USSR and Communism

• How secure was the USSR’s control over Eastern Europe, 1948–c.1989?

Focus Points

• Why was there opposition to Soviet control in Hungary in 1956 and Czechoslovakia in 1968, and how did the USSR react to this opposition?

• How similar were events in Hungary in 1956 and in Czechoslovakia in 1968?

• Why was the Berlin Wall built in 1961?

• What was the significance of ‘Solidarity’ in Poland for the decline of Soviet influence in Eastern Europe?

• How far was Gorbachev personally responsible for the collapse of Soviet control over Eastern Europe?

Specified Content

• Soviet power in Eastern Europe:

– resistance to Soviet power in Hungary (1956) and Czechoslovakia (1968)

– the Berlin Wall

– ‘Solidarity’ in Poland

– Gorbachev and the collapse of Soviet control over Eastern Europe.