The USSR’s influence and domination of Eastern Europe during the 40’s and the 50’s of the previous century has left indisputable marks upon the region’s economic, political and global status, evident still today. As to how this Soviet control was garnered and maintained, and the measure of effectiveness it had, there are two main time periods to examine, namely, Eastern Europe under Stalin, and destalinised Russia under Khrushchev. If control were defined as the “ability to authorize, manage or direct”, the former time period would be relatively more effective than the latter. For the sake of the argument, we will only deal with the Soviet Union’s influence on Eastern Europe under the Stalinist regime.
Under Stalin’s rule, the most effective methods of gaining control over the USSR’s satellite states included Salami Tactics (1947-1950) Comecon (1950’s), and militaristic threat and presence. The Salami Tactics, conceived in the late 1940’s by the Hungarian communist leader, Matyas Rakosi, and was implemented successfully by the beginning of the 1950’s. Consecutively, Albania (1945), Bulgaria (1945), Poland (1947), Romania (1945-47), Hungary (1947), Czechoslovakia (1945-48) and East Germany (1949), fell within the grasp of the USSR through the formation of coalitions, discrediting and executing opposing forces until the communist party alone was in power. The plan to take a nation ‘slice by slice’ was especially effective in the case of Hungary, where the country was invaded by Russians, allowed to hold elections, where the opposing party gained the majority, and lead by Rakosi, the communist party came to full power through the banning of anti-communist parties, setting up of the police force AVO and the arresting of thousands of non-communists. Similar strategies were used in the other East European countries. Salami Tactics was the political foundation upon which Soviet control was exercised.
The Essay on Book Comparison Of The Rise Of Communist Parties: Soviet Union And China
The first half of the twentieth century were the breeding years of Communism. The books Hitler, Stalin, and Mussolini by Bruce F. Pauley and China in Transformation by Colin Mackerras both deal with the rise of Communism, the former in the Soviet Union and the latter in China. Although one book deals with the rise of Communism in the Soviet Union and the other book deals with the rise of Communism ...
The Council for Mutual Economic Assistance (Comecon), dating back to 1949’s common agreement between the Soviet Union, Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Poland and Romania likewise, was the a method Stalin employed to isolate Eastern Europe from the West, counter the Marshall Plan and to possess the access to each country’s natural and human resources. Hence, with the production of each country in Stalin’s hands, the Soviet Union was able to acquire “the raw materials, foodstuffs, machines, equipment, etc.” that was a part of the stated purpose of the organization, even though USSR’s needs were prioritized. This was demonstrated through the Soviet possession of 90% of all member countries’ land and energy resources, 70% of their population, 65% of their national income, and industrial and military capacities only second to the US in the world. The Comecon committee headquarters were mainly set in Moscow and most of the officials within the group could attest to Soviet Union’s controlling domination unto the partnering countries.
Moreover, the military presence and pressure that Stalin placed on Eastern Europe only further accentuated the fear that these countries ought to have for the Russian Giant. The presence of Red Army troops in each country and the bloody military interventions as seen in Hungary and Czechoslovakia, along with a common knowledge of the brutal ruthlessness of Stalin were enough to keep them obedient to the will of the Russian leader. Stalin’s Warsaw Pact, not only realistically served as a working alliance in the case of war, but also as a method of attaining the faithfulness of communist Europe. By externalizing the enemy and exaggerating the fear of a remilitarized Germany, the seeming betrayal of the Western Allies and the ever increasing tension between the East and the West, Stalin’s Pact united the nations in his internal sphere of influence. The battle became that of between the communists and the non-communists, drowning out the desperate needs of his internal satellite states. His militaristic presence and focus, was another leash with which he controlled Eastern Europe.
The Term Paper on Eastern Europe Stalin War Soviet
Before we can examine and understand the decisions made at these three conferences and their affects thereafter, we must first understand the situation in Europe as the 2 nd World War was drawing to a close and the intentions and foreign policies of both the Allies and particularly the USSR. When fighting in Europe ended in May 1945, the USSR occupied most of Eastern Europe, including: the Baltic ...
Through political, economic and militaristic measures, Stalin’s methods of attaining and maintaining control over Eastern European communist countries were proven efficient as long as he was in power. However, under Khrushchev, most of those binds the USSR had on its lackeys were broken. It cannot be questioned that it was within Khrushchev and the Soviet Union’s interest to keep the servile relations the USSR had with nations in its sphere of influence, but the methods that Khrushchev employed were proven futile and gave rise to the subversive restlessness in the 1950s.
