The Security of Stalin's Control of Eastern Europe

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The Security of Stalin's Control of Eastern Europe

After WW2 the communists quickly gained control of eastern Europe. The

chaotic situation in many fo the countries helped them.

· There was a political vacoom. The soviet leader Stalin helped the

communist parties of its country to win power. Through Cominform he

made sure eastern European countries followed the same policies as the

Soviet Union. They became one-party states. The communists were the

only legal party. Secret police arrested the communists opponents.

· There was also a need to retaure law & order. This provided a good

excuse to station Soviet troops in each country.

· The economies of easter Europe were shattered. To rebuild them the

governments followed the economic policies of the Soviet Union. They

took over all industry. The government told workers and farmers what

to produce. Through Comecon, Stalin made sure that the countries of

eastern Europe traded with the USSR. He promised aid to countries

which cooperated with the S.U.

· When Soviet control was threatened, the S.U was prepared to use its

tanks to crash opposition

Cominform

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H Cominform stands for the Communist Information Bureau.

H Stalin set it up in 1947 as an organisation to coordinate the

various communist governments in eastern Europe.

H The office moved to Bucharest in Rumania in 1948 after Yugoslavia

was expelled by Stalin because it would not do what the S.U told them

to do.

H Cominfor ran meetings and sent out instructions to communist

government about what the S.U wanted them to do.

Comecon

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H It stands fr the council fr mutual economic assistance.

H It was set up in 1949 to coordinate the industries and trade out the

eastern European countries.

H The idea was that members of Comecon traded mostry with one another

rather than trading with the west.

H Comecon favoured the USSR more than any other of its members. It

provided the USSR with a market to sell its goods and guaranteed it a

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