Soviet expansion into Eastern Europe

USSR EXPANSION INTO EASTERN EUROPE

• Three different groups of countries they expanded into:
• Those that enveloped the USSR : Latvia, Ukraine, Belarus, Lithuania, Estonia
• Those with governments supported by Communism : Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia, Poland, East Germany
• Those who became Communist independently : Albania, Yugoslavia

HOW DID THE SOVIETS GAIN CONTROL?

• Genuine appeal - widespread poverty (breeding ground for communism) / mass unemployment (communism provides employment) / insecurity after the war - IN MAY 1946 THEY WON 38% OF THE VOTE IN A RELATIVELY FREE ELECTION
• Communists joined coalition governments
• Communist parties 'merged' with other socialist groups to gain influence
• Gained key positions in government to control elections
• Red army in Eastern Europe - 11 MILLION DURING THE WAR, 4 MILLION REMAINED AFTERWARDS
• The Naughty Document meant the UK didn't interfere

COUNTRIES THEY TOOK OVER

• Poland
• - Communists weakened other parties by merging with Polish socialists
• - Removed the Deputy PM for 'national deviation'
• Romania
• - Red Army remained so the KIng was forced to appoint a communist government
• - They were popular even so, they faced little opposition
• Bulgaria
• - Communists manipulated elections and forced the removal of opponents (GRADUALISM)
• - The main opposition, the Agrarian Party, were forcibly absorbed into communism and their leader executed
• Hungary
• - Communists allied with other parties to challenge their largests opponent
• - Political opponents were arrested
• - Their elections were rigged
• Czechoslovakia
• - Communism was popular with the peasants because they received land at the end of the war
• - February 1948 : all non-communist members of government resigned

WHY DID THEY WANT MORE POWER?

• Reinforcement of Soviet security - the US had military bases which the USSR thought was used to intimidate them as they seemed to surround them
• Protection from dollar imperialism
• Preventing against a US 'world government'
• How did Stalin justify it?
• Defense against dollar imperialism - shown by military bases throughout the world / heavy investment in Europe with the Marshall Plan