IB History Key Policies Notes

Peaceful Coexistence

1. Khrushchev promoted peaceful coexistence as the basis of Soviet foreign policy, arguing that nuclear war would destroy both capitalism and communism
2. This marked a departure from Leninist-Stalinist orthodoxy, which held that war between capitalist and socialist states was historically inevitable
3. Peaceful coexistence did not mean abandoning ideological competition - Khrushchev believed communism would triumph through economic superiority, not military conquest
4. The Geneva Summit (1955) was the first meeting of Soviet and Western leaders since Potsdam (1945), signalling a new willingness to negotiate
5. Khrushchev's visit to the USA (September 1959) and the Camp David talks with Eisenhower represented the high point of peaceful coexistence
6. The U-2 spy plane incident (May 1960) wrecked the Paris Summit and exposed the fragility of superpower trust
7. China's Mao Zedong attacked peaceful coexistence as revisionism, arguing it betrayed the revolutionary duty to spread communism worldwide

The Hungarian Uprising (1956)

1. The Hungarian Uprising began on 23 October 1956 when students and workers protested against Soviet control and demanded political reforms
2. Imre Nagy became prime minister and announced Hungary's withdrawal from the Warsaw Pact and adoption of neutrality - crossing Khrushchev's red line
3. On 4 November 1956, Soviet forces launched Operation Whirlwind with 200,000 troops and 4,000 tanks to crush the uprising
4. Approximately 2,500 Hungarians and 700 Soviet soldiers were killed, and 200,000 Hungarians fled as refugees to the West
5. Nagy was arrested, secretly tried, and executed in June 1958 - Khrushchev replaced him with the compliant Janos Kadar
6. The West condemned the invasion but took no military action - the Eisenhower administration's 'rollback' rhetoric proved hollow during the simultaneous Suez Crisis
7. Hungary established that de-Stalinisation had strict limits - satellite states could reform internally but could not leave the Soviet bloc

Berlin Ultimatum and the Berlin Wall

1. In November 1958, Khrushchev issued an ultimatum demanding that Western powers leave West Berlin within six months or he would sign a separate peace treaty with East Germany
2. West Berlin was a Cold War embarrassment for the USSR - approximately 3.5 million East Germans had fled to the West through Berlin since 1945
3. The brain drain included skilled workers, professionals, and young people, weakening the East German economy and undermining communist credibility
4. The ultimatum was never enforced - Khrushchev repeatedly extended the deadline, but the crisis remained unresolved through multiple summits
5. The Vienna Summit (June 1961) between Khrushchev and Kennedy was confrontational - Khrushchev perceived Kennedy as young and inexperienced