Rev. Russia and opposition from the west

Question 1

Describe the main events in Tsarist foreign policy 1900-17

Answer 1

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Question 2

What were the main aims of Soviet foreign policy 1917-33 (8)

Answer 2

• Lenin promised the Russian people ‘Peace, bread and land’
• Taking Russia out of WW1 had been a major Bolshevik pledge and the Decree of Peace, which called for an immediate truce and just peace, was issued October 1917
• Over the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk, Lenin adopted a policy of ‘neither peace nor war’
• Alone in a hostile world, the Soviet Union was vulnerable. Therefore Lenin aimed to divide the imperialist countries and prevent them from forming a capitalist bloc against Soviet Russia.
• Similarly, since Russia and Germany were isolated from the rest of Europe, Lenin aimed to improve relations with Germany and gain a political and economic ally from them.
• In March 1919, 51 representatives from more than two dozen countries attended a conference for Comintern, aiming to bring all foreign communist parties under comintern control and promote worldwide communism.
• However Soviet foreign policy from 1917-1928 seemed contradictory both in aims and methods. It aimed to protect the new state from hostile neighbours and ensure its survival, while also trying to promote the spread of world revolution through Comintern.
• Lenin realised that the USSR has to live in the real world and couldn’t afford to be isolated & therefore had to trade with other countries

Question 3

Were the aims of Soviet foreign policy in Europe between 1917 and 1933 defensive or aggressive?

Answer 3

• On a surface level, Lenin signing the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk to bring the Union out of WW1 was a defensive manoeuvre in order to protect the new state from hostile neighbours, however in doing so he also cancelled all Tsarist debts which was seen as hostile by the western nations.
• Lenin’s implementation of Comintern March 1919 to promote worldwide communism contained was aggressive, as he meant to use, if necessary, ‘revolutionary means’ to bring foreign communist parties under his control. Such an appeal was likely to fuel fears in Western Europe.
• Since the West was hostile towards the Union in initiating the Civil War, defence was necessary to ensure self preservation from 1917-1923.
• Early Bolshevik advances and Lenin’s reference to Poland as the ‘Red Bridge’ into Europe during the 1919-1920 Russo-Polish War could be seen as aggressive rhetoric. However, the Poles struck first in the and won a decisive victory at the Battle of Warsaw, meaning that Lenin had to act defensively to preserve the nation and call for a ceasefire in October 1920.
• The Treaty of Riga established a mutual border but it set back Lenin’s plans for exporting the Soviet Revolution westward.
• Through signing the Anglo-Soviet Trade Agreement 1921, Lenin knew he had to change his aggressive approach to policies and focus on defensive measures to improve relations
• Additionally the Genoa Conference April-May 1922 was inherently defensive in planning by centring itself on coexistence between communist and capitalist nations as Lenin realised that the USSR couldn’t afford to be isolated from other countries
• The Treaty of Rapallo of April 1922 also proved to be defensively motivated, as Russia a

Question 4

The similarities and differences between the foreign policy pursued between 1917 - 1928 and 1929-41

Answer 4

Similarities :
- From 1933, Soviet FP was primarily concerned with finding allies to avoid USSR’s international isolation, often nicknamed the ‘turnabout in Soviet policy’, reminiscent of Lenin’s turnabout in seeking economic and diplomatic allies after 1921
- Stalin’s response to Munich Settlement in reaching agreements with France and Britain
- ‘Socialism in One Country’: USSR was too weak to lead international revolution. Notion was not abandoned but it was no longer an immediate objective
Differences :
- Comintern continued to have a role under Stalin but it was limited to protecting the USSR. Told to keep itself to itself and not ally with other socialists
- 1929 Diplomatic relations were restored with U.K.
- Nazi-Soviet Pact
- 1934 USSR joins League of Nations involved in economic conferences and disarmament talks. Elected to council which met when there was an emergency or urgent action needed
- Spanish Civil War: