The Creation of Soviet Satellite States (Edexcel GCSE History)

How did the Communist Satellite States Worsen Cold War Tensions? - Timeline & Summary

Why did Stalin Want Control of Eastern Europe?

• The Soviet Red Army had liberated many countries in Eastern Europe from Nazi control at the end of the Second World War

• Stalin wanted to keep control of these countries to act as a ‘buffer zone’ between the East and West

• These countries were called satellite states because of how they seemed to orbit the Soviet Union

• Truman’s concern about the spread of communism was confirmed as each country fell under Soviet control

• Churchill’s ‘Iron Curtain’ speech was in response to the creation of satellite states such as Hungary, Poland, Romania and Bulgaria

The ‘Baltic States’, 1940

• The ‘Baltic States’ were taken over by the Soviet Union during the Second World War

• While the Soviet Union saw them as legitimate Soviet states, they saw their incorporation into the Soviet Union as illegal

Poland and The Warsaw Uprising, 1944-45

• In 1944, the Soviet Red Army waited until the Warsaw Uprising had been crushed before occupying Poland

• At the Yalta conference, the Grand Alliance had agreed to allow free elections to be held in Poland

• However, Stalin was concerned that free elections would lead to a non-communist government being elected

• A coalition government was created in June 1945 featuring mainly communist supporters and a few members of the London Poles

• During the 1947 elections, a campaign of violence and intimidation led to the creation of a fully communist government

Romania, Bulgaria and East Germany, 1944-45

• It was agreed by the Allies at the Yalta Conference that East Germany would be under the Soviet Union's influence

• Romania and Bulgaria both lost their monarchies, which were replaced by communist governments

Hungary 1945-49

• Non-communists won the 1945 election in Hungary

• However, a communist politician called Rakosi took control of the secret police and imprisoned political opponents

• After the Prime Minister of Hungary resigned, the communists won the 1947 election

• All other political parties were banned in 1949

Czechoslovakia 1948

• Czechoslovakia had been a democracy from 1919 to 1938, until it was occupied by Nazi Germany

• After the war, a coalition government was led by a non-communist called Edward Benes

• Stalin saw this as a threat to his ‘buffer zone’ and wanted a communist government in power

• In 1948, a coup led by the pro-communist Klement Gottwald took over the government with support from the Soviet Union

Communism in Yugoslavia and Albania

• Yugoslavia and Albania were considered satellite states, even though they were never occupied by the Soviet Red Army

• They were given more independence than countries neighbouring the Soviet Union

A map showing the creation of the USSR’s satellite states in Eastern Europe

The USA’s Reaction to the Satellite States

• At both the Yalta and Potsdam conferences, Roosevelt and Churchill had accepted that the Soviet Union would influence Eastern Europe

• However, they also saw free elections as an important part of post-war Europe

• Truman saw the creation of satellite states as a deliberate attempt to spread communism

• Churchill’s ‘Iron Curtain’ speech in 1946 worsened relations between East and West, especially between the USA and the Soviet Union

• The satellite states challenged Truman’s policy of containment, prompting him to establish the Truman Doctrine and Marshall Plan