Stalinist Central and Eastern European socialism, in a few years after its introduction, declined into a deep crisis. The reasons for this were an overly expensive military build-up and an irrational and extremely rapid industrialization drive accompanied by declining standards of living. The turbulent and ruthless collectivization effort in the countryside, with its devastating impact on food supplies, led to deep desperation. The severe shortage of food, housing, and practically every kind of consumer good, which coincided with unrelenting propaganda boasting of untold successes, undermined the system's credibility. The paranoid terror and search for enemies permeated the entire society with fear. The overpoliticization of every sphere of life, including culture, art, and even the private domain of everyday life, alienated the people. A hypocritical ‘internationalism’ assured the interest of an expansionist, interventionist Soviet Union, which dictated to and dominated her vassals. In a Kafkaesque Central and Eastern Europe, everything cried for a change.

The struggle against Stalinism and for reform began almost immediately with the introduction of Soviet socialism and a bloc-policy in the region, and the different variations, at distinctive stages, accompanied its existence until its collapse. In the region as a whole, there was continuity of struggle. The first revolt against Stalinism and Soviet domination emerged in Yugoslavia as early as 1948, when a ‘disobedient’ Tito was excommunicated from the socialist camp. The Soviet–Yugoslav confrontation had a dual importance: it led to the formation of an independent, national road toward socialism, which was coupled with comprehensive, pioneering reforms that offered an alternative to Soviet state socialism. The Yugoslav revolt gained decisive momentum in the 1950s, but arrived at new stages in the 1960s.