See Also

Eastern bloc

During the Cold War Cold War

The Cold War was the protracted geopolitical [i], ideological [i], and economic [i] ... 

, the term Eastern Bloc was used to refer to the Soviet Union Soviet Union

The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , more commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a Communist state [i] ... 

 and its allies in Central Central Europe

Central Europe is the region [i] lying between the variously and vaguely defined areas of Eastern [i] ... 

 and Eastern Eastern Europe

Eastern Europe is the east [i]ern region [i] of Europe [i] variably defined. ... 

 Europe . The "Eastern Bloc" is also used as another name for the Warsaw Pact Warsaw Pact

he Warsaw Pact or Warsaw Treaty, officially named the Treaty of Friendship, Co-operation and Mu... 

  or the Comecon Comecon

The Council for Mutual Economic Assistance, 1949 [i] – 1991 [i], was an economic organization of communist state [i] ... 

 , also known as the Dinamo countries. Yugoslavia Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia

The Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia was the Yugoslav state [i] that existed from the ... 

 was never part of the Eastern Bloc or the Warsaw Pact Warsaw Pact

he Warsaw Pact or Warsaw Treaty, officially named the Treaty of Friendship, Co-operation and Mu... 

. Although it was a Communist state, its leader, Marshal Tito Josip Broz Tito

Josip Broz Tito was the leader [i] of Yugoslavia [i] ... 

, came to power through his efforts as a partisan resistance leader during World War II World War II

World War II, or the Second World War, was a worldwide [i] conflict [i] fought betwe ... 

, and thus he was not installed by the Soviet Red Army Red Army

The short forms Red Army and RKKA refer to the Workers' and Peasants' Red Army, , the armed ... 

, and he owed the Soviet leadership no allegiance.

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Encyclopedia


During the Cold War Cold War

The Cold War was the protracted geopolitical [i], ideological [i], and economic [i]... 

, the term Eastern Bloc was used to refer to the Soviet Union Soviet Union

The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , more commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a Communist state [i] ... 

 and its allies in Central Central Europe

Central Europe is the region [i] lying between the variously and vaguely defined areas of Eastern [i] ... 

 and Eastern Eastern Europe

Eastern Europe is the east [i]ern region [i] of Europe [i] variably defined. ... 

 Europe . The "Eastern Bloc" is also used as another name for the Warsaw Pact Warsaw Pact

he Warsaw Pact or Warsaw Treaty, officially named the Treaty of Friendship, Co-operation and Mu... 

or the Comecon Comecon

The Council for Mutual Economic Assistance, 1949 [i] – 1991 [i], was an economic organization of communist state [i] ... 

, also known as the Dinamo countries.

Yugoslavia Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia

The Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia was the Yugoslav state [i] that existed from the ... 

 was never part of the Eastern Bloc or the Warsaw Pact Warsaw Pact

he Warsaw Pact or Warsaw Treaty, officially named the Treaty of Friendship, Co-operation and Mu... 

. Although it was a Communist state, its leader, Marshal Tito Josip Broz Tito

Josip Broz Tito was the leader [i] of Yugoslavia [i] ... 

, came to power through his efforts as a partisan resistance leader during World War II World War II

World War II, or the Second World War, was a worldwide [i] conflict [i] fought betwe ... 

, and thus he was not installed by the Soviet Red Army Red Army

The short forms Red Army and RKKA refer to the Workers' and Peasants' Red Army, , the armed ... 

, and he owed the Soviet leadership no allegiance. The Yugoslav government established itself as a neutral state during the Cold War, and the country was one of the founders of the Non-Aligned Movement Non-Aligned Movement

The Non-Aligned Movement, or NAM, is an international organization [i] of over 100 states [i] ... 

.

Similarly, the Stalinist Stalinism

Stalinism is the political [i] and economic system [i] named after Joseph Stalin [i], w ... 

 Albania Albania

The Republic of Albania is a Balkan [i] country in Southeastern Europe [i]. ... 

n government also came to power independently of the Red Army as a consequence of World War II. Albania broke with the Soviet Union in the early 1960s 1960s

The 1960s decade [i] refers to the years from 1960 [i] to 1969 [i], inclusive. ... 

 as a result of the Sino-Soviet split Sino-Soviet split

The Sino-Soviet split was a major diplomatic conflict between the People's Republic of China [i] and th ... 

, aligning itself instead with the People's Republic of China People's Republic of China

The People's Republic of China , is a country [i] in East Asia [i]. ... 

 and its anti-revisionist stance.

Nations within the Eastern Bloc were sometimes held in the Soviet sphere of influence through military force. Hungary was invaded by the Red Army in 1956 after it had overthrown its pro-Soviet government and replaced it with one that sought a more democratic communist path independent of Moscow; when Polish communist leaders tried to elect Wladyslaw Gomulka as First Secretary, they were issued an ultimatum by the Soviet military, demanding that Gomulka's election be canceled. Czechoslovakia was invaded in 1968 after a period of liberalization known as the Prague Spring Prague Spring

The Prague Spring was a period of political liberalization in Czechoslovakia [i] starting January 5 [i] ... 

. The latter invasion was codified in formal Soviet policy as the Brezhnev Doctrine.

During the late 1980s 1980s

The 1980s [i] officially refers to the years from 1980 [i] to 1989 [i]. ... 

, the Soviet Union gradually stopped interfering in the internal affairs of Eastern Bloc nations. Mikhail Gorbachev Mikhail Gorbachev

Mikhail Sergeyevich Gorbachyov was leader of the Soviet Union [i] from 1985 until 1991. ... 

's abrogation of the Brezhnev Doctrine in favor of the so-called "Sinatra Doctrine" had dramatic effects across Eastern Europe during this period. The Eastern Bloc eventually came to an end with the collapse of the pro-Soviet regimes in Eastern Europe in 1989 .

Even before this period, all the countries in the Warsaw pact did not always act as a block. For instance, the 1968 invasion of Czechoslovakia Czechoslovakia

Czechoslovakia was a country in Central Europe [i] that existed from 1918 until early 1993 . ... 

 was condemned by Romania Romania

Romania: is a country in Southeastern Europe [i]. ... 

, which refused to take part in it.

See also

  • Soviet Empire Soviet Empire

    Soviet Empire was a controversial, politically charged and pejorative [i] term used to critically descri ... 

  • Iron Curtain Iron Curtain

    The "Iron Curtain" is a term coined by Joseph Goebbels [i], and made famous by Winston Churchill [i], wh ... 

  • NATO NATO

    Aznar also proposed a strategic co-operation with India [i] and Colombia [i]. ... 

  • Post-Soviet states Post-Soviet states

    The Post-Soviet states, also commonly known as former Soviet republics, are the independent nations [i] ... 

  • Western world Western world

    The term Western World or "the West" can have multiple meanings depending on its context.... 



External links


  • September-December 1991, in the last months of the USSR
  • “Eastern Block” examines the specificities and differences of living in totalitarian and post totalitarian countries. The project is divided into chapters, each dedicated to one of the Eastern European countries – Slovak Republic, Poland, ex GDR, Hungary, Czech Republic and ex Yugoslavia.