post Stalin thaw

IMPACT OF THE DEATH OF STALIN:

• on the evening on the 1st  March 1953, Stalin was discovered after suffering from a stroke, he died 4 days later
• it was met with great relief in the west where he was seen as the dominant figure in the Cold War development
• his death was seen as a determining factor in the development of the thaw
• the failure of the Soviet blockade in Berlin, formation of NATO and defection of Yugoslavia from the Cominform were all examples of Stalin's foreign policy failure
• his death was an opportunity for the new leader to change its approach to the…