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Sino-Soviet split: the story on HearLore | HearLore
— Ch. 1 · Reluctant Co-Belligerents —
Sino-Soviet split.
~6 min read · Ch. 1 of 7
In November 1945, Soviet commander Rodion Malinovsky ordered the Red Army to hand over Japanese weapons to Chinese communists. This action followed a secret agreement between Joseph Stalin and Chiang Kai-shek that required the withdrawal of Soviet forces from Manchuria. Mao Zedong had previously obeyed Stalin's order to collaborate with Chiang during World War II against Japan. The Soviet leader advised Mao not to seize political power immediately after the war ended in 1945. Instead, Stalin insisted on the 1945 USSR, KMT Treaty of Friendship and Alliance which prioritized cooperation with the nationalist Kuomintang party. Three months later, when Chiang opposed the annexation of Tannu Uriankhai to the USSR, Stalin broke the treaty requirements. He directed his troops to give the Chinese communists leftover Japanese arms. This transfer helped the Communist Party win the civil war by 1949. The United States partly financed Chiang and his National Revolutionary Army during this period. US envoy George Marshall spent thirteen months trying to broker peace without success. By December 1949, the KMT retreated to Taiwan while the communists expelled them from mainland China.
De-Stalinization Divergence
In early 1956, Nikita Khrushchev delivered a speech titled On the Cult of Personality and Its Consequences. This address denounced Joseph Stalin and initiated de-Stalinization across the Soviet Union. Mao Zedong and the Chinese leadership reacted with appallment to these changes. They viewed the criticism of Stalin as an attack on their own ideological foundations. The Hungarian Revolution of 1956 further complicated matters for Beijing. Moscow had to send military forces to suppress the uprising in Hungary. This intervention weakened political legitimacy for communist governments globally. Mao responded by launching the Hundred Flowers Campaign in 1956. This campaign allowed public criticism of government policies but proved too successful when blunt attacks targeted Mao himself. The Chinese leader retained the Stalinist model of economy and society despite domestic instability. Khrushchev's anti-Stalinism created deep insecurity within the new communist leadership in China. Chinese leaders began associating Stalin's successor with anti-party elements inside their own country. Popular sentiment regarded Khrushchev as a representative of the upper class. Marxist-Leninists viewed him as a blight on the communist project. By 1961, their differences provoked the PRC's formal denunciation of Soviet communism as revisionist traitors.
Ideological Warfare
In June 1960, the USSR denounced Albania as politically backward for retaining Stalinism. Bao Sansan reported that Hoxha told his people they would eat grass roots rather than accept Russian aid. China immediately sent food to Albania in response. On the 17th of October 1961, Khrushchev criticized Albania again during the CPSU Congress speech. Zhou Enlai led the Chinese delegation which sharply criticized Moscow's stance toward Tirana. He stated that disputes should be resolved through consultation not public censure. Two days later, Zhou visited Lenin Mausoleum and laid wreaths reading Dedicated to the great Marxist Comrade Stalin. The Soviets removed Stalin's body from the mausoleum shortly after. In December 1960, Khrushchev withdrew 1400 Soviet technicians from the PRC. This action cancelled approximately 200 joint scientific projects. The Soviet Union also ended 600 contracts with the People's Republic. Grain shipments were routed to feed the Soviet Union instead of starving Chinese citizens. Faith in the Soviets plummeted among the Chinese population. Mao justified his belief that Khrushchev caused economic failures and famines during the Great Leap Forward period.
Border Conflict Escalation
In March 1969, fighting erupted along the Ussuri River at Zhenbao Island. By August 1968, the Soviet Army had stationed six divisions plus 16 divisions near the Sino-Soviet border. They deployed 120 medium-range missiles alongside 1200 aeroplanes to confront 47 light divisions of the Chinese Army. On the 14th of October 1969, the Central Committee issued an evacuation order for all party leaders in Beijing. Leaders had to leave by October 20 before returning in 1971. Mao traveled to Wuhan while Lin Biao went to Suzhou. Over 940,000 soldiers received evacuation orders together with more than four thousand planes. Important documents moved from Beijing to southwestern China. Declassified sources indicate the Soviet Union planned a massive nuclear strike after the island incident. Andrei Grechko called for unrestricted use of multimegaton bombs known as blockbuster weapons. The United States secretly informed embassies worldwide about potential Soviet military options on the 21st of August 1969. Nixon decided to intervene and warned that America would launch attacks on approximately 130 Soviet cities if they attacked China. The Soviet Union abandoned its planned attack shortly afterward.
Tri-Polar Geopolitics
In July 1971, Henry Kissinger visited Beijing to arrange Richard Nixon's trip to China. This Sino-American rapprochement offended the Soviet Union significantly. Brezhnev then convoked a summit meeting with Nixon which recast Cold War geopolitics into three competing poles. Relations between the People's Republic and the United States improved alongside those between the Soviet Union and Taiwan. Despite this thaw, no official Soviet recognition of Taiwan occurred. In 1972, the USSR deleted Chinese place names like Iman and Tetyukhe from maps of the Russian Far East. They replaced them with Dalnerechensk and Dalnegorsk respectively. Soviet propaganda misrepresented historical presence of Chinese people in lands gained by the Russian Empire. Politically inconvenient exhibits were removed from museums while vandals covered Jurchen-script steles with cement. By October 1969, both sides engaged in decade-long diplomatic negotiations over border issues. The first negotiation took place in Beijing on the 20th of October 1969 attended by deputy foreign ministers. These meetings restored communications despite indeterminate border demarcation. Mao understood that China could not simultaneously fight the US and USSR while suppressing internal disorders.
Third World Competition
During the Ogaden War between Ethiopia and Somalia, each socialist country funded local Marxist-Leninist parties. Their political advice facilitated wars of national liberation across Africa and Asia. The Rhodesian Bush War involved white European colonists fighting anti-colonial black natives. Zimbabwean Gukurahundi massacres followed the aftermath of that conflict. Angolan Civil War became a proxy war between competing guerrilla groups. Vietnam's leadership divided over whether to support the Soviet Union or China. Pro-Soviet group led by Lê Duẩn eventually developed momentum as China sought better relations with America. Vietnamese closeness to Moscow alarmed Chinese leadership fearing encirclement. This contributed to China's decision to invade Vietnam beginning the 1979 Sino-Vietnamese War. In Thailand, pro-Chinese front organizations based upon local Chinese minority populations proved politically ineffective. During the split, North Vietnam initially balanced relations between both powers. Most supplies sent through China were Soviet but some analyses found Chinese economic aid larger than Soviet amounts early on. From 1972, Zhou Enlai encouraged expeditions allowing 400 Soviet experts to pass to Vietnam. They reopened Soviet freight in Chinese ports and agreed to all Vietnamese requests for storage facilities.
Normalization Process
In September 1976, Mao died ending the Cultural Revolution period. Hua Guofeng succeeded him briefly before Deng Xiaoping took power at the 3rd plenary session in December 1978. Deng began systematic reversals of inefficient policies transitioning from planned economy to socialist market economy. On the 1st of January 1979, the United States and People's Republic formally established diplomatic relations. Deng visited Washington meeting Jimmy Carter discussing relations among PRC USSR and US. He informed Carter of intentions to attack Vietnam backed by Soviet Union following Cambodia invasion. The Soviets deployed troops along borders showing support for Vietnam while tying up Chinese forces. Their Pacific Fleet also deployed fifteen ships to relay battlefield communications. In March 1985, Mikhail Gorbachev reaffirmed desire for serious improvement with PRC. Deng pointed out three major obstacles: Soviet support over Vietnam's invasion of Cambodia, massive military buildup along borders, and armed occupation of Afghanistan. Finally, after decades of hostility, Mikhail Gorbachev visited China in 1989 shaking Deng's hand. This meeting occurred right before Tiananmen Square Massacre in June 1989 where Soviets expressed diverging opinions.
When did the Soviet Union hand over Japanese weapons to Chinese communists?
In November 1945, Soviet commander Rodion Malinovsky ordered the Red Army to transfer Japanese weapons to Chinese communists. This action followed a secret agreement between Joseph Stalin and Chiang Kai-shek that required the withdrawal of Soviet forces from Manchuria.
Why did Mao Zedong denounce Nikita Khrushchev as revisionist traitors by 1961?
Mao Zedong denounced Nikita Khrushchev as revisionist traitors in 1961 because Khrushchev delivered a speech titled On the Cult of Personality and Its Consequences in early 1956. This address denounced Joseph Stalin and initiated de-Stalinization across the Soviet Union which Mao viewed as an attack on their ideological foundations.
What happened when the USSR withdrew 1400 Soviet technicians from the PRC in December 1960?
In December 1960, Khrushchev withdrew 1400 Soviet technicians from the People's Republic of China which cancelled approximately 200 joint scientific projects. The Soviet Union also ended 600 contracts with the People's Republic and routed grain shipments to feed the Soviet Union instead of starving Chinese citizens.
How did the United States respond to potential Soviet nuclear strikes after the Zhenbao Island incident in October 1969?
On the 21st of August 1969, President Richard Nixon secretly informed embassies worldwide about potential Soviet military options and decided to intervene. He warned that America would launch attacks on approximately 130 Soviet cities if they attacked China which caused the Soviet Union to abandon its planned attack shortly afterward.
When did Mikhail Gorbachev visit China to end decades of hostility with Deng Xiaoping?
Mikhail Gorbachev visited China in 1989 shaking Deng Xiaoping's hand to end decades of hostility between the two nations. This meeting occurred right before Tiananmen Square Massacre in June 1989 where Soviets expressed diverging opinions regarding the events.