Weekly Schedule

Week 1 Main sources of the Soviet foreign policy: ideology, propaganda, fear of others (19171939/41)

This lecture and seminar will discuss the main sources of the Bolshevik foreign policy since the October revolution in 1917 until the German attack upon the Soviet Union in 1941. Foreign policy in those times were influenced by Bolshevik notions of world and oscillated among three main strategies: cooperation with Germany, cooperation with Great Britain and France and isolationism.

Required readings: -The Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact (1939) - http://sourcebooks.fordham.edu/MOD/1939pact.html -The study „The Soviet Search for Partnership: Some Remarks on Soviet Foreign Policy on the Eve of the Second World War“ by Stanislav Tumis (will be sent by email)

Week 2 Soviet Union as a superpower after the WWII (1941-1945/7)

The so called Great patriotic war, when the Soviet Union in co-operation with the United States and Great Britain defeated the Nazist Germany, and its results, belonged to the most important causes of the superpower status of Moscow in the following more than forty years. The lecture will deal with circumstances which led to the power rise of the Soviet Union.

Required readings: -Winston Churchill’s Iron Curain Speech - http://www.historyguide.org/europe/churchill.html -Truman doctrine - http://avalon.law.yale.edu/20th_century/trudoc.asp

Week 3 Soviet Union and the United States (1947-1964)

The most important struggle during the Cold war was led by two superpowers of the bipolar world. The lecture will compare similarities and transformations of Moscow policy towards Washington in times of Iosif Stalin and Nikita Khrushchev. The clashes between the United States and the Soviet Union took place on all continents (the most important crises, such as First Berlin crises, Korean War, Caribbean crises and others will be discussed).

Required readings: Movie „Good Night and Good Luck“ by George Clooney Fidel Castro biography - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XV7qKBAey00

Week 4 Soviet Union and the Eastern satellites (1947-1964)

The Soviet Union expanded its power to the Eastern and Central European countries during war and after. Although the development in those countries largely differed all of them had to absolutely adopt to the Soviet notions during the Stalin times. After the short Khrushchev’s thaw the Hungarian revolutionary events in 1956 suggested the liberalization had its limits.

Required readings: Warsaw Pact - http://avalon.law.yale.edu/20th_century/warsaw.asp Hungarian revolution in 1956 - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ihS_D0Btaz8

Week 5 Soviet Union and the Western Europe (1947-1964)

The relations with the Western European countries, especially with Western Germany played important role in Soviet strategy to split the Euroatlantic unity, i.e. to weaken the role of the United States in Continental Europe. The lecture will explore also different and common interests of European countries.

Required readings: Cold War – Detente - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_E3eNeE0ZCk

Week 6 Soviet Union and China (1947-1964)

The problematic relations of Moscow with Peking are related even to times of Stalin who did not support sufficiently the Mao Zedong’s communists against Kuomintang during China’s civil war. The great split between both countries deepened even more during Khrushchev and Brezhnev leadership and had considerable impact for division within the communist world (to the most rebellious countries belonged except China and Yugoslavia also Romania or Albania).

Required readings: Soviet-Chinese split - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_yV16TNRXvk

Week 7 Soviet Union and the Third world: impacts of de-colonialism (1947-1964)

The process of de-colonialization being in progress particularly after the end of the Second World War played very important role in the struggle between two superpowers which endeavored to fill the power vacuum when former colonial powers left those territories. The main interest of both superpowers was aimed at the Middle East and Near East regions but struggle between them was directed also on other continents (Africa, Latin America).

Required readings: Soviet – Middle Eastern policy - https://www.cia.gov/library/readingroom/docs/caesar-15.pdf

Week 8 Soviet foreign policy during times of Brezhnev detente (1964-1979)

The decisive part of the Brezhnev rule can be characterized as an era of detente when the western and eastern countries aspired to economic and social co-operation, good relations, disarmament etc. which is true especially for the 1970s when some countries, primarily West Germany closely collaborated with the Soviet Union and Central European communist satellites (the so called Ostpolitik).

Required readings: Final text of Helsinki conference - http://www.osce.org/helsinki-final-act?download=true

Week 9 Soviet satellites in times of Brezhnev – case studies: Czechoslovakia (1968) and Polish crises (1970s and 1980s)

During Brezhnev times some central European satellites dissatisfied with the policy of the Communist elites rebelled against some policies of the regime and tried to enforce some moderate (Czechoslovakia in 1968) or extensive (Poland during the whole 1970s and 1980s) reforms. The so called Brezhnev doctrine declared after the entrance of the Soviet armies into Czechoslovakia confirmed that all countries of the socialist block must obey the Moscow line.

Required readings: Brezhnev doctrine - http://sourcebooks.fordham.edu/mod/1968brezhnev.asp

Week 10 The last round of the Cold War (1979-1985/7)

The last round of the Cold war was linked to the new American president Ronald Reagan and other influential western politicians who dominated the world policy in the 1980s – Margaret Thatcher, Helmut Kohl, François Mitterrand and the pope John Paul II. The main impulse to the new struggle between superpowers was given by the attack of the Soviet Union upon Afghanistan in 1979.

Required readings: Reagan‘s Evil Empire speech - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=do0x-Egc6oA; http://millercenter.org/president/speeches/speech-3409

Week 11 Gorbachev foreign policy and the fall of the Communist world (1985/7-1991)

When Gorbachev came to power in 1985 he continued for a while in the strong Soviet policy towards the United States but since 1987 he attempted to find solution in key questions such as armament, new relations to the West and even to Eastern satellites. This endeavor culminated in the “year of miracles” 1989 when the majority of Eastern European states gained liberty and overthrew their communist governments, Germany unified in 1990 and finally the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991.

Required readings: The Reykjavik summit: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zf99T8LYhPE Gorbachev later interpretation of Reykjavik summit - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9-Lk9mWqy0

Week 12 Results of the Cold war and new challenges: impacts for post-Soviet and postCommunist World

Decline of the Soviet Union and the bipolar world opened new challenges to the world community. The successional states of the Soviet Union and Soviet block experienced different development – some of them joined the western military and economic structures (NATO, EU), others were more linked to Russia which mainly in the 1990s lost its prerogative position in the world policy.

Required readings: Chapter „The restructuring of the international system after the Cold War“ in the Cambridge History of Cold War (it will be sent by email)

Week 13 Russian foreign policy under Yeltsin and Putin (1991-2016) After the collapse of the Soviet Union the Russian politicians painfully sought the new role of Russia in the world dominated by the United States. Although Russia under Yeltsin was fundamentally weakened and unable to enforce its notions in foreign policy matters the Russian politician formulated new strategies elevating gradually their power status in the world. Those strategies were fully evolved after Russia overcame the chaotic period of the 1990s and the new president Vladimir Putin came to power.

Required readings:
Article „Yugoslavians Wars in the Context of Russian (Soviet) Foreign Policy (from the Dissolution of the Soviet Union until Dayton) by Stanislav Tumis (it will be sent by email)