Effects of the Cold War

1. Effects of the Cold War Successes and Failures of Socialism

2. OVERVIEW In this lesson we examine: • Context and perspectives of post-war socialism • Motives for reform • Effects of change in the USSR and beyond • New attempts to change • Events leading towards the collapse of the Soviet Union

3. Post-war Russia Context Question: During Operation Barbarossa, many citizens of the USSR initially supported the German invasion. What was the likelihood that Stalin would loosen his totalitarian rule after WWII?

4. Post-war Russia • 14.5 million soldiers were dead and over 7 million civilian killed • 17,000 cities and 70,000 villages were destroyed • 7 million horses and 17 million cattle lost • Factories converted entirely to war production and not consumer goods Compared to the other Allies, the Soviet Union bore the greatest losses against Nazi Germany

5. Post-war Russia • To maintain territorial security through spheres of influence • To continue political purges – 100,000 people continued to be purged for every year after 1945 until Stalin’s death in 1953 What were some of Stalin’s major domestic and foreign policy decisions? Despite the devastation of war, why did Stalin maintain the state terror apparatus? What was his purpose?

6. Post-war Russia Context Question: Prior to WWII, what was the nature of the relationship between the USSR and the West?

7. Western Capitalism • Class-based society • Dominance by corporate greed • Inequality for women and minorities • Unequal distribution of wealth How did the Soviets view themselves in theory and in reality? • Eastern Communism • Class-less society • State-controlled economy • Equality for all citizens • More equal distribution of wealth

8. Marxist Vision Class-less society State-controlled economy Equality for all citizens More equal distribution of wealth How was Stalin able to maintain the perception of fulfilling the Marxist vision despite its extreme differences from reality? What might have happened had reform not been pushed forward after his death? Stalinist Reality The party and the people Bureaucratic in-efficiency Purges and gulags Poverty and the lack of consumer goods

9. De-Stalinization • Denounced Stalin’s purges and leader cult at the 20th Party Congress in 1956 • Restored reputation of disgraced politicians (except Trotsky) • Released 8-9 million political prisoners • Shut down the NKVD (interior security police) • De-centralized agricultural and regional planning • Called for “peaceful co-existence” with the West With no clear successor after Stalin’s death, a brief power struggle resulted in Nikita Khrushchev’s takeover as prime minister of the government and also party secretary. He established a mandate for reform What were the possible benefits of removing the Stalinist elements from the state?

10. Increased consumer goods were produced, like refrigerators and televisions • Wages stagnated and housing was limited • Virgin Lands Project attempted to expand farming in agriculturally difficult areas – it failed to yield significant output • Political dissent rose up against the Party and the government within the state and in Eastern Europe What were some of the short-term results of Khrushchev’s reforms?

11. After the perceived defeat in the Cuban Missile Crisis and continued lack of progress in the domestic economy, Khrushchev was forced to step down in 1964 • Under Brezhnev and Kosygin, censorship returned and the KGB was created • Some degree of central planning also returned What had the process of de-Stalinization revealed to the Party leadership about the danger of reform? What were the long-term responses to Khrushchev’s reforms?

12. Challenges to Soviet control Context Question: What was the typical priority of needs for societies in the 20th century?

13. Challenges to Soviet control Poland • Wladislaw Gomulka built an alliance with the Roman Catholic Church • Protests put down in 1956 • Khrushchev warned Gomulka with a visit • Reforms continued After WWII, eastern European countries that had been liberated by the Red Army elected or were dominated by local Communist parties. In Eastern Europe, the response to Khrushchev’s de-Stalinization was dramatic and some satellite states attempted reform and moderation

14. Challenges to Soviet control Hungary • Open revolt in 1956 by students and intellectuals • Soviet troops invade Hungary • Imre Nagy arrested and executed in 1958 • The Soviets brought in Janos Kadar to take control Why was Poland treated differently than Hungary?

15. Challenges to Soviet control Czechoslovakia • Alexander Dubcek began “socialism with a human face” • “Prague Spring” of 1968: guaranteed freedom of speech, press, assembly, and religion • Multi-national Warsaw Pact force invaded the country • Dubcek was replaced by Gustav Husak In comparison to Poland and Hungary, why might Czechoslovakia have been more inclined towards Western-style democratic changes?

16. Challenges to Soviet control Yugoslavia • Liberated by Josef Tito rather than by Soviet forces • Became non-aligned (joined neither NATO nor Warsaw Pact) • Built strong trade ties with the West Some countries which were not liberated by the Red Army became communist as a result of their resistance movements. How was Yugoslavia different from the other Eastern Bloc countries? What major factor allowed states like Yugoslavia to avoid direct Soviet control?

17. The coming of change • Major domestic and economic reform did not occur under Brezhnev and Kosygin. Kosygin resigned in 1980 and Brezhnev died in 1982. • Yuri Andropov took over but died in 1984. • Konstantin Chernenko took over but died in only 13 months. • Mikhail Gorbachev became General Secretary of the Party in March 1985.

18. The coming of change “glasnost” openness Allowed free speech and open debate in newspapers, discussions and gatherings Allowed publication of facts about Stalinist regime “perestroika” restructuring Allowed limited free enterprise Attempted to reform state enterprises towards greater efficiency Created an elected legislature “novoye mneniya” new thinking Increased communication with Western powers Increased arms reduction What relationship existed between Western economic progress in the US and Europe and Gorbachev’s push for reform? What were Gorbachev’s three major programs for reform?

19. The chain reaction Glasnost/Perestroika Free discussion Free enterprise Limited elections Did the western powers face a similar dichotomy? Why or why not? As the brutality and problems of the Soviet system became more obvious, what dichotomy emerged? Soviet System Party’s monopoly of power Established state control One-party state

20. Poland – Communists lose power after free elections in 1989 East Germany – dissolved in mid-1990 after free elections Czechoslovakia – Communist government steps down in Nov 1989; country divides in 1993 Hungary – Communists lose in free elections of 1990 Rumania – Ceausescu’s totalitarian regime collapses in late 1989 Bulgaria – Communists lose in free elections of 1990 Yugoslavia – Country dissolves into smaller states from Dec 1990 to June 1991 Albania – Free elections take place in Mar 1991 Eastern European countries began to replace or overthrow their communist regimes without intervention by the Soviet Union What factors likely made Albania different from the other former Communist regimes?

21. The beginning of the end • Gorbachev’s plans met with limited economic success, resulting in lower GDP and shortages of food and consumer goods • As Eastern European countries replaced their communist governments, the USSR dissolved COMECON and the Warsaw Pact alliance • Republics within the USSR, like Lithuania and Georgia, began to break away

22. The beginning of the end Reformists wanted more widespread reforms than Gorbachev was willing to offer Conservatives wanted Gorbachev to return central power and use military force to bring back the secessionist republics and other satellite states Why was Gorbachev not willing to use force to solve the USSR’s problems? Why were the reformers unwilling to work with the government towards slower changes? Gorbachev’s leadership was untenable as he was surrounded by reformists and conservatives. How was he stuck ‘between a rock and hard place’?

23. The beginning of the end • An attempted coup led by hard-liners, such as Gorbachev’s prime minister, vice-president, defense minister and KGB chief started on August 19, 1991 • Boris Yeltsin led pro-democracy crowds to protest in front of the parliament buildings; the army withdrew and the coup leaders surrendered • Gorbachev was forced to step down over the crisis and Yeltsin took over the transitional government which dissolved the USSR in Dec 1991.

24. SUMMARY QUESTIONS • What factors led to de-Stalinization? • What were the effects of de-Stalinization? • Why were some Eastern European states treated differently than others? • What was the effect of “glasnost” and “perestroika?” • How did the defeat of communism abroad lead to the ultimate collapse of the USSR?