The document summarizes the events leading up to the establishment of communist governments in Eastern Europe after World War II. It discusses the Russian Revolution of 1917 that created the Soviet Union, Poland and Germany's involvement in WWII, and the devastation across Europe at the end of the war. With the Red Army occupying much of Eastern Europe, the Soviets were able to exert political control through military forces, advisors in political parties, incentives for cooperation, and other mechanisms. This resulted in Eastern European countries falling under Soviet influence and control after WWII.