How did Soviet relations with Eastern Europe develop after 1945?

Russia – Nikita Khrushchev's International Relations, 1953-1964

In this course, Dr Robert Hornsby (University of Leeds) discusses Soviet international relations under Khrushchev. In the first lecture we explore the relationship between the USSR and the Soviet Satellite States in Eastern Europe, focusing particularly on the impact of de-Stalinization and subsequent uprisings in East Germany, Poland and Hungary. In the second lecture, we investigate how relations with the West changed through Khrushchev’s years, from his trip to the US in 1959, to the crisis in the wake of the U-2 incident. Third, we investigate the relationship between the USSR and the People’s Republic of China in the decade before the Sino-Soviet Split in the early 1960s. Finally, in the fourth lecture we delve into the impact of the Cuban revolution in 1959 upon the relations between Cuba and the USSR, but also the broader impact of Cuba upon Khrushchev’s relationship with the West in the wake of the Cuban Missile Crisis in 1962.

How did Soviet relations with Eastern Europe develop after 1945?

In this module we think about Soviet-Eastern Europe relations, focussing on: (i) the Sovietisation of Eastern Europe in the wake of WWII, enforcing Stalinist policies like collectivisation, political repression, and economic exploitation, which created a system resembling imperial dominance; (ii) Khrushchev’s relaxation of Soviet influence after Stalin’s death leading to countries including Poland and Hungary pushing for more autonomy and democracy; (iii) the push for autonomy led to uprisings in Germany (1953) and Hungary (1956) which were met with violent military action from the USSR, a dynamic that would periodically recur, as in Czechoslovakia in 1968.