A History of Europe's Resistance of Soviet Presence

Soviet presence has been resisted by the Eastern European states since immediate post WWII through strikes and demonstrations such as those in East Germany, Hungary, Czechoslovakia, and Poland. A weak socialist economy, strict control of daily life, and ardent nationalism fed by animosity towards Soviet policies contributed to friction among Soviet power and Eastern European countries.

In post war USSR, the government's top priority was the mass production of military armament, leaving little funds for industrialization and much less for agricultural and social developments. Subsequently, money was taken from areas where it was needed to aid military weaponry growth; causing a production quota increase for workers building East Berlin's new boulevard. The work demand was greater, but the pay remained the same, causing demonstrations in East Germany in 1953. Soviet tanks crushed the uprising, killing 125 people.

When Khrushchev forced Hungarian Communist leader Rakosi to resign, Hungarians became apprehensive expecting more rights; rights which they ended up not getting. Driven by self-determination, Hungarians in 1956 rose up against the Soviet-influenced government demanding personal freedom, the removal of secret police, more food (caused by poor Russian agriculture and sole focus on weapon production), and the general removal of Soviet control. Nagy was proclaimed prime minister and when he attempted to remove Hungary from the Warsaw Pact, chaos broke out and the Red Army invaded Hungary. 50,000 demonstrators and troops were killed.

The Soviet state did not meet the simple needs of the Czechoslovakian people due to priorities within Russia such as focus on the manufacturing of weaponry, neglecting agricultural production triggering famine and hunger in the USSR. In 1968, the Czechoslovakian Communist regime was attempted to be reformed by Dubcek. Soon, Soviet tanks invaded Czechoslovakia and crushed the demonstration.

Polish solidarity began in the 1980s when the communist trade union began to fail to meet industrial worker's needs such as protection from the state. In response, a free trade union was formed, led by Walesa and attracting the working class. Demonstrations and workers strikes became a threat to Soviet rule, so they were put down. Solidarity later sprang up with the deterioration of communism and the Soviet state.

Gorbachev took the title of president in 1988 and reshaped the composition of the Communist party by removing and demoting opponents accordingly. He held elections for Soviet parliament, causing a wave of nationalism to go through Eastern Europe and countries to claim their own independence. His policies of public openness glasnost and reconstruction perestroika influenced many people and gave them hope for a brighter future without repression. Gorbachev opened the doors to freedom and soon, ex-communist Soviet republics announced their own democracies.

Soviet resistance was persistent after WWII till Soviet republics got what they wanted: human rights, fairness, and most of all, freedom. Forty years of repression in Eastern Europe was responded to similarly through strikes and riots asking for liberty and rights. With the rise of Gorbachev came the inevitable fall of the eroded Soviet Union and communism.