AS FP3 : Stalin's early foreign policy Flashcards
(11 cards)
What were Stalin’s aims with early foreign policy?
Stalin’s main aims in foreign affairs was to keep Russia safe while concentrating on domestic affairs to build “socialism in one country.”
Conceptual Awareness
What was the international position of the USSR when Stalin came to power?
Isolated. However, complete isolation from the outside world was not possible. Stalin had to deal with pressing concerns from abroad, especially in relation to China and Germany. Additionally, for Stalin, the Comintern was an unwanted nuisance, a hangover from the failed dream of permanent revolution.
Who were the friends and foes of the USSR?
Friends : Germany, and China
Foes : France, USA, Britain, Poland and Japan.
China
What happened in China that was relevant to the USSR?
China had been unstable since the collapse of Imperial China in 1911, this instability flared up again after the death of President San-Yatsen in 1925. This led to the rise of an industrial working class and subsequent militant action.
China
How did Stalin react to the situation in China?
Stalin did not back the Chinese Communist Party as he believed the GMD was more likely to bring stability to key strategic areas on Russia’s eastern borders. Stalin was also suspicious of the independent ideologies of the Chinese Communists.
China
What happened as a result of Stalin’s backing of the GMD?
The GMD massacred striking workers in Canton in march 1926, and established a military dictatorship in April 1927 with a violent suppression of a communist revolt in Shanghai.
China
What did Stalin’s handling of China reflect about his attitude towards foreign policy?
In responding to the events in China between 1925 and 1927, Stalin’s concern was for the stability in Russia, not spreading revolution to other countries. He gave the GMD financial and military aid. In Stalin’s eyes, anything that had gone wrong in China was the fault of the Communists who had mved away from supporting the working class, but the peasantry.
Germany
What type of policy was pursued towards Germany between 1923 and 1929?
Between 1923 and 1929, Chicherin was committed to a pro-German foreign policy.
Germany
What was the Treaty of Berlin?
The Treaty of Berlin, 1926, promoted general peace :
- If either country was attacked, the other would remain neutral
- Promise not to join an economic boycott.
- Remain in force for 5 years and would lead to further discussions.
These good relations continued until the death of Stressemen in 1929.
Changes in the Comintern
What happened in 1927 and how did Stalin manipulate it?
In 1927 there was a war scare and Stalin used it to put forward the radical Stalin revolution.
Changes in the Comintern
What changes were made in the Comintern under Stalin?
At the Sixth Comintern Congress in July 1928, Stalin put forward his view that the world situation was changing, that world capitalism was facing an all-time crisis and that it was time for an attack on socialist facists. Stalin pushed the commintern to purge weak elements, e.g Trotskyists.
