What was the soviet unions goals in WW2?
364828
How about they lost 26 million people which is why they were so harsh in dealing with Germany after the war.\n\nOne of the more interesting but little known facts about the war was how the Russians dealt with the insurgency problem that existed in East and West Germany after the war.  \n\nNewly elected Mayors were being assassinated in East Germany by what were called German wolf packs.  The Soviets response to the same problem we are facing in Iraq today was to gather 200 randomly picked citizens from each town which had had its mayor assassinated and publicly execute them.  \n\nTheir belief, which apparently was correct, was that an insurgency can not exist without the aid of at least a few locals who in turn must be known to others living in the area.  \n\nThe thought of you yourself or your wife or your kids being summarily executed motivated people to assist in the eradication of the insurgents\n\nWhile the practice sounds horrendously brutal, in actuality it saved thousands of lives because it worked almost immediately. \n\nBecause we chose then to be more "humane," the problem persisted in West Germany at the cost of many lives for several years and prevented them from having a stable government for 10 years.  No doubt it will have the same result in Iraq.
404732
The role of Germany was to conquer the world. Italy role had no role because every time Italy did something Germany had to saved them. British was try to protect Poland and Stop Germany for taking Britain. USA roles was to get revenge on japan and help Britain. Japan want to conquer the pacific. The soviet roles was to stop the Germany's.
101526
WWIII was the cold war with the Soviet Union.  We won.\n\nThis is WWIV, and it has already started.  It does not require two superpowers to be at war.  Two incompatible ideologies will do it too.
675845
The Marshall Plan didn't really do much more than display that the west, capitalism, and democracy were a better choice than communism, and live under Soviet Unions control. They showered the countries that were in financial need, reconstruction, and that were being influenced by communism with whatever they could. Stalin of course chose not accept western aid even if he desperately need help for reconstruction as well, as it would have been a slap in a face for him to accept any western help, with the iron curtain about to fall. Which is what happened. As when he refused western aid for the Soviet Union he also spoke for all the Eastern Bloc under Soviet control. So yes, the Marshall Plan did basically determine their future.\n\nEdit: German occupied countries were mostly liberated and returned to their original borders, or status qou positions, however there was some shift in borders despite nationalities occupying particular territories. I know Soviet Union gained land at the expense of Germany, Finland, Poland and later Japan, as they did agree to enter the war with it, despite the fact that their troops never really saw combat as a result of the atomic bombs.
341288
Hitler tried to invade Russia.\n\nDo you know why he failed?\n\nCause back then, they didn't have anti-freeze, and the tanks FROZE.\n\nPoor sorry sacks had to walk it back to Germany.\n\nLoL!
151097
The Soviet Union replaced Imperial Russia after the Communist Revolution. From 1917, Soviet leaders tried to replace an agrarian economy with an industrial one. They actually might have succeeded, had it not been for World War II. (This is in purely economic terms; in human terms the revolution was a cruel failure.)\n\nA vast country, rich in natural and human resources, the crippling disaster of the war with Germany and Japan stretched the country beyond its limits. Throughout the rest of Soviet history, the country was never able to recover, nor could a centrally planned economy compete with the relative flexibility of capitalism.\n\nOn top of that, the economy of the USSR was never open. Because of a lack of foreign investment, among other reasons, the Soviet economy was always hamstrung in a way that the U.S. never was.\n\nThat being said, one wonders whether the United States could really "afford" to spend the vast sums on munitions that it did. We can imagine that the money might have been much more productively spent on schools, science and technology, medicine, and in aid to the developing world.
206936
Because they were once part of the Soviet Union. Most people don't realize Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia were all indpendent between the World Wars and were forceably annexed by Stalin.\n\nI know because of the hard feelings- the three Baltic states want little do do with Russia.
578546
Albert is pretty much on target. President Putin has said that the collapse of Communism was the greatest tragedy of statemanship in the history of the world, and he is working overtime to create the foundation of a totalitarian state.\n\nAs for WWIII, well, there was a time that a WWII was totally unthinkable. Also, while we the world's last superpower continue to borrow and spend ourselves into Third World status, China and Europe are not just sitting by and watching. Yes, there will be a third world war. With any luck, we will all be long dead before either the first shot or the actual bill for our excess comes due!
442658
Churchill and Stalin divided Europe before the end of the war, according to rumours they signed out the new spheres of influence on a yellow envelope, during some conference.\n\nThe issue of Poland as it appeared on the yellow envelope was 50-50. So not a real resolution at that time. I think in Yalta they came to a conclusion that it would be part of the soviet sphere of interest. \n\nSorry I cannot be more accurate, this is what i remember from my classes at university. Find the yellow envelope story.
408119
The primary reason for the defeat of Germany in WW2 was due to the fact that Hitler kept interfering with the decisions of his field commanders who war far more qualified to make military decisions. Hitler had little or no knowledge of military strategy as he was only a corporal in the first world war. Furthermore, he acted primarily on instinct and emotion rather than sound advice. Lastly, the German industry was not properly mobilized to attain maximum production until 1944 and by then it was too late. Italian failures in he African campaign and widespread guerrilla activity in the Balkans did not help either...nearly 6 million German troops were tied up in these theaters. Numerous tactical mistakes were also commited such as changing the primary objective in the East from Moscow to Stalingrad when only 30 kilometers away from the original intended objective. The numerical superiority and the will/resolve of the allied powers ultimately led to the undoing and demise of the Reich and Hitler.
1103034
Tha was why Adolf Hitler intended to eliminate them in the world during WWII.
12304
The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics was a Communist dictatorship formed after the Russian Revolutions. It was first headed by Lenin, then Stalin before a succession of more moderate leaders. From 1919 until WWII it "comprised of 11 republics, the RSFSR, Ukraine, White Russia, Armenia, Azerbaidjan, Georgia, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Tajikisan, Kazakhstan and Kirghizia. In 1940 Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Moldavia, and Finno-Karelia became constitutional republics."
363073
At the end of WWI, the US very much wanted to help rebuild and bring Germany back into the fold-in fact rebuilding Europe as a more integrated continent was forfront the the US devising of the League of Nations.  Unfortunately, the other allies very much wanted to punish Germany, to teach it a lesson, since they are still stuck in the "great powers" mindset.  This devastated the country, and allowed the growth of a "victim" mentality-used against Jews as internal enemies and the other European countries as external enemies.  At the end of WWII, the US was in a position this time to dictate that Germany would be rebuilt and reintegrated.  Though we don't like to see anything particularly good about Stalin's Russia (and there werent that many good things) they also kept punishment to a minimum, and integrated East Germany into their system..the cause of the poor conditions in East Germany was much more a factor of the system than it was of any punishment.  The German people themselves have maintained a very clear and active analysis of their collective guilt, which has been far more effective in resolving issues than external punishment.
421901
Huh?  Glasnost, I believe means openness and was one of Mikhail  Gorbachev's buzzwords for reform in the dying days of the Soviet Union.  \n\nBasically, it meant, well, that the communist party could be criticized in public (at first tepidly) and the soviet system in general could also be criticized and examined, without punishment.  \n\nWell, in World War II, Stalin, who ran the Soviet Union, er, had this habit of killing anyone who disagreed with him after torturing them.  The thing about a system like that, is, you can't kill everyone.  So you rely on fear to keep the people in line.  But once a policy of Glasnost is pursued, it's like letting the Genie out of the bottle.  Suddenly if, so and so can criticize the government and not be shipped to Siberia, then maybe I can too.  \n\nAnd if everybody is criticizing the government, then that government, even if it is a dictatorship, will have very few days in office.  (The rewards of overthrowing it are too great).  \n\nWhen fighting a war that it is either kill or be killed (which the Eastern Front was in WWII) you can't afford little things like revolutions distract you from the war effort.
54794
It was more a political move than anything else.  It was equipped with radio transmitters to show the world that the USSR did it first.
208570
The Real Social Impact of Stalin’s Rule over Russia.\n\nThe First Five Year Plan:\n\nBy squeezing profits out of the agricultural sector, heavy industrial production increased from 300-600 percent. \n\nBelieved rapid industrialization was the only way to preserve socialism. \n\nIndustrial labor force was created overnight as men and women were put at work.\n\nThe number of women in the industrial work force tripled in the decade after 1929.\n\nIndustrial production also increased between the years 1929-1932.\n\nStalin forced collectivization and confiscated land. By 1938, private land was almost eliminated. \n\nThe Second Five Year Plan:\n\nSucceeded in reducing the Soviet Union’s dependence on foreign imports (heavy industry, machinery, metal works)\n\nThe industrial development and collectivization brought growing urbanization to the country. \n\nComintern(Communist International):\n\nStalin wanted it to promote the unity of working classes everywhere and cooperate with existing worker organizations. \n\nIt must seek to sever the ties between Communist parties and social democratic parties. \n\nAs a result, socialism in Europe was badly split between communists and democratic socialists. (ruined the triumph of fascists movements; Germany.\n\nThe New Soviet Estate:\n\nStalin was committed to the liberation of women.\n\nTheir double burden became heavier during his reign. \n\nThey held full time jobs while doing household chores and taking care of the children.\n\nThe family was glorified as the mainstay of the socialist order.\n\nThe independence of women was challenged as a threat to Soviet productivity. \n\nMassive Loss of Human Life\n\nBecause of the collectivization, 25 million peasants suffered. At least 5 million peasants died between 1929 and 1932. Collectivization ripped apart village life, ruined families, and sent homeless peasants into exile. \n\nAbout 300,000 people were put to death. (engineers, managers, officers of the navy, etc.)\n\n7 million people were placed in labor camps. \n\nThey dealt a severe blow to the command of the army.\n\nIt also resulted in the shortage of qualified industrial personnel, therefore, slowing growth of industry.
460485
Union of Soviet Socialist Republics