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→Soviet occupation practices: edit
==Soviet occupation practices==
==Soviet occupation practices==
[[Image:Communazipact1.JPG|thumb|300px|right|Partition of Poland.<br>Sources: Franklin D. Roosevelt Library, Hyde Park, NY; Time magazine [http://history.sandiego.edu/gen/WW2Timeline/fdr-diplo-images.html].]]
[[Image:Communazipact1.JPG|thumb|300px|right|Partition of Poland.<br>Source: Franklin D. Roosevelt Library, Hyde Park, NY; Time magazine [http://history.sandiego.edu/gen/WW2Timeline/fdr-diplo-images.html].]]
In 1939-1940, Poland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Bessarabia were incorporated into the Soviet Union proper. The Soviets lowered the local standard of living and disrupted and destroyed the prevailing socioeconomic structure. Local currencies were still legal tender but so was the Russian ruble. The occupying Russian soldiers were paid in rubles and the established exchange rate inflated the ruble by as much as 2000 to 3000 per cent. Overvaluing made the average Russian soldier extremely rich. This huge influx of rubles started a wave of inflation that natives did not notice at first. Eventually shortages were caused by Soviet purchasing agents that fanned out through the newly occupied nations, buying up wholesale goods in warehouses and the production of local factories.
In 1939-1940, Poland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Bessarabia were incorporated into the Soviet Union proper. The Soviets lowered the local standard of living and disrupted and destroyed the prevailing socioeconomic structure. Local currencies were still legal tender but so was the Russian ruble. The occupying Russian soldiers were paid in rubles and the established exchange rate inflated the ruble by as much as 2000 to 3000 per cent. Overvaluing made the average Russian soldier extremely rich. This huge influx of rubles started a wave of inflation that natives did not notice at first. Eventually shortages were caused by Soviet purchasing agents that fanned out through the newly occupied nations, buying up wholesale goods in warehouses and the production of local factories.