Foreign policies Flashcards
(10 cards)
aims
- crush internal class enemies/kulaks; world revolution of communism
- country side under government control
- compete with west
- collective security
- undecided between hitler and west
- security in nazi-soviet pact 1939
more aims
Encourage the “world revolution” through the work of the Comitern (1919) by supporting Communist struggles abroad.
Pragmatic agreements with other states to end diplomatic isolation and defending Russia (i.e. Treaty of Rapallo with Germany and non-aggression pacts.)
Modernize and industrialize in fear of a united alliance of Capitalist nations against USSR and communism:
“We are fifty to a hundred years behind the advanced countries. We must made this gap in ten years. Either we do this or they crush us.”- Stalin.
Therefore- to improve and achieve security for the Soviet state!
collective securty policies
- The rise to power of Hitler (1933) and the Japanese invasion of Manchuria (1931) led to USSR attempting to establish good realtions with Western states:
1932-33, USSR signs non-aggression Pacts with France, Italy and Poland and more.
1934- Joins the League of Nations (described by Lenin as the “robber’s den”); the relations between USSR and Germany worsen as USSR moves towards the West.
1935- Defensive alliances with France and Czech, however these were largely symbolic and gave little
actual military protection.
1936- Stalin supports the Republicans in the Spanish Civil War due to concern over Hitler and Mussolini’s support for the Nationalists. However, Soviet intervention was cautious and offered little gain.
hitler + west policies
1938- Britain and France’s failure to include USSR in the talks at Munich over the Sudetenland, increases Soviet suspicion over Western appeasement to Hitler. Fears of Western powers intentions of sacrificing Eastern Europe to Hitler.
1939- Hitler’s nivasion of rest of Czech leads to talks between USSR, Britain and France over a mutual alliance against Hitler.
Phase 3: seeks security in Nazi-Soviet Pact with Hitler (1939)
The failure of a mutual pact forces Stalin away from collective security and in August, the new foreign commissar Molotov signs a Non-Aggression Pact with Germany.
The treaty meant peaceful relations for ten years and to secretively split Poland between them and allowing uSSR to extend its influence in the Baltic States.
The Anti-Comitern pact between Germany, Italy and Japan in an alliance against Communism, left Stalin with the fear of a two-front war and in this sense, the pact can be seen as a pragmatic move to secure position of USSR.
Stalin also hoped that a war between the West and Hitle would leave both sides exhausted and thus provide best protection for USSR.
key foreign policy successes
In the start, the non-aggression pacts saw some time of stability in the USSR as end to diplomatic relations- however failed in long term as USSR and Western powers failed to put their differences aside for the fear of Hitler’s expansionism.
The Nazi-Soviet Pact allowed Stalin time to re-arm and industrialize- huge success as shown in Soviet Union able to defeat the Nazi Troops in WW2!
It also provided a biffer zone against a German attack and recovered all the territory lost in the Treaty of Brest Litovsk (1918).
key foreign policy failures
As mentioned earlier, the main failure of Stalin’s foreign policy during this timepreiod was the failure to secure an agreement with the Western powers in the search for collective security. This drove Stalin instead to search for insurance with Germany and Hitler- furthermore, it could be argued that the agreement between USSR and Germany is what ultimtely sparked off the Second World War as Hitler now no longer feared a war on two fronts. Plus, Hitler thought that the Western powers owuld not intervene if in an alliance with Russia!
What factors enabled Stalin to defeat Hitler and the Nazi wehrmacht?
Since the economy in the USSR in 1941 was already highly centralized, it did not take much to transform it into the “total war” conditions.
In June 1941, the State Committee of Defense was established (Stalin of course was its Chairman) and through this, Stalin kept close control over the generals and made it clear that retreat or defeat in battle was not an option.
Stalin used propaganda and the restored position of the Orthodox Church to gain support through the war- “Great Patriotic War” fought to save Mother Russia rather than an ideological war to save communism.
Mistakes of the Germans- for Hitler the war was a racial war against the enemy and this was demonstrated by the brutality of the Nazi forces as they marched towards Moscow, leningrad and Stalingrad. In many places there was support for the Germans as they were often seen as liberators (estimated that 2 million Soviet citizens fought on the side of the Germans) but this soon changed as the death toll of civilians increased from German policies of extermination.
The German troops were halted by the “General Winter” that brought frost and snow. This halted their advance in 1941 abd gave the Red Army time to recover.
The size of the Soviet Union- this meant that they could sacrifice territory to the advancing Germans and retreat eastwards- many factories could be dismantled and the infrastructure shipped east, re-assembled and brought back into production.
External help- Stalin recieved substancial aid from the US Lend-Lease arrangement that was given to USSR in summer of 1941. Especially jeeps and lorries as well as large quantities of equippment from Britain’s Royal Navy.
End of the siege of Stalingrad by German defeat in North Africa and Allied invasion of Sicily which required German forces to retreat.
wwii
originally with germany
swithes to join US and UK to defeat germany and japan
establishes relationss with china
cold war?
west vs communists
