summit conference was held where Dubcek promised not to allow a new party, but kept most of the reforms
tensions appeared to ease
what happened in August 1968?
tanks invaded Czechoslovakia where was very little violent resistance
why did the USSR (and all communist dictators) decide to invade Czechoslovakia with tanks?
the dictators did not want a pattern to emerge or uprisings to happen in their countries
so they urged Brezhnev wto do it
what happened to Dubcek in August 1968?
he was removed from power
what was the outcome of the crushing of the prague spring for communist leaders?
showed party and leaders were opposed to reformation
showed loyalty of leaders, their desire to repress new ideas, and their compliance
which doctrine arose as a result of the crushing of the prague spring?
Brezhnev doctrine
what was the Brezhnev doctrine?
a doctrine which defined the essentials of communism:
had to be a one party state
member of the warsaw pact
said that if a threat arose to communism in one country, it was a threat to communism in all countries
what message did the crushing of the prague spring send to people in the SSI?
attempts to reform/move away from communism will be met violently
what happened to Dubcek after the crushing of the prague spring?
not executed
slowly downgraded
returns at the fall of the USSR to speak to crowds (velvet revolution)
what problems faced Polish people in the 1970’s-80’s?
living standards and prices were poor in Poland
result of economic crisis of late 1970’s
many people angered as wanted an improvement
how did polish people respond to these problems?
workers put forward demands to the government including trade unions and the right to strike
which trade union was set up?
solidarity - set up in August 1980
how did the government react to these demands?
agreed to all demands
how did solidarity membership change after it was set up?
from Sept 1980 to July 1981 membership grew from 3.5 million to 9.4 million
what fraction of polish workers joined solidarity?
1/3
what was the early government perspective on solidarity?
they did not want a general strike to happen as it would devastate industry - esp. ship building and heavy industry
they hoped it would eventually break into rival factions and fall apart
what was the relationship between communism and solidarity?
solidarity did not appear to be a threat to communism
1 million CP members joined solidarity
what religious factor encouraged the increasing membership?
solidarity had the support of the Catholic church which was very popular in Poland
who was the leader of solidarity?
Lech Walesa
what tactic did Lech Walesa employ in his negotiations?
he was very careful - worked to avoid disputes so there was no reason for the goverment to shut Solidarity down
what triggered Soviet involvement in Poland?
the Union said that they were not only fighting for the rights of workers in Poland but of the whole communist bloc
why did the statement of fighting for the whole communist bloc worry the USSR?
they were worried the union could spread and communism would fail or fall
what was the slogan of solidarity?
‘Fighting for your freedom and for ours.’
