Foreign relations and the attitudes of foreign powers

why were foreing interventions limited?

-little coordination

-While france was eager to support the whites in south Russia, they had hard policy differences with Birtain. Governments didn’t know which leaders to support.

what were 3 motivations for foreign intervention?

-Keep Russia fighting in ww1
-prevent mass transfer of german forces to the west

-protect armaments and materials shipped to russia

-stop bolshevikism.

what are some examples of foreign intervention?

-Winston Churchill sent 100 million pounds worth of supplies to the whites.

-august 1918 USA sent 9000 troops to Vladvitosk

-Italy, serbia, romania, greece and canada sent some troops.

why was france to anti bolshevik?

-they had poured millions of francs into russia and the bolsheviks nationalised foreign businesses without compensation.

what was the impact of foreign intervention?
-what happened with france and britain after the red army won the war?

-Little coordination and limited direct military action

-France decided against a renewed attempt following the red army’s success

-in november 1920. Britain agreed to negotiate a trade agreement with russia, accepting a de facto recognition of the Soviet State.

what was the comintern?

-when/where was the first comintern congress?

-Third Communist international was an international socialist organisation

-aimed at promoting marxism and spreading revolution from Russia to the world.

-first comintern congress held in moscow in march 1919.

what was the first comintern congress like?
-who chaired the comintern? who held power ?

more than 50 delegates, from all over Europe, but also the United States, Australia and Japan.

-Zinoviev chaired the original comintern, but lenin was the dominant force.

what was an example of a comintern-backed communist uprising? did it succeed? what happened to its leaders ?

-The spartacist uprising in 1918 was brutally crushed by german militias in 1919. the leaders of the uprising were killed.

when was the second comintern congress, and what was its nature?

second comintern congress, July August 1920
-Lenin’s ‘21 conditions’ dominated the comintern, in which relationships between communist parties and “bourgeois democratic” parties were defined.

many european delegations left the comintern because of this.

how did the russo-polish war effect the comintern?

-the second comintern congress was opened as the red army was on the verge of capturing warsaw

-the polish victory was a nasty shock, and hopes that communism would spread to poland were killed.

why was there hope in the comintern in 1920?

-victory in the civil war was certain, and foreign interventions forces were leaving. Russia became more centralised and secure.

-what happened with the third communist congress? when was it?

summer 1921 third communist international

-there was a realisation that world revolution was not as close as hoped

-germany was ruled by the bourgeois Weimar Republic, and Russia was isolated in a capitalist world

-comintern became totally russian dominated.

what caused the russo polish war ?

-creation of an independent poland was a commitment of the allied powers

-new poland contained old russian terrirtories - defining its new borders was difficult as russia was not represented at the paris peace confrences.

-rival ambitions between poland and russia made conflict likely.

who was the polish head of sate, and what were his motives ?

General Jozef pilsudski, the polish head of state, aimed to expand the borders of Poland far east into Belarus and Ukraine.

why did lenin place value on poland ?

-he saw it as a geographical bridge to the west, essential for exporting revolution .

when did Pilsudski make alliances with ukraine? what happened after ?

-how did the bolsheviks react ? why did they react in such a way?

-April 1920, Pilsudski makes an alliance with the new Ukranian military leadership..

-they both launched and eastern offensive towards kiev and occupied it in May 1920.

-due to the success in the civil war, Lenin was confident about bolshevik strenght in 1920.

-He launched a powerful counterattack and polish forces in Kiev crumbled.

what was the “miracle on the vistula”
-what happened after?

-Polish forces mounted a desperate defence against Lenin’s counterattack in warsaw during the ‘miracle on the vistula’

-the war settled into a stalemate.

-peace formalied under the march 1921 treaty of Riga.

how was russia diplomatically isolated in 1921 ?

-Russia, along with germany were excluded from the league of nations by 1921

-there was a gulf of ideology dividing Russia from eurpoe.

how did russia attempt to end isolation leading up to the april 1922 rapallo treaty ?
-who was Russia’s deputy commissar for foreign affairs ? what was his role in ending isolation ?

in november 1920 the UK government allowed trade agreements with Russia, allowing de facto recognition of the soviet state.

-Georgy Chicherin, deputy commissar for foreign affairs, in 1921, began discussions with germany, paving the way for the treaty of rapollo in April 1922.

when was the treaty of rapallo signed? what were the articles ?
-what was the secret additional agreement in the treaty ?

April 1922
-article 1 and 2 ended claims for ww1 compensation.

-article 3 allowed the reopening of formal relations

-article 4 and 5 allowed trade and economic realtions.

-a secret additional agreement signed in July 1922 authorised germany to carry out military exercises inside the USSR.

what was the Zinoviev letter ?

Sidney Reilly, a right wing MI6 agent forged a letter under Zionviev, aiming to influence public oppinion against the Labour party before the 1924 general election.

British and Soviet relations were weakened, ans Russian isolation was strengthened.

what was the nature of lenin’s rule by 1924 ?

-what legislation and what system shows this ?

-ban on factions 1921, the 10th party congress agreed to pass this, meaning that once party policy was agreed by the central committee everybody had to accept it.

-nomenklatura system,a list of 5500 designated party posts was drawn up. the holders of these posts could only be appointed by the central party bodies. loyalty was valued more than expertise.