Monday, October 23, 2017

How secure was the USSR´s control over Eastern Europe, 1948-c. 1989?: Warsaw Pact

This source is a secondary source since this is about the Warsaw Pact and it is a cartoon for a British magazine even though it was drawn in October 1956, at the time of its existence. 
This source is portrayed as a circus, the ringmaster is Khrushchev, leader of the USSR, who is trying to tame the bears, which in this case, represent countries that were involved in the Warsaw Pact. On the stool which each bear is situated it says the name Oda country, in all these stools there is a bear, except for the one that says Yugoslavia since it was never a part of the Warsaw Pact, the bear can be seen in the back of the cage trying to escape. When analyzing the other bears one can notice that the bears in Poland and Hungary are trying to leave the stool, or the Warsaw Pact, when seen deeper than just a simple glance.  The ringmaster is not happy about this as can be seen by the position of his body and he is getting ready to whip the bears. The other three bears that are remaining, Albania and Bulgaria, which seem pleased and obedient, and then Czechoslovakia who’s is clearly tired and is giving in to rest. 
The source uses a metaphor to explain a serious matter, in this case, the Warsaw Pact.