Why Were the Eastern European Countries Attempting to Break Free of the Soviet Union? What do you think makes a government legitimate? Is it how it treats its citizens? Is it how it treats other countries? Depending on
your perspective, your answer might be different. However, for most people here in the United States, a government is legitimate
because the leaders of that government have been fairly chosen by the citizens.
Now think about how you would feel if this wasn't the case. What would you think of your own leaders if they were chosen by
another country? How would you react as a citizen?
This is precisely the situation many Eastern European countries found themselves in during the Cold War era. Most of the countries
in Eastern Europe were told what to do by the Soviet Union. But how did this come about?
As the Red Army of the Soviet Union was driving the Nazi army back across Eastern Europe to Germany, it found itself responsible
for the countries it was liberating. Indeed, most of the citizens of these countries were grateful to the Soviet Union for liberating
them from the Nazis. But as the Cold War set in the Soviet state sought to use these countries to create a buffer zone between it
and the West. These nations became satellite countries of the Soviet Union. These included Bulgaria, East Germany,
Czechoslovakia, Poland, Hungary, and Romania. The Soviet Union strictly controlled its republics and satellite nations with military
power. It did this under the guise of protecting these regions from the West. However, many satellites wanted their independence
back and resented Russian influence.
The Cold War did not end overnight, and it did not end because of one specific event. Below is a list of causes that led to the end of
the Cold War