Foreign policy of the 1920s

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As a result of the 1st World War, there were significant changes... Collapsed the largest empire: Russian, German, Austro - Hungarian and Turkish. IN february 1917... the autocracy was overthrown in Of Russia. 3 november 1918... there was a revolution in Germany... The Social Democratic government came to power, which immediately signed an armistice with the Entente. In June 1919. in the city of Weimar, a constitution was adopted, according to which Germany was proclaimed a republic.

IN Austro-Hungary, which was a multinational state, intertwined anti-monarchist and national liberation revolutions. 12 november the monarchy was overthrown. A social democratic government came to power. Austria was proclaimed a republic. 16 november 1918 got independence Hungary... There the Soviet Republic was proclaimed, the government of which included Social Democrats and Communists. However, it was soon replaced by a monarchy. 28 october 1918... was created Czechoslovak republic.

IN november 1918... an independent Polish the state... It included the lands that were previously part of Russia, Germany, Austria-Hungary. On the South Slavic lands, Serbia and Montenegro were joined by Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, which were part of Austria-Hungary and the Turkish Empire. Was created Yugoslavia.

In January 1919... the Parliamentary Peace Conference began its work. Was created League Nations - organization of the winning countries. The world was redivided in favor of the victorious states.

England acquired Turkish territories - Palestine, Jordan, Iran, the German colony of Tanganyika in Africa. France received Syria and Lebanon, which previously belonged to Turkey. Sultan's government in August 1920 signed a treaty with the victor countries, which essentially turned Turkey into a colony. However, the Turkish general Mustafa Kemal raised a rebellion against the terms of this treaty. New contract signed in 1923 g., saved Turkey from the occupation. Turkey was proclaimed a republic, and Kemal, who received the nickname Ataturk (father of the Turks), was elected its president.

28 june 1919... in Versailles (France) a peace treaty was signed with Germany... Germany lost its colonies and 1/8 of its territory. France received Alsace, Lorraine, the city of Danzig (Gdansk) was declared a free city, part of the territory of Germany went to Poland, Denmark, Czechoslovakia. In addition, Germany had to pay 132 billion gold marks of reparations, it was forbidden to have a fleet, tanks, aircraft. The German army was limited to 100 thousand people.

In 1919-1920. were concluded peaceful contracts from Austria, Hungary, Bulgaria and Turkey... Was created Versailles system contracts, which consolidated the redivision of the world. Temporary stabilization was achieved, but it could not be lasting, since it was achieved by robbing the defeated countries

Foreign policy course Soviet Of Russia after the end of the civil war, it was based on two provisions formulated by V.I. Lenin:

1) principle proletarian internationalism, providing for mutual assistance in the struggle of the international working class and national liberation movements in colonial and dependent countries. To implement this principle in 1919. the Communist International was created in Moscow. It included many left-wing socialist parties in Europe, Asia and Latin America, which went over to the Bolshevik (communist) positions; 2) principle peaceful coexistence The Soviet republic with capitalist states, which was officially proclaimed in the declaration of the Soviet delegation to Genoese conferences in 1922 d. It was caused by the need to strengthen the position of the Soviet state in the international arena, to get out of political and economic isolation, to ensure the security of its borders. It meant the recognition of the possibility of peaceful cooperation and the development of economic ties with the West, for which there were objective opportunities and conditions in the form of a natural trend in the international division of labor. The inconsistency of these two fundamental provisions often caused inconsistency in the foreign policy actions of the Soviet state.

But the policy of Western countries towards Soviet Russia was no less contradictory. On the one hand, they sought to stifle the new political system, isolate it politically and economically, and establish a "cordon sanitaire" against it. On the other hand, the world's leading powers pursued the goal of gaining access to its raw materials, restoring the economic ties that had developed with it for centuries, the break of which had a detrimental effect on their economies.

In 1921 - 1922. were concluded trade agreements Russia with England, Austria, Sweden, Norway and others. At the same time, treaties were signed with neighboring states formed as a result of the collapse of the Russian Empire - Poland, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, and Finland.

Soviet diplomacy took measures to strengthen relations between the Soviet state and its eastern neighbors. In 1921. The RSFSR signed equal and mutually beneficial agreements with Iran, Afghanistan and Turkey. These treaties expanded the sphere of influence of Soviet Russia in the East. Soviet-Mongolian treaty of 1921. meant the establishment of lasting cooperation and mutual assistance between the two countries. The units of the Red Army, brought into this country, supported the Mongolian revolution and strengthened the people's power established by its leader Suhe-Bator.

At the suggestion of the Soviet government in April 1922. took place pan-European the conference in Genoa... It was attended by 29 states, including the leading ones - England, France, Germany, Russia, Italy.

The Western powers made demands on Soviet Russia to pay off the debts of the tsarist and Provisional governments (18 billion rubles in gold); return the nationalized property of Western owners; abolish the monopoly of foreign trade and open the way for foreign investors.

The Soviet delegation came out with a declaration of the principles of its foreign policy, above all peaceful coexistence and cooperation of states with different socio-economic and political systems, put forward a program for the general reduction of armaments and the prohibition of the most barbaric methods of warfare. At the same time, it put forward its own conditions for resolving conflict issues: to compensate for the damage caused by the intervention (39 billion rubles); to provide Russia with long-term loans for economic recovery. In this case, it will be possible to resolve the issue of debt.

As a result, the negotiations reached an impasse. However, the Soviet delegation achieved diplomatic success. Germany, due to its difficult political and economic situation, entered into cooperation with Soviet Russia. In Rapallo, a suburb of Genoa, a Soviet-German treaty was signed on the establishment of diplomatic relations and broad economic cooperation. Both countries have abandoned mutual monetary claims. It was a breakthrough in the political and economic isolation of Russia.

In 1924 - 1925.began the period of official recognition of the USSR by many states of the world, primarily Europe. England, France, Italy, Sweden, Mexico and others were the first to enter into diplomatic relations with our country. This was due to three reasons: the coming to power of right-wing socialist parties in a number of countries, a broad social movement in support of the USSR and the economic interests of capitalist states. Of the leading Western powers, only the United States refused to recognize the USSR.

In the second half of the 1920s, the Soviet Union continued to strengthen its international positions. In 1926. a non-aggression and neutrality treaty was signed with Germany. In 1928. The USSR joined the Briand-Kellogg pact, which called for the renunciation of war as a means of resolving interstate disputes. At the same time, the Soviet government came up with a draft convention on the reduction of armaments, which was not adopted by the Western countries.

Activities Comintern and Soviet policy in the East complicated relations with the West. In protest against the financial aid of the Soviet trade unions to the British miners who carried out the general strike, Great Britain in 1927. severed diplomatic and trade relations with the USSR, which, however, were restored after a few years. In 1929. due to the Soviet Union's support for the Chinese Communist Party in its struggle against the Kuomintang government, an armed conflict occurred in the region Sino-Eastern iron roads... It was followed by the severance of Soviet-Chinese relations, restored in the early 1930s.

In the extremely tense international atmosphere of the late 20s - 30s foreign policy USSR passed three major stage: 1) 1928 - 1933: in Europe, allied relations with Germany, opposition to bourgeois - democratic countries, in the East - advancement to China and activation in Afghanistan and Iran; 2) 1933 - 1939 (after Hitler came to power in Germany) rapprochement with England, France and the United States on an anti-German and anti-Japanese basis, the desire to preserve the spheres of influence in the East and avoid direct confrontation with Japan; 3) 1939 - June 1941: rapprochement with Germany and Japan.

The first hearth wars added up to Far East... In 1931, Japan occupied Manchuria, one of the most developed provinces in China. There was created the Puppet State of Manchukuo, which was under the complete control of Japan and was a springboard for attacks on China and the USSR. The League of Nations condemned Japan's actions, in response, Japan withdrew from the League of Nations.

Secondthe most dangerous hearth tensions became Europe. Hitler set out to revise the Versailles system of agreements. In 1933. Germany withdrew from the League of Nations in 1935. in Germany, universal military service was introduced.

In the context of the growing aggression on the part of Nazi Germany and its allies, the Soviet Union proposed to create a system collective security in Europe, by concluding a system of treaties that would make it impossible to unleash a war in Europe. In 1934. the USSR enters in League nations, in 1935. concludes agreements on mutual aid with France, Czechoslovakia. However, the position of England, which did not want the strengthening of the USSR and did not trust Stalin's diplomacy, did not allow the continuation of the creation of such a system.

Since the mid-1930s, the world has been drawn into a new war. Until that time, the Soviet state, although not always consistently, demonstrated its peacefulness and interest in peaceful coexistence with capitalist countries. However, the authoritarian methods of leadership in domestic political life, which were gaining strength, were reflected in international politics during these years.

Germany and her allies continued their line of dismantling the Versailles system. In 1935. Italy, where Mussolini's fascist regime existed, invaded and captured Ethiopia. In 1936. a civil war broke out in Spain. The elections were won by the left-wing parties, united in the Popular Front. A mutiny was raised against the left government, led by General F. Franco. Spain became a kind of training ground for the first clash of pro - and anti - fascist forces. Germany and Italy actively supported the rebels, supplied them with weapons, carried out a naval blockade, and bombed a number of Spanish cities. The republican government was supported by the USSR, volunteers from Europe and the USA, England and France declared non-intervention in the conflict.

In 1936-1937. the so-called Anti-Comintern pact, which included Germany, Japan and Italy. They actively used anti-communist rhetoric to camouflage their true goals - the struggle for the redivision of the world.

The USSR consistently pursued a policy of creating a united anti-fascist front. The tactics of the Comintern have also changed. In the summer of 1935. on the Vii The Congress Comintern it was concluded that it was necessary to create a single anti-fascist front all democratic forces, above all the communists and social democrats.

In 1938. The Axis Powers achieved decisive successes in the collapse of the Versailles system. In March 1939... Hitler carried out absorption (anschluss) Austria, which became part of Germany. In March 1939... the rebels won in Spain. Summer 1938 the Japanese conducted reconnaissance in force on the Soviet-Manchurian border near the lake Hasanbut were broken. In autumn 1938 Hitler demanded from Czechoslovakia transfer to Germany Sudeten an area dominated by the German population. Czechoslovakia had treaties with France and the USSR. However, the Western powers pursued a policy of concessions to Hitler, believed that it was possible to direct the aggression of Germany to the east, while remaining on the sidelines themselves. Under pressure from the Western powers, Czechoslovakia refused to help the USSR.

29 -30 september 1938... in Munich the leaders of the four European powers met: Hitler, Mussolini, Deladier and Chamberlain (representatives of Czechoslovakia were not invited to the meeting). England and France gave the go-ahead for the dismemberment of Czechoslovakia and the transfer of the Sudetenland to Germany (this is 1/5 of the territory of Czechoslovakia, where ¼ of the population lived) in exchange for Hitler's verbal statement that he no longer had territorial claims.

Munich collusion was the point after which it was already impossible to avoid war.

Despite Hitler's assurances of march 1939 g. German troops occupied Czech Republic and Moraviaand in Slovakia a state controlled by Germany was created. Hungary joined the Anti-Comintern Pact. In April 1939. Italy invaded Albania.

In the east in the spring of 1939. the Japanese attacked Mongolia, which had a mutual assistance agreement with the USSR. Until the end of August in the region of the river Khalkhin-Goal fierce battles were fought between the Soviet-Mongolian and Japanese troops. The Japanese troops were defeated.

The aggression of Germany forced England and France to go in the spring of 1939. to negotiations with the USSR, which, however, by mid-August 1939. are at a dead end. Both sides were responsible for this. Britain and the Soviet Union showed no willingness to compromise.

Britain demanded that the USSR undertake unilateral obligations to declare war on Germany in the event of her attack on Poland or Romania. England and France themselves did not want to take on any specific obligations. Moreover, the British government negotiated with Germany behind the back of the USSR. Under these conditions, the Soviet Union faced a real threat of war on two fronts (against Germany and Japan), while Britain and France would have remained on the sidelines. Under these conditions, Stalin was forced to negotiate with Germany.

23 august 1939g... a non-aggression pact was concluded between the Soviet Union and Germany. A secret protocol was attached to the agreement. It spoke about the delineation of "spheres of influence" in Eastern and South-Eastern Europe. Finland, Estonia, Latvia, Bessarabia were recognized as the sphere of influence of the USSR. A little later, according to the "Treaty of Friendship and borders"Between the USSR and Germany from 28 september 1939g... Lithuania was included in the "sphere of influence" of the Soviet state. It was planned to include the eastern regions of Poland (Western Ukraine and Western Belarus) into the Soviet state.

1 september 1939g... Germany attacked Poland, started second world war. 17 september 1939 the part of the Red Army entered Western Ukraine and Western Belarus, and soon the accession of these territories to the USSR was formalized. They became part of the Ukrainian and Belarusian Union Republics, respectively.

TO autumn 1939g... strained relations with Finland... Both sides were determined and did not want to make any compromises. 30 november Soviet troops invaded Finland. The war dragged on, there was a real threat of intervention by Great Britain and France (on the side of Finland). therefore 12 martha 1940. The Soviet Union had to agree to a peace agreement, according to which it received the city of Vyborg, with the adjacent territory on the Karelian Isthmus and the port of Petsamo in the north.

In parallel with the Soviet-Finnish conflict, important processes took place in Baltic... With the support of the government of the USSR, the left political forces of the Baltic countries, led by the communists, achieved the resignation of the Baltic governments, the formation of government bodies that took a position friendly to the Soviet Union, and the introduction of additional large military units. 3- 5 august 1940g... at the VII session of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR, it was decided to adopt: Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia to the USSR.

In 1940. the Soviet government put before Romania the question of returning Bessarabia, torn away from Soviet Russia in 1918, and about the transfer Northern Bukovinapopulated mainly by Ukrainians. Romania was forced to meet these requirements. 2 august 1940g... VII session of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR, adopted the law on education Moldavian the USSR, and Northern Bukovina became part of Ukraine.

Foreign policy in the 1920s-1930s

The end of the civil war and foreign intervention marked the new state of international relations. An important factor was the existence of the Soviet state as a fundamentally new, socialist system. There was a confrontation between the Soviet state and the leading countries of the capitalist world.

The foreign policy of the Soviet state from the moment the Bolsheviks came to power was based on two principles:

1. Principle internationalism provided for the most active support for the revolutionary movement in other countries, assistance to the international working class and anti-capitalist movements. It was based on the belief of the Bolsheviks in an imminent socialist revolution on a world scale. To prepare it, the Communist International (Comintern) was created in Moscow in 1919. It includes the Bolsheviks and foreign socialist parties.

2. Principle peaceful coexistence with the capitalist system (this term, it is believed, was first used by the People's Commissar for Foreign Affairs G.V. Chicherin) recognized the need to overcome foreign policy isolation, strengthen the country's position in the international arena, and establish mutually beneficial trade and economic relations with other states.

Both principles were mutually exclusive, so foreign policy was contradictory. In the first years, the first principle dominated; as hopes for a world revolution faded, the second prevailed. The position of the Western European countries towards Soviet Russia was also ambivalent. On the one hand, they sought to eliminate the new system. On the other hand, Russia remained a profitable trading partner.

The main direction of the foreign policy of the RSFSR, and then the USSR, in the 1920s. there was a breakthrough of the "diplomatic blockade", i.e. recognition by the international community. In 1920-1921. at the cost of great efforts, agreements were signed with Estonia, Lithuania, Latvia, Finland, Poland, Iran, Afghanistan, Turkey, Mongolia.

In 1922 the Genoa Conference took place. It was attended by 29 states: Russia, England, France, Germany and others. The United States participated as an observer. The Western powers demanded that the debts of the tsarist and Provisional governments (18.5 billion rubles) and foreign property nationalized by the Bolsheviks be repaid, and the monopoly of foreign trade be liquidated.

The Soviet delegation headed by the People's Commissar for Foreign Affairs G.V. Chicherin put forward her conditions: compensation for damage caused by foreign intervention during the civil war (39 billion rubles), ensuring broad economic cooperation, and a general reduction in armaments. Negotiations were deadlocked, the conference failed. However, after its end, the Soviet state went to a rapprochement with Germany, which was also in the blockade. The result was the signing of the Rapallo Treaty in 1922.

The breakthrough of the "diplomatic blockade" took place in 1924. This year diplomatic relations were established with 13 capitalist countries: England, Italy, France, Sweden, Austria, etc. The peculiarity of the USSR's entry into the world community was that this process took place on the conditions of the Soviet A union that refused to pay the debts of the tsarist government.

At the end of the 1920s. there was a sharp deterioration international situation... In 1927 England broke off diplomatic relations with the USSR due to material support for the striking British workers. In 1929 there was an armed conflict with China on the Chinese Eastern Railway.

World economic crisis 1929-1933 ("Great Depression") strongly affected European countries. In Germany, A. Hitler came to power in 1933. The new German government put forward as its task a revision of the results of the First World War and began to pursue a militaristic policy. At the same time, the territory of the USSR was viewed as a "living space" for Germany. In response, the Soviet Union in 1933 severed all relations with Hitlerite Germany and began to make attempts to create a system of collective security in Europe. It was appreciated.

In 1933 the United States recognized the Soviet Union. In 1934 the USSR was admitted to the League of Nations - an international organization, the prototype of the UN.

In 1936-1937. was created "Anti-Comintern Pact" in the composition of Germany, Italy and Japan, directed against the USSR.

Western European countries did not react to the Soviet initiative to create a collective security system. On the contrary, the leadership of England and France headed for "Policy of appeasement"- providing Germany with concessions to direct her aggression against the USSR. Neither Britain nor France prevented Germany when she, bypassing the Treaty of Versailles, began to heavily arm herself. They took the same position in relation to the participation of Germany and Italy on the side of the rebels of General F. Franco in the Spanish Civil War (1936-1939) and the annexation of Austria to Germany (1938).

The peak of the "policy of appeasement" was the "Munich Agreement". In 1938, a conference was held in Munich with the participation of England, France, Germany and Italy, by the decision of which part of Czechoslovakia was transferred to Germany. However, Germany took over Czechoslovakia completely.

The tense situation persisted in the Far East. In 1938, Japanese troops invaded Soviet soil near Lake Hasan and were defeated. In 1939, the Soviet-Japanese conflict broke out on the Khalkhin-Gol River (Mongolia). Parts of the Red Army under the command of G.K. Zhukov was defeated by Japanese troops.

In the spring and summer of 1939, the Soviet Union made its last unsuccessful attempts to create a system of collective security in Europe. After that, the Soviet government was forced to take a course of rapprochement with Germany. The main goal of this policy was to avoid premature Soviet involvement in the war and to send Germany westward.

On August 23, 1939, the Soviet-German Non-Aggression Pact ("Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact") was concluded for a period of 10 years. It included a secret protocol delimiting the spheres of influence of the parties in Eastern Europe. Western Poland fell into the German sphere, and Eastern Poland, inhabited by Western Ukrainians and Western Belarusians, the Baltic States, Finland, Bessarabia, fell into the Soviet sphere.

The conclusion of a treaty with Germany made it possible to avoid a war on two fronts (against Germany and Japan), to remain outside the new European conflict for almost two years and to prevent the alliance of England, France with Germany against our country. Thanks to the agreement, the USSR was able to return part of the territories lost in 1918-1920. During the period of the pact, the USSR acquired valuable equipment and samples of military equipment for the defense industry in Germany.

Questions and tasks for self-control

1. What were the first transformations of the Soviet regime aimed at?

2. What are the reasons for the victory of the Reds in the civil war.

3. List the main measures of "War Communism".

4. What were the main contradictions of the NEP?

5. Which republics were included in the original composition of the USSR?

6. List the main sources of industrialization.

7. How was the process of dispossession during collectivization?

8. Indicate the consequences of the establishment of totalitarianism in the USSR.

9. Why the cultural transformations of the 1920s-1930s. characterized by the concept of "cultural revolution"?

10. Why was the Non-Aggression Pact signed between the USSR and Germany in 1939 and what did it give the Soviet state?

additional literature

1. Gordon, L.A. What was it? Reflections on the premises and results of what happened to us in the 30s and 40s / L.A. Gordon, E.V. Bedbugs. - M.: Publishing house of political literature, 1989 .-- 320 p.

2. Civil war in Russia: causes, essence, consequences // Questions of history. - 2003. - No. 10.

3. Gusev, K.V., Protasov, L.G. All-Russian Constituent Assembly. The story of birth and death / K.V. Gusev, L.G. Protasov // Domestic history. - 1998. - No. 5.

4. Dines, V.O. Civil war in Russia: events, opinions, assessments / V.O. Dines // Questions of history. - 2003. - No. 1.

5. Drabkin, Ya.S. Totalitarianism in 20th century Europe. From the history of ideologies, movements, regimes and their overcoming / Ya.S. Drabkin, N.P. Komolov. - M.: Monuments of historical thought, 1996. - 539 p.

6. Zhukov, Yu.N. Another Stalin / Yu.N. Zhukov. - M .: Vagrius, 2005 .-- 512 p.

7. Zelenin, I.E. "Revolution from above": completion and tragic consequences / I.Ye. Zelenin // Questions of history. - 1994. - No. 10.

8. Iskenderov, A.A. First steps of the Soviet power / A.A. Iskenderov // Questions of history. - 2003. - No. 2.

9. Kara-Murza, S.G. Soviet civilization / S.G. Kara-Murza. - M .: Eksmo, 2011 .-- 1200 p.

10. Kara-Murza, S.G. Civil war in Russia. 1918-1921 / S.G. Kara-Murza. - M .: Eksmo, 2003 .-- 384 p.

11. Kogan, L.A. War Communism: Utopia or Reality? / L.A. Kogan // Questions of history. - 1998. - No. 2.

12. Kozhinov, V.V. Russia. Century XX-th (1901-1939) / V.V. Kozhinov. - M .: EKSMO-Press, 2002 .-- 448 p.

13. Olshevsky, V.G. Financial and economic policy of the Soviet power in 1917-1918 : trends and contradictions / V.G. Olshansky // Questions of history. - 1999. - No. 3.

14. Pavlova, I.V. The mechanism of political power in the USSR in the 20-30s / I.V. Pavlova // Questions of history. - 1998. - No. 11-12.

15. Pavlyuchenkov, S.A. Peasant Brest, or the prehistory of the Bolshevik NEP / S.A. Pavlyuchenkov. - M.: Rus. book publishing. t-in, 1996 .-- 299 p.

16. The tragedy of the Soviet village. Collectivization and dispossession. 1927-1939: Documents and materials. In 5 vols. / Ed. V. Danilova, R. Manning., L. Viola. - M.: ROSSPEN, 1999-2006.

17. Chemodanov, I.V. Was there an alternative to forced collectivization in the USSR? / I.V. Suitodanov // Questions of history. - 2006. - No. 2.

18. Shishkin, V.A. Power. Politics. Economy. Post-revolutionary Russia (1917-1928) / V.A. Shishkin. - SPb. : Dmitry Bulanin, 1997 .-- 400 p.

When preparing this topic, it is recommended to separately consider the main directions of foreign policy in the 1920s and 1930s, highlighting separate stages within each period. In conclusion, it is necessary to trace how the landmarks of Soviet foreign policy, including ideological ones, have changed in these two decades.

Foreign policy in the 1920s... In this period, three stage.

1) 1918 —1921:the main goal is to prepare the world revolution. To solve this problem, the Comintern was created in 1919. But after the unsuccessful campaign of the Red Army in Poland in 1920 and the recession of the revolutionary movement in Europe, a change of orientations in foreign policy took place.

2)1921 —1927:a course has been taken to establish peaceful relations with Western countries. The goal is to obtain diplomatic recognition from their side (this was prevented by the problem of the royal debts). At the same time, efforts are being made to normalize relations with co-limiting states:

february 1921 - treaties with Persia (Iran) and Afghanistan;
march 1921 - a treaty of friendship and brotherhood with Turkey, a trade agreement with England;
november 1921 - a treaty of friendship with Mongolia;
march — April 1922 - participation of Soviet Russia in the Genoa Peace Conference; the head of the delegation is G.V. Chicherin. Putting forward the "zero option": Soviet Russia does not pay tsarist debts, the Western countries do not compensate her for the damage from the intervention;
april 1922 - the Rapallo agreement with Germany on the restoration of diplomatic relations, mutual rejection of claims and trade and economic relations. Signed a breakthrough in diplomatic isolation;
1924-1925 - "band of recognition": diplomatic recognition of the USSR by all major countries, except the USA (the USSR was recognized only in 1933);
1924 - an agreement with China.

Outcomes:this stage can be considered a great success for Soviet diplomacy.

3) 1927 —1929:deterioration of relations with Western countries, growth of military and political tension. In 1927, there was a conflict with England, which broke off diplomatic relations with the USSR, accusing it of interfering in its internal affairs. Reasons: the provision of financial and material assistance to the Soviet Union to the bas-ting British miners, the assassination of the Soviet diplomat P.L. Voikov in Poland, a sharp increase in anti-Soviet propaganda, calls for the military defeat of the USSR.

Outcomes:aggravation of relations with Western countries had a significant impact on the internal policy of the USSR - changing the timing of industrialization, etc.

USSR foreign policy in the 1930s... In this period, two stage.

1) 1930 —1938:attempt at a new rapprochement | relations with the democratic countries of the West and a course towards creating a system of collective security to counter the aggressive plans of Germany (in 1933 A. Hitler came to power there) and its allies. The initiator of this course is People's Commissar-Indel M. M. Litvinov:

1934 - the USSR joins the League of Nations. The USSR took the initiative to develop a convention on the definition of the aggressor country. It was not accepted, but the authority of the USSR in the world increased dramatically;
1935 - treaties with France and Czechoslovakia on mutual assistance in the event of aggression as part of the collective security system. The clause that the USSR would be able to provide military assistance to Czechoslovakia only if France also provided such assistance did not allow the treaty to enter into force in 1938;
1936-1937 - participation of the USSR in the civil war in Spain on the side of the republican government. General Franco was supported by Germany and Italy;
july - August 1938 - the defeat at the lake. Hassan of the Japanese troops invading the territory of the USSR;
september 1938 - Munich. The fact that the USSR was not even invited to the conference was perceived by Stalin as a threat to create a united anti-Soviet front of the Western powers in order to direct the German aggression to the East.

2) 1939 —1941:the USSR's course towards rapprochement with Germany and at the same time active preparation for a war with it:

summer 1939 - negotiations with Britain and France on a military alliance against Germany, which the British and French sides dragged out in every way. The USSR began negotiations with Germany to sign a non-aggression pact. Germany, interested in neutralizing the USSR, offered favorable conditions, hoping to soon eliminate its concessions during the war;
july 1939 - the incorporation of Bessarabia and Northern Bukovina into the USSR;
1939 - conflict with Japan in Mongolia. The battle in the area of \u200b\u200bthe river. Khalkhin-Gol. Outcomes:the hotbed of war in the Far East has been liquidated;
August 23, 1939 - Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact. The USSR and Germany signed a non-aggression pact for a period of 10 years and secret protocols to it on the division of spheres of influence in Eastern Europe. The USSR's sphere of influence included Eastern Poland (Western Ukraine and Western Belarus), the Romanian part of Moldova, Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia and Finland;
September 28, 1939 - Treaty of friendship and border with Germany. A serious diplomatic mistake of the USSR, since the treaty made it an ally and accomplice of Germany, unleashing on September 1, 1939 the second world war, and undermined the credibility of the USSR as a peace-loving power among the anti-fascist forces;
november 1939 - the annexation of Western Ukraine and Western Belarus to the USSR;
november 1939 - March 1940 - "winter" war with Finland for the Karelian Isthmus. Outcomes:the borders of the USSR were pushed back beyond the "Mannerheim Line", but the victory cost enormous sacrifices and showed the low combat effectiveness of the Red Army. The USSR was expelled from the League of Nations as an aggressor;
september - October 1940 - the accession of the Baltic states to the USSR.

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MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND SCIENCE OF THE RF

FGBOU VPO Ural State Economic University

Distance Education Center

TEST

by discipline: History

"Foreign policy of the USSR in the 1920s-1930s"

Executor:

student gr. UVR-11

Voshko. A.A

Teacher:

Yekaterinburg 2014

Introduction

1. Foreign policy of the USSR in the 1920s-1930s

1.1 International situation in the 1920s-1930s. Contradictions of the Versailles-Washington system

Conclusion

List of used literature

INTRODUCTION

The twentieth century was the period of the most acute conflicts, accompanied by high strategic and military training. But on the issues of most of them there is no clear idea to this day. The debate among historians about the biggest conflict of the century - the Second World War and its causes, namely about the universal interpretation of the so-called "policy of appeasing Germany", pursued in the 1930s, is not abating. British government led by Neville Chamberlain.

The content and course of British foreign policy and diplomacy, on which the balance of power on the European continent largely depended, is one of the most pressing problems associated with the study of the prehistory of the Second World War. After the Nazis came to power in Germany, the British foreign policy line of "appeasing" Germany, the idea of \u200b\u200ba "balance of power" in Europe in the second half of the 1920s, faced a serious challenge. The British government, led by the Conservative Party, did not immediately realize the need to rally the forces of the West in the face of the growing Nazi aggression.

The problem of the restoration of the Anglo-French "Entente" became more and more urgent. A number of factors led to the fact that it was not possible to create a combat-ready union of peace-loving states interested in maintaining the status quo on the European continent almost until the very beginning of the Second World War. The study of this complex of issues in both Russian and foreign historical literature is extremely controversial.

British foreign policy between the two world wars had great importance for the general European international situation and international relations in general. While the Soviet Republic and the United States had no influence whatsoever on the course of events in the world, it was Britain and France that had the task of keeping the peace.

The well-known alienation in international relations, which has become a traditional policy in Great Britain, contributed to the formation of a "policy of hands-off" in the 1930s. The consequences of this political course were the Spanish civil war against the fascists, the seizure of Ethiopia by Italy, the demilitarization of the Rhineland, the Anschluss of Austria - events to which the British government turned a blind eye, hoping that Germany and Italy, having received a sufficient number of territories, would contribute to stabilization the international situation and the preservation of peace.

The relevance of the topic under consideration is obvious. The period under review allows us to trace the strategy and tactics of the Bolshevik leadership, which managed to create conditions in a capitalist environment for the restoration and development of the national economy of the USSR, cooperating in the economic sphere with all the leading powers of the world.

In accordance with the relevance, the goal and objectives of the study were set.

Objective - to characterize the foreign policy of the USSR in the 1920s-1930s.

To solve this goal, the following were formulated tasks:

to reveal the international situation in the 1920s-1930s; contradictions of the Versailles-Washington system;

consider the goals and nature of Soviet foreign policy in the 1920s-1930s; the international position of the USSR on the eve of World War II.

1. FOREIGN POLICY OF THE USSR IN THE 1920-1930S. INTERNATIONAL SITUATION IN THE 1920-1930S. CONTRADICTIONS OF THE VERSAILLE-WASHINGTON SYSTEM

After the end of the civil war and intervention, the Soviet Republic found itself in conditions of capitalist encirclement and political isolation. The West has declared an economic blockade. In their diplomatic relations with the capitalist countries of the West, the Bolsheviks were guided by two motives: the need to use any contradictions between the leading countries, and also the conviction that without Russia's natural resources the West would not be able to restore its economy.

In early 1920, the economic blockade was officially lifted, but this did not mean that trade relations were resumed. In March 1921, an Anglo-Soviet trade agreement was signed in London, in fact, which meant the recognition of the Soviet government. The economic and military circles of Germany sought to cooperate with Russia. The situation changed when the transition to NEP created in the West the impression that the Bolshevik revolution was failing. Then the proposal of Russia to convene an international conference for the regulation of economic relations was accepted. This initiative resulted in the organization of a pan-European conference in Genoa in the spring of 1922. Its most important event was the signing of the Soviet-German treaty in Rapallo, which established diplomatic relations between the two countries. On the whole, the conference was unsuccessful. The West demanded the return of the debts of the tsarist government, compensation for nationalized property.

In 1921, treaties were signed with Turkey, Iran, Afghanistan. In 1924, relations with China were restored. 1924 opened a strip of diplomatic recognition for the USSR: England, Italy, France, Japan. In just a year, the Soviet Union was recognized by 13 states. But the wave of recognition was not followed by other appropriate steps in the development of relations between the countries.

Already in August 1925, serious complications began to emerge in relations with Britain, and in mid-1927 the British government broke off relations with the USSR. Relations with Germany were more successful. In 1926, she provided the first overseas loans, a neutrality and non-aggression treaty was signed. Similar pacts were also signed with Turkey, Iran, and Afghanistan. In 1927, diplomatic relations with the Beijing government were severed, not without British instigation.

In 1927, the USSR agreed to participate in the disarmament commission established by the League of Nations, which contributed to the growth of its prestige. The Soviet proposals were not accepted, but they attracted new peace-loving forces to the side of the USSR.

In 1929, there was a conflict on the Chinese-Eastern Railway, which was under joint Soviet-Chinese control. It was settled on conditions satisfactory to us after the use of armed force.

The world economic crisis contributed to the strengthening of trade relations between the West and the USSR. In 1933, the United States officially recognized the USSR.

1.1 Contradictions of the Versailles-Washington system

Under the terms of the Armistice of Compiegne (November 1918), Germany was to leave all the occupied territories in the west, and her army to retreat beyond the Rhine. From Eastern Europe, she had to leave as soon as the Entente troops arrived there. All prisoners of war and military property were to be transferred to the allies. To prepare peace treaties with the defeated, the Paris Peace Conference was convened (January-February 1919). 27 countries took part, the Council of Ten chaired the conference, the main role was played by US President W. Wilson, British Prime Ministers L. George and French Prime Ministers J. Clemenceau. Formally, the work was carried out on the basis of Wilson's "14 points", which contained new principles of world relations (rejection of secret diplomacy, disarmament, self-determination of peoples, ensuring freedom of trade and navigation) .. However, in reality, sharp contradictions and the struggle of the participants, primarily England and France, who sought to maximize the benefits of victory. There were also different plans for the defeated: the greatest demands were from France, which suffered more than others during the war.

Wilson insisted on including the Charter of the League of Nations in the preamble to the Versailles Peace Treaty. The Versailles Treaty - the main document of the post-war settlement - was signed in June 1919.

The Versailles-Washington system is based on a number of acute contradictions:

A) the plight of the vanquished, especially Germany;

B) “redrawing” borders - the basis for future disputes (for example, the Sudetenland in the Czech Republic);

C) Soviet Russia, which was against this system, was not involved in the treaties. Pushed aside from the decision of world affairs, it could not help but become in opposition to the Versailles-Washington system;

D) the colony did not receive freedom - a mandate system was created; the national liberation movement continues.

These contradictions ultimately led to the collapse of the Versailles-Washington system and the Second World War.

1.2 Objectives and nature of Soviet foreign policy in the 1920s-1930s. The international situation of the USSR on the eve of World War II

foreign policy soviet union

The Soviet foreign policy concept was built in accordance with two contradictory goals: preparation for a world proletarian revolution and the establishment of peaceful relations with capitalist states. The task was set to turn the conquered peaceful respite into a long-term peace, to lead the country out of the state of foreign policy and economic isolation, including by attracting foreign capital. The USSR strove to overcome the state of diplomatic isolation. However, the solution of this problem was hampered by a number of factors such as rejection of the Soviet system and the Bolshevik slogan of the world revolution by the Entente countries; claims to Russia for tsarist debts and dissatisfaction of the capitalist powers with the monopoly of foreign trade; as well as the course of Russia to support revolutionary organizations in Europe and America and the national liberation movement in the colonial countries.

From the end of the 20s - 30s. Soviet foreign policy was carried out in a complex and rapidly changing environment. It was determined by the main foreign policy principle about the hostility of the imperialist powers to the USSR and the need to use their mutual contradictions. This balance of power policy pushed the USSR first to create an alliance with Germany against the British threat, and then forced Soviet diplomacy to seek cooperation with Britain and France against the much more dangerous Third Reich.

The main directions of the foreign policy of the Soviet state and the Bolshevik Party in the 1920s. was the strengthening of the positions of the USSR in the international arena and the incitement of the world revolution. Agreements concluded in 1920-1921 with Iran, Afghanistan, Mongolia, Turkey and other border countries, marked the beginning of the wide diplomatic recognition of Soviet Russia. Trade relations were established with England, Germany, Italy.

In April-May 1922, the International Economic and Financial Conference of European States was held in Genoa (Italy), to which Russia was invited. The Russian delegation spoke on behalf of all Soviet republics. The head of the delegation was G.V. Chicherin, People's Commissar for Foreign Affairs from 1918 to 1930. The capitalist countries counted on exerting economic pressure and demanded that the debts of tsarist Russia, the Provisional Government, the White Guards be repaid, the monopoly of foreign trade should be abolished, and the nationalized enterprises should be returned. The Soviet side agreed to return part of the debts on condition of obtaining loans and compensation for the damage caused by the intervention, which was rejected by Western countries. However, Soviet diplomats managed, using the contradictions of the leading European powers with Germany, to conclude a bilateral agreement with Germany in the town of Rapallo (not far from Genoa) (April 1922). The treaty contained conditions on mutual refusal to reimburse military expenses, on the resumption of diplomatic relations and the development of trade relations on the basis of the most favored nation principle. The year 1924 was called “the strip of recognition of the USSR,” since then many countries of the world established diplomatic relations with the Soviet Union.

Within the framework of the III International (Comintern), created in 1919, in the 20s. the activity of Soviet communists in the international arena intensified. The task was put forward of the earliest possible formation of communist parties in various countries of the world, the creation of mass revolutionary organizations in order to activate the world revolutionary process.

In 1934, the USSR was admitted to the League of Nations, which was supposed to help establish diplomatic relations with other countries.

By the end of 1938, the foreign policy situation was very difficult. The Soviet military presence in Spain, the weakening of the Red Army due to repression - the Western powers ceased to regard the USSR as an adequate ally. Japan was friends with Germany and Italy. Axis Berlin - Rome - Tokyo. Complications in the East: 1938 - fighting near Lake Khasan from late July to 11 August. May - September 1939 - battles on the Khalkhin Gol River in Mongolia - a counteroffensive began on August 20 - on August 23 the Japanese were surrounded, by September the territory was cleared.

The conclusion of the “Anti-Comintern Pact” between Germany and Japan and the annexation of Italy to it were accompanied by an increase in the aggressiveness of the regimes established in these countries. In the East, the USSR was forced to take steps to curb Japanese expansion.

At the same time, the connivance of the Western democracies to the aggressive actions of Hitler, Mussolini and Franco, inaction during the Anschluss of Austria and the Munich Agreement of 1938 increased the mutual distrust of the USSR in England and France. The militarization of the Rhineland changed the balance of power in Europe and showed the inability of Western democracies and the League of Nations to oppose Germany. The signing by France in 1938 of a non-aggression pact was regarded by the USSR as a step that would untie Germany's hands in the East. All this forces the USSR to seek rapprochement with Germany.

In 1938, an agreement on economic cooperation between the USSR and Germany, an agreement to end attacks on each other in the press. In May 1939 the Jew Litvinov was removed and the racially faithful Molotov was installed.

On April 17, the USSR proposed to Great Britain and France to conclude a trilateral agreement, the military guarantees of which would extend to the whole of Eastern Europe. But the negotiations were unsuccessful. Poland and Romania did not want to allow the Red Army to pass through their territory. Even in August 1939, when the British and French agreed to discuss the military aspects of the agreement and arrived in Moscow, they continued their old tactics (those who arrived were of low rank and could not make such decisions).

The collapse of the idea of \u200b\u200bcollective security led to an alliance between the USSR and Germany. Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact "On non-aggression and neutrality" for 10 years. Secret treaties are about spheres of influence. This is not our idea, Germany suggested. The USSR was restoring old borders and getting time to prepare for war.

CONCLUSION

In the first half of the 1920s, the economic blockade of Russia by the capitalist countries was broken. In 1920, after the fall of Soviet power in the Baltic republics, the government of the RSFSR concluded Peace Treaties with the new governments of Estonia, Lithuania, Latvia, recognizing their independence and independence. Since 1921 the establishment of trade relations between the RSFSR and England, Germany, Austria, Norway, Denmark, Italy, Czechoslovakia began. The political negotiation process with Britain and France has reached a dead end.

Using the contradictions of the leading European powers with Germany, Soviet representatives in the town of Rapallo (not far from Genoa) concluded an agreement with her. The treaty renewed diplomatic and consular relations between the countries and thereby brought Russia out of diplomatic isolation. In 1926, the Berlin Treaty of Friendship and Military Neutrality was signed. Germany, thus, became the main trade and military partner of the USSR, which made significant adjustments to the nature of international relations in subsequent years.

In the 20s. on the basis of the agreements of the Versailles-Washington system, a relative temporary stabilization of interstate and world economic relations was achieved. In the 1920s, called the “era of pacifism,” the politicians of the states of Europe and the United States managed to come to terms and resolve contradictions by peaceful means. In the system of international relations, a new correlation of forces took shape, new knots of contradictions arose. A series of trade and diplomatic treaties between the USSR and the countries of Europe and Asia, as well as treaties on neutrality are concluded. The USSR was gradually returning to the normal system of international relations.

LIST OF USED LITERATURE

1. Bobylev P.N. It is too early to put an end to the discussion. On the issue of planning in the General Staff of the Red Army of a possible war with Germany in 1940-1941 // Domestic history.- 2000.- No. 1.- P.56-58.

2. Choosing a path. History of Russia 1939-2000 / ed. A.T. Tertyshny, V.D. Kamynina, A.V. Trofimova. - Ekaterinburg, 2001. - 455 p.

3. History of Russia IX-XX centuries / ed. G.A. Ammon, N.P. Ionicheva. - M., 2002. - 323 p.

4. Kantor Yu.Z. M.N. Tukhachevsky and Soviet-German alliance 1923-1938 // Questions of history.- 2006.- № 5.- P. 40-45.

5. Kapchenko N.I. Foreign policy concept of Stalin // International life.- 2005.- No. 9.- P. 12-16.

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Foreign policy of the 1920s

Foreign policy in the 1920s-1930s

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