Soviet Union:

Leader: Joseph Stalin, Premier

Background:

* Leader of the Soviet Union since 1924

* Collectivization
* Purges and Siberian camps were established to eliminate any threat to his power.
* Censored outside information

Concerns:

* Suffered the greatest number of deaths of any Allied nation

* Germany invaded the Soviet Union during both World Wars.
* Loss of territory
* Wants Germany to never be able to invade them again
* The Soviets had defeated German forces with little help from the other Allied nations.

Primary Source Annotations:

Yalta Section Word Definition

World Organization Associated Nations

1 The eight associated nations and Turkey.

World Organization French Provisional After the war, the French Provisional government
2 Government disbanded all collaborationist military organizations.
They also deemed the previous Vichy Regime
unconstitutional in all areas. They took back office after
being liberated from Germany and their surrender.

Declaration of Axis satellite states Axis satellite states are those that are formally
3 Liberated Europe recognized as independent by the world but were
under a heavy amount of political, economic, and
military pressure from the Axis powers.

Declaration of
4 Liberated Europe
Atlantic Charter The Atlantic Charter was a joint declaration by the US
and Great Britain and was a broad declaration of their
war aims. It stated it is the right of all people to choose
the form of government that they live under and the
restoration of sovereign rights and self-government to
those who have been deprived of it by hostile nations.
 Dismemberment of Dismemberment of Germany was eventually broken up into 4 different
5 Germany Germany areas controlled by each of the three powers and
France.

Poland Polish Provisional The Polish Provisional Government of National Unity

6 Government of
National Unity
was a puppet government formed by the State
National Council. It was created as a coalition between
the Polish Workers Party and politicians from the close
political sphere of Stanisław Mikołajczyk who was the
former prime minister of the Polish government in exile
in London.

Red Army The Red Army was the Soviet Union’s army. At the end
7 Poland of the war the army numbered over 11 million.

Mr. Fedor T. Gusev Fedor Tarasovich Gusev was a Soviet diplomat that
8 Dismemberment of acted during the Yalta conference
Germany

Agreement Japan’s Attack of The Russo-Japanese War was a war that started after
Regarding Japan Russia 1904 a surprise attack by Japan. It started due to conflicts
9 regarding the Manchuria territory and Russia faced
several bad defeats in this time.

Agreement South Manchurian The South Manchurian Railway was a very major trade
Regarding Japan Railroad railroad and after Japan blew up one of their own trains
10 on the railroad they captured Manchuria.

Key Issues from Yalta Conference:

Issues: Decisions Made: Soviet Union’s Stance:

The United Nations Conference When the conference of world

would be held on Wednesday,
25th April, 1945, and would be
World Organization held in the USA.
The nations invited to the
conference would be the United
Nations as it was on February
8th 1945, and the associated
nations that had declared war
on the common enemy by
March 1st 1945. They will also
order was to be held, Ukraine and
White Russia, which were two
Soviet Socialist Republics, would
be admitted original membership
by the US and Great Britain.
The United States was also
consulting China and the French
Provisional government on behalf
of the three powers, which
included the Soviet Union.
 admit membership to Ukraine
and White Russia, the two soviet
socialist republics.
The US would consult China and
the French Provisional
Government concerning actions
taken during the world
organization.
The establishment of order in
Europe in order to rebuild
economic life within these
Liberated Nations nations and to foster conditions
where they can exercise the
right to self-government and
sovereign rights. The three
governments were to establish
conditions of internal peace,
carry out emergency relief
measures on distressed
peoples, form interim
governmental authorities
broadly representative of all
democratic elements, and
facilitate elections in some
cases.
The surrender terms for
Germany were amended to add
the US, Soviet Union, and Great
Britain possess supreme
Post-War Germany authority in regards to Germany.
They can take such steps as
dismembering Germany if they
see fit.
The Polish Provisional
government was to be reformed
to represent a wider democratic
Post-War Poland basis and it was turned into a
puppet government. Poland
pledged to have free unfettered
elections.
It was agreed that the Soviet
Continued War w/ Union will enter the war with
Japan Japan and they would be given
The Soviet Union agreed to these
terms on the surface, but when
they eventually gained the ability to
influence European liberated states
and former Axis states they went
against some of these rules.
Specifically the parts regarding
democratic elections that were
free and fair, and they instead set
up puppet governments in their
place.
The Soviet Union was still very
angry at Germany for what they
had done in the past few decades,
so to be given control over what to
do with Germany was something
that they wanted. They wanted to
make Germany pay for their
crimes, so in the Soviet Union’s
eyes this was a good agreement.
A commission with representatives
from the three powers organized
its first instance in Moscow to talk
with members of the current
Provisional government and other
democratic leaders from Poland.
This was very major for the Soviet
Union because it gave them the
opportunity to gain a lot of territory
 many things for joining the fight
with the allies since they didn’t
have much incentive to do so
otherwise. The Soviet Union
would also create a friendship
with China.
in exchange for their aid in the war.
Without this, they didn’t have much
incentive to join since they hadn’t
been helped much by the Allies
and had mostly been left to fend
for themselves. Additionally, the
friendship with China that would be
created would become very major
since they wanted to expand
communism as far as they could
and China eventually became a
communist country.

Questions:

1. After looking closely at the Yalta Conference, which key focus areas were the most
beneficial for the Soviet Union? Give specific examples from particular sections that support
your answer. (5 Sentences).

The areas that were the most beneficial for the Soviet Union during the Yalta conference were
“Declaration of Liberated Europe” and “Agreement Regarding Japan.” In the former section,
the three powers were given the ability to create democratic elections in the freed European
states and former Axis states. The Soviet Union took advantage of this and set up puppet
governments within these states and rigged the elections to make it so that they would have
control. In the “Agreement Regarding Japan,” the Soviet Union was given territory and their
own interests were protected in exchange for helping the Allies with the war in Japan.
Additionally, the Soviets were to form a friendship with the Chinese which would be very
beneficial due to the trade that went on within the country.

2. What concessions will the Soviet Union have to make based on the specific key focus areas
that you looked at in the Yalta Conference? Give specific examples from particular sections
that support your answer. (5 Sentences)

The Soviet Union would also be forced to make concessions in the “Agreement Regarding
Japan.” They were given many things, but they still had to join the war in the end which would
end up costing a lot of resources. This could further weaken their economy that was already
struggling due to the war. Additionally in the Liberated nations section, the Soviet Union would
have to expend even more resources to help these nations get back up and running. For a
country that had a dictator, creating free elections may be against their ideals but they would
have to create a democracy regardless.