China and the USSR were the two templates followed by many smaller communist states but some broke free of the pattern or developed without the support of either. For instance, Yugoslavia, under the leadership of Joseph Tito, broke from the communist bloc in 1948 and created a much more democratic communist model. Farms were no longer collective and small businesses were allowed. They even accepted aid from the West and stayed neutral during the Cold War. Yugoslavia had its share of troubles though. Tito made sure that his leadership was never challenged. Ethnic animosities went unabated. Corruption was widespread. By the time Tito died in 1980, Yugoslavia was near collapse.
Hungary, a loyal member of the communist bloc was allowed even less experimentation. Under the new Economic Mechanism, market forces helped dictate the prices set by factories rather than the central committees. This did little to help an ailing government deal with a corrupt one-party dictatorship.
When, in 1968, Czechoslovakia was seized by reformists who wanted secret ballot elections and term limits, the Soviet Union wasted no time in swooping in and replacing it with a loyal puppet government.
The Poles were fed up with the Soviets and united under the union, Solidarity. Since the union was supported by just about every Polish person, The Soviet Union was forced to deal with it. They signed a pact allowing Solidarity to exist as the first independent union. Fearing that this could spread, the Soviets had Solidarity's leaders arrested and told the communist government to govern. What happened was stagnation. The people would not help the government and vice versa.
East Germany only existed because of the presence of 400,000 Soviet soldiers at all times who were determined to prevent a unified Germany. Over three million East Germans escaped to West Germany before the Berlin Wall was put up in 1960. After that, the few hundred that tried were shot.
Bulgaria remained loyal to the Soviets. Romania was somewhat independent of the Soviets but the harsh regime of Nicolae Ceaucescu was no improvement. Albania left the Soviets in 1961 to ally themselves with the Chinese, but again the strict rule of Enver Hoxha might as well have been Stalin himself. The Chinese union was given up in 1978 with the Chinese reforms.
