SOVIET FOREIGN POLICY 1918-1941 (Part I)

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SOVIET FOREIGN POLICY1918-1941(Part I)
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• Soviet Foreign Policy
• 1917 to 1924
• Isolationism was the main foreign policy
• Ceded territories in exchange for peace
• Sought international recognition
• 1924 to 1934
• The Period of Isolationism
• Promotion of Peaceful Intentions with Other
  Countries
• 1934 to 1941
• Counter German Threat
• Alliance with Germany

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• 1917 to 1924
• Isolationism was the main foreign policy
• Ceded territories in exchange for peace
• Sought international recognition

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ISOLATIONISM

• 1920s 30s Russia kept to itself
• Lenin and Stalin were very busy
• Building socialism within Russia
• Dealing with internal problems such as the civil
  wars
• Reinforce their own political positions
• They wanted to be left alone

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TREATY OF BREST-LITOVSK

• Russia withdrew from the war in 1918
• Agreed to handover a huge chunk of land to
  Germany
• This included Finland, Estonia, Latvia, Lituania,
  Poland and Bessarabia
• Germany lost WWI
• Peoples in these territories seized the
  opportunity to declare independence
• New Bolshevik Government was too preoccupied
  with problems at home to worry about these other
  problems

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TREATY OF BREST-LITOVSK
TERRITORIES Bessarabia, Poland, Finland, Estonia,
Latvia, Lituania
Before WWI Under Russian Rule
During WWI (Treaty of Brest-Litovsk) Under German
Control
Between WWI and WWII Became independent
states Bessarabia became part of Romania
During WWII Once again Under Russian rule
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Proclamation of independence act. Riga,November
18, 1918.
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Forced collectivisation in Latvia. Single house
farm being pulled to the collective village
(kolhoz) in 1951.
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People's manifestation for independenceon
January 14, 1991.
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Lithuania
Inside the Church of St Peter St Paul
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Lithuania
One of buildings in Vilnius waiting for
reconstruction.
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Lithuania
The Gedraiciai monument to the fallen heroes of
the war with Poland was so sturdily built that
the Soviets could not manage to dismantle it
during their occupation. 
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Lithuania
Old KGB Headquarters Once a synagogue, the KGB HQ
was selected for the gruesome acts of torture
that were performed there because its thick walls
muffled the screams of the interrogators'
victims.  The walls of this building now are
covered with photos of mutilated bodies from the
KGB's own files.  The wooden sculpture in this
picture was carved by a man who, as a young
child, was forced to sit on his father's corpse
while being interrogated. 
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ISOLATIONISM

• COMINTERN Communist International
• Some Bolsheviks hoped to help promote the
  communist revolution in other countries
• Set up Comintern in 1919
• To encourage the spread of revolution and
  communism in the world
• Received little support from Russias new leaders

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COMINTERN
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RECOGNISING THE NEW BOLSHEVIK GOVERNMENT

• Russia the worlds first communist state
• When the Bolsheviks won the civil wars, Lenin
  sought to improve relations with other countries
• With better relations, it was less likely that
  they will interfere in Russias internal affairs

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RECOGNISING THE NEW BOLSHEVIK GOVERNMENT

• Most governments disliked it and were suspicious
  of its intentions
• First they tried to defeat it by supporting the
  Whites in the civil war
• Then they ignored it when that failed
• Russia was not invited to the peace talks with
  Germany
• Russia was not asked to join the League of
  Nations
• Finally Britain recognised the Bolshevik
  government as the legal government of Russia
• France, Italy and others soon followed
• Exchange of ambassadors treaties were signed

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RELATIONS WITH GERMANY
Germany wants revenge and we want revolution. For
the moment our aims are the same . . . but when
our ways part, they will be our most ferocious
enemies. Time will tell whether a German hegemony
or a Communist federation is to arise out of the
ruins of Europe.
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RELATIONS WITH GERMANY

• Best relations with Germany
• Shared similar characteristics
• Isolated and criticized by the international
  community
• Russia communism Germany - WWI
• Bad terms with Britain and France
• Gave them something in common
• 1922 Treaty of Rapallo
• Promised to be on friendly terms with each other
• Lasted for much for the 1920s

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

• Information and image sources
• Moreira J., World in Transition Perspectives on
  Modern World History, Singapore SNP Education
  Pte Ltd, 2000.
• Kelly N. and Shuter J., As It Was Lived A
  History of the Modern World, Singapore Pearson
  Education Asia Pte Ltd, 2000.
• Lim S H, Tham Y P, Wang Z and Yeo L, Inroads
  Modern World History, Singapore Oxford
  University Press, 2000.
• Tate N., A History of the Modern World, Singapore
  Federal Publications, 1995.