Captive_Nations
Captive Nations
Cold War term used in United States Public Law 86–90
"Captive Nations" is a term that arose in the United States to describe nations under undemocratic regimes. During the Cold War, when the phrase appeared, it referred to nations under Communist administration, primarily Soviet rule.
As a part of the United States' Cold War strategy, an anti-Communist advocacy group, the National Captive Nations Committee, was established in 1959 according to an act of Congress (Pub. L. 86–90) by President Dwight D. Eisenhower. The American economist and diplomat of Ukrainian heritage Lev Dobriansky played a key role in it.[1] The US branch of the Anti-Bolshevik Bloc of Nations also lobbied in favor of the bill.[2]
The law also established Captive Nations Week, traditionally proclaimed for the third week in July since then. The move aimed at raising public awareness of the problems of nations under the control of Communist and other non-democratic governments.
The original Public Law 86-90 specifically referred to the following as Captive Nations:[3]