Enrichment Essay – The Rise and Fall of Communism (HA)
Background
During World War II, the Soviet Union established a large presence in Eastern Europe. Many Eastern European nations came under
direct Soviet influence in the postwar years, among them Czechoslovakia, Hungary, and Poland. These nations developed communist
governments based on the Soviet model. The Soviet vision of communism was developed by Russian revolutionary Vladimir Lenin’s
interpretation of the writings of German philosopher Karl Marx (1818–1883).
Marx’s writing greatly influenced the political movements that emerged in Russia in the late 1800s. According to Marx’s theory,
capitalism would bring about its own downfall. As he saw it, the middle class would disappear along with the growth of big business.
The class of wealthy elites would grow smaller, while the working class would grow larger. The working masses would become
dissatisfied and rebel against the ruling class. Capitalism would then be replaced by socialism, a system under which the workers
themselves controlled the means of production—land, factories, and natural resources. Communism, in Marx’s vision, was a late stage
in the development of socialism. The two terms soon became used interchangeably, however.
Lenin was eager to bring down the Russian monarchy, which did little to benefit the struggling peasantry. Although most
revolutionary leaders of the time felt it was their role to inspire the populace, not lead them in armed revolution, Lenin was impatient
and distrusted the populace. He created a well-ordered, disciplined party of intellectual elites, which he called Bolsheviks. The
Bolsheviks, led by Lenin, took over the government in the Russian Revolution of 1917, resulting in the world’s first communist state.
Under communism, the government owns the means of production and organizes the economy under a central plan. In theory, all
citizens would be equal and economically secure under the communist system.
By 1922, Russia reclaimed many of the territories of the former Russian empire to form the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. That
same year Josef Stalin became party leader and began his rise to dictator. In Marx’s theory, workers would be liberated by controlling
their own labor and production, and the government would eventually become unnecessary. Under Stalin, however, the Soviet Union
developed a totalitarian government, or one that controlled all aspects of society, including politics, economics, culture, and
intellectual life. It also became a world leader, with expanding influence.
Soviet Control
Immediately following World War II, Czechoslovakia, Hungary, and Poland established coalition governments. Each of these
coalitions included a communist party. Before long, the communists controlled each government. Czechoslovakia, Hungary, and
Poland headed down similar paths as so-called Soviet satellite nations: each adopted a constitution modeled on the Soviet constitution,
centralized the economy, collectivized agriculture, and promoted heavy industry.
The communist governments also maintained power in the same fashion, by suppressing opposition. Methods included the following:
• silencing intellectuals and artists
• controlling the clergy
• demanding conformity to Soviet ideology
• promoting Soviet ideology over nationalism
• purging the government of nonconformists
The nations’ economies did not flourish under centralized planning. The focus on heavy industry came at the expense of agricultural
production and the production of consumer goods. Economic planning served Soviet, not national, interests.
De-Stalinization and Crackdown
After Josef Stalin’s death in 1953, the new Soviet leader, Nikita Khrushchev, denounced Stalin’s brutality and iron-fisted rule.
Khrushchev’s actions loosened the Soviet Union’s grip on its satellite countries. Although the Soviet Union tried to reassert its
dominance, the seeds of change were sown.
Hungary In Hungary, nationalist politician Imre Nagy became prime minister in 1953. He proposed a series of liberal reforms during
his brief administration. Although quickly deposed by hard-liners, or those unwilling to compromise, Nagy remained a popular figure.
His reform program, coupled with anticommunist unrest in Poland, inspired Hungarians to speak out against repressive policies. In
October 1956 a large student demonstration made its way through the streets of Budapest. Police fired into the crowd. The peaceful
procession erupted into an armed revolution as demonstrators began to riot. Many soldiers, instead of quelling the violence, passed out
arms to the protestors. Before long, Soviet troops crushed the insurrection, and the Soviet Union tightened its control over the nation.
Poland In Poland, open social unrest periodically plagued the communist government. Protests intensified after Stalin’s death. In the
summer of 1956, factory workers in the city of Poznan marched in the streets to protest poor working conditions. The strike was met
with force by the local authorities, sparking a riot. After regular army troops were sent in to restore order, around 70 workers were
killed and hundreds more were injured. The violence galvanized a workers’ movement. Under continued opposition, the government
was forced to select a more moderate leader, Wladyslaw Gomulka. Gomulka reigned in the secret police, reduced censorship, and
improved relations with the Catholic Church. His reforms did not go far enough, however. Workers and students continued to pressure
the government.
Gomulka was replaced by Edward Gierek in 1970. Gierek’s liberal reforms also failed to pacify the public. His economic stimulation
policies could not combat the worldwide economic recession of the 1970s. Workers rioted over proposed increases in food prices.
In 1978 the Roman Catholic Church elected bishop Karol Wojtyla, a long-time critic of communism, to head the church as Pope John
Paul II. Selection of a Polish pope was a great source of national pride for the Polish people. Pope John Paul II encouraged peaceful
dissent in Poland. His calls for freedom helped support Solidarity, a workers’ movement headed by a charismatic electrician and strike
leader named Lech Walesa.
Under Walesa’s leadership, the Solidarity movement coalesced into an independent labor union—10 million workers strong. It soon
inspired an agricultural counterpart, Rural Solidarity. Alarmed, the Soviet Union pressured for a change in government leadership to
combat Solidarity. General Wojciech Jaruzelski became head of the Polish government and instituted martial law. Jaruzelski limited
civil liberties and closed universities. Solidarity leaders were imprisoned and union activity brought to a halt.
Czechoslovakia In 1968 moderate reformer Alexander Dubcek was selected as head of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia. He
instituted liberal reforms, including lifting media censorship, and promoted a new model for more democratic socialism in
Czechoslovakia. Public hope bloomed in what came to be known as the Prague Spring. Dubcek’s Action Program called for both
economic and political reform. It included a constitution guaranteeing civil rights and the right for multiparty elections.
Czechoslovakia saw a revival of political organizations. Intellectuals called for greater democracy.
The Soviet Union became concerned with the effect these events would have on other satellite nations. It, along with other satellite
nations of the Soviet Union, invaded Czechoslovakia. The public resisted passively, disrupting communications and tearing down
street signs to confuse the troops. Individual citizens debated with Red Army soldiers on the street. But the Prague Spring ended.
Dubcek was replaced by a communist hard-liner who erased Dubcek’s reforms in a period of so-called normalization. The government
strengthened its ties with the Soviet Union. Reformists were purged from the government, and dissidents were imprisoned and exiled
to quash independent intellectual thought.
The Road to Freedom
Despite the Soviet crackdown, the people of Hungary, Czechoslovakia, and Poland continued to agitate for reform. In the end, their
communist governments could not withstand the pressure. By 1990 all three nations had thrown off the shackles of communism. In
1991 the Soviet Union itself collapsed.
Hungary By the early 1960s the Hungarian government realized it would need popular support to maintain order. The new prime
minister, János Kádár, granted amnesty to the revolutionaries of 1956. Focus began to shift away from political conformity.
In 1968 the government instituted the New Economic Mechanism, a series of economic reforms. NEM lessened state control of the
economy by introducing free-market reforms to both industry and agriculture. The government, realizing that economic recovery went
hand in hand with political reform, also encouraged the free flow of ideas between East and West.
The standard of living improved under two decades of NEM, but incomplete enactment of the reforms and the global energy crisis of
the 1970s inhibited continued success. By the 1980s the standard of living headed south again.
Public pressure forced changes in the government. The communists reorganized as the Hungarian Socialist Party. The nation
experienced a resurgence of intellectual activity, the formation of new political parties, and the restoration of religious freedoms. In
1989 a new constitution was established, renaming Hungary as the Republic of Hungary. The new constitution guaranteed separation
of powers, individual and civil rights, judicial review, and private enterprise. The following year, Hungary held the first multiparty
election in more than 40 years. The new noncommunist government took Hungary further down the path to economic reform.
Czechoslovakia The end of the Prague Spring was not the end of the dissident movement in Czechoslovakia. It flourished
underground, with nonconformist, Western-influenced music and with samizdat. Samizdat, or self-publishing, allowed writers to
publish ideas that would otherwise be suppressed by the government. In 1977 dissident writers published a manifesto they called
Charter 77. Charter 77 listed grievances against the government. Among the 243 signers was dissident playwright Václav Havel, who
became the spokesperson for a largely Czech opposition group called Civic Forum.
Civic Forum, and Public Against Violence, its Slovak counterpart, organized demonstrations and strikes throughout the nation. In the
face of such overwhelming public pressure, the communist government collapsed. Negotiations for a partial election brought Havel to
the presidency. In 1990 the country was renamed the Czech and Slovak Federative Republic. Havel was reelected in the first free and
fair elections the country had seen in more than four decades. Following this Velvet Revolution—so named because of its largely
nonviolent nature—the nation underwent democratic reforms. Soon thereafter, the Czech and Slovak Federative Republic peacefully
divided into two nations, the Czech Republic and Slovakia.
Poland Jaruzelski’s government, believing it had snuffed out the flame of the Solidarity movement during the period of martial law,
released Walesa from prison at the end of 1982 and lifted martial law the following year. The Solidarity movement had smoldered
underground, however. Workers began taking to the streets again in 1988, demanding government recognition of Solidarity. In 1989
the government relented and legalized Solidarity. In free elections, Solidarity won nearly every seat in a newly formed bicameral
legislature. The new government instituted reforms, including the establishment of a presidential-parliamentary government,
multiparty elections, and the decentralization of the economy. The people elected Walesa in the first direct presidential election 1990.
In 1983 Walesa was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for his role in promoting freedom of organization.