Download Soviet union`s use of Peaceful Coexistence

• After the death of Stalin it was unclear to the West who was in charge of
Soviet foreign policy
• Within the Soviet Politburo Beria, head of secret police offered the West a
proposal for reunified neutral Germany
• This caused great unrest in East Germany due to the people being afraid
that they would be abandoned for Capitalism
• Khrushchev denounced Stalin and his policies at the 20th communist party
conference
• President Eisenhower and Khrushchev announced plans to reduce its
armed forced by more than 600,000 troops
• Khrushchev ‘peaceful existence’
How and why did the
Soviets develop ‘peaceful
coexistence’
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X9_n8j
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Peaceful Coexistence
 Peaceful coexistence was a theory developed and applied by
the Soviet Union at various points during the Cold War in the
context of primarily Marxist–Leninist foreign policy and was
adopted by Soviet-influenced "Socialist states" that they
could peacefully coexist with the capitalist bloc.This was in
contrast to the antagonistic contradiction principle that
Communism and capitalism could never coexist in peace.
The Soviet Union applied it to relations between the western
world, particularly between the United States and NATO
countries and the nations of the Warsaw Pact.
Soviet union’s use of Peaceful Coexistence
Khrushchev solidified the concept in Soviet
foreign policy in 1956 at the 20th Congress
of the Communist Party of the Soviet
Union. The policy arose as a temptation to
reduce hostility between the two
superpowers, particularly in light of the
possibility of nuclear war. The Soviet
theory of peaceful coexistence asserted
that the United States and USSR, and their
respective political ideologies, could
coexist together rather than fighting one
another, and Khrushchev tried to
demonstrate his commitment to peaceful
coexistence by attending international
peace conferences, such as the Geneva
Summit, and by traveling internationally,
such as his trip to America's Camp David in
1959.
And its impact on Russian politics
 Stalin died on the 1st March 1953 due to a stroke, dying
four days later
 The West was greatly relieved, due to Stalin’s foreign
policy being the greatest factor of increasing Cold war
tensions
 This lead to the development of the “thaw”.
 Stalin’s death provided the Soviet leadership with the
opportunity to change its approach to the West
 This led to the introduction of “de-Stalinisation” from
leading Russian officials
 It can also be said to have caused the Hungarian
uprising, as they perceived a large political change in
Russia.
 After the death of Stalin, Beria proposed a neutral,
reunified Germany to the West
 “All we want is a peaceful Germany and it makes no
difference to us whether or not it is Socialist.”
 This statement caused panic in Communist East
Germany leading to riots and the intervention of
Soviet troops. This resulted in 25,000 arrests and 400
executions.
 The riots resulted in serve damage to Beria’s foreign
policy
 It even led o the Soviet leadership to view him as anticommunist, resulting in his arrest and eventual
execution as an alleged British Spy
Malenkov’s ‘New Course’ and
The Rise of Krushchev
• After Beria was removed Soviet Foreign Policy fell
into the control of Georgi Malenkov
• He formed a collective leadership with Krushchev
and Bulganin
• Malenkov believed that war between
communism and capitalism was unnecessary
• This did not mean there was a truce between the
two ideologies, just that Malenkov believed the
collapse of capitalism was inevitable so war was
not necessary
• Malenkov’s ‘New Course’ was criticised by
Krushchev yet he developed the ‘New Course’
into his own policy of ‘Peaceful Coexist’
• 1957 Krushchev was the established leader of
the USSR
• At the 20th party congress in 1956 Krushchev
criticised features of Stalin’s rule
• His approach became known as DeStalinisation
All three Soviet leaders had since Stalin’s death
recognised the military and economic pressures
that made confrontation with the West expensive
and dangerous
Both Malenkov and Krushchev had built on Beria’s
thinking
The connection between Malenkov and Krushchev’s
foreign policy was highlighted by the use of the
term ‘Peaceful Coexistence’ which was used to
describe both
What was the immediate impact of Khrushchev’s
policy of ‘co-existence’?
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After Khrushchev’s assumption of
leadership, the West were given hope that
new policies might lead to accommodation
and agreement between the two
superpowers.
A ceasefire had already been produced in
Korea following Stalin’s death and further
agreement was seen as possible.
Two developments followed over the next
few years. These were: the Austrian State
Agreement (1955), and the Soviet
withdraw from Finland (1956).
The Austrian State Treaty of 1955
“Boy pants for adult trousers”
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Like Germany, Austria had been split into four zones of occupation after the Second World
War.
The Soviet zone were exploited for resources whilst the Western zone benefitted from
Marshall Aid.
In 1954, Khrushchev decided that Austrian neutrality would be more appropriate than
permanent division.
Under the Treaty, both the USA and USSR would withdraw its armed forces from Austria in
return for agreeing its neutrality.
Soviet withdrawal from Finland in 1956
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The Finnish-Soviet Peace Treaty of 1947 had
forced Finland, a close neighbour of the
USSR, to pay $300 million and to give up
lands in the east of the country. The USSR
was also given as 50-year lease to the
Porkkala region.
By the autumn of 1955, Khrushchev was
prepared to withdraw Soviet presence in
Porkkala.
Molotov tried to overrule the decision but in
1956, the region was returned to Finland.
During the late-1950s and 1960s, Finland
followed a more neutral role, however some
Soviet influence was still exercised, such as
the withdrawal of a presidential candidate in
1962.