18.1.4

Satellite States

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Satellite States

The creation of Soviet 'satellite states' in Eastern Europe were important in early US-Soviet relations.

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Satellite states

  • 'Satellite states' are countries that are officially independent, meaning they make their own rules and laws like any other country.
  • However in reality they are influenced or controlled (politically, economically and/or militarily) by another country.
  • This control can be a lot or a little.
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Poland

  • The allies had agreed that Poland would be a democracy.
  • However, Stalin broke this promise.
  • He turned it into a satellite state (a country unofficially controlled by the Soviet Union).
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Buffer zones

  • The Soviet Union had been invaded twice by Germany (in 1914 and 1941).
  • This had caused huge territorial, industrial and human loss.
  • Because of this Stalin viewed the satellite states as a necessary buffer against invasion.
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Rigged elections

  • The Soviet Union had promised free and fair elections in neighbouring countries, but they went back on their promise between 1947 and 1949.
  • Everyone did not choose communism as the Soviets had thought they would.
  • So Stalin fixed the elections to ensure the Communist Party would win.
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Salami tactics

  • After the elections, opposition was shut down.
    • This was known as ‘salami tactics’.
  • In the late 1940s, communist leaders were installed in:
    • Bulgaria, Romania, Poland, Hungary, Czechoslovakia, East Germany.
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The Soviet justification

  • The Soviet Union’s actions were seen by America and Britain as an attempt at spreading communism.
    • They saw this as a direct threat to the West and capitalism.
  • But Stalin said it was to create a buffer zone in Eastern Europe to protect the USSR from attack.

Jump to other topics

1The Medieval World: 450-1450 AD

1.1Anglo-Saxon England

1.2The Contest for the English Throne

1.3Conquering the Holy Land, 10-96-1396 AD

1.4King John

1.5The Magna Carta & Parliament

1.6The Black Death

2Worldviews

3The Empire of Mali

4The Renaissance & Reformations, 1500-1598 AD

5The British Empire, 1583-1960 AD

6The Peasants' Revolt

7Religion in the Middle Ages

8Slavery, 1619-1833 AD

9The English Civil War, 1642-1660

10The Industrial Revolution, 1750-1840

11US Independence, 1775-1783

12The French Revolution, 1789-1815

13The British Empire, 1857–1930

14Suffrage

15World War 1, 1914-1918

16The Inter-War Years, 1919-1939

17World War 2, 1939-1945

18The Cold War, 1947-1962

19Civil Rights in the USA, 1954-1975

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