Post-Stalin Thaw and Peaceful Co-existence
- Created by: Ryan Walters
- Created on: 09-05-14 21:00
De-Stalinisation & Khrushchev's Secret Speech
- Collective leadership under Malenkov, Molotov, Bulganin and Khrushchev to prevent one-man rule
Aimed at:
- ending 'personality cult' policies
- reforming the Secret Police (KGB)
- arresting and executing Beria (1953)
- follwing a 'new course' in economic policy - placed greater emphasis on production of consumer goods
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- at the Twentieth Party Congress (1956) Khrushchev denounced Stalin's reign of terror
- criticised for promoting a cult of personality, using purges and persecution and reducing the Communist Party to a compliant body
- created an expectation of reform amongst European Soviet satellite states
USSR and Peaceful Co-existence
- peaceful co-existence was a Soviet doctrine that was put forward in the 50s, which argued that peaceful relations between socialist and capitalist nations were possible
Why did the Soviet Union pursue peaceful co-existence?
- believed that sooner or later communism would triumph over capitalism without any damaging conflicts
- believed that the USSR's economic input would soon overtake the West
- by the 1940s both sides had consolidated their spheres of influence in Europe, left a greater sense of security
- the economic and military implications of the nuclear arms race
Moves towards peaceful co-existence
- bringing an end to the Korean War (1953)
- making cuts in the Red Army (mid 50s)
- the Austrian State Treaty (1955) - accepted a neutral Austria rather than divided between the WW2 allies
- withdrawal from Finland (1956)
Internal Threats: Berlin Rising & Poland
Berlin Rising (June 1953)
- Hard-line Stalinist East German leader Ulbricht continued to develop a strict command economy rather than consumer goods
- Ulbricht raised workers production quotas without increasing pay, provoking demonstrations
- 400,000 workers demonstrated, calling for free elections, a general strike and the lifting of quotas, and the government arrested and executed protest leaders
- demonstrated the unpopularity of traditional communist policies
Poland (1956)
- following the death of Stalinist leader Beriut, people called for liberalisation in Poland
- large demonstratons in the industrial city of Poznan turned into anti-government protests, and calls for Polish nationalist and moderate communist Gomulka to be given power
- Khrushchev tried to force Gomulka into backing down but after realising discontent he relented
- he decided that Gomulka became party leader to stem the unrest
Internal Threats: Hungary
Hungary (1956)
- July 1956, anti-Stalinist communist, Nagy, became Hungarian premier
- Nagy's moderate policies failed to halt demands for reform, and by October protestors were calling for a multi-party democracy, a free press and a withdrawal from the Warsaw Pact
- Nagy agreed to the demands and declared Hungary a neutral country, but the USSR viewed this an act of open revolt
- Red Army tanks entered Budapest to reassert Soviet control by force on 4th November, and by 11th November the uprising had been crushed and 'nationalist' Kadar had replaced Nagy
- Kadar's government reinstated one-party control, arrested 35,000 protestors and executing 300 leaders
- it exposed the problems with Khrushchev's approach to the Eastern Bloc
Eisenhower, Dulles and relations with the USSR
Eisenhower
- ex-soldier, appointed as 1st Supreme Commander of NATO (1950)
- served as Republican President of the USA (1953-1961)
- stressed 'New Look' policy of hard-line Cold War diplomacy to strengthen the USA's position in negotiations
Dulles
- an international lawyer and Republican
- became Eisenhower's Secretary of State (1953)
- staunch Presbyterian and anti-communist
Eisenhower and the search for improvements in relations with the USSR
- stressed 'New Look' policy in public but was prepared to act pragmatically to improve relations
- he knew that nuclear conflict could 'destroy civilisation'
- he was concerned that military spending was too high
- U-2 spy planes showed the USSR was considerably behind in the arms race
Key Features of Eisenhower's 'New Look' Policy
Massive retaliation
- the USA would make greater use of nuclear threats and place less reliance on conventional weapons
- circumstances under which 'massive retaliation' would happen were kept vague to put opponents at a disadvantage
Brinkmanship
- 'getting to the verge of war without getting into war'
Increased use of covert operations
- regular use of the CIA and development of U-2 spy planes to aid intelligence gathering
Domino Theory (1954)
Eisenhower Doctrine (1957)
- designed to stop potential communist control of middle Eastern oil supplies
'Geneva spirit'
Geneva Conference (April-July 1954)
- USA, USSR, UK and France met at Geneva to discuss Korea and Indochina
- no progress made on Korean War but a settlement made on Indochinese War:
- ceasefire declared and French troops withdrawn
- Laos and Cambodia established independent states
- Vietnam temporarily divided into communish north under Ho Chi Minh and westernised south under Bao Dai
- Vietnam to be reunited through free elections by 1956
- Dai's replacement, Ngo Din Diem cancelled the elctions in fear of Minh winning, leading to the beginning of the Vietnam war from Vietcong vs. South Vietnam campaign
Geneva Summit (July 1955)
- USA and USSR couldn't agree on a neutral Germany
- USSR wanted a new collective security system to replace NATO but USA rejected the idea
- USA wanted 'open skies' initiative so both countries could take aerial photographs over eachothers airspace, but USSR rejected the idea
Conference Diplomacy
Khrushchev's US visit and Camp David Summit (September 1959)
- the first summit involving only the USA and USSR, and took place following the death of Dulles
- built on the relationship established at Geneva, and agreed to hold a full summit in 1960
- still unable to reach agreement in matters such as Germany and disarmament
Paris Summit (May 1960)
- less succesful due to Khrushchev and Eisenhower adopting a harder line
- US under pressure from French and West German governments in fear of giving ground on issues such as Germany
- USSR under pressure from China in regards to apparent 'soft' policies towards the West
- Following U-2 spy plane incident (May 1960) the summit rapidly collapsed
Vienna Summit (June 1961)
- Khrushchev took a more agressive stance due to the new and apparently inexperienced Kennedy as new US President
- Only agreement made was to ensure an independent and neutral Laos
- Khrushchev misjudged Kennedy as weak
End of the Thaw: The U-2 Incident
The U-2 Incident (1960)
- 1st May, US U-2 spy plane was shot down over Russia by a Soviet missile, and the pilot captured
- initially, the US denied that any filghts over Russia had ever taken place and that it was merely a weather research plane that had strayed off course
- Khrushchev exposed the cover story by displaying the plane's espionage equipment
- Khrushchev demanded a US apology, and by the 11th of May, Eisenhower admitted about the plane and that flights would end, but refused to apologise
- the Paris Summit convened on the 14th of May
- 1962 the US pilot was exchanged for a captured Soviet spy
- the incident boosted Khrushchev's standing and made him more determined
End of the Thaw: Impact of the Berlin Crisis (1)
Second Berlin Crisis (1958-1959)
- Khrushchev wanted West Berlin to become a demilitarised 'free city', East-West talks on a German peace treaty and access routes to Berlin to be handed to East Germany within 6 months
- USA, UK and France rejected his demands and Dulles stated NATO would retaliate if Western access to Berlin was denied, and so Khrushchev backed down
Third Berlin Crisis - Berlin Wall (August 1961)
- Khrushchev insisted the West recognise East Germany and the US should withdraw from Berlin by the end of 1961
- Kennedy rejected the demands, but Khrushchev couldn't allow the exodus of East Germans to continue so built the Berlin Wall to prevent free movement
- Kennedy considered a limited nuclear first strike against the USSR, but dropped it after realising there was no threat to West Berlin
End of the Thaw: Impact of the Berlin Crisis (2)
Fourth Berlin Crisis (October 1961)
- following the building of the Berlin Wall, Kennedy sent General Lucius Clay to Berlin as his representative
- Clay's aim was to resist Soviet and East German pressure
- after a US diplomat couldn't enter East Berlin after not showing his passport (even though this was allowed), Clay provided a US military patrol to escort the diplomat into East Berlin
- Armed US soldiers began to accompany US citizens, and US tanks were stationed at Checkpoint Charlie, the chief crossing point between East and West Berlin
- 27th October, 33 Soviet tanks entered East Berlin with 23 positioned at the Brandenburg Gate and 10 at Checkpoint Charlie, facing US tanks
- The stand off ensured the US garrison in Berlin, NATO and SAC (Strategic Air Command) were put on alert
- Khrushchev authorised the Soviet commander in Berlin toreturn fire if attacked
- Kennedy directly contacted Khrushchev and proposed a joint staged removal of the forces, and after 16 hours facing each other, the tanks withdrew one by one on both sides
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