Chapter 8 - Foreign Relations and Attitudes under the Bolsheviks Flashcards
Name 3 areas where foreign troops were stationed in Russia 1918-1920.
The Baltic Sea, the Black Sea and the Far East.
Why were foreign troops stationed in Russia?
- To keep Russia fighting in WW1 and prevent/delay the mass transfer of German troops from the East to West Front
- To protect the vast dumps of armaments and war materials that were being shipped to Russia by its allies
- Wish to support anti-Bolshevik forces even after the German Armistice of November 1918
- Divisions and muddled thinking within allies’ governments
Where were some of the foreign intervention troops stationed?
- British and French forces patrolled the Baltic Sea; Australian, Canadian and Italian forces were stationed at Archangel’sk
- 11,000 American troops, 2000 Chinese troops and small British troops at Vladivostok; substantial
- 11,000 Estonian troops partook in the War of Independence
- French and British naval forces in the Black and Caspian Seas; Turkish troops in Caucasus
- Sections of the Trans-Siberian Railway controlled by the Czech Legion
Describe the politics surrounding foreign involvement.
- Allied governments often had little up to date and accurate knowledge of what was happening in Russia →depended on snippets of information which were sometimes misleading and so weren’t always trusted
- Bolsheviks suspicious of enemy spies
- Allies would attempt both peace making and military intervention
What was the Bullitt mission?
- In 1919 President Wilson sent a US diplomat (William C Bullit) on a secret mission to discuss peace
- Lenin offered big concessions
- Lenin accepted continued temporary anti-Bolshevik governments in parts of Russia in return for a ceasefire and end of the blockade
- Britain and France were sceptical, President Wilson didn’t back it →peace plan lapsed → Civil War continued until Bolshevik victory
What was the Comintern?
The Third Communist International - an international socialist organisation which promoted Marxism and the ideology of a proletarian revolution.
First Founding Congress was held in Moscow in March 1919 with more than 50 delegates from Europe, the US, Australia and Japan - chaired by Zinoviev.
Why was there conflict between Poland and Russia?
- In post-war peace settlements the allies were committed to the re-creation of independent Poland (confirmed by the Treaty of Versailles 1919)
- New Poland had lots of former Tsarist territories →Russia not represented at Paris peace conferences
- Bolsheviks saw Poland as a bridge to export revolution to Germany and Western Europe
How did the attack of Poland and Ukraine on Russia come about?
General Pilsudki (Polish Head of State) wanted to expand Polish borders into Belarus and Western Ukraine →War with Ukraine in 1918 to 1919 → the two made an alliance in April 1920 → launched offensive and captured Kieve in May 1920 →Red army counter attack → overstretched and crumbled Polish forces who had to retreat.
What was the Miracle on the Vistula?
A counter-offensive battle of defence of Warsaw in August 1920 which successfully saved Warsaw and brought the Russo-Polish War to a stalemate. It was followed by the agreement of peace terms in October which were formalised by the Treaty of Riga in March 1921.
Which position did Russia find itself in in 1921 internationally?
It was diplomatically isolated. Excluded - with Germany - from the League of Nations (set up at Paris Peace Conferences to prevent war and achieve collective security by settling disputes through negotiations). Divided from the European mainstream.
What was collective security?
A key principle of the post-war peace agreement which aimed to replace the dependence of military alliances between the great powers through joint measures by all members of the League of Nations to prevent acts of aggression.
Provide examples of co-existence and co-operation despite the mutual suspicion.
- Trade contacts established early
- British govt. Authorised agreements when calling off intervention in 1920 (recognised existence of Soviet State).
- Chicherin (deputy commissar for foreign affairs → made chief representative of new constructive approach to Soviet foreign policy) →discussions with Germany in 1921 →invited to international economic conference in Genoa in 1922
Name 3 features of the Treaty of Rapallo (April 1922).
- Waive claims for compensation arising from WW1 (articles 1 and 2)
- Concerned the reopening of formal diplomatic relations (Article 3)
- ‘Mutual goodwill’ in commercial and economic relations (Articles 4 and 5)
What was the impact of the Zinoviev letter?
- Forged by British
- Many of its arguments were consistent with what Zinoviev had actually believed and said in public
- Soured diplomatic relations between Britain and the Soviet Union at a time when the emphasis on exporting the revolution was being downplayed by the Bolsheviks and Soviet foreign policy under Chicherin was ready to look outwards →strengthened Russia’s diplomatic isolation.
Name features of the Soviet state at the time of Lenin’s death in 1924.
- Highly centralised one-party state
- Many in the party believed he had betrayed the principles of the revolution and the NEP was temporary
- Society hadn’t progressed very far into socialism
- Growing bureaucracy and dependency of the state’s leader (worrying)
- Conflicts between policies and personalities
