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After Stalin

After Stalin. 1953: start of a new phase in the Cold War January : Dwight Eisenhower enters the White House. The Republicans are committed to victory in the Cold War. The war in Korea continues. Stalin is bracing for a world war

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After Stalin

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  1. After Stalin

  2. 1953: start of a new phase in the Cold War • January: Dwight Eisenhower enters the White House. The Republicans are committed to victory in the Cold War. The war in Korea continues. Stalin is bracing for a world war • March: Stalin dies, a new leadership emerges in the Kremlin. It proclaims the goal of peaceful coexistence • March: Release of GULAG prisoners begins • July: Armistice in Korea

  3. STALIN’S LEGACY • The USSR is a superpower: major resources which can be used in various ways: • to promote revolution • to seek peaceful coexistence with the West Did Moscow need to choose? • How viable is the Soviet system – in Russia and abroad? Issue of reform and liberalization • The Global Left and the USSR: what should be the Soviet role?

  4. The paradox of Stalin’s legacy. He left his successors: • Huge positions of strength - AND • An unviable system. BUT ALSO: • Traditions of Machiavellian pragmatism: the end justifies the means. But what is the end? Defence of the Motherland? Prevention of a new world war? Victory of communism worldwide? Making socialist societies livable? Interests of the state? Perpetuation of bureaucratic rule? All of the above?

  5. POST-STALIN RATIONALIZATION OF SOVIET FOREIGN POLICY • Dismantle some elements of the totalitarian system • Work to end the Korean War • Relaxation of tensions with the West • Steps toward arms control • Development of ties with newly independent states in the Third World • Expand influence with the Global Left

  6. A WIDE VARIETY OF MEANS AVAILABLE • Military power • Alliances with other communist states in Europe and Asia (Warsaw Pact, USSR-China) • Active diplomacy vis-a-vis the West, the Third World (including economic assistance), in the UN • Cultivation of ties with various left-wing forces and movements • Propaganda (more effective with de-Stalinization)

  7. Return of ideology • Khrushchev: a strong believer in communism as a system superior to capitalism: “We will bury you!” • How will communism win? By creating better conditions of life for working people: Peaceful competition, struggle for people’s minds and hearts • Meanwhile. the 2 systems can and must avoid war and promote mutual cooperation

  8. The issue of world revolution • A stronger commitment to the Global Left • Support of non-alignment • Issues in Eastern Europe • Relations with China

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