Foreign policy and Lenin's Death

Question 1

What was the Comintern and when was it introduced?

Answer 1

1919- it was a Communist International group that assisted foreign Communist Parties in trying to revolt

Question 2

Why were other countries cautious when engaging in diplomacy with the Soviets?

Answer 2

They thought that either the Communist experiment would collapse quickly or world domination was coming

Question 3

What and when was the Treaty of Rapallo?

Answer 3

April 1922- Germany and Russia signed this to settle any land disputes since WW1

Question 4

What and when was the Zinoviev letter?

Answer 4

1924- this was a letter sent to the Labour party from Zinoviev that was ‘intercepted’ by the Daily Mail

Question 5

What did the Zinoviev letter supposedly say?

Answer 5

It said that Zinoviev would support a Communist revolution in Britain

Question 6

Why was the Zinoviev letter significant at the time and then much later on?

Answer 6

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

Question 7

What and when was the Treaty of Berlin?

Answer 7

1926- It confirmed the Treaty of Rapallo after Germany joined the the League of Nations in 1925

Question 8

When did Lenin die?

Answer 8

January 1924

Question 9

Why was there no clear successor for Lenin?

Answer 9

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

Question 10

When was Stalin appointed as General Secretary?

Answer 10

April 1922

Question 11

What was the role of the General Secretary?

Answer 11

They were able to appoint, reject and expel members of the Party. They also dealt with promotions

Question 12

How many new party members were there throughout the ‘Lenin enrolment’ of 1922?

Answer 12

100,000

Question 13

What was the advantage of having the position of General Secretary?

Answer 13

It gave Stalin a powerbase because people owed him for giving them their positions or promotions

Question 14

Why did Lenin not like Stalin very much?

Answer 14

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

Question 15

What was Lenin’s request regarding Stalin in the postscript of his Testament?

Answer 15

He wanted Stalin removed as General Secretary

Question 16

What was Stalin’s policy towards China in the late 1920s?

Answer 16

He refused to help the Communists in their uprising because he was too busy trying to maintain ‘Communism’ in his own country

Question 17

When did the USSR join the League of Nations?

Answer 17

1934

Question 18

When did Japan and Germany sign an Anti-Communist Pact?

Answer 18

1936

Question 19

Who did Molotov replace as Foreign Minister and when?

Answer 19

1939- Litvinov (a Jewish man) is replaced by Molotov

Question 20

When was the Franco-Soviet Pact of Mutual Assistance?

Answer 20

1935

Question 21

What did Stalin do in 1936 regarding the Spanish Civil War and why did this help the Soviets?

Answer 21

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

Question 22

When was the Nazi-Soviet Pact?

Answer 22

1939

Question 23

When did the USSR sign a non-aggression treaty with Poland?

Answer 23

1932

Question 24

What and when was the Munich Agreement? How did this effect the USSR?

Answer 24

1938- France and Britain conceded Czechoslovakia to Germany. Stalin was not invited, which showed him that Hitler was ultimately being pushed East towards him