Sino-Soviet Split

Sino-Soviet Split

1. IDEOLOGY

   • Krushchev
     • Mao attacked Khrushchev for his secret speech/de-stalinisation
       • 'phoney' communism, indirect attack on Mao
     • Mao criticised Khrushchev for how he handled the Cuban Missile Crisis
       • attacked placement of detectable missiles
     • Conference of Communist Parties (1957) led to Chinese humiliation of Soviets
       • called on USSR to abandon revisionism
   • Mao
     • GLF (1958) was an abject failure, led to famine, and Soviets criticized him heavily for it
       • 'faulty in design and erroneous in practise'
     • Cultural Revolution (1966) led to power struggles/anarchy
       • red guards stormed Soviet embassy in Beijing
   • BREZHNEV
     • the Brezhnev Doctrine (1968) was worrying for Mao
       • all satellite states had to accept Soviet leadership
     • 1968 invasion of Czechoslovakia was condemned by Mao
       • known as the 'Prague Spring'

2. NATIONAL

   • Strategic issues
     • Taiwan crisis (1958) criticized by Khrushchev of being 'Trotskyist'
       • Mao ordered a build-up of troops
     • USSR backed Indonesia in the Sino-Indonesian conflict (1959-1962)
     • Khrushchev condemned China's involvement in the 1962 Sino-Indian conflict
       • supported India with $800 million in aid
   • Military issues
     • Nuclear rivalry intensified conflict, Mao believed violence to be a necessary part of revolution
       • USSR proposed joint control of China's nuclear programme in July 1958
       • July 1960, USSR withdraw experts aiding China in nuclear development
   • Border Conflict
     • both sides increased troops in 1962
       • along the Xinjiang frontier/Ussuri river
     • Ussuri river dispute (1969) was a culmination of tensions
       • Chinese ambushed a Soviet patrol, Soviets retaliated
       • Mao heard rumours about Moscow using nuclear force, so began preparing China for war

3. Personalities/Rivalries

   • Khrushchev and Mao
     • 1958/1959 meetings were used to further propaganda and humiliate the opposition
       • Khrushchev went to Beijing, soviet policy was attacked and the swimming pool incident occurred
       • Mao beat Russians to Mount Everest in May 1960
     • Competition for Allies led to global division and increased tensions
       • China supported Albania, Burma and Malay
       • China became paranoid about Soviet involvement in their aid of developing nations against colonialism
     • Albania caused rifts as USSR withdrew aid and China took this personally
       • led to final severance of diplomacy between USSR and PRC
       • USSR attacked Albania's regime as 'Stalinist', PRC observer walked out of the conference
       • Khrushchev called Mao the 'Asian Hitler' and a 'living corpse', Mao called Khrushchev a 'redundant old boot'
   • Brezhnev (from 1964) and Mao
     • Zhou Enlai declared Brezhnev's Russia to be 'Khrushchevism without Khrushchev'

4. Consequences/Significance

   • USSR lost ideological and moral authority
   • led Nixon to pursue a US-Sino relationship