1. Eastern Europe
In the Soviet Shadow

2. Stalinization
Russia under Stalin was determined to create a buffer zone to its west
By 1948, all of Eastern Europe except Albania and Yugoslavia were within the Soviet sphere of influence

3. The USSR imposed Stalinist regimes on the Eastern European satellites
Involved the following:
One party police states
Planned economies
Collectivization of agriculture
These policies caused discontent among key segments of the population of Eastern Europe

4. De-Stalinization and the Brezhnev Doctrine
Stalin’s death prompted revolts and hopes for change
Push for change was furthered with Khruschev’s policy of de- Stalinization
Communist leaders in Poland and Hungary wished to establish a system more in keeping with national traditions

5. Polish party officials turned to Wladyslaw Gomulka
Soviet leaders warned the Polish leaders that their reforms had gone too far
Gomulka stayed in power by promising allegiance to the Warsaw Pact and because Soviet leaders had more of a problem with Hungary

6. In Hungary, the Communist Party replaced hard-line leaders with the former prime minister Imre Nagy
Nagy freed political prisoners and worked toward liberalizing Hungary’s political and economic system
Nagy announced withdrawal from the Warsaw Pact
Called on the world to recognize Hungary’s neutrality

7. The Soviets forced the Hungarian Communist party to depose Nagy
Appointed Janos Kadar as the new leader
Soviet tanks now rolled in and crushed the uprising
100,000 people died
200,000 people fled the country
Nagy was captured and hung

8. Czechoslovakia attempted to liberalize its communist system during the Prague Spring of 1968
Stalinist leaders were replaced with the Slovak reformer Alexander Dubcek
Dubcek reassured Soviet leaders of his nations commitment to the Warsaw Pact

9. However, he could not control the euphoria of the people
In August 1968, Soviet troops ended the reform and declared the Brezhnev Doctrine
Deviation from the socialist line would not be tolerated

10. The Fall of Communism Reasons for the collapse divide into
Propellant forces toward change
The lack of restraining forces against it

11. Economic problems
The economies of the Eastern European states were losing ground to more technological Western Europe
There was huge governmental debts in the East

12. The desire for national autonomy, religious freedom and political rights lingered
The presence of the Soviet army and the satellites agreement to maintain their borders only acted as checks on a revolutionary situation
When these checks were removed, the Berlin Wall came tumbling down

13. Poland Gomulka eventually resorted to repression to maintain order
Prince increases brought him down
His replacement embarked on economic reforms
But prince increases continued which led to discontent and strikes

14. Workers founded an independent labor union called Solidarity
Led by Lech Walesa
Emboldened by the election of a Polish Pope, workers demonstrated for free elections and a share in government
The communist leader General Jaruzelski declared martial law in 1981

15. Walesa was arrested and Solidarity was driven underground
By 1989, Solidarity had convinced the government to allow free elections
When they occurred, Solidarity won all but one seat in the legislature
Lech Walesa was elected president

16. Hungary
Janos Kadar maintained strong political control while allowing a more decentralized economy
By the 1980s, Hungary experienced economic stagnation and rising debt
Communist leaders pushed Kadar out of power

17. Opened the door to a more social democratic economy with multiparty elections
Hungary rehabilitated Nagy and other leaders of the revolt
Hungary removed the barbed wire “iron curtain” around its borders, triggering a flood of refugees from nearby East Germany

18. East Germany
Eric Honecker ruled East Germany with the aid of the state police, the Stasi
Possessed the strongest economy in Eastern Europe
Always felt insecure in the presence of their western sister

19. When Hungary opened its borders, the action prompted a flood of refugees fleeing west via circutious route
When Gorbachev visited East Germany, he inadvertently sparked a mass demonstration calling for reform and open travel

20. Honecker was removed from power
Opened travel through the Berlin Wall
Germany was reunified in October 1990

21. Czechoslovakia
Mass demonstrations broke out in 1989 in the capital of Prague
Charter ’77, led by Vaclav Havel, became a rallying point against the Stalinist regime
Within weeks, the communist monopoly on power evaporated

22. Replaced by free elections and a free press
Havel became the president of Czechoslovakia
Nonviolent change is termed the Velvet Revolution

23. The nation moved toward a multiparty political system and free-market economy
Slovakia pressed for independence
Velvet Divorce created the Czech Republic and Slovakia in 1993

24. Romania Iron-fisted Nikolae Ceausescu ruled
Wished to force Romania into the modern industrial age
Compromised the nations standard of living to pay off foreign debt and support his family’s lifestyle
Securitate – his police force

25. Protests broke out in the city of Timisora
Securitate smashed the revolt
Street battles broke out among the regular army and the Securitate
Ceaucescu’s forces collapsed and the dictator was captures
Executed on Christmas Day 1989

26. After Many of the former Soviet satellites entered NATO and the EU
Some nations had difficult moving toward parliamentary democracy and free markets

27. Yugoslavia Most violent break from communism
Croats and Serbs speak the same language but that is about all they shared
During WWI, Communist leader Tito liberated his nation from the Nazis and resisted Soviet domination

28. Tito experimented with a decentralized socialist economic system and a federation of ethnic states, kept tightly together by the authority of the Communist Party
Following his death, ethnic tensions reemerged
Crotia, Slovenia and Bosnia voted in 1991 for independence

29. This prompted a series of violent wars
Led by Slobodan Milosevic, Yugoslavia attacked Bosnia to recapture Serb territory
Serbian troops engaged in “ethnic cleansing”
Croation armies responded with their own atrocities against Serbs

30. In 1996, NATO and the US engineered a cease fire
Milosevic turned to the province of Kosovo
To halt another ethnic cleaning campaign, President Clinton led a NATO bombing operation
By 2001, Milosevic had been voted out of office and placed on trial at the Hague for crimes against humanity