How did the Soviets keep control over eastern Europe?

Answer 1

Eastern European countries became an unwilling part of the Soviet empire. It was seen by the Russians as necessary to have a buffer zone of friendly if not controlled countries around Russia. As it could not guarantee the cooperation of free democratic regimes in those countries, it imposed a soviet style communist regime on those countries by political manipulation and outright brute force. The communist regimes became extremely unpopular and many people trapped in a communist country tried successfully to escape to the Democratic West. This migration of people from East Germany to the West provoked the building of the Berlin Wall in the early 1960's. Initially Russia never hesitated to use military force if these Eastern European countries fell out of line, as happened in Hungary in 1956 and Czechoslovakia in 1968. In the 1980 Poland nearly fell out of line leading to Solidarity's formation and many public protests, but the Polish communist government kept things under internal control thus avoiding a military intervention by the Russians. By the time the East German people (not the East German Gov under Erich Honecker) fell out of line with Russia in 1989 the Soviet Union now with serious internal issues under a more liberal Gorbachev was really in no position internally to intervene and help Honecker, so Honecker was powerless in keeping East German border closed and this led to them be opened and let people freely cross both ways. Finally this led to the popular unplanned bit by bit demolition of the hated Berlin Wall which led to the unification of the Germany and eventually the fall of the Soviet Union.

Answer 2

• The Soviet Union had been invaded from the West twice in 30 years. Stalin was determined to set up a " buffer zone" that this would never happen again.

• The Red Army liberated eastern Europe from the Nazis. The Red Army remained in these countries to make sure that their new governments were communist controlled

1. The Baltic States ( Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania ) were annexed by the USSR

1. Poland : the USSR annexed much of Eastern Poland, and the Poles' western frontier was moved to the Oder -- Neisse Line. Despite the USSR's promise to allow free elections, by 1947 Poland was totally in communist hands

1. Romania : in 1945 the King was forced by the USSR to appoint a communist prime minister. This quickly led to a total communist takeover, and in 1947 the monarchy was abolished

1. Bulgaria : in November 1945 the communists won a rigged election, and in 1946 abolished the monarchy

1. Czechoslovakia : a coalition government took power after the war. Gradually the communists took undermined the government. In 1948 the Foreign Minister, Jan Masaryk, was murdered. Rigged elections followed. The communists won and banned all other parties.

1. East Germany : this was the Soviet zone of occupation as agreed at Yalta and Potsdam. In 1949, following the Berlin Blockade, it became the German Democratic Republic.

1. Hungary : in 1945 a free election led to the defeat of the communists. New rigged elections were held in 1947. The communists won and banned all opposition.

1. Yugoslavia was not liberated by the Red Army. Instead its own communist resistance leader, Tito, set up a government and was elected President. Yugoslavia became a communist state. But would not accept Stalin's orders

Answer 3

By armies of occupation who put down any dissent.

Answer 4

By WWII and Comunist tactics!

Answer 5

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