USSR Control of Eastern Europe

1956 Poznan Uprising - Poland

• People wanted better working conditions, pay, lower taxes, lower working quotas and lower food prices.
• On June 28th, 1956, workers began demonstrations at a factory and they were joined by over 100,000 people. The protests became violent as the crowd freed prisoners, seized firearms and ransacking buildings.
• The rebellion was brutally crushed with around 75 dead and 500-600 wounded but it did lead to wage rises and other reforms.

1956 Hungarian Revolution 

• People wanted personal freedom, more food, removal of the secret police, and the removal of USSR control.
• On October 23rd, 1956 students took to the streets of Budapest, so Imre Nagy and Jamos Kadar were appointed prime and foreign minister. On October 31st Nagy broadcast that Hungary would withdraw itself from the Warsaw Pact.
• On November 4th, Soviet tanks went into Budapest to restore order and Nagy was tried, executed and buried and by November 14th "order" had been restored and Kadar was made a prime minister.

1968 Prague Spring - Czechoslovakia

• There was a weak economy, a lack of personal freedom and farmers had to follow Communist guidelines for production.
• In 1967 students began peacefully protesting, and in 1948 the newly appointed Dubček announced a plan to deliver 'socialism with a human face', allowing free speech and more freedom.
• The Soviet leader Brezhnev was suspicious of Dubček's plan, an n August 20th (to the surprise of the Czechs) tanks and soldiers moved into Czechoslovakia, and Husak replaced Dubček who eventually was kicked out of the Communist party.

Berlin Wall - 1961

Causes

• Brain drain: skilled workers like doctors, teachers, professionals, engineers and technicians were leaving East Germany for West Germany.
• The open border brought economic damages to East Germany.
• Many people were leaving East Germany because the quality of life was a lot better in the West.

• In 1961, Kennedy was president, young and inexperienced.
• Khrushchev told Kennedy to withdraw US troops from Berlin, but Kennedy refused.
• On August 13th, East German soldiers put up a barbed wire wall that was replaced quickly by a concrete wall.

• On October 27th Soviet and US tanks had a tense stand-off for 18 hours until the tanks pulled back.
• Everyone was relieved, and Ulbricht (head of East Germany) was ordered by Khrushchev to not increase tension.

Détente

• In the early 1970s, the USSR and US' relations were neutral.
• By 1975, they were at a high with the Helsinki conference.
• The Afghanistan War (1979-1970) was the lowest point in their relations, as they were on opposite sides.

Effects on Afghanistan

• The war cost a lot of money m and so that meant that factories and industries etc. weren't updated.
• A lot of o troops were in Afghanistan instead of "taking care" of revolts in Eastern Europe.

Solidarity

1979

• Pope visited Poland and inspired people to start fighting for better conditions.
• Lech Walesa founded the Solidarity Movement.

1980

• Led by Solidarity, strikes broke out all over Poland.
• Solidarity drew up their '21 Demands' (some of which ere more pay, end of censorship, broadcasting of Catholic church services and same welfare benefits as police and party welfare) in August.
• General Jaruzelski, the military prime minister, agreed to the 21 Demands on August 30th.

1981

• In January, Jaruzelski introduced martial law and put Walesa and thousands of others in jail. This turned Walesa into a hero. Solidarity was illegal.

1982

• Fearing a revolution, Jaruzelski "released" Walesa, who was practically under house arrest/

1983-1989

• Pope John Paul 2 (he was Polish) visited Poland again and expressed his support for the Solidarity movement, which was a propaganda disaster for Jaruzelski and the USSR.
• Over the next few years, Jaruzelski gradually lost control of Poland.
• In 1989, Solidarity became legal again and a member of Solidarity, Tadeusz Mazowiecki, became Prime Minister.

The Arms Race

• US and USSR were in a race to get to space first, which the USSR did, but the US got the first man on the moon.
• A lot of money was spent on it instead of other important things.

Economic Problems

• The Soviet economy was backwards.
• Industries badly needed updating, and so huge environmental disasters, like Chernobyl, occurred.
• Most people were a lot poorer than in the West, so the standard of living was significantly lower.

Gorbachev and his Policies

Glasnost

• Openness in the government, so open debate, honesty and a reduction in censorship.

Perestroika

• A program that allowed business movement that isn't state-controlled. For the first time in 60 years (introduced in 1987) it was no longer illegal to buy and sell for profit.

Policies in Eastern Europe

• The Soviet Union wouldn't intervene in situations.
• Eastern European countries needed to reform their own countries.

Defence Spending

• The nuclear arms race and Afghanistan was an enormous financial drain on the Soviet economy at a time when it was in trouble anyway. After almost 80 years, the Red Army began to shrink

International Relations

• Withdrew troops from Afghanistan, he and Reagan got along well, talked about trust, and because US and USSR relations were good, there was less of a need to control Eastern Europe.

The Collapse of the USSR

1990

• Lithuania, Azerbaijan and Ukraine and other republics declared their independence.
• In October, Gorbachev received the Nobel Peace Prize for his contribution to ending the Cold War.

1991

• By December, the USSR was finished and Gorbachev with it.
• In a televised speech on December 25th, Gorbachev announced his resignation and the end of the Soviet Union.