Political, Economic & Social Consequences of War
History: AQA GCSE Russia, 1894-1945, topic 3.3.2
Political Consequences of Stalin's War Leadership
Although Stalin was a great war leader, there were still many political issues in the Soviet Union in the 1940s.
The emerging Cold War
- Stalin played a key role in the emerging Cold War.
- The wartime conferences between Winston Churchill (British Prime Minister), Franklin Roosevelt (American President) and Josef Stalin both solved wartime issues and sowed the seeds for ongoing conflict.
Spreading communism
- Historians have wondered if Stalin was trying to use the war to spread communism and take over large parts of the world.
- He was successful at spreading communism to Eastern Europe.
- But at the Yalta Conference with Churchill and Roosevelt, Stalin allowed Britain to have control of Greece, even though communists were winning the civil war.
- Stalin also gave no help to the Chinese communists.
Economic Consequences of the Second World War
Russia's economic position was similar before and after the Second World War.
Heavy industry
- Russia's economy was very focused on heavy industry. Armaments were one of the Soviet Union's most important sectors.
Consistency
- Stalin ran the Soviet economy in a very similar way during the war and after 1945. The Soviet Union was a Command economy.
Social Consequences of the Second World War
The Second World War also had significant social consequences for the people of the Soviet Union.
Psychological damage
- Millions of Soviet citizens died during the war.
- This caused enormous psychological trauma for those who survived.
- 25 million had also been left homeless because of the destruction of towns and cities.
- 90% of the city of Stalingrad had been destroyed.
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Civilian deaths
- 30 million Russians died in the war.
- More people had died in Leningrad than in Hiroshima and Nagasaki, where the USA had dropped atomic bombs.
- 3 million citizens of Leningrad had died in the siege.
Test yourself on Political, Economic & Social Consequences of War
Which leaders were involved at the wartime conferences?
What did Stalin agree to at the Yalta Conference?
What was the role of industry in the Soviet economy?
How many people were homeless because of destruction of towns and cities in the Second World War?
How many Russians died in the war?