Stalinization

Stalinization

Stalinization was a process developed in two stages, with first stage being shaped by the opportunities arisen due to the international situation after the end of the WWII, and the second stage as a blunt and violent process imposed on the countries within the Soviet Unions' sphere of influence.

After the end of the WWII and the take over of the Soviet Union over the German troops in 1943, Stalin took advantage of numerous international opportunities that placed him in a favorable position in his negotiations with the Allies.

In February 1945 at Yalta, Stalin received the Allies' green light to take over the East European countries, a confirmation that he was expecting in order to interfere in the internal affaires of the Eastern European countries that have lost the war. The expansion of Stalin's ideals represented by the communists, strictly depended upon the international situation at the end of the war, among which the economic and social factors.

First of all, the majority of the countries were broke, mainly because of the failure of capitalism during the 1929's and 1930's. Capitalism was then associated with fascism and the horrors of the war, and as a consequence socialism was considered 'the future'.

Secondly, the East European cities were almost entirely destroyed and so were the economies of these countries. Rebuilding cities from zero and restructuring the economy seemed to need a collective and mass effort, which only a centralized power could coordinate. Ordered needed to be established and people needed direction. Communism seemed the answer, because at that time, it was the best-organized political force.

But there was another prerequisite, which helped the communists to take over the Eastern European countries. Throughout Eastern Europe there were groups that might have stood against the take over: the bourgeoisie, the intelligentsia, trade unions and the church. But the communist benefited from the fact that the bourgeoisie in some of these countries was practically nonexistent before the war, or were destroyed during the German occupation. In the same way, the intelligentsia or trade unions were either weakened or subverted by placing communist sympathizers in their place. However, against the church communists used force and violence, and increasingly limited their importance in social activities and authority.

However, in a second stage of the process, Stalin, once he acknowledged his increasing influence in the Eastern European countries, has made himself guilty of developing a plan that was imposed violently on each country within his sphere of influence. The plan consisted in strategically infiltrating communist sympathizers in the targeted country, eliminating competition and centralizing power.

The allies realized the segregation of Europe in two different blocks only after Stalin had made a priority of securing the western borders in East Germany. From there on, it was a constant struggle to secure borders and later a harsh competition to prove the superiority of one of the two systems created. It was the emergence of the later called "Cold War".

Communist take over, although different in every country, followed the same patterns until its complete domination. In some countries like Albania and Bulgaria, communists encountered no real opposition, being the dominant party, whereas in others (Yugoslavia, Hungary, Poland) they had to fight resistance movements and drew out the enemy. Some countries were strategical targets (Poland) and had to be taken over, whereas others were in their sphere of influence (Romania) and were expected to obey. Communists' take over would be carried out, in some countries like Poland, bluntly and violently in order to achieve their goal, and in others like Hungary, more veiled waiting first to secure the borders with the western allies.

Communists' first target