During the Cold War, the term Eastern Bloc (or Soviet Bloc) was used to refer to the Soviet Union and countries it either controlled or that were its allies in Central and Eastern Europe (Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia, East Germany, Hungary, Poland, Romania, and—until the early 1960s—Albania). Cold War is the state of conflict tension and competition that existed between the United States and the Soviet Union (USSR and their respective allies from the The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR was a constitutionally Socialist state that existed in Eurasia from 1922 to 1991 Central Europe is the Region lying between the variously and vaguely defined areas of Eastern and Eastern Europe is a general term that refers to the Geopolitical region encompassing the easternmost part of the European continent. The state of Bulgaria (България transliterated bg-Latn ''Balgaria'' The country preserves the traditions (in ethnic name language and alphabet of the First Bulgarian Czechoslovakia may also refer to what is now the Czech Republic and Slovakia. The German Democratic Republic ( GDR; Deutsche Demokratische Republik DDR; commonly known in English as East Germany) was a Socialist state Hungary (Magyarország 'mɔɟɔrorsaːg) officially in English the Republic of Hungary ( Magyar Köztársaság, literally Magyar (Hungarian Republic Poland (Polska officially the Republic of Poland Romania ( dated: Rumania, Roumania This article is about the country in southern Europe For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Albania topics.
The label "Eastern Bloc" was also used to collectively denote member states of the Warsaw Pact (a Soviet-dominated military organisation) or the Comecon (an international economic organization of Communist states). The Warsaw Pact (see Nomenclature) was an organization of Communist states in Central and Eastern Europe. Communist state is a term used by many Political scientists to describe a Form of government in which the State operates under a one-party system Allies outside of Eastern Europe, such as Mongolia and often China, Cuba, Vietnam, Ethiopia, and North Korea were sometimes included in the term Eastern Bloc as well. Mongolia (mɒŋˈɡoʊliə, literally Mongol country/nation,) is a Landlocked Country in East Talk People's Republic of China) PEOPLE'S REPUBLIC OF CHINA ARTICLE GUIDELINES The Republic of Cuba (ˈkjuːbə or) consists of the island of Cuba (the largest and second-most populous island of the Greater Antilles) Isla de la Vietnam (ˌviːɛtˈnɑːm Việt Nam) officially NOTE This intro is the result of careful NPOV work Please do not make potentially controversial edits to it without first discussing on the talk page North Korea is the commonly used short form name for the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (or DPRK) a State located in East Asia,
The terms Eastern Bloc and Soviet Union are sometimes confused. Although the Soviet Union had much political and economic influence over its Eastern Bloc possessions, the other countries in the Eastern Bloc were never constituent republics of the Soviet Union.
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Yugoslavia, Albania, Romania
Yugoslavia was never part of the Eastern Bloc or the Warsaw Pact. The Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia ( Serbo-Croatian, Bosnian, Croatian, Serbian, Slovene, Macedonian: The Warsaw Pact (see Nomenclature) was an organization of Communist states in Central and Eastern Europe. Although it claimed it was a Communist state, its leader, Marshal Tito, came to power through his efforts as a partisan resistance leader during World War II. World War II, or the Second World War, (often abbreviated WWII) was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including Since he was not installed by the Soviet Red Army, he owed the Soviet leadership no allegiance. The Red Army ( Russian: Рабоче-Крестьянская Красная Армия R aboche- K rest'yanskaya K rasnaya A rmiya The Yugoslav government established itself as a neutral state during the Cold War, and the country was one of the founders of the Non-Aligned Movement. The Non-Aligned Movement ( NAM) is an International organization of states considering themselves not formally aligned with or against any major power bloc
Similarly, the Stalinist Albanian government also came to power independently of the Red Army as a consequence of Albanian partisan resistance during World War II. Stalinism is the political regime named after Joseph Stalin, leader of the Soviet Union from 1929–1953 Albania broke with the Soviet Union in the early 1960s as a result of the Sino-Soviet split, aligning itself instead with the People's Republic of China and its anti-revisionist stance. The Sino-Soviet split was a gradual divergence of diplomatic ties between the People's Republic of China (PRC and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR Talk People's Republic of China) PEOPLE'S REPUBLIC OF CHINA ARTICLE GUIDELINES In the Marxist-Leninist movement an anti-revisionist is one who favors the line of theory and practice associated with Marx - Engels - Lenin
Romania was a bit of an anomaly, since the Communist Party came into power with the help of the Soviet Union. However, after Nicolae Ceauşescu came to power, he pursued a policy more independent of the Soviet Union. Nicolae Ceauşescu (nikoˈlaje tʃauˈʃesku (January 26 1918 – December 25 1989 was the communist dictator of Romania from 1965 until December 1989 when a revolution For example, Romania was the only country in the Eastern Bloc to condemn the 1968 invasion of Czechoslovakia. [1][2] Though Romania did not break with the USSR as a result of the Sino-Soviet split, it nevertheless maintained good relations with China. Similarly, the Russian language was taught less in schools, Romania entered into foreign relations with several Western countries because of this independent line, and on a lesser note, the Bucharest Metro did not use the cars that were typical of Eastern Bloc metro systems. Russian ( transliteration:,) is the most geographically widespread language of Eurasia, the most widely spoken of the Slavic languages The Bucharest Metro ( Metroul Bucureşti in Romanian) is an underground urban railway network that serves the capital of Romania, Bucharest. This independent line, which promoted Ceauşescu's megalomaniac visions, also resulted in a revolution against the Communist government and the execution of the Ceauşescus, as opposed to the usurption of power in the rest of the Eastern Bloc.
Use of force
Several countries in Eastern Bloc were turned communists by the use of force and physical elimination of all political opposition to Soviet rule over them. Afterwards nations within the Eastern Bloc were held in the Soviet sphere of influence through military force. A sphere of influence ( SOI) is an area or region over which an organization or state exerts some kind of indirect cultural economic military or political domination Hungary was invaded by the Soviet Army in 1956 after it had overthrown its pro-Soviet government and replaced it with one that sought a more democratic communist path independent of Moscow, when Polish communist leaders tried to elect Władysław Gomułka as First Secretary they were issued an ultimatum by Soviet military that occupied Poland ordering them to withdraw election of Gomulka for the First Secretary or be "crushed by Soviet tanks"[1]. The Hungarian Revolution of 1956 ( Hungarian: 1956-os forradalom) was a spontaneous nationwide Revolt against the Stalinist government of Władysław Gomułka ( February 6, 1905, Krosno - September 1, 1982) was a Polish Communist leader Czechoslovakia was invaded in 1968 after a period of liberalization known as the Prague Spring. The Prague Spring ( Czech: Pražské jaro, Slovak: Pražská jar) was a period of political liberalization in Czechoslovakia during The latter invasion was codified in formal Soviet policy as the Brezhnev Doctrine. The Brezhnev Doctrine was a Soviet Foreign policy, first and most clearly outlined by S
Decline
During the late 1980s, the weakened Soviet Union gradually stopped interfering in the internal affairs of Eastern Bloc nations. Mikhail Gorbachev's abrogation of the Brezhnev Doctrine in favor of the so-called "Sinatra Doctrine" had dramatic effects across Central and Eastern Europe during this period. Mikhail Sergeyevich Gorbachev ( Mikhail Sergeyevich Gorbachyov;; born 2 March 1931 in Privolnoye Stavropol Krai) is a Russian politician The Brezhnev Doctrine was a Soviet Foreign policy, first and most clearly outlined by S "Sinatra Doctrine" was the name that the Soviet government of Mikhail Gorbachev used jokingly to describe its policy of allowing neighboring Warsaw The Eastern Bloc eventually came to an end with the collapse of the Soviet controlled governments in Eastern Europe in 1989 (see Revolutions of 1989). "Fall of Communism" redirects here For the fall of the Soviet Union itself see History of the Soviet Union (1985–1991. The collapse of those governments led to the rapid transition to market economy in countries like Hungary, Poland, Czech Republic and Slovakia. The Hungarian economy is a medium-sized structurally politically and institutionally open economy in Central Europe and is part of the EU Single market.
Even before this period, all the countries in the Warsaw Pact did not always act as a unified bloc. For instance, the 1968 invasion of Czechoslovakia was condemned by Romania, which refused to take part in it. Czechoslovakia may also refer to what is now the Czech Republic and Slovakia. Romania ( dated: Rumania, Roumania
Central and Eastern Europe
After 1989, the term Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) rather than Eastern Bloc came into wide use—from governmental cooperation, development organizations to businesses, but not to the extent of political parties.
Notes
See also
External links
- Photographs of Russia in 1967
- Candid photos of the Eastern Bloc September–December 1991, in the last months of the USSR
- Photographic project "Eastern Bloc" “Eastern Bloc” examines the specificities and differences of living in totalitarian and post totalitarian countries. The " Iron Curtain " was the symbolic ideological and physical boundary dividing Europe into two separate areas from the end of World War II until the end The North Atlantic Treaty The post-Soviet states, also commonly known as former Soviet republics, are the 15 independent nations that split off from the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics The informal term " Soviet Empire " referred to the fact that the Soviet Union exerted a strong influence over a number of nations The term Western world, the West or the Occident ( Latin: occidens -sunset -west as distinct from the Orient) can have multiple meanings The project is divided into chapters, each dedicated to one of the Eastern European countries—Slovak Republic, Poland, ex-GDR, Hungary, Czech Republic and ex-Yugoslavia.
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