Post-Stalin Thaw & Peaceful Coexistence Flashcards Preview

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Flashcards in Post-Stalin Thaw & Peaceful Coexistence Deck (94)
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1
Q

When did Stalin die?

A

1953

2
Q

What failures marked Stalin’s death?

A

Berlin Wall Blockade, NATO, Yugoslavia defecting from Cominform

3
Q

What was period of Collective Leadership?

A

1953-1955

4
Q

Who was apart of the Collective Leadership?

A

Malenkov, Molotov, Bulganin & Khrushchev

5
Q

How did the Collective Leadership attempt to reform Stalinist Soviet system?

A

Ending “personality cult” politics
Reforming the Secret Police - KGB
Arresting & Executing Beria (1953) & other hard line Stalinists
“New Course” economic policy (greater emphasis on consumer goods)

6
Q

When was Khrushchev’s Secret Speech?

A

February 1956

7
Q

What three things were included in his speech?

A

Promoting a cult of personality
Using purges & persecution to consolidate his personal rule
Reducing the Communist Party to a compliant body with complete control

8
Q

What was Khrushchev’s speech formally known as?

A

De-Stalinisation

9
Q

When did Khrushchev become leader?

A

1956

10
Q

When was NATO formed?

A

1949

11
Q

What was NATO?

A

A military alliance of the West to protect capitalism & prevent the spread of Communism

12
Q

When was the Berlin Uprising?

A

1953

13
Q

What was the Berlin Uprising?

A

400,00 workers protested against work quotas & wanted free elections

14
Q

Why didn’t the West intervene?

A

The fear of War

15
Q

Who was Malenkov (Melanie)

A

Part of the collective leader ship in 1953-56 & headed the New Course

16
Q

When was the Korea Truce?

A

July 1953

17
Q

What was the Korea Truce?

A

Armistice was negotiated along the 38th parallel

Moved away from Stalin & conflict & moved towards peacefully negotiating & the economy as war was EXPENSIVE

18
Q

Who was Beria?

A

Head of the secret police feared for being a hardline Stalinist
Tried to forge better relations with the West

19
Q

When was Beria executed?

A

1953

20
Q

What was the Warsaw Pact?

A

Military alliance of communist states in response to NATO

21
Q

When was the Warsaw Pact created?

A

1955

22
Q

When was it dissolved?

A

1991

23
Q

What were the economic causes of Peaceful Coexistence?

A

West would be overwhelmed by ECONOMIC SLUMP so the East could bide time
West believed USSR’s economic output would overtake the West due to the disintegration of imperialist colonial system

24
Q

What were the ideological causes of peaceful coexistence?

A

Both East & West established their spheres of influence (1940s) - there was a greater sense of security

25
Q

What did Malenkov propose?

A

The New Course
Diverting military spending to producing consumer goods
Attempts to reduce Cold War tensions & achieve peaceful coexistence

26
Q

Who headed peaceful coexistence?

A

Beria

27
Q

What was peaceful coexistence?

A

The East & West could work together & exist amongst each other despite different ideologies & avoiding military conflict

28
Q

What is Destalinisation?

A

Moving away from Stalin’s polices no cult of personality kgb secret police execution of Beria new course

29
Q

What did Khrushchev attack Stalin for?

A

Cult of personality

Purges & prediction. Communist Party - complaint body

30
Q

When was the Austrian State Treaty?

A

1955

31
Q

What did the Austrian State Treaty include?

A

Signed by 4 occupying powers removed all troops & guaranteed Austria’s independence as a neutral state

32
Q

When did the SU remove their troops from Finland?

A

1956

33
Q

What was the Finnish-Soviet Peace Treaty in 1947?

A

The end of conflict between Russia & Finland.

Land was returned to Finland & they pledged to remain neutral

34
Q

When did Eisenhower become President of the USA?

A

1953

35
Q

Who was Eisenhower?

A

Ex Army General in WW2 who criticised Truman for being to soft!

36
Q

What policy did Eisenhower adopt?

A

New Look - emphasised a hardline approach towards communism

37
Q

Who was Dulles?

A

Eisenhower’s Secretary of State (1953) who rejected containment policy & supported brinkmanship

38
Q

What was Massive Retaliation?

A

Eisenhower’s military strategy - respond to any nuclear attack big enough to annihilate the USSR

39
Q

What is Brinkmanship?

A

Eisenhower & Dulles - pushing opponents to the edge of war

40
Q

What are covert operations?

A

Secret military missions.

41
Q

What is MIC?

A

Military Industrial Complex

42
Q

What is the MIC?

A

A powerful clock created by the link between armed forces & sectors in economy reliant on defence orders.
Applied to both the USA & USSR?

43
Q

What was the U2 spy plane incident of 1958?

A

Eisenhower was confident the USA had nuclear superiority over the USSR due to data collected from the U2 spy plane.
He could negotiate from a position of strength

44
Q

When did Kennedy become president?

A

1961-1963

45
Q

What was Kennedy’s key policy?

A

Flexible Response

46
Q

What were the key features of flexible response?

A
  • moved away from nuclear weapons to covert actions & economic aid
47
Q

What was flexible response a reaction to?

A

A reaction to the belief that the USSR has a diverse range of things to spread their influence

48
Q

What was Kennedy’s famous quote?

A

We intend to have a wider choice than humiliation or nuclear war?

49
Q

When was the Berlin foreign Ministers conference?

A

Jan 1954

50
Q

What happened at the Berlin Foreign Ministers meeting?

A

Molotov called for the creation of all German government so they could move closer to reunification

51
Q

What happened to Molotov’s proposal?

A

West opposed because they wanted free elections therefore it was rejected

52
Q

What is Geneva Spirit?

A

The idea of the West & East working together peacefully

53
Q

When was the Geneva conference?

A

April-July 1954

54
Q

What happened at the Geneva Conference?

A

Discussion of Korea & Indochina
No progress on Korean agreement on Indochina
U.S. Refused to sign but pledged
French troops withdrawn from Indochina
Laos & Cambodia independent
Vietnam which was divided now reunited through free elections

55
Q

Why was the Geneva Conference significant?

A

1st indication of successful diplomacy

56
Q

When was the Geneva Summit?

A

July 1955

57
Q

What happened at the Geneva Summit?

A

West rejected SU proposal to neutralise Germany because of fear of Soviet Influence
European & Security Pact : replacing Warsaw & NATO - west saw it as dismantling NATO

58
Q

Why was the Geneva Summit?

A

1st East & West summit shaped good relations however they could not reach several agreements

59
Q

When did Khrushchev visit the U.S.?

A

1959

60
Q

Why was Khrushchev’s visit to the USA significant?

A

1st visit between USA and USSR

61
Q

Where was Khrushchev denied access to?

A

Disneyland - he then accused them of hiding weapons in there

62
Q

What mishap did Khrushchev make?

A

He announced ‘we will bury you’ although Khrushchev was blasting about the USSR’s economic growth the USA were afraid that he was referring to overtaking by nukes
*there was still no agreement on Germany

63
Q

When was the Paris Summit?

A

May 1960

64
Q

What happened at the Paris Summit?

A

Not v. Successful as both sides adopted a HARDLINE approach

West Germany & France were afraid the USA would give the USSR power over Germany?

65
Q

What led to the rapid decline in the thaw?

A

Gary Powers U2 spy plane was shot down by USSR in 1960

66
Q

When was the Vienna summit?

A

June 1961

67
Q

What did Khrushchev do?

A

He misjudged Kennedy & attempted to exploit his inexperience due to his recent failure with the Bay of Pigs - adopting an aggressive stance

68
Q

What was discussed at the Vienna Summit?

A

SU would support wars of national liberation because of colonial & capitalist powers
West should recognise sovereign status of East Germany
Berlin should be settled on SU terms within 6months

69
Q

When was the Polish Uprising (Poznan)

A

October 1956

70
Q

What happened during the Polish Uprising?

A

Mining community protested against Communism due to the jack of food consumer goods, poor housing & work quotas

71
Q

Who is Gomulka?

A

Leader of Poland’s communist party
- he made it clear that the people of Poland wanted change
But he had no plans to leave the Warsaw Pact or end communism

72
Q

When was the Hungarian uprising?

A

1956

73
Q

Who inspired the uprising & what happened?

A

Inspired by Poland

Widespread unrest about communist rule

74
Q

Who was Nagy?

A

Leader of the Hungarian Communist party until 1956

75
Q

What was Nagy’s neutrality declaration seen as?

A

An open revolt!

76
Q

What were the fatalities of the Hungarian Uprising?

A

2700 people died
35000 arrested
300 leaders executed

77
Q

Who replaced Nagy?

A

Kadar

78
Q

Who was Nagy critical of?

A

Stalin

79
Q

What did the SU do to Nagy

A

They thought he wanted to leave the Warsaw Pact - invades Hungary removed & executed him

80
Q

What was the Economic Miracle

A

West Germany’s rapid financial development

81
Q

When was the Berlin Ultimatum

A

1958

82
Q

When was the Vienna Ultimatum

A

1961

83
Q

What was discussed between 1958-1961 @ Berlin & Vienna?

A

Khrushchev approved Berlin Wall when Kennedy said no

4 Berlin Crisis - discussing reforms in Germany

84
Q

What did Khrushchev want to happen to Germany?

A

Berlin to be demilitarised - become a free city

85
Q

Why were the West unwilling to give access roots of Berlin to USSR?

A

Because it undermined propaganda

86
Q

Who was Walter Ulbricht?

A

Leader of East Germany

87
Q

What did Walter Ulbricht?

A

The Berlin Wall

88
Q

Who overruled Walter’s wish?

A

Khrushchev

89
Q

What was Ulbricht?

A

A hardline Stalinist who was politically educated in Moscow during WW2

90
Q

What was the GDR?

A

German Democratic Republic

- name of the communist state established in 1949 in Soviet zone of Germany

91
Q

How many people still risked their life to go to West Germany?

A

5000

92
Q

When was the Berlin Wall built?

A

1961 to stop the flood of refugees from East to West

93
Q

List achievements of the thaw.

A

Political diplomacy - Geneva spirit

Withdrawal of troops & neutrality - France Finland Austria

94
Q

Outline the limitations of the thaw

A

V. Little agreements were made & lack of cooperation