Strife in the Communist World


This was an intersting module looking at the relationship between the Soviet Union and its Eastern European satellites. As far as Russia was concerned it was vital for the defence of the Motherland to retain a series of strongly pro-Soviet buffer states. The Warsaw Pact was essentially a defensive grouping to protect Rusia. America failed to recognise just how badly Russia had suffered in WW2. Stalin genuinely feared German re-unification, especially having luived through WW1 and WW2. Russia retained control over East Europe (less Yugoslavia) through the threat of force or actual use of force. This was shown in East Germany, Hungary and Czechoslivakia.

The emergance of the opposition movement 'Solidarity' in Poland over 1980/81 is particularly interesting. The Soviets did not invade (nor could they due to a large scale involvement in Afghanistan) and Regan clearly sought to pressurise the USSR. Although Solidarity was repressed by the Communist Government of Poland, this to me is one of the first major cracks in the East European Bloc. It had massive popular support in Poland (who generally disliked the Russians) and as was seen at the end of the Cold War Solidarity did well as a political body in Poland.