Eastern Europe a long road to democracy (grade 9). History lesson "Eastern Europe: a long road to democracy" Eastern Europe, a long road to democracy presentation

>> Eastern Europe: from totalitarianism to democracy

§ 24. Eastern Europe: from totalitarianism to democracy

After the end of World War II, coalition governments came to power in most Eastern European countries, representing the political forces that participated in the fight against fascism: communists, social democrats, agrarians, liberal democratic parties. The transformations carried out by them were initially of a general democratic nature. The property of persons collaborating with the occupiers was nationalized, and agrarian reforms were carried out aimed at eliminating landownership. At the same time, thanks in large part to the support USSR, the influence of the communists was steadily growing.

The establishment of totalitarianism in Eastern Europe.

The attitude to the "Marshall Plan" caused a split in the coalition governments. The communists and the left-wing parties that supported them rejected the plan. They came up with the idea accelerated development their countries relying on their own forces and with the support of the USSR. The goals of the socialization of the economy, the development of heavy industry, cooperation and the collectivization of the peasantry were set.

With the creation of the Information Bureau of the Communist and Workers' Parties (Cominform) in 1947, the actual leadership of the "fraternal countries" began to be carried out from Moscow.

The fact that the USSR will not tolerate any initiative was shown by the extremely negative reaction of I. V. Stalin to the policy of the leaders of Bulgaria and Yugoslavia - G. Dimitrov and I. Tito. These leaders came up with the idea of ​​creating a confederation of Eastern European countries, not including the USSR. Bulgaria and Yugoslavia signed a Treaty of Friendship and Mutual Assistance, which included a clause on counteracting "any aggression, no matter which side it comes from."

G. Dimitrov, invited to Moscow for negotiations, died shortly after his meeting with I. B. Stalin. At the address of I. Tito, the Cominform accused him of going over to the position of bourgeois nationalism and appealed to the Yugoslav communists to overthrow his regime.

Transformations in Yugoslavia, as well as in other Eastern European countries, were oriented towards socialist goals. Cooperatives were created in agriculture, the economy was owned by the state, the monopoly on power belonged to the Communist Party. The ideal in Yugoslavia was the Soviet model of socialism. And yet, the regime of I. Tito, right up to the death of Stalin, was defined in the USSR as fascist. For all Eastern countries Europe in 1948-1949s. a wave of reprisals swept over those who were suspected of sympathizing with Yugoslavia.

Communist regimes in most Eastern European countries remained unstable. For the population of these countries, despite the wall of information blockade between East and West, it was obvious that the success of the ruling communist and workers' parties in the economic sphere was doubtful. If before the Second World War the standards of living in West and East Germany, Austria and Hungary were approximately the same, then over time a gap began to accumulate, which by the time of the collapse of socialism was approximately 3: 1 not in its favor. Concentrating resources, following the example of the USSR, on solving the problem of industrialization, the communists of Eastern Europe did not take into account that in small countries the creation of industrial giants is economically irrational.

The Crisis of Totalitarian Socialism and the Brezhnev Doctrine. The crisis of the Soviet model of socialism in Eastern Europe began to develop almost immediately after its establishment. Death of I.V. Stalin in 1953, which gave rise to hopes for changes in the socialist camp, caused an uprising in the GDR. The denunciation of Stalin's personality cult by the 20th Congress of the CPSU was followed by a change in the leaders of the ruling parties nominated by him in most Eastern European countries and the exposure of the crimes they had committed. The liquidation of the Cominform and the restoration of relations between the USSR and Yugoslavia, the recognition of the conflict as a misunderstanding gave rise to the hope that the Soviet leadership would give up tight control over the domestic politics of the Eastern European countries.

Under these conditions, new leaders and theorists communist parties(M. Djilas in Yugoslavia, L. Kolakovsky in Poland, E. Bloch in the GDR, I. Nagy in Hungary) took the path of rethinking the experience of developing their own countries, the interests of the labor movement. However, these attempts, and most importantly, their political results, caused extreme irritation of the leaders of the CPSU.

The transition to pluralistic democracy in 1956 in Hungary, undertaken by the leadership of the ruling party, developed into a violent anti-communist revolution, accompanied by the defeat of the state security agencies. The revolution was suppressed by Soviet troops, who took Budapest with battles. The captured leaders of the reformers were executed. An attempt made in Czechoslovakia in 1968 to move to the model of socialism "with a human face" was also thwarted by armed force.

The reason for the introduction of troops in both cases was the request of the "group of leaders" for assistance in the fight against the counter-revolution, which allegedly threatened the foundations of socialism and was directed from outside. However, in Czechoslovakia in 1968 the leaders of the ruling party and state raised the question not of abandoning socialism, but of improving it. Persons who invited foreign troops into the country did not have any authority to do so.

After the events in Czechoslovakia, the leadership of the USSR began to emphasize that it was their duty to defend "real socialism." The theory of "real socialism", which justifies the "right" of the USSR to carry out military interventions in the internal affairs of its allies under the Warsaw Pact, was called the "Brezhnev doctrine" in Western countries. The background of this doctrine was determined by two factors.

On the one hand, ideological considerations. The Soviet leaders could not recognize the bankruptcy of the model of socialism that was imposed by the USSR on Eastern Europe, they feared the impact of the example of the reformers on the situation in the Soviet Union itself.

On the other hand, under the conditions cold war”, the split of Europe into two military-political blocs, the weakening of one of them objectively turned out to be a gain for the other. The withdrawal of Hungary or Czechoslovakia from the Warsaw Pact (one of the demands of the reformers) was seen as a violation of the balance of power in Europe. Although in the era of nuclear missiles the question of where the line of confrontation lies has lost its former significance, the historical memory of invasions from the west has been preserved. It prompted the Soviet leadership to strive to ensure that the troops of a potential enemy, which was considered the NATO bloc, deployed as far as possible from the borders of the USSR. This did not take into account the fact that many Eastern Europeans felt they were hostages of the Soviet-American confrontation. They understood that in the event of a serious conflict between the USSR and USA the territory of Eastern Europe will become a battlefield for interests alien to them.

In the 1970s reforms were gradually carried out in many countries of Eastern Europe, some opportunities for free market relations opened up, and trade and economic ties with the West became more active. Changes, however, were limited, carried out with an eye on the position of the leadership of the USSR. They acted as a form of compromise between the desire of the ruling parties of the Eastern European countries to maintain at least minimal internal support and the intolerance of the CPSU ideologists for favorite changes in the allied countries.

Democratic revolutions in Eastern Europe.

The turning point was the events in Poland in 1980-1981, where the independent trade union "Solidarity" was formed, which almost immediately took an anti-communist position. Millions of representatives of the working class of Poland became its members. In this situation, the USSR and its allies did not dare to use troops to suppress dissent. The crisis found a temporary solution with the introduction of martial law and the establishment of the authoritarian rule of General W. Jaruzelski, who combined the suppression of protests with moderate economic reforms.

A powerful impetus to transformations in Eastern Europe was given by the processes of perestroika in the USSR. In some cases, the leaders of the ruling parties themselves initiated the changes, fearing innovations, but considering it their duty to follow the example of the CPSU. In others, once it became clear that Soviet Union no longer intends to guarantee the inviolability of the ruling regimes in Eastern Europe by force of arms, supporters of reforms have become more active. Opposition, anti-communist political parties and movements arose. Political parties, which for a long time played the role of junior partners of the communists, began to leave the bloc with them.

In most countries of Eastern Europe, a wave of mass demonstrations in favor of democratization and market reforms, the actual legalization of the opposition caused crises in the ruling parties.

In the GDR, it was aggravated by the flight of the population to West Germany through the opened borders of Hungary and Czechoslovakia with Austria. Not daring to repress, the aged leaders of the Communist parties of the Eastern European countries, who shared the "Brezhnev doctrine", resigned. The new leaders tried to establish a dialogue with the opposition. They removed the clause on the leading role of the communist parties from the constitutions, created political coalitions focused on moderate, democratic reforms.

As a result of the first free elections after the Second World War in 1989-1990s. Communists were removed from power, which passed into the hands of the opposition. The only Eastern European state where nothing changed was Romania. As a result of a popular uprising in 1989, N. Ceausescu's regime of personal power was swept away, and he himself was executed.

After peaceful democratic revolutions, the Eastern European countries refused to participate in the Warsaw Pact Organization, which ceased to exist, and achieved the liquidation of the Council for Mutual Economic Assistance.

In 1990, the population of the GDR voted with a high degree of unanimity for the political parties that put forward the slogan of German reunification, the unification of the GDR and the FRG. As a result of negotiations between the USSR, the USA, Great Britain and France, the right of the people of Germany to self-determination was confirmed. Controversial issues, in particular, the membership of a united Germany in military blocs and the presence of foreign troops on its territory, were left to the discretion of the leadership of the united German state. The government of the USSR did not insist on the preservation of the Soviet group of troops on the territory of the former GDR, to seek the neutralization of a united Germany, which remained a member of NATO. In August 1990, the German Unification Treaty was signed. *

The experience of democratic development.

The reorientation of economic ties between the countries of East Germany, the elimination of unprofitable industries, the introduction of a system of social protection of the Western European type caused great difficulties. The reforms were carried out through budget funds. The German economy, the most developed in Western Europe, with great difficulty withstood the burden modernization former socialist National economy. Transformations annually absorbed about 5% of the GNP of a united Germany. 30% of the workers of the former GDR had problems with employment.

Eastern European countries experienced even greater difficulties. For 1989-1997 production of GNP in former countries Socialism has increased only in Poland (an increase of about 10%, and it began only in 1992). In Hungary and the Czech Republic, it decreased by 8% and 12%, in Bulgaria - by 33%, in Romania - by 18%.

The economic downturn was explained by a whole range of reasons. The desire to reorient economic and political ties to the states of the West, the signing of association agreements with the European Union in 1991 by the majority of Eastern European countries could not give an immediate return. Participation in the CMEA, despite not high level the effectiveness of its activities, still provided the Eastern European countries with a stable market for products, which they had largely lost. Their own industry could not compete with Western European industry and lost competition even in domestic markets. Accelerated privatization of the economy and price liberalization, called shock therapy, did not lead to the modernization of the economy. The only source of resources and technologies needed for modernization could be large foreign corporations. However, they showed interest only in individual enterprises ( car factory Skoda in the Czech Republic). Another way of modernization - the use of instruments of state intervention in the economy - was rejected by the reformers for ideological reasons.

For several years, Eastern European countries experienced high inflation, falling living standards, and rising unemployment. Hence the growth of the influence of the left forces, new political parties of social democratic orientation, which arose on the basis of the former communist and workers' parties. The success of the left parties in Poland, Hungary and Slovakia helped to improve the economic situation. In Hungary, after the victory of the left forces in 1994, the budget deficit was reduced from $3.9 billion in 1994 to $1.7 billion in 1996, including through a more equitable distribution of taxes and a reduction in imports. The coming to power in the countries of Eastern Europe of political parties of a social democratic orientation did not change their desire for rapprochement with Western Europe. Great importance in this respect had their entry into program“Partnership for Peace with NATO. In 1999, Poland, Hungary and the Czech Republic became full members of this military-political bloc.

Crisis in Yugoslavia. The aggravation of the economic situation during the period of market reforms, especially in multinational countries, led to an aggravation interethnic relations. Moreover, if the division of Czechoslovakia into two states - the Czech Republic and Slovakia passed peacefully, then the territory of Yugoslavia became the scene of armed conflicts.

After the break between I.V. Stalin and I.B. Tito Yugoslavia was not part of the Soviet system of alliances. However, in terms of the type of development, it differed little from other countries of Eastern Europe. The reforms carried out in Yugoslavia in the 1950s met with sharp criticism from N.S. Khrushchev and caused an aggravation of its relations with the USSR. The Yugoslav model of socialism included self-management in production, allowed elements market economy and a greater degree of ideological freedom than in neighboring Eastern European countries. At the same time, the monopoly on the power of one party (the Union of Communists of Yugoslavia) and the special role of its leader (IB Tito) remained.

Since the political regime that existed in Yugoslavia was a product of its own development and did not rely on the support of the USSR, the force of the example of perestroika and democratization with the death of Tito affected Yugoslavia to a lesser extent than other Eastern European countries. However, Yugoslavia faced other problems, namely, interethnic and interreligious conflicts, which led to the disintegration of the country.

Orthodox Serbia and Montenegro sought to preserve the unity of the state and its original model of socialism. In predominantly Catholic Croatia and Slovenia, there was a belief that Serbia's role in the federation was too great. The orientation towards the Western European model of development prevailed there. In Bosnia, Herzegovina and Macedonia, where there was a strong influence of Islam, there was also dissatisfaction with the federation.

In 1991, Yugoslavia broke up, Croatia and Slovenia withdrew from its composition. The attempt of the federation authorities to preserve its integrity by force of arms was not successful. In 1992, Bosnia and Herzegovina declared independence. Having maintained close allied relations, Serbia and Montenegro created a new federal state - the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (FRY). However, the crisis did not end there, because the Serb minority remaining in the territory of Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, whose interests were not taken into account in the constitutions of the new states, began a struggle for autonomy. This struggle escalated into an armed conflict, which in 1992-1995. became the center of attention of the entire international community. Then the position of ethnic Albanians in the Serbian province of Kosovo came to the fore. The abolition of the region's autonomy caused dissatisfaction among the Albanians, who make up the majority of its population.

The political protest turned into an armed struggle, the participants of which were no longer limited to the demand for the restoration of autonomy. The NATO countries moved from helping to establish negotiations to threatening Serbia. In 1999, they escalated into military action by the US and its allies against the FRY.

Peacekeeping forces took part in the settlement of conflicts in Yugoslavia UN and NATO troops. They revealed significant differences in views on the foundations of the future world order, on the principles for resolving ethnic conflicts between the United States, some countries of Western Europe and Russia.

Questions and tasks

1. Describe the problems of choosing the path of development facing the Eastern European countries after the Second World War. What circumstances determined the choice of the model of their development?
2. Determine the general and specific features of the development of the countries of Eastern Europe. How do they differ from Western European models of social organization?
3. Expand your understanding of the term "totalitarian regime." Name the main manifestations of the crisis of totalitarian socialism in the countries of Eastern Europe.
4. What is the “Brezhnev Doctrine”: explain the main meaning of its proclamation.
5. Describe the process of deployment of democratic revolutions in Eastern Europe in the 80-90s. Determine their connection with the beginning of democratic reforms in the USSR. What features did he have in individual states (Germany, Yugoslavia, etc.)?
6. How can you explain the complexity of the problems of the transition of Eastern European countries to the path of democratic development? Name the most acute of them.
7. Name the leaders of European countries known to you and North America post-war period. Who do you consider to be prominent figures? Why?

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The liberation of Poland began during the Belarusian and Lvov-Sandomierz operations. Parts of the Polish Army, created on the basis of the Polish units formed in the USSR and the so-called partisan detachments, collaborated with the Soviet units. Army of Ludova. The Polish Committee for National Liberation (PCNL) was formed in Lublin and proclaimed itself the government of Poland.

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20 AB 1944-29 AB 1944 with the Iasi-Kishinev operation began the liberation of South-Eastern Europe. With the approach of Soviet troops in Romania on 23 AB 1944, and then in Bulgaria on 9 SN 1944, popular uprisings took place. The power of the pro-Nazi dictators Antonescu and Petkov was overthrown. The new governments of Bulgaria and Romania broke off the alliance with Nazi Germany and entered the war against it.

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In c.SN 1944, Soviet troops (after the negotiations that began in Moscow on 21 SN 1944 with a delegation from this country) entered Yugoslavia. Part of the territory of this country had already been liberated from the invaders by the forces of the People's Liberation Army of Yugoslavia, led by Broz Tito I. After stubborn battles on 14 OK 1944-20 OK 1944, Soviet and Yugoslav units liberated Belgrade

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Hungary remained the last ally of Germany. Operations on the territory of this country were distinguished by particularly stubborn resistance from the Germans, because. from Hungary a direct route to the territory of the Reich opened. After the Debrecen operation, the Provisional National Government of Hungary was created, which declared war on Germany. On January 17, 1945, the offensive of the Red Army in Poland resumed. Having crossed the Vistula, the Soviet troops proceeded to the Vistula-Oder operation. She was started for eight days ahead of time in order to weaken the German counteroffensive against the Western Allies in the Ardennes (Belgium).

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On February 3, 1945, Soviet troops stood on the Oder. They had 60 km to Berlin. The attack on the capital of the Reich was not carried out in FV 1945-MR 1945 due to the stubborn resistance of the enemy in East Prussia. It was the first operation carried out in Germany. The German population, intimidated by the tales of Nazi propaganda about the atrocities of the Russians, resisted exceptionally stubbornly, turning almost every house into a fortress. That is why the East Prussian operation (the second since the First World War) was completed only in AP 1945.

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After the end of World War II, coalition governments came to power in most Eastern European countries, representing the political forces that participated in the fight against fascism: communists, social democrats, agrarians, liberal democratic parties. The transformations carried out by them were initially of a general democratic character. The property of persons collaborating with the occupiers was nationalized, and agrarian reforms were carried out aimed at eliminating landownership. At the same time, largely due to the support of the USSR, the influence of the communists was steadily growing.

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The assertion of totalitarianism in Eastern Europe Attitude towards the "Marshall Plan" caused a split in the coalition governments. The communists and the left-wing parties that supported them rejected the plan. They put forward the idea of ​​accelerated development of their countries based on their own strength and with the support of the USSR. The goals of the socialization of the economy, the development of heavy industry, cooperation and the collectivization of the peasantry were set. Marshall plan

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1947, September, 17 - 22 Poland At the initiative of the Soviet leader I.V. Stalin, the Information Bureau of the Communist and Workers' Parties (Cominform) was formed. Representatives of the six communist parties of Eastern Europe and the two most powerful Western European communist parties (France and Italy) gathered at the initiative of the USSR in the castle of Szklarska Poreba (Poland) to create a Cominform-Joint Information Bureau with headquarters in Belgrade, designed to ensure the exchange of experience and, if necessary, coordination of the activities of the communist parties on the basis of mutual agreement With the creation of Cominform, the actual leadership of the "fraternal countries" began to be carried out from Moscow.

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The fact that the USSR will not tolerate any initiative was shown by the extremely negative reaction of I. V. Stalin to the policy of the leaders of Bulgaria and Yugoslavia - G. Dimitrov and I. Tito. These leaders came up with the idea of ​​creating a confederation of Eastern European countries, not including the USSR. Bulgaria and Yugoslavia signed a Treaty of Friendship and Mutual Assistance, which included a clause on counteracting "any aggression, no matter which side it comes from."

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G. Dimitrov, invited to Moscow for negotiations, died shortly after his meeting with I. B. Stalin. At the address of I. Tito, the Cominform accused him of going over to the position of bourgeois nationalism and appealed to the Yugoslav communists to overthrow his regime. Transformations in Yugoslavia, as well as in other Eastern European countries, were oriented towards socialist goals. Cooperatives were created in agriculture, the economy was owned by the state, the monopoly on power belonged to the Communist Party. The ideal in Yugoslavia was the Soviet model of socialism. And yet, the regime of I. Tito, right up to the death of Stalin, was defined in the USSR as fascist. For all countries of Eastern Europe in 1948-1949. a wave of reprisals swept over those who were suspected of sympathizing with Yugoslavia. Signing of the Treaty between the USSR and Yugoslavia in Moscow

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Communist regimes in most Eastern European countries remained unstable. For the population of these countries, despite the wall of information blockade between East and West, it was obvious that the success of the ruling communist and workers' parties in the economic sphere was doubtful. If before the Second World War the standards of living in West and East Germany, Austria and Hungary were approximately the same, then over time a gap began to accumulate, which by the time of the collapse of socialism was approximately 3: 1 not in its favor. Concentrating resources, following the example of the USSR, on solving the problem of industrialization, the communists of Eastern Europe did not take into account that in small countries the creation of industrial giants is economically irrational. V. E. Biryukov, Deputy Chairman of the State Planning Committee of the USSR, among the Chairmen of the State Planning Committees of the CMEA countries

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The Crisis of Totalitarian Socialism and the "Brezhnev Doctrine" The crisis of the Soviet model of socialism in Eastern Europe began to develop almost immediately after its establishment. Death of I.V. Stalin in 1953, which gave rise to hopes for changes in the socialist camp, caused an uprising in the GDR. The denunciation of Stalin's personality cult by the 20th Congress of the CPSU was followed by a change in the leaders of the ruling parties nominated by him in most Eastern European countries and the exposure of the crimes they had committed. The liquidation of the Cominform and the restoration of relations between the USSR and Yugoslavia, the recognition of the conflict as a misunderstanding gave rise to the hope that the Soviet leadership would give up tight control over the domestic politics of the Eastern European countries.

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Under these conditions, the new leaders and theorists of the communist parties (M. Djilas in Yugoslavia, L. Kolakovsky in Poland, E. Bloch in the GDR, I. Nagy in Hungary) took the path of rethinking the experience of developing their own countries, the interests of the labor movement. However, these attempts, and most importantly, their political results, caused extreme irritation of the leaders of the CPSU. The transition to pluralistic democracy in 1956 in Hungary, undertaken by the leadership of the ruling party, developed into a violent anti-communist revolution, accompanied by the defeat of the state security agencies. The revolution was suppressed by Soviet troops, who took Budapest with battles. The captured leaders of the reformers were executed. An attempt made in Czechoslovakia in 1968 to move to the model of socialism "with a human face" was also thwarted by armed force. Czechoslovakia-1968 Hungary 1956

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After the events in Czechoslovakia, the leadership of the USSR began to emphasize that it was their duty to defend "real socialism." The theory of "real socialism", which justifies the "right" of the USSR to carry out military interventions in the internal affairs of its allies under the Warsaw Pact, was called the "Brezhnev doctrine" in Western countries.

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The background of this doctrine was determined by two factors. On the one hand, ideological considerations. The Soviet leaders could not recognize the bankruptcy of the model of socialism that was imposed by the USSR on Eastern Europe, they feared the impact of the example of the reformers on the situation in the Soviet Union itself. On the other hand, under the conditions cold war”, the split of Europe into two military-political blocs, the weakening of one of them objectively turned out to be a gain for the other. The withdrawal of Hungary or Czechoslovakia from the Warsaw Pact (one of the demands of the reformers) was seen as a violation of the balance of power in Europe. Although in the era of nuclear missiles the question of where the line of confrontation lies has lost its former significance, the historical memory of invasions from the west has been preserved. It prompted the Soviet leadership to strive to ensure that the troops of a potential enemy, which was considered the NATO bloc, deployed as far as possible from the borders of the USSR. This did not take into account the fact that many Eastern Europeans felt they were hostages of the Soviet-American confrontation. They understood that in the event of a serious conflict between the USSR and the USA, the territory of Eastern Europe would become a battlefield for interests alien to them.

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In the 1970s reforms were gradually carried out in many countries of Eastern Europe, some opportunities for free market relations opened up, and trade and economic ties with the West became more active. Changes, however, were limited, carried out with an eye on the position of the leadership of the USSR. They acted as a form of compromise between the desire of the ruling parties of the Eastern European countries to maintain at least minimal internal support and the intolerance of the CPSU ideologists for favorite changes in the allied countries.

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In 1980, a wave of workers' strikes, strikes, indignation against price increases, and illegal layoffs of workers swept through Poland. The protest movement led to the unification of workers in a single trade union "Solidarity". It was, perhaps, the only real trade union in the territory of the countries of the socialist camp. Solidarity united more than 9.5 million Poles (1/3 of the country's population!), representatives of all walks of life. This movement fundamentally renounced the use of violence in resolving mass conflicts. The organization worked throughout the country, focused on the principle of social justice, but most importantly, it called into question the foundations of communism in Poland, and then in the Soviet bloc as a whole. In this situation, the USSR and its allies did not dare to use troops to suppress dissent. The crisis found a temporary solution with the introduction of martial law and the establishment of the authoritarian rule of General W. Jaruzelski, who combined the suppression of protests with moderate economic reforms.

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A powerful impetus to transformations in Eastern Europe was given by the processes of perestroika in the USSR. In some cases, the leaders of the ruling parties themselves initiated the changes, fearing innovations, but considering it their duty to follow the example of the CPSU. In others, as soon as it became clear that the Soviet Union no longer intended to guarantee the stability of the ruling regimes in Eastern Europe by force of arms, advocates of reform became more active. Opposition, anti-communist political parties and movements arose. Political parties, which for a long time played the role of junior partners of the communists, began to leave the bloc with them. In most countries of Eastern Europe, a wave of mass demonstrations in favor of democratization and market reforms, the actual legalization of the opposition caused crises in the ruling parties.

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In February 1989, the communist leadership of Poland, under the pressure of protests and economic sanctions, was forced to go to a round table with Solidarity and agree to free elections, which were held in June of that year. In the very first free elections, democratic candidates won an absolute victory

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In December 1989, Solidarity leader Lech Walesa was elected president of Poland.

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In the GDR, the crisis was aggravated by the flight of the population to West Germany through the opened borders of Hungary and Czechoslovakia with Austria. Not daring to repress, the aged leaders of the Communist parties of the Eastern European countries, who shared the "Brezhnev doctrine", resigned. The new leaders tried to establish a dialogue with the opposition. They removed the clause on the leading role of the communist parties from the constitutions, created political coalitions focused on moderate, democratic reforms.

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As a result of the first free elections after the Second World War in 1989-1990s. Communists were removed from power, which passed into the hands of the opposition. In 1990, the population of the GDR voted with a high degree of unanimity for the political parties that put forward the slogan of German reunification, the unification of the GDR and the FRG. As a result of negotiations between the USSR, the USA, Great Britain and France, the right of the people of Germany to self-determination was confirmed. Controversial issues, in particular, the membership of a united Germany in military blocs and the presence of foreign troops on its territory, were left to the discretion of the leadership of the united German state. The government of the USSR did not insist on the preservation of the Soviet group of troops on the territory of the former GDR, to seek the neutralization of a united Germany, which remained a member of NATO. In August 1990, the German Unification Treaty was signed.

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The reorientation of economic ties between the countries of East Germany, the elimination of unprofitable industries, the introduction of a system of social protection of the Western European type caused great difficulties. The reforms were carried out at the expense of budgetary funds. The economy of the FRG, the most developed in Western Europe, with great difficulty withstood the burden of modernizing the former socialist national economy. Transformations annually absorbed about 5% of the GNP of a united Germany. 30% of the workers of the former GDR had problems with employment.

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The economic downturn was explained by a whole range of reasons: The desire to reorient economic and political ties to the states of the West, the signing of association agreements with the European Union in 1991 by the majority of Eastern European countries could not give an immediate return. Participation in the CMEA, despite the low level of efficiency of its activities, still provided the Eastern European countries with a stable market for products, which they had largely lost. Their own industry could not compete with Western European industry and lost competition even in domestic markets. Accelerated privatization of the economy and price liberalization, called shock therapy, did not lead to the modernization of the economy. The only source of resources and technologies needed for modernization could be large foreign corporations. However, they showed interest only in individual enterprises (the Skoda automobile plant in the Czech Republic). Another way of modernization - the use of instruments of state intervention in the economy - was rejected by the reformers for ideological reasons.

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For several years, Eastern European countries experienced high inflation, falling living standards, and rising unemployment. Hence the growth of the influence of the left forces, new political parties of social democratic orientation, which arose on the basis of the former communist and workers' parties. The success of the left parties in Poland, Hungary and Slovakia helped to improve the economic situation. In Hungary, after the victory of the left forces in 1994, the budget deficit was reduced from $3.9 billion in 1994 to $1.7 billion in 1996, including through a more equitable distribution of taxes and a reduction in imports. The coming to power in the countries of Eastern Europe of political parties of a social democratic orientation did not change their desire for rapprochement with Western Europe. Their entry into the Partnership for Peace program with NATO was of great importance in this respect. In 1999, Poland, Hungary and the Czech Republic became full members of this military-political bloc.

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The complication of the economic situation during the period of market reforms, especially in multinational countries, led to an aggravation of interethnic relations. Moreover, if the division of Czechoslovakia into two states - the Czech Republic and Slovakia passed peacefully, then the territory of Yugoslavia became the scene of armed conflicts. After the break between I.V. Stalin and I.B. Tito Yugoslavia was not part of the Soviet system of alliances. However, in terms of the type of development, it differed little from other countries of Eastern Europe. The reforms carried out in Yugoslavia in the 1950s met with sharp criticism from N.S. Khrushchev and caused an aggravation of its relations with the USSR. The Yugoslav model of socialism included self-management in production, allowed elements of a market economy and a greater degree of ideological freedom than in neighboring Eastern European countries. At the same time, the monopoly on the power of one party (the Union of Communists of Yugoslavia) and the special role of its leader (IB Tito) remained. Since the political regime that existed in Yugoslavia was a product of its own development and did not rely on the support of the USSR, the force of the example of perestroika and democratization with the death of Tito affected Yugoslavia to a lesser extent than other Eastern European countries. However, Yugoslavia faced other problems, namely, interethnic and interreligious conflicts, which led to the disintegration of the country. NATO air strike on Belgrade, the capital of Yugoslavia. 1998

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1. The coming of the communists to power

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The liberation of Poland began during the Belarusian and Lvov-Sandomierz operations. Parts of the Polish Army, created on the basis of the Polish units formed in the USSR and the so-called partisan detachments, collaborated with the Soviet units. Army of Ludova. The Polish Committee for National Liberation (PCNL) was formed in Lublin and proclaimed itself the government of Poland.

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20 AB 1944-29 AB 1944 with the Iasi-Kishinev operation began the liberation of South-Eastern Europe. With the approach of Soviet troops in Romania on 23 AB 1944, and then in Bulgaria on 9 SN 1944, popular uprisings took place. The power of the pro-Nazi dictators Antonescu and Petkov was overthrown. The new governments of Bulgaria and Romania broke off the alliance with Nazi Germany and entered the war against it.

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In c.SN 1944, Soviet troops (after the negotiations that began in Moscow on 21 SN 1944 with a delegation from this country) entered Yugoslavia. Part of the territory of this country had already been liberated from the invaders by the forces of the People's Liberation Army of Yugoslavia, led by Broz Tito I. After stubborn battles on 14 OK 1944-20 OK 1944, Soviet and Yugoslav units liberated Belgrade

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Hungary remained the last ally of Germany. Operations on the territory of this country were distinguished by particularly stubborn resistance from the Germans, because. from Hungary a direct route to the territory of the Reich opened. After the Debrecen operation, the Provisional National Government of Hungary was created, which declared war on Germany. On January 17, 1945, the offensive of the Red Army in Poland resumed. Having crossed the Vistula, the Soviet troops proceeded to the Vistula-Oder operation. It was launched eight days ahead of schedule in order to weaken the German counteroffensive against the Western Allies in the Ardennes (Belgium).

Slide 7

On February 3, 1945, Soviet troops stood on the Oder. They had 60 km to Berlin. The attack on the capital of the Reich was not carried out in FV 1945-MR 1945 due to the stubborn resistance of the enemy in East Prussia. It was the first operation carried out in Germany. The German population, intimidated by the tales of Nazi propaganda about the atrocities of the Russians, resisted exceptionally stubbornly, turning almost every house into a fortress. That is why the East Prussian operation (the second since the First World War) was completed only in AP 1945.

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The role of the USSR in the liberation of European countries from fascism

Slide 9

After the end of World War II, coalition governments came to power in most Eastern European countries, representing the political forces that participated in the fight against fascism: communists, social democrats, agrarians, liberal democratic parties. The transformations carried out by them were initially of a general democratic character. The property of persons collaborating with the occupiers was nationalized, and agrarian reforms were carried out aimed at eliminating landownership. At the same time, largely due to the support of the USSR, the influence of the communists was steadily growing.

Slide 10

Rise of totalitarianism in Eastern Europe

The attitude to the "Marshall Plan" caused a split in the coalition governments. The communists and the left-wing parties that supported them rejected the plan. They put forward the idea of ​​accelerated development of their countries based on their own strength and with the support of the USSR. The goals of the socialization of the economy, the development of heavy industry, cooperation and the collectivization of the peasantry were set. Marshall plan

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1947, September, 17 - 22 Poland At the initiative of the Soviet leader I.V. Stalin, the Information Bureau of the Communist and Workers' Parties (Cominform) was formed. Representatives of the six communist parties of Eastern Europe and the two most powerful Western European communist parties (France and Italy) gathered at the initiative of the USSR in the castle of Szklarska Poreba (Poland) to create a Cominform-Joint Information Bureau with headquarters in Belgrade, designed to ensure the exchange of experience and, if necessary, coordination of the activities of the communist parties on the basis of mutual agreement With the creation of Cominform, the actual leadership of the "fraternal countries" began to be carried out from Moscow.

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The fact that the USSR will not tolerate any initiative was shown by the extremely negative reaction of I. V. Stalin to the policy of the leaders of Bulgaria and Yugoslavia - G. Dimitrov and I. Tito. These leaders came up with the idea of ​​creating a confederation of Eastern European countries, not including the USSR. Bulgaria and Yugoslavia signed a Treaty of Friendship and Mutual Assistance, which included a clause on counteracting "any aggression, no matter which side it comes from."

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G. Dimitrov, invited to Moscow for negotiations, died shortly after his meeting with I. B. Stalin. At the address of I. Tito, the Cominform accused him of going over to the position of bourgeois nationalism and appealed to the Yugoslav communists to overthrow his regime. Transformations in Yugoslavia, as well as in other Eastern European countries, were oriented towards socialist goals. Cooperatives were created in agriculture, the economy was owned by the state, the monopoly on power belonged to the Communist Party. The ideal in Yugoslavia was the Soviet model of socialism. And yet, the regime of I. Tito, right up to the death of Stalin, was defined in the USSR as fascist. For all countries of Eastern Europe in 1948-1949. a wave of reprisals swept over those who were suspected of sympathizing with Yugoslavia. Signing of the Treaty between the USSR and Yugoslavia in Moscow

Slide 14

Communist regimes in most Eastern European countries remained unstable. For the population of these countries, despite the wall of information blockade between East and West, it was obvious that the success of the ruling communist and workers' parties in the economic sphere was doubtful. If before the Second World War the standards of living in West and East Germany, Austria and Hungary were approximately the same, then over time a gap began to accumulate, which by the time of the collapse of socialism was approximately 3: 1 not in its favor. Concentrating resources, following the example of the USSR, on solving the problem of industrialization, the communists of Eastern Europe did not take into account that in small countries the creation of industrial giants is economically irrational. V. E. Biryukov, Deputy Chairman of the State Planning Committee of the USSR, among the Chairmen of the State Planning Committees of the CMEA countries

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The Crisis of Totalitarian Socialism and the "Brezhnev Doctrine"

The crisis of the Soviet model of socialism in Eastern Europe began to develop almost immediately after its establishment. Death of I.V. Stalin in 1953, which gave rise to hopes for changes in the socialist camp, caused an uprising in the GDR. The denunciation of Stalin's personality cult by the 20th Congress of the CPSU was followed by a change in the leaders of the ruling parties nominated by him in most Eastern European countries and the exposure of the crimes they had committed. The liquidation of the Cominform and the restoration of relations between the USSR and Yugoslavia, the recognition of the conflict as a misunderstanding gave rise to the hope that the Soviet leadership would give up tight control over the domestic politics of the Eastern European countries.

Slide 17

Under these conditions, the new leaders and theorists of the communist parties (M. Djilas in Yugoslavia, L. Kolakovsky in Poland, E. Bloch in the GDR, I. Nagy in Hungary) took the path of rethinking the experience of developing their own countries, the interests of the labor movement. However, these attempts, and most importantly, their political results, caused extreme irritation of the leaders of the CPSU. The transition to pluralistic democracy in 1956 in Hungary, undertaken by the leadership of the ruling party, developed into a violent anti-communist revolution, accompanied by the defeat of the state security agencies. The revolution was suppressed by Soviet troops, who took Budapest with battles. The captured leaders of the reformers were executed. An attempt made in Czechoslovakia in 1968 to move to the model of socialism "with a human face" was also thwarted by armed force. Czechoslovakia-1968 Hungary 1956

Slide 18

After the events in Czechoslovakia, the leadership of the USSR began to emphasize that it was their duty to defend "real socialism." The theory of "real socialism", which justifies the "right" of the USSR to carry out military interventions in the internal affairs of its allies under the Warsaw Pact, was called the "Brezhnev doctrine" in Western countries.

Slide 19

The background of this doctrine was determined by two factors. On the one hand, ideological considerations. The Soviet leaders could not recognize the bankruptcy of the model of socialism that was imposed by the USSR on Eastern Europe, they feared the impact of the example of the reformers on the situation in the Soviet Union itself. On the other hand, in the conditions of the Cold War, the split of Europe into two military-political blocs, the weakening of one of them objectively turned out to be a gain for the other. The withdrawal of Hungary or Czechoslovakia from the Warsaw Pact (one of the demands of the reformers) was seen as a violation of the balance of power in Europe. Although in the era of nuclear missiles the question of where the line of confrontation lies has lost its former significance, the historical memory of invasions from the west has been preserved. It prompted the Soviet leadership to strive to ensure that the troops of a potential enemy, which was considered the NATO bloc, deployed as far as possible from the borders of the USSR. This did not take into account the fact that many Eastern Europeans felt they were hostages of the Soviet-American confrontation. They understood that in the event of a serious conflict between the USSR and the USA, the territory of Eastern Europe would become a battlefield for interests alien to them.

Slide 20

In the 1970s reforms were gradually carried out in many countries of Eastern Europe, some opportunities for free market relations opened up, and trade and economic ties with the West became more active. Changes, however, were limited, carried out with an eye on the position of the leadership of the USSR. They acted as a form of compromise between the desire of the ruling parties of the Eastern European countries to maintain at least minimal internal support and the intolerance of the CPSU ideologists for favorite changes in the allied countries.

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Democratic revolutions

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In 1980, a wave of workers' strikes, strikes, indignation against price increases, and illegal layoffs of workers swept through Poland. The protest movement led to the unification of workers in a single trade union "Solidarity". It was, perhaps, the only real trade union in the territory of the countries of the socialist camp. Solidarity united more than 9.5 million Poles (1/3 of the country's population!), representatives of all walks of life. This movement fundamentally renounced the use of violence in resolving mass conflicts. The organization worked throughout the country, focused on the principle of social justice, but most importantly, it called into question the foundations of communism in Poland, and then in the Soviet bloc as a whole. In this situation, the USSR and its allies did not dare to use troops to suppress dissent. The crisis found a temporary solution with the introduction of martial law and the establishment of the authoritarian rule of General W. Jaruzelski, who combined the suppression of protests with moderate economic reforms.

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A powerful impetus to transformations in Eastern Europe was given by the processes of perestroika in the USSR. In some cases, the leaders of the ruling parties themselves initiated the changes, fearing innovations, but considering it their duty to follow the example of the CPSU. In others, as soon as it became clear that the Soviet Union no longer intended to guarantee the stability of the ruling regimes in Eastern Europe by force of arms, advocates of reform became more active. Opposition, anti-communist political parties and movements arose. Political parties, which for a long time played the role of junior partners of the communists, began to leave the bloc with them. In most countries of Eastern Europe, a wave of mass demonstrations in favor of democratization and market reforms, the actual legalization of the opposition caused crises in the ruling parties.

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In February 1989, the communist leadership of Poland, under the pressure of protests and economic sanctions, was forced to go to a round table with Solidarity and agree to free elections, which were held in June of that year. In the very first free elections, democratic candidates won an absolute victory

Slide 25

In December 1989, Solidarity leader Lech Walesa was elected president of Poland.

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In the GDR, the crisis was aggravated by the flight of the population to West Germany through the opened borders of Hungary and Czechoslovakia with Austria. Not daring to repress, the aged leaders of the Communist parties of the Eastern European countries, who shared the "Brezhnev doctrine", resigned. The new leaders tried to establish a dialogue with the opposition. They removed the clause on the leading role of the communist parties from the constitutions, created political coalitions focused on moderate, democratic reforms.

Slide 27

As a result of the first free elections after the Second World War in 1989-1990s. Communists were removed from power, which passed into the hands of the opposition. In 1990, the population of the GDR voted with a high degree of unanimity for the political parties that put forward the slogan of German reunification, the unification of the GDR and the FRG. As a result of negotiations between the USSR, the USA, Great Britain and France, the right of the people of Germany to self-determination was confirmed. Controversial issues, in particular, the membership of a united Germany in military blocs and the presence of foreign troops on its territory, were left to the discretion of the leadership of the united German state. The government of the USSR did not insist on the preservation of the Soviet group of troops on the territory of the former GDR, to seek the neutralization of a united Germany, which remained a member of NATO. In August 1990, the German Unification Treaty was signed.

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The experience of democratic development.

Slide 29

The reorientation of economic ties between the countries of East Germany, the elimination of unprofitable industries, the introduction of a system of social protection of the Western European type caused great difficulties. The reforms were carried out at the expense of budgetary funds. The economy of the FRG, the most developed in Western Europe, with great difficulty withstood the burden of modernizing the former socialist national economy. Transformations annually absorbed about 5% of the GNP of a united Germany. 30% of the workers of the former GDR had problems with employment.

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The economic downturn was explained by a whole range of reasons: The desire to reorient economic and political ties to the states of the West, the signing of association agreements with the European Union in 1991 by the majority of Eastern European countries could not give an immediate return. Participation in the CMEA, despite the low level of efficiency of its activities, still provided the Eastern European countries with a stable market for products, which they had largely lost. Their own industry could not compete with Western European industry and lost competition even in domestic markets. Accelerated privatization of the economy and price liberalization, called shock therapy, did not lead to the modernization of the economy. The only source of resources and technologies needed for modernization could be large foreign corporations. However, they showed interest only in individual enterprises (the Skoda automobile plant in the Czech Republic). Another way of modernization - the use of instruments of state intervention in the economy - was rejected by the reformers for ideological reasons.

Slide 31

For several years, Eastern European countries experienced high inflation, falling living standards, and rising unemployment. Hence the growth of the influence of the left forces, new political parties of social democratic orientation, which arose on the basis of the former communist and workers' parties. The success of the left parties in Poland, Hungary and Slovakia helped to improve the economic situation. In Hungary, after the victory of the left forces in 1994, the budget deficit was reduced from $3.9 billion in 1994 to $1.7 billion in 1996, including through a more equitable distribution of taxes and a reduction in imports. The coming to power in the countries of Eastern Europe of political parties of a social democratic orientation did not change their desire for rapprochement with Western Europe. Their entry into the Partnership for Peace program with NATO was of great importance in this respect. In 1999, Poland, Hungary and the Czech Republic became full members of this military-political bloc.

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Interethnic conflict in Yugoslavia

Slide 33

The complication of the economic situation during the period of market reforms, especially in multinational countries, led to an aggravation of interethnic relations. Moreover, if the division of Czechoslovakia into two states - the Czech Republic and Slovakia passed peacefully, then the territory of Yugoslavia became the scene of armed conflicts. After the break between I.V. Stalin and I.B. Tito Yugoslavia was not part of the Soviet system of alliances. However, in terms of the type of development, it differed little from other countries of Eastern Europe. The reforms carried out in Yugoslavia in the 1950s met with sharp criticism from N.S. Khrushchev and caused an aggravation of its relations with the USSR. The Yugoslav model of socialism included self-management in production, allowed elements of a market economy and a greater degree of ideological freedom than in neighboring Eastern European countries. At the same time, the monopoly on the power of one party (the Union of Communists of Yugoslavia) and the special role of its leader (IB Tito) remained. Since the political regime that existed in Yugoslavia was a product of its own development and did not rely on the support of the USSR, the force of the example of perestroika and democratization with the death of Tito affected Yugoslavia to a lesser extent than other Eastern European countries. However, Yugoslavia faced other problems, namely, interethnic and interreligious conflicts, which led to the disintegration of the country.

§ 20 question 2 in writing

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