How secure was the USSR's control over Eastern Europe?

1. USSR Control
How secure was the USSR’s control over Eastern Europe 1948-1989?

2. FOCUS POINTS
• Why was there opposition to Soviet control in Hungary in 1956 and
Czechoslovakia in 1968? How did the Soviet Union react to this
opposition?
• How similar were events in Hungary in 1956 and Czechoslovakia in
1968?
• Why was the Berlin Wall built in 1961?
• What was the significance of ‘Solidarity’ in Poland for the decline of
the Soviet influence in eastern Europe?
• How far was Gorbachev personally responsible for the collapse of
Soviet control over eastern Europe?

3. How did the Soviet
Union seize control in
Eastern Europe?
• Post-war political vacuum in most of
eastern Europe. Stalin helped Communist
parties win power.
• Need to restore law and order. Good
excuse for Stalin to intervene as Soviet
troops occupied eastern Europe.
• Economies of eastern Europe shattered.
East European countries had to follow the
Soviet economic policies. Countries had
to trade with USSR through COMCON.
• Stalin’s public reason to control eastern
Europe was a buffer zone to defend the
USSR from invasion from the West.
• Stalin also wanted to benefit from the
wealth of eastern Europe.

4. How did Soviet control
affect the people of
eastern Europe?
• Freedom: Long tradition of freedom of
speech. Soviet control = censorship. travel
control, imprisonment for anti-communist
activities.
• Wealth: Repression and loss of freedom
made people reject Communism.
Economies did not recover, wages fell
behind Western Europe. Marshall Aid
forbidden.
• Consumer goods: People in Europe short of
coal, milk, meat. Clothing and shoes
expensive. Consumer goods/appliances
common in Western Europe. Eastern
factories did not produce what people
wanted, only what USSR wanted!
• Protest banned: East German protests led
to Soviet tanks rolling in and Soviet troops
killed 40 and injured 400+!

5. Rise of
Khrushchev
After Stalin’s death in 1953, Khrushchev
emerged in 1955. He:
• Ended USSR’s feuds with China and
Yugoslavia.
• Talked of peaceful coexistence with
West.
• Made plans to reduce expenditure on
arms.
• Attended first post-war summit – USSR,
USA, France, Britain July 1955.
• Wanted to improve living standards of
ordinary citizens.

6. De-Stalinization
At the Communist Party International 1956,
Khrushchev made an astonishing attack on
Stalin. He told the gory details of purges and:
• Denounced him as a tyrant
• Enemy of the people
• Kept power all to himself
Further:
• Closed down COMINFORM
• Released thousands of political prisoners
• Agreed to pull Soviet troops out of Austria.
(Been there since WW2)
• Invited Tito to Moscow
• Dismissed Molotov
• Indicated more ‘freedom’ for Eastern
Europe.

7. CHALLENGES to
Soviet control
• Khrushchev’s criticism of Stalin sent a strong message
to opposition groups in eastern Europe.
• Aim in eastern Europe was still a buffer against the
West.
• 1955 he created WARSAW Pact – military alliance vs
NATO. Dominated by Soviet Union
Challenges:
• Summer 1956 Polish demonstrators against rising food
prices attacked police.
• 53 workers killed by Polish army in Poznan
• Polish government unable to control.
• Khrushchev moved troops to Polish border.
• Khrushchev accepted Gomulka appointed new Polish
leader.
• Soviets agreed not to persecute members of Catholic
Church.
• Troops removed from border.
• Situation resolved by new Polish government.

8. Hungary
1956
1949-1956 Hungary led by hard-line communist Matyas
Rakosi. Hungarians hated restrictions of Communism.
What happened:
• June 1956 a group within the Communist Party
opposed Rakosi.
• Rakosi called on Moscow to arrest 400 opponents.
• Moscow refused and ‘retired’ Rakosi.
• Discontent at new ruler, Gero, caused student
demonstration in October.
• USSR allowed new government under Nagy to be
formed. Tanks withdrawn.
• Hungarians created thousands of local councils to
replace Soviet power.
• 1000’s of Hungarian soldiers defected to rebels.
• New government proposed free elections and
reintroduction of capitalism and withdrawal from
Warsaw Pact. Become neutral.
• Hoped for support from Eisenhower.

9. Soviet
response
• Khrushchev accepted reforms, but rejected
them leaving the Warsaw Pact.
• November 1000’s of Soviet troops and tanks
entered Budapest.
• Hungarians fought on.
• 2 weeks of bitter fighting. 3000+ Hungarians
and 1000+ died.
• 300 000 Hungarians fled to Austria.
• Western powers protested in and beyond UN.
• Western Powers preoccupied with Suez Crisis.
(Explain)
• Soviets crushed the uprising.
• Kadar placed as new leader. 35 000 anti-
Communists arrested. 300 executed.
• Some reforms introduced. Warsaw Pact
remained.

10. Berlin Wall
1961- Problem
Problem:
• Crushing of Hungary proved it impossible to
fight communism.
• Leaving was the only option for economic
and political reasons.
• In Berlin, living standards in West were
higher with much variety of capitalist life
• East Germans could watch Western TV.
• 1950’s East Germans could travel freely into
West Berlin.
• East Germans tempted to leave harsh
Communist East and hardline leader,
Walter Ulbricht.
• By late 1950’s thousands were leaving for
the West and not returning.

11. Berlin Wall
1961- Solution
Solution:
• 1961 USA had a new, young and inexperienced
president, JFK.
• Khrushchev thought he could bully him and picked a
fight over Berlin.
• Khrushchev insisted the USA withdraw troops from
Berlin. JFK refused.
• Sunday 13 August a barbed wire barricade separated
East and West Berlin ending all movement across
sectors.
• One crossing was kept open – Checkpoint Charlie.
• East German guards had orders to shoot anyone trying
to cross this barrier.
• Over 2000 were killed over the next 29 years.
• The Communists claimed it was to keep Nazi
sympathisers and spies out.
• Real reason was to stop the bleeding of East German
technicians, etc. fleeing to the West.

12. OutcomeOutcome:
• Wall created a major crisis as access had been
guaranteed by allies since 1945.
• US diplomats crossed through Checkpoint Charlie
regularly after the wire to test Communists reaction.
• 27 October 1961 Soviet tanks pulled up at Checkpoint
Charlie.
• US and Soviet tanks faced off, fully loaded, for 18
hours.
• US informed Soviets that they would withdraw if
Soviets did.
• Tanks reversed 5m in turn at a time.
• Crisis ends. Khrushchev warned Ulbricht not to cause
any more actions.
• JFK accepted the Wall as an alternative to war.
• Communists saw it as a protective shell.
• West saw it as a prison wall.

13. Czechoslovakia and the Prague Spring
1968
What happened?
• Czech people did not accept communism.
• 1967 Alexander Dubcek became leader.
• Proposed reforms as ‘socialism with a human face’.
• Less censorship, more freedom of speech and reduced secret police
activity.
• He was a communist but believed it could be less restrictive.
• He learned lessons from the Hungarian uprising.
• Dubcek assured Brezhnev they would not withdraw from Warsaw Pact or
COMECON.
• Attacks on communist leadership commenced in the press.
• Attacks on corrupt officials and repressive practices.
• The Prague Spring emerged with all the new radical ideas.
• Talk of a new party, the Social Democratic Party being set up.
Soviet response
• Soviet Union suspicious of changes in Czechoslovakia.
• Soviets concerned that new ideas would spread to other satellite eastern
European countries.
• East German Ulbricht and Poland Gomulka wanted Brezhnev to restrain
Dubcek.
• USSR tried to slow Dubcek down by arguing the changes.
• East Germans , Polish and Soviet troops held training exercises on Czech
border.
• Brezhnev considered a wheat boycott, but refrained as it was afraid the
West would fill the gap.
• July 1968 Dubcek agreed at the USSR Summit Conference not to have a
Socialist Party, but kept other reforms.
• August 20 Soviet tanks rolled into Czechoslovakia.
• Little resistance, but Czechs refused to co-operate with troops.
• Dubcek removed from leadership.
• Experiment with freedom failed as it was unacceptable to Communist
countries

14. Outcomes
• Dubcek was gradually downgraded and
finally expelled from the Communist Party.
• Czech mood had been one of optimism in
1968 before Soviet intervention.
• Czech now became resentful of Soviet
connection.
• Ideas that could have reformed
Communism were silenced.
• Dubcek agreed to remain in the Pact and
COMECON, but Brezhnev was concerned
the reform ideas would spread.
• Communist leaders in other Eastern Bloc
countries feared that their people would
demand the same freedoms.
• Brezhnev Doctrine emerged as a result: One
party system. Remain a member of the
Warsaw Pact.

15. Solidarity in
Poland 1980-81
Solidarity’s success:
• Polish dockworkers in Gdansk put forward 21
demands to government – called themselves
Solidarity under Lech Walesa.
• 21 Demands included right to strike and free
trade unions.
• 3.5 million members 1980, 9.4 m 1981.
• Solidarity Union strongest in industries most
important to the government.
• Solidarity not seen as an alternative to the
Communist Party.
• Walesa careful in negotiations with
government.
• Support of Catholic Church.
• Government playing for time.
• Soviet casting half a wary eye on the West
where support for Walesa was extensive.

16. ‘Crushing’
Solidarity
1981 General Jaruzelski ‘succeeded’ the Prime Minister.
Solidarity published an ‘open letter’ saying they were
campaigning for the rights of workers throughout the
Communist Bloc.
Jaruzelski and Walesa held talks which broke down.
Walesa and 10 000 other Solidarity leaders put in prison.
• Brezhnev ordered Soviet army to hold manoeuvres on
Polish border.
• Solidarity seen as setting up a new government in
secret.
• Poland was short of food and unemployment was
rising. Wages were not increasing with inflation.
• Polish people no longer trusted Communist Party.
• Jaruzelski’s Polish government used force to crush
Solidarity.
If military force was not used, then Communism was very
shaky indeed.

17. Significance of
SOLIDARITY
• Highlighted the failure of Communism to
supply good living standards.
• Highlighted inefficiency and corruption.
• Showed an organization could resist a
Communist government.
• It showed that Communist governments
could be threatened by ‘people power’.
• If Soviet policy were to change then
Communist control would not survive.
• Solidarity re-emerged in 1988 as a
powerful tool to change the system.

18. Solidarity victorious.
1988:
• Solidarity re-emerged from underground as
the Polish economy failed due to international
sanctions and inefficiency by government.
• Other unions called for change and eventually
joined with Solidarity.
• Solidarity were accepted as a political party for
the 1988 elections.
• Solidarity won all 161 seats in the House and
99 of 100 in the /senate.
• Other Eastern Bloc countries followed suit.
• USSR’s Gorbachev had introduced Glasnost
‘openness’ and Perestroika ‘new economic
policy’.
• Gorbachev announced; ‘We will not intervene’
if Eastern Bloc wanted to reform.
• Walesa became the first non-communist
leader since WW2.

19. Gorbachev. Pg 138