E2: Foreign Relations and Attitudes of Foreign Powers

How were Bolshevik foreign policy objectives in the early 1920s contradictory?

Lenin, interested in survival, was willing to compromise in conventional diplomacy, but peaceful co-existence for Lenin was a means to an end, as the goal remained a world Communist state. So although the Bolsheviks were prepared to work within the normal diplomatic framework, they hoped that they would be able to initiate revolution in other countries through the Comintern.

Why were hopes of world revolution put on hold soon after the Bolsheviks came to power?

The Bolsheviks were distracted with fighting for their survival in the Civil War.

Describe the Russo-Polish War.

In 1919, Poland hoped to take advantage of the chaotic situation in Russia and to take territory which had once been part of the Polish Empire, and thus initiated the Russo-Polish War of 1919-1921. Poland's troops were initially successful, capturing Kiev in May 1920. But by this time, the Bolsheviks had more or less defeated their opponents in the Civil War and the Polish invasion brought even non-Bolsheviks to the support of the Red banner as Poland was an old enemy. In a daring campaign, Poland was pushed right back to Warsaw. However, eventually, the Reds overstretched their supply lines and, lacking support, were comprehensively defeated by Poland. A settlement was reached in 1921 and under the Treaty of Riga, Russia had to surrender large areas of White Russia and the Ukraine to Poland.

How was Lenin's policy in the Russo-Polish War a failure?

-The Red Army initially drove the Polish back and Lenin then saw the chance to use Poland as the "red bridge to Europe" and for Russia to aid the expected revolution in Germany. It did not happen and the failure to take Warsaw was one of the major disappointments of his life

-The decision to carry on the fight after the Polish had bee chased out of Russia was very much his own, against the wishes of the majority of his colleagues, and although Lenin had to admit that the policy failed, he never admitted it was wrong.

What did the realisation that the Polish had fought against the Red Army invaders rather than rising with them to embrace the revolution force Lenin to accept?

That peaceful coexistence rather than spreading revolution was the only option in Europe for some time.

What was Lenin's approach to foreign policy?

He was a pragmatist and ready to adapt policy to changing situations.

What was Lenin's main aim in foreign policy?

Alone in a hostile world, the Soviet Union was vulnerable to attack and Lenin sought to counter this. His main aim was to divide the imperialist countries and prevent them from forming a capitalist bloc against Soviet Russia.

How did Lenin try to achieve his main aim in foreign policy?

He worked on exploiting differences between the imperialist countries.

-He made moves towards Germany, another outcast nation, which resulted in the Treaty of Rapallo

-He used conventional diplomacy to begin negotiating a trade agreement with Britain in 1921.

The existence of which body complicated the establishment of foreign relationships?

Comintern.

What was the Comintern?

The Third Communist International. It was described as this because two previous organisations had been set up to encourage the spread of socialist ideas.

What was the British involvement in the Civil War?

The British, encouraged by Winston Churchill, the War Secretary, were amongst the most active forces. They sent £100 mil. worth of supplies to the Whites. Churchill saw the Whites as crusaders against Bolshevism and dreaded the spread of Bolshevism to other countries in West Europe. However, within Britain there was substantial opposition to involvement in the Russian Civil War. Lloyd George, the Prime Minister, feared disaffection of war-weary troops and the small but increasingly influential Labour Party believed that Britain shouldn't fight the Russian working class.

What was the French involvement in the Civil War?

The French were probably the most anti-Bolshevik because French investors had put millions of francs into Russia and the Bolsheviks had nationalised foreign-owned businesses without compensation. But the soldiers were not keen to fight and there were mutinies in the French fleet in the Black Sea.

What was the Japanese involvement in the Civil War.

They sent a sizeable force to Vladivostok; they were more interested in annexing land than fighting the Bolsheviks.

What was the United States' role in the Civil War?

The U.S. sent troops to Siberia, especially around Vladivostok, largely to stop Japan annexing land.

Describe the first meeting of the Comintern.

In January 1919, when the revolutionary wave in Europe was at its peak, Lenin had called for an international congress of revolutionary socialists. In March 1919, representatives from 35 groups did meet in Moscow and the Comintern- the Communist International- was formed. The Comintern appealed at its first meeting to the workers of all countries to support the Soviet regime by all available means including, if necessary, "revolutionary means".

What was the likely effect of the first meeting of the Comintern on Western Europe?

The fact that the Comintern appealed at its first meeting to the workers of all countries to support the Soviet regime by all available means including, if necessary, "revolutionary means" was likely to fuel fears in Western Europe.

Which events convinced Lenin that success of foreign revolutions could only be achieved if foreign Communist parties adopted the Bolshevik model?

-The failure of revolutionary attempts in Berlin and Munich

-Bela Kun's Soviet Republic in Hungary which lasted less than 4 months.

What was one of the man aims of the second Comintern meeting in 1920?

To bring foreign Communist parties under its control.

How did the second Comintern attempt to achieve its main aims?

21 conditions were drawn up for membership of the Comintern, including the following:

-Communist parties had to be organised on Leninist principles of centralisation and discipline

-Parties had to prepare for civil war by establishing an underground organisation, spreading revolutionary propaganda among the proletariat, peasantry and armed forces and by setting up cells in trade unions and other worker organisations

-Party programmes had to be approved by the Comintern; disobedience could mean expulsion.

What were the important and damaging results of the changes to the Comintern in 1920?

-Moscow insisted upon centralised control and discipline and made the national security of the U.S.S.R. the top priority for all Communist parties in other countries, but this reduced the appeal of the Communist Party to the rank and file workers in other countries

-The stated intentions of the Comintern and the financial support (real and imagined) it gave to its members seriously weakened the Soviet Union's chances of achieving reliable and stable commercial and diplomatic relations with European countries.

Which change to the Comintern did Chicherin petition the Politburo to carry out throughout his time in office as Foreign Commissar (1918-1930)?

To separate the personnel, policies and activities of the Comintern from those of the Soviet government.

Why did the change to the Comintern advocated by Chicherin fail to materialise?

Key players like Zinoviev, Trotsky and Bukharin were all involved in the Comintern at different times and they could not be ignored.

How were Anglo-Soviet diplomatic relations strained in 1926?

By what the British government saw as subversive Soviet behaviour during the General Strike. The Soviet leadership saw the strike as a potential political act and the beginning of a proletarian revolution when in reality, it was a dispute about wages. The Russian Central Council of Trade Unions sent a cheque for £26,000 to the Trades Union Congress, the national leadership of the trade unions. The Trade Union Congress sent it back to prevent the British government from claiming that they were in the pay of the Bolsheviks. All that Soviet policy had achieved was to encourage anti-Soviet die-hards in Britain.

When was the Anglo-Soviet trade agreement passed?

1921.

What was the Zinoviev Letter of 1924?

A letter forged by a British right-wing journalist supposedly from the Comintern to the British Communist Party instructing the Party to conduct propaganda in the armed forces and elsewhere, was published just before the British general election in order to sabotage the Party's chances of winning.

What did the Zinoviev Letter indicate about attitudes to the Soviet Union and its associated bodies?

It indicated how British opinion perceived the threat of the Comintern.

What was the result of the Zinoviev Letter for international relations?

The new Conservative government virtually suspended all dealing with the Soviet government throughout 1925.

Why were Germany and the U.S.S.R. "natural allies" in the 1920s?

Both were outcast nations: Germany had been defeated in and blamed for the First World War and the U.S.S.R. had Communist ideology and refused to support Western powers in the First World War.

What was the Treaty of Rapallo?

The Treaty of Rapallo was a treaty signed in 1922 between Germany and the U.S.S.R. that re-established diplomatic relations, was a renunciation of financial claims on each side and promised economic co-operation.

Why was the Treaty of Rapallo significant?

It ended the isolation of both countries and was central to the S.U.'s security. In the years that followed, the treaty was underpinned by significant economic and military collaboration.

Why did the U.S.S.R. need to use conventional diplomacy in the 1920s?

-Soviet Russia could not afford to remain isolated: It needed to trade with other countries and bring in capital goods to help revive its industry

-There were matters such as the movement of people in and out of Russia which needed to be sorted out by the normal round of diplomatic relations.

Which people largely handled conventional diplomacy?

Men working in the Commissariat for Foreign Affairs who had some diplomatic experience, like Chicherin, or by the new intake who soon became specialists in the field.

Which other policy advocates did those largely handling conventional diplomacy often experience tension with?

The revolutionary agitators working for the Comintern.

The Treaty of Rapallo was underpinned by which two kinds of collaboration in the following years?

Economic and military.

How important was the Treaty of Rapallo for the Soviet Union?

It was central to their security.

Which events in 1921 and 1923 caused tensions in Soviet-German relations?

The Comintern's involvement in the Communist risings in Germany in 1921 and 1923.

Why was Soviet-German tension removed after 1923?

The chances of a Communist rising in Germany faded.

What were the diplomatic advantages of Soviet-German co-operation?

Both countries ceased to be isolated outcasts. The U.S.S.R. avoided the nightmare prospect of capitalist countries combining against it and Germany strengthened its bargaining position with Britain and France.

What were the advantages of Soviet-German military co-operation?

German officers trained the Red Army in tank warfare and military aviation. The German army was also able to train and experiment with weapons forbidden by the Treaty of Versailles, especially tanks, aircraft and gas. Co-operation reached its high point at the beginning of the 1930s.

What were the advantages of Soviet-German economic co-operation?

Germany was the only major country to make significant long-term loans to the U.S.S.R. German financial and technical help was important during the N.E.P. and the First Five-Year-Plan. The U.S.S.R. supplied markets for German heavy industry. By 1932, 47% of all Russian imports came from Germany. German firms in the U.S.S.R. manufactured guns, shells, aircraft and tanks.

What was the status of the Party by 1924?

It was a one-party state; limited Party membership.

What was the role of debate in government by 1924?

Leading Communists debated policy in the Politburo.

What was the position of the Old Bolsheviks in government by 1924?

They still carried authority.

What was the position of centralisation and bureaucracy by 1924 and what was Lenin's opinion on it?

It had emerged in the Civil War.

Lenin feared it would stifle progress.

What was the overall status of the economy by 1924?

It was a mixed economy (due to the N.E.P.).

What was the status of agriculture by 1924?

The economy was predominantly agricultural and there was limited progress towards collectivisation.

What was the position of the secret police by 1924?

The Cheka had been established and had a somewhat prominent role.

How had terror come to be used by 1924?

Against real or potential enemies.

What was the situation with censorship and control by 1924?

There was censorship and control but there was some opportunity to experiment in arts, freedom in schools and limited Party influence in rural areas.