What Are The Differences Between Western And Eastern Russia
Struggled to make decision on Poland and eastern Europe, the “Pandora Box of infinite troubles”
Finally decided eastern European governments would be freely elected but pro-Russian
The Yalta compromise over eastern Europe broke down almost immediately
Even before the conference, Bulgaria and Poland were controlled by communists who arrived home with the Red Army
- Postwar Potsdam Conference of July 1945
o Long-avoided differences over eastern Europe finally surged to the fore
o Compromising Roosevelt had died and been succeeded by determined Harry Truman
Demanded immediate free elections in eastern Europe
Stalin refused point-blank, because they would all be anti-Soviet
- Here …show more content…
o Colonial empires were shaken by 1939
- European empires had been based on power differences between rulers and those ruled
o Declined in 1945
o Western Europe was battered after war, and imperial rulers had been driven from large parts of South Asia by the Japanese, so Europeans faced strong nationalist movements
- Empires regarded differently by Europeans post-1945 compared to pre-1914
o Used to be arrogant, but WW2 destroyed that, and gave opponents of imperialists greater influence in Europe
- Did not want bloody colonial wars either, thanks to politics and moral authority in tatters
- India played a key role in decolonization
o Nationalist opposition to British rule coalesced after WW1 under British-educated leadership of Mohandas “Mahatma” Gandhi
Built a mass movement in 1920s and 1930s preaching “noncooperation”
Got a new constitution that was a blueprint for independence from British 1935
o India had become a financial burden to Britain and socialists did not like imperialism
o Obstacle to India’s independence was conflict between Muslims and Hindu populations
Resolved 1947 through creation of two states, Hindu India and Muslim
Finally decided eastern European governments would be freely elected but pro-Russian
The Yalta compromise over eastern Europe broke down almost immediately
Even before the conference, Bulgaria and Poland were controlled by communists who arrived home with the Red Army
- Postwar Potsdam Conference of July 1945
o Long-avoided differences over eastern Europe finally surged to the fore
o Compromising Roosevelt had died and been succeeded by determined Harry Truman
Demanded immediate free elections in eastern Europe
Stalin refused point-blank, because they would all be anti-Soviet
- Here …show more content…
o Colonial empires were shaken by 1939
- European empires had been based on power differences between rulers and those ruled
o Declined in 1945
o Western Europe was battered after war, and imperial rulers had been driven from large parts of South Asia by the Japanese, so Europeans faced strong nationalist movements
- Empires regarded differently by Europeans post-1945 compared to pre-1914
o Used to be arrogant, but WW2 destroyed that, and gave opponents of imperialists greater influence in Europe
- Did not want bloody colonial wars either, thanks to politics and moral authority in tatters
- India played a key role in decolonization
o Nationalist opposition to British rule coalesced after WW1 under British-educated leadership of Mohandas “Mahatma” Gandhi
Built a mass movement in 1920s and 1930s preaching “noncooperation”
Got a new constitution that was a blueprint for independence from British 1935
o India had become a financial burden to Britain and socialists did not like imperialism
o Obstacle to India’s independence was conflict between Muslims and Hindu populations
Resolved 1947 through creation of two states, Hindu India and Muslim