Sino-Soviet Split

1. Sino-Soviet Split Objective: To understand the background and rise to the Communist “friendship” and the causes of its demise

3. Background Info • Did the Soviets start off on good terms with the Maoists?

4. Who was to Blame for the Sino-Soviet Split? • We are going to analyze several events and factors that let to the split of the Sino-Soviet relations in 1968. • As we talk about each one, note down, according to you, who was more to blame. • You will take on the role as Mao. Try and decide how he would react in each situation.

5. Sino-Soviet Treaty of Friendship 1950 After defeating the GMD in a 20 year guerilla-style civil war, Stalin finally recognizes you and apologizes for not believing in you. He invites you to Moscow. In Moscow, you wait for 10 days before he can see you. The villa is less than adequate with nothing more than a ping pong table to entertain you. You finally meet with Stalin where he exerts his power over you by offering you a loan much less than was given to other Eastern bloc states. You immediately hate each other because you are both alpha males. What do you do? • Gratefully accept what the Soviets have to offer. You wouldn’t have been successful anyways if it hadn’t been for their prior example. • Accept it, but only because you have no other option. You’ll earn his respect later. You are comrades after all. • Reject it, and confront Stalin about the spies he has examining your poo back at the villa. Is this what comrades do?

6. Khrushchev’s de-Stalinization speech 1956 Stalin dies and Nikita Khrushchev takes over. As a way for him to consolidate power, he starts to attack the cult of personality surrounding Stalin, labeling him as a genocidal maniac. For you, this is a personal attack. You never liked Stalin. You despised him actually, but you respected him. You have been trying for years to build up your own cult of personality. You are central to the survival of the CCP. Your quotes are being recited in schools. Your words and name are directly referred to in the government mandates. You are fearful that your own party will begin to speak similarly. But are you ready to attack the great Soviet leader? • You turn a new leaf and realize that Stalin didn’t follow the ideals of true communism. You and Nikita are BFF now. • Relations still aren’t good, but necessary at the moment since China is still suffering from Korea. You lay quiet. • You immediately call up the Soviet leader labelling him a “revisionist pig” and put the newspapers against him.

7. Khrushchev’s 1958 visit to China After a heated conference in Moscow, where the Foreign Secretary said that Chinese navy should submit to the Soviets, Nikita comes for a visit at the beginning of the Great Leap Forward. He wants to try and calm the waters. You see this as a great gesture on his part. OR You see this as a chance to get your revenge from your earlier stay in Moscow with the poo-scavengers • You throw out the red carpet for him and wow him with Chinese luxuries. You try to show him what true hospitality is and that you would never “dishonor your comrade”. • You seek ultimate revenge by putting him in a hot Beijing residence with no air conditioning or mosquito netting. In addition, you embarrass him by inviting him to your swimming pool for a meeting/swim. You know Nikita hates swimming, which is all the more satisfying • You take a vacation and let Premier Zhou Enlai take care of him.

8. Response to the Great Leap Forward (1959) Not only was the Great Leap Forward an utter failure for you, but the possibility that the Soviets would find out about the great blunder was the last thing you needed. The Soviets received information about the total catastrophe and the degree of starvation in the countryside from a high-ranking Chinese official. The Soviet government declared that the concepts and the applications used were ‘unorthodox’ and the Soviet official press reveled in the failure, denouncing Mao. How do you respond: • Admit your mistake and ask for some help with grain imports. • Become furious that word of your failure got to your “older, more experienced comrade” and wait for the right time to get back at these “revisionist pigs”. • Send Khrushchev Anthrax to silence his criticism.

9. Albania - 1961 Albania was a communist country with a neo-Stalinist government. In 1961, they stood up to the Soviets and refused to accept further Moscow directions. In response, the Soviets stopped all aid to the small nation. The PRC immediately stepped in to aid the country for the sole reason of “sticking it to the Soviets”. In the 1961 Moscow Conference, the Soviets start talking about severing ties with Albania. What do you do? • You were expecting this, so have your delegation make a coordinated exit in the middle of the meeting, signaling a climax in the current Sino-Soviet tensions • You keep your mouth shut, because you know that this is a game of chess, and you need to be patient to win. • You stand up and yell at the Soviet representative for their revisionist ideas and softness towards the West.

10. Cuban Missile Crisis 1962 Not only did the Soviets not aid you (as the Golden Rule of Communist Comradship states) in your struggle in the Sino-Indian war earlier that year, but there was an incident in Cuba. You find it excellent that the Soviets have put nuclear bases on Cuba aimed at the dirty imperialists, but then Khrushchev gives in to the demands of the American President John F Kennedy and takes them down. How do you respond? • You understand the situation of the blockade and realize that the Soviets did get something out of it in the end. You praise them for “sticking it to the imperialists”. • You are completely embarrassed that the Soviets were not inspiring the masses towards world revolution against the American imperialists. • You plan to send your own nuclear weapons to Cuba. While the Soviets have made an agreement, you on the other hand, have not.

11. Nuclear Weapons 63/64 The Test Ban Treaty of 1963 between the Soviets and Americans was another disgraceful action for you and the Chinese. How could these revisionists give up on the revolution? After taking back all their help to you in regards to your nuclear program, you decide to go at it alone. The Soviets claimed that you were a nuclear-war hungry animal. In 1964, you celebrate your ability to produce a nuclear bomb. Three years later, you make a hydrogen bomb. Things are good. Why are the Soviets so afraid that you might not fear a nuclear war? Is it because you said: • “I’m not afraid of nuclear war. There are 2.7 billion people in the world; it doesn’t matter if some are killed. China has a population of 600 million; even if half of them are killed, there are still 300 million people left. I’m not afraid of anyone.” • "We have a very large territory and a big population. Atomic bombs could not kill all of us.“ • ‘We are willing to endure the first [US nuclear] attack. All it is is a big pile of people dying.‘ –conversation with Khrushchev • All of the above

12. Brezhnev Doctrine In 1968 Soviet tanks arrived in Prague to “settle” the issue of the Prague Spring. This was large in part due to the so-called “Brezhnev Doctrine”, which said the Soviets had the right to use military power to aid Communist parties in nearby socialist states. You, as another nearby socialist state are fearful that the Soviets might use this doctrine to mean whatever they want it to mean. Today – Prague Tomorrow – Beijing? How do you respond? • You realize those Praguers have always been a problem due to them being a nation of drunkards. • You take the opportunity to create your own doctrine and use it to attack Taiwan. • You find this to be a dangerous threat to Chinese independence and, it becomes the final straw in the tense Sino-Soviet relations.

13. Review Point: The Sino-Soviet Split 1950-68 Stalin’s attitude to Mao Cuban Missile Crisis Albania - 1961 YOUR TASK; • How did each of the following lead to the split between the USSR and the PRC? • Prioritize the events in order of importance. • Was there a ‘turning point’ event at which time the Sino-Soviet split became inevitable? • Which side seems to be more responsible for causing the split – the Soviets or the Chinese? Stalin’s death Khrushchev’s new policies Mao’s response to Khrushchev The Great Leap Forward Nuclear Weapons 63/64 Brezhnev Doctrine