imperialism, Soviet

From 1945, policy of the USSR to control and influence countries outside Soviet territory during the Cold War 1945-89, allegedly to promote the spread of communist ideology throughout the world. Following World War II, former independent countries in Eastern Europe came under Soviet control and other parts of the world were drawn into the USSR's sphere of influence. The USSR claimed that it was extending friendship to nations threatened by the control of Western capitalist interests, particularly those of the USA.

Eastern Europe During World War II Soviet civilian and military casualties amounted to over 20 million people, more than any other nation. Contributing factors to this catastrophic figure included the military and civilian casualties of the fighting, the murder of Soviet Jews during the Holocaust, and Soviet leader Joseph Stalin's politically-inspired purges. The USSR had faced invasion from Germany twice in 25 years, and Stalin was obsessed with ensuring that this did not reoccur. At the same time Stalin saw an opportunity to extend Soviet power and influence over those countries of Eastern Europe that had been taken from the Nazis by the USSR's Red Army at the end of World War II.

Despite earlier promises to allow democracy, Stalin began to install communist governments in East Germany, Poland, Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria, Yugoslavia, and Albania, with or without the consent of the people. The Red Army was still in occupation, so resistance was futile. The USSR claimed its actions were necessary to establish friendly nations on its western border. In 1947, when the USA offered financial aid to Europe under the Marshall Plan, Stalin refused to allow the countries of the communist Eastern bloc to take part. Instead the Soviet government established COMECON (the Council for Mutual Economic Assistance) to give aid to Eastern Europe, although the sums involved and, therefore, the results could never match those offered by the USA.

Any attempt to rebel against Soviet domination in Eastern Europe was crushed by the Red Army. Its bases were scattered all over the Eastern bloc, just as US bases were spread over Western Europe. The East German revolt, 1953, and the uprisings in Hungary in 1956 (see Hungary, the Hungarian national uprising) and Czechoslovakia in 1968 (see Prague Spring) were put down with the use of tanks and aircraft against civilian demonstrators.

Brezhnev Doctrine In 1968 Soviet leader Leonard Brezhnev formulated the Brezhnev Doctrine as the new guiding principle of Soviet foreign policy. Brezhnev stated that the USSR had a duty to uphold the purity of communism in countries within the Soviet sphere of influence. This doctrine justified Soviet action in Czechoslovakia in 1968, and the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in 1979. The Brezhnev Doctrine allowed the USSR the same freedom of action in the affairs of other nations that the USA claimed in its Truman Doctrine of 1947. This statement of US foreign policy claimed the right to uphold the liberty and democracy of nations threatened by dictatorship or outside threat, and justified US involvement in the Korean War (1950-53).

Warsaw Pact When West Germany was admitted to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) in 1955, the USSR responded by establishing the Warsaw Pact, a formal defensive alliance for the communist bloc. Although this action was cosmetic, as the armed forces of Eastern Europe were already dominated by the USSR, it signified that Soviet imperial control over its satellite countries was complete.

Influence in the developing world From the 1950s the USSR sought to extend its influence over the newly independent and industrially undeveloped countries of Asia, the Middle East, and Africa. This mirrored alleged US imperialism in the same regions. Economic and political ties were established with key nations such as Egypt to spur others into alignment with the USSR. Friendly governments were offered aid for dams and other infrastructure projects, such as the Aswan High Dam (1960-70) in Egypt. In this way the USSR was able to increase its influence in the developing world while appearing to be motivated by benevolence, a policy that diverted opinion to its favour and against the capitalist West. The colonial experience of the 18th and 19th centuries suffered by many newly independent nations made them less friendly towards the West, and this was exploited by the USSR.

In 1959, when the communist coup of Fidel Castro overthrew the US-backed right-wing dictatorship of Fulgencio Batista in Cuba, the USSR moved in quickly to establish close ties. In 1962 Castro agreed to take delivery of Soviet nuclear missiles to be targeted on the USA. This action sparked of the Cuban missile crisis in which US president John F Kennedy forced Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev to remove the installations. The USSR remained the closest ally and financial backer of Cuba for the next 30 years.

In the same vein, the USSR sought favour with the states of the Middle East by pursuing an unfriendly policy towards Israel. The West strongly supported Israel, even though its wars with Jordan, Syria, and Egypt in the 1960s and 1970s had led to the annexation of territory beyond its original borders. The USSR pursued a pro-Arab line, and was able to increase its influence in the region. During the Vietnam War (1954-75) the USSR provided support in the form of weapons and finance for the communist North Vietnamese, particularly after the USA's entry into the war in 1961 when the world visions of the two superpowers collided.

In 1979 the USSR invaded Afghanistan, sending its own armed forces into another country for the first time since World War II. The Soviet-backed communist dictatorship of Afghanistan was in danger, so the Red Army was sent in to bolster the regime. For the next ten years the USSR became embroiled in a costly and damaging war. In 1989 they were forced to admit effective defeat and withdraw, an outcome similar to the forced withdrawal of the USA from Vietnam in 1975.

Decline of Soviet imperialism By the mid 1980s the USSR was being financially crippled by its role as a Cold War superpower, as the costs of maintaining a large armed force, nuclear weapons, a space programme, and aid to developing nations spiralled. The USSR's pursuit of a neo-colonial policy since World War II had been largely successful, with many countries being dominated or heavily influenced by Soviet policy and ideology. However, the USSR's financial strength had never matched that of the USA and this forced the Soviet government to reassess its relationship with its former enemy. The break up of the USSR between 1989 and 1991 marked the end of Soviet imperialism.