coldwar- khrushchev and east-west relations

nikita sergeyevich khrushchev

• 1894-1971

• leader of soviet union from 1953 to 1964

• committed to de-stalinisation

de-stalinisation

• stalin ensured that those eastern european states that formed pro- communist and soviet served as clones of the communist system

• the stalinist system was characterised by the cult of personality, centralised planning , a one-party political system , the dominance of the communist party ,a secret police system & press censorship

• de-stalinisation involved the removal of most of these controls

what did khrushcehv want to achieve

wanted to achieve long-term political stability, economic growth and improved living conditions through a process of de-stalinisation - but without changing the basic structure of the communist system

when did khrushchev deliver his secret speech

25 february 1956

what did the secret speech include

criticisms of Stalin's policies and reporting stalins crimes

where did uprisings occur as a result of the secret speech

in Poland and Hungary

when did bolesaw beirut (polish communist leader) die

1956

who did khrushchev nominate to be leader of poland

edward ochab

what did poles start to demand after the secret speech

more political freedom and national sovereignty

when did polish workers go on strike in protest at wage cuts and poor working conditions

28 june 1956

when was gomulka elected as first secretary of the polish united workers party

October 1956

khrushchev met up with gomulka and threatened what if gomulka refused to cooperate

military intervention

khrushchev agreed to gomulka being first secretary if he agreed to..

• not carry out reforms that might threaten local communist rule or the unity of the soviet bloc

• poland would remain a member of the warsaw pact

• soviet troops already stationed in poland were available to move in warsaw but were not needed

why was force not used against the polish uprising and gomulka

because of the support shown from beijing towards to polish communist party

the impacts in poland

• many poles supported gomulka because he had preserved a polish path to socialism rather than conforming to soviet views on how their satellite states should behave

• gomulka skilfully balanced the need for polish security with the presence of soviet troops in poland , in order to placate moscow - The USSR would protect poland form any revanchism from west germany

• the polish rising showed that moscow would allow its satellites a measure of national independence if the regimes were led by trustworthy men

• khrushchev’s instinct had been to use force once gomalka had taken control of the polish communist party - force was not used primarily because china supported the polish communist party

revanchism

based on the idea that people of a nation may wish to restore their lost territories

imre nagy

• 1896-1958

• hungarian communist leader from 1945 to 1956

• proposed a new course in socialism in hungary

• challenged oppressive control from moscow - led to his dismissal as chairman of the hungarian council of ministers

• fled to yugoslavia and was caught - executed in 1958

when did students in budapest demonstrate and list 16 demands

22 october 1956

some of the demands of the hungarian protesters

• appointment of imre nagy as prime minister

• the withdrawal of soviet troops from hungary

• freedom of speech and a free press

• multi-party elections

what happened on 23 october in hungary

the situation escalated into an armed revolt - as protestors were fired at by the hungarian secret police

who joined the students in the hungarian uprising

workers groups

when was nagy appointed prime minister of hungary

24 october

why did nagy immediately meet up with soviet delegation after he was appointed

to convince the USSR that military intervention was not necessary and nagu argued that the revolt could be calmed and assured moscow of hungarys loyalty

when did soviet forces withdraw from budapest

28 october

what did USSR do from 28 -30 october

red army forces began to withdraw from budapest and declared they would withdraw from hungary as a whole

what did USSR do on 31 october regarding the hungarian uprising

Sent troops back into Hungary to suppress the revolution and restore control over the country

why did USSR change its mind and send back soviet forces to hungary

• feared the collapse of communism in hungary

• the introduction of a multi-party political system

• the dissolution of the secret police

• unacceptable moves towards freedom of the press

what did nagy announce on 1 november 1956

hungary had withdrawn from the warsaw pact and declared its neutrality

by when did 15 divisions of the red army and 4000 tanks had surround budapest

by 3 November 1956

what happened within a few days after 3 october - hungarian uprising

the hungarian uprising was crushed

who was the leader of the new government installed in hungary after the uprising

janos kadar

casualties of the hungarian uprising

• 4000 hungarians killed

• 200,000 hungarians went into self-imposed exile

the impacts of the hungarian uprising

• the lack of intervention from the west confirmed that the post-war status quo had been accepted - this simply reassured the USSR that the west wouldn’t intervene in eastern europe

• the rising was demoted to merely a debating issue in the united nations , illustrating that the UN would not intervene in eastern europe either

• move towards peaceful coexistence were compromised

• the rising did show that there was a need for social and political reform in eastern europe and this reality was not entirely lost on either the USSR or national communist movements across the region

when was the 20th congress of the communist party of the soviet union held

february 1956

what did the 20th congress of the communist party of the soviet union represent

• represented what appeared to be a fundamental shift in the USSR’s thinking

• khrushchev abandoned the conventional marxist-leninist view that war between the socialist and capitalist camps was inevitable

what did khrushchev claim about communism

claimed that communism had become so powerful that it would be victorious without war

what would communist states do instead of preparing for an ideological war against the west

concentrate resources on internal improvements and progress

what were khrushchevs clear foreign policy imperatives

• the soviet union would remain as the unchallenged leaders of the socialist community both within eastern europe and in the face of growing competition from china and mao

• a firm grip must be maintained over the eastern bloc satellite states

• germany must be prevented from rearming and becoming a future threat to the soviet union

• the USSR must continue to expand its nuclear capability and thereby stay firmly implanted in the nuclear arms race between the east and west

• spending on military security including soviet conventional forces in eastern europe has to be reduced

• international tension has to be defused and care taken to not unnecessarily provoke the USA

what was a foreign policy imperative that underpinned the aims of the USSR

post-stalinist soviet leadership proposed to meet and counter the growing power of the USA through a policy of peaceful coexistence - strategy to consolidate soviet international power and security by existing in a less volatile environment

peaceful coexistence

a diplomatic strategy by the Soviet Union to coexist with Western powers, particularly the USA and engage with the USA in diplomacy to diffuse tensions where possible and prevent direct confrontation to ensure security and stability while promoting communist ideology

what was the USSR receiving from austria

receiving economic aid - reparations

how many occupied zones was austria divided into

4 zones of occupation like germany was

when was the austrian state treaty signed

may 1955

austrian state treaty

france UK USA USSR all agreed to withdraw their forces from austria and declared that austria would be a neutral state

impact of the austrian state treaty regarding the superpowers

• agreement showed a serious intent towards mutual cooperation between the two superpowers

• removed a major source of potential conflict

• eased the path towards further cooperation between east and west

what did the western powers do as a result of the austrian state treaty regarding west germany

western powers removed their occupation forces from west germany

when was the geneva summit

september 1955

what goals could khrushchev achieve if USSR had a less confrontational relationship with the west

• russia needed extensive conventional forces to ensure compliance among the eastern bloc states and to contribute to their security

• khrushchev also needed to promote internal economic development in the soviet union

• protect the soviet unions national security and global superpower status at the same time

why did eisenhower present the open skies proposal

to end the deadlock over the issue of the superpowers inspecting each others nuclear arsenals - thereby taking a step closer to disarmament

open skies proposal

• each superpower had to provide details of military installations

• to allow aerial reconnaissance

• one or more of the crew on each plane should be a representative of the inspecting nation

did khrushchev reject or accept the open skies proposal

reject

eisenhower’s vs khrushchev’s suggestion of future of germany

• eisenhower= proposed a unified germany , free elections and germany’s freedom to ensure its own security - which effectively meant it would become part of NATO

• khrushchev= proposed a unified germany if it was demilitarised and neutral

what did khrushchev refuse to talk about at the geneva summit

the future of the eastern bloc states

impact of the geneva summit

marked the beginning of dialogue between the superpowers

when was camp david

september 1959

what was camp david

khrushchev met with eisenhower in the USA to discuss peace and reduce tensions - first soviet leader to visit the USA

what was discussed at camp david

• disarmament and the situation in berlin

• agreed to settle international issues through diplomacy instead of force

who did khrushchev face opposition from due to his commitment to peaceful coexistence

china and many in the soviet hierarchy

when was the paris summit

may 1960

what did khrushchev want agreement on at paris summit

• wanted a deal over berlin

• an agreement to prohibit nuclear weapons in the pacific

• a ban on such weapons in germany

why did the paris summit collapse

due to the news that an american U-2 spy plane had been shot down while on a mission over the soviet union

what did the U-2 spy plane incident give USSR the opportunity to do with china

calm down opposition from china

when did john f kennedy become president

january 1961

john F kennedy

• 1917-63

• US president from 1961-63

• USA’s youngest president

• assassinated in 1963

• committed anti-communist

what did kennedy declare in his inauguration speech

that the USA would do whatever was necessary , regardless of the cost , to support the survival of liberty and freedom - reaffirmation of trumans doctrine

kennedy’s policies

• increased the defence budget and promised more conventional forces

• favoured an expansion of the USAs nuclear arsenal and its polaris missile submarine force

when was the vienna summit

June 1961

why did khrushchev humiliate kennedy at the vienna summit

• believed kennedy was a young unexperienced and politically vulnerable leader

• kennedys recent failed bay of pigs invasion

kennedy told the american people that berlin represented

a symbol of freedom

what did berlin symbolise

• a symbol of cold war confrontation

• symbol of the global differences between the superpowers

what did JFK ask congress to do after the vienna summit

• increase defence spending

• call up army reservists

• reactivate ships about to be scrapped

when did JFK call for a build up of NATO forces

25 july