Transcript Soviet Foreign Policy 1918

SOVIET
FOREIGN
POLICY
1918-1941
(Part I)
Soviet Foreign Policy :
1917 to 1924
• Isolationism was the main foreign policy
• Ceded territories in exchange for peace
• Sought international recognition
1924 to 1934
• The Period of Isolationism
• Promotion of Peaceful Intentions with Other Countries
1934 to 1941
• Counter German Threat
• Alliance with Germany
1917 to 1924
• Isolationism was the main foreign policy
• Ceded territories in exchange for peace
• Sought international recognition
ISOLATIONISM
• 1920s & 30s : Russia kept
to itself
• Lenin and Stalin were very
busy
• Building socialism
within Russia
• Dealing with internal
problems such as the
civil wars
• Reinforce their own
political positions
• They wanted to be left
alone
TREATY OF BREST-LITOVSK
•
•
Russia withdrew from the
war in 1918
Agreed to handover a huge
chunk of land to Germany
• This included Finland,
Estonia, Latvia, Lituania,
Poland and Bessarabia
•
•
•
Germany lost WWI
Peoples in these territories
seized the opportunity to
declare independence
New Bolshevik Government
was too preoccupied with
problems at home to worry
about these other problems
TREATY OF BREST-LITOVSK
Before WWI
TERRITORIES
Bessarabia, Poland,
Finland, Estonia,
Latvia, Lituania
During WWII
Once again
Under Russian rule
Under Russian Rule
During WWI
(Treaty of Brest-Litovsk)
Under German Control
Between WWI and WWII
Became independent states
Bessarabia became
part of Romania
Proclamation of independence act. Riga,
November 18, 1918.
Forced collectivisation in Latvia.
Single house farm being pulled to
the collective village (kolhoz) in 1951.
People's manifestation for independence
on January 14, 1991.
Lithuania
Inside the Church of St Peter & St Paul
Lithuania
One of buildings in Vilnius waiting for
reconstruction.
The Gedraiciai monument
to the fallen heroes of the
war with Poland was so
sturdily built that the
Soviets could not manage
to dismantle it during their
occupation.
Lithuania
Old KGB Headquarters
Once a synagogue, the KGB
HQ was selected for the
gruesome acts of torture
that were performed there
because its thick walls
muffled the screams of the
interrogators' victims.
The walls of this building
now are covered with
photos of mutilated bodies
from the KGB's own files.
Lithuania
The wooden sculpture in
this picture was carved by
a man who, as a young
child, was forced to sit on
his father's corpse while
being interrogated.
ISOLATIONISM
COMINTERN
Communist
International
• Some Bolsheviks hoped to
help promote the
communist revolution in
other countries
• Set up Comintern in 1919
• To encourage the spread of
revolution and communism
in the world
• Received little support from
Russia’s new leaders
COMINTERN
RECOGNISING THE NEW BOLSHEVIK GOVERNMENT
• Russia – the world’s first communist state
• When the Bolsheviks won the civil wars, Lenin
sought to improve relations with other
countries
• With better relations, it was less likely that
they will interfere in Russia’s internal affairs
RECOGNISING THE NEW BOLSHEVIK GOVERNMENT
• Most governments disliked it and were
suspicious of its intentions
– First they tried to defeat it by supporting the
Whites in the civil war
– Then they ignored it when that failed
• Russia was not invited to the peace talks with Germany
• Russia was not asked to join the League of Nations
– Finally Britain recognised the Bolshevik
government as the legal government of Russia
– France, Italy and others soon followed
– Exchange of ambassadors; treaties were signed
RELATIONS WITH GERMANY
Germany wants revenge and we
want revolution. For the
moment our aims are the same .
. . but when our ways part, they
will be our most ferocious
enemies. Time will tell whether
a German hegemony or a
Communist federation is to
arise out of the ruins of
Europe.
RELATIONS WITH GERMANY
• Best relations with Germany
• Shared similar characteristics
• Isolated and criticized by the international
community
• Russia – communism; Germany - WWI
• Bad terms with Britain and France
• Gave them something in common
• 1922 : Treaty of Rapallo
• Promised to be on friendly terms with each other
• Lasted for much for the 1920s
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Information and image sources
– Moreira J., World in Transition – Perspectives on
Modern World History, Singapore : SNP Education Pte
Ltd, 2000.
– Kelly N. and Shuter J., As It Was Lived – A History of the
Modern World, Singapore : Pearson Education Asia Pte
Ltd, 2000.
– Lim S H, Tham Y P, Wang Z and Yeo L, Inroads – Modern
World History, Singapore : Oxford University Press, 2000.
– Tate N., A History of the Modern World, Singapore :
Federal Publications, 1995.