Eastern Europe Since 1945

· The Russians lost 21 million people in WWII

· The new government of Stalin was very bitter and suspicious. Stalin felt justified taking control of Central and Eastern Europe. These countries were considered a buffer zone against any capitalist aggression.

· Puppet countries were set up in most Eastern bloc countries, ready to take their orders from Moscow and the Kremlin

· Stalin’s secret police led by Baria, were to weed out any opposition to communist rule in Eastern Europe

· They did the job ruthlessly. Each Eastern bloc country had a democratic constitution; however their basic rights and freedoms were limited by the interference of the communists.

· Stalin confiscated raw materials from each country to help build up and maintain large armed forces. They had become a super power with nuclear weapons and other countries such as Greece and Turkey’s communist agitators tried to take over their government by force and propaganda.

· Communist parties began to appear all over Europe; even in North America. After Stalin’ death in 1953, a new leadership was developed which was not as strict. After Stalin’s death the country would begin a de-Stalinization process, removing his statues and pictures from the country.

· Details of his brutal dictatorship were revealed to the Russian people. Many political prisoners were released.

· Eastern European countries were called Satellite countries because they revolved around Russia or the USSR – Union Soviet Socialist Republic

· Two rebellions take place: Hungary in 1956 and Czechoslovakia in 1968. These were attempts to break free from the USSR

· Both rebellions failed. By 1980, a solidarity movement in Poland gained success, indicating that Moscow was losing its grip on the Eastern European countries. (Poland, East Germany, Bulgaria, Romania, Hungary and Czechoslovakia)