Foreign policy and Lenin's Death Flashcards
What was the Comintern and when was it introduced?
1919- it was a Communist International group that assisted foreign Communist Parties in trying to revolt
Why were other countries cautious when engaging in diplomacy with the Soviets?
They thought that either the Communist experiment would collapse quickly or world domination was coming
What and when was the Treaty of Rapallo?
April 1922- Germany and Russia signed this to settle any land disputes since WW1
What and when was the Zinoviev letter?
1924- this was a letter sent to the Labour party from Zinoviev that was ‘intercepted’ by the Daily Mail
What did the Zinoviev letter supposedly say?
It said that Zinoviev would support a Communist revolution in Britain
Why was the Zinoviev letter significant at the time and then much later on?
Labour lost the general election. Relations between Britain and Russia had been improving between 1921 and 1924, but this ruined it. In 1999, it was discovered that the letter originated in the office of Winston Churchill
What and when was the Treaty of Berlin?
1926- It confirmed the Treaty of Rapallo after Germany joined the the League of Nations in 1925
When did Lenin die?
January 1924
Why was there no clear successor for Lenin?
Nobody dared get too close to him for fear of looking like they wanted to overthrow him
There was no system for replacing the leader
When was Stalin appointed as General Secretary?
April 1922
What was the role of the General Secretary?
They were able to appoint, reject and expel members of the Party. They also dealt with promotions
How many new party members were there throughout the ‘Lenin enrolment’ of 1922?
100,000
What was the advantage of having the position of General Secretary?
It gave Stalin a powerbase because people owed him for giving them their positions or promotions
Why did Lenin not like Stalin very much?
Stalin once won a vote against Lenin over foreign policy.
Stalin also insulted Lenin’s wife over the phone during a time where she was taking an active role in politics during Lenin’s illness
What was Lenin’s request regarding Stalin in the postscript of his Testament?
He wanted Stalin removed as General Secretary
What was Stalin’s policy towards China in the late 1920s?
He refused to help the Communists in their uprising because he was too busy trying to maintain ‘Communism’ in his own country
When did the USSR join the League of Nations?
1934
When did Japan and Germany sign an Anti-Communist Pact?
1936
Who did Molotov replace as Foreign Minister and when?
1939- Litvinov (a Jewish man) is replaced by Molotov
When was the Franco-Soviet Pact of Mutual Assistance?
1935
What did Stalin do in 1936 regarding the Spanish Civil War and why did this help the Soviets?
He sent troops to stop the Fascist uprising in Spain, which signalled the end of his co-operation with the Popular Fronts and tried to get Hitler to go West instead of East
When was the Nazi-Soviet Pact?
1939
When did the USSR sign a non-aggression treaty with Poland?
1932
What and when was the Munich Agreement? How did this effect the USSR?
1938- France and Britain conceded Czechoslovakia to Germany. Stalin was not invited, which showed him that Hitler was ultimately being pushed East towards him
