OCR Specification focus:
‘the relations between Russia and the rest of Europe to 1941, including the Nazi-Soviet Pact’
The relationship between Russia and Europe in the interwar years was marked by suspicion, pragmatism, ideological conflict, and shifting alliances, culminating in the Nazi-Soviet Pact.
Russia and Europe after the First World War
Following the Russian Revolution (1917), Russia became the Soviet Union (USSR) under Bolshevik rule. The new communist state was regarded with deep suspicion by European powers.
Many governments feared the spread of revolutionary socialism.
Russia was excluded from the Paris Peace Conference (1919), leaving it isolated.
The USSR faced a policy of “cordon sanitaire”, with neighbouring states encouraged to resist Bolshevism.
Cordon Sanitaire: A policy of creating a buffer zone of anti-communist states around the Soviet Union to contain the spread of Bolshevism.
Despite exclusion, Soviet diplomacy sought recognition and trade, which gradually improved relations with some European states.
The 1920s: Isolation and Limited Cooperation
Treaty of Rapallo (1922)
One of the first breakthroughs came with Germany. At Rapallo, the USSR and Germany normalised relations.
Both powers were outsiders: Germany isolated by Versailles, the USSR by revolution.
The treaty re-established diplomatic ties and promoted economic cooperation.
Secret military collaboration developed, with Germany using Soviet territory for training.
This cooperation alarmed Western powers, highlighting the fragile balance of post-war diplomacy.
Soviet Relations with Britain and France
Britain signed a Trade Agreement (1921), marking cautious engagement.
Relations fluctuated, with tensions over Soviet propaganda and espionage.
France remained hostile, fearing communism’s spread into Eastern Europe.
The 1930s: Soviet Foreign Policy and the Rise of Fascism
The Impact of the Great Depression
The Great Depression (1929) destabilised Europe and encouraged the rise of extremist regimes. The USSR, under Stalin, sought both security and international recognition.
The USSR joined the League of Nations (1934), aiming to work for collective security.
France signed the Franco-Soviet Pact (1935), pledging mutual assistance against aggression.
Collective Security: The principle that states should work together to resist aggression and maintain peace, often through international organisations like the League of Nations.
Despite these moves, trust remained limited. Many European states still regarded communism as a threat, while the USSR distrusted Western motives.
The Rise of Nazi Germany
The emergence of Hitler as German Chancellor in 1933 transformed Soviet diplomacy.
Nazi ideology defined communism as an enemy.
Hitler’s foreign policy of Lebensraum (living space) posed a direct threat to Soviet security.
Stalin feared encirclement by hostile capitalist and fascist powers.
The Spanish Civil War (1936–1939)
The Spanish Civil War provided a testing ground for Soviet involvement in Europe.
The USSR supported the Republicans, sending arms and advisers.
Germany and Italy backed Franco’s Nationalists, worsening Soviet-Western relations.
Britain and France adopted non-intervention, frustrating Stalin, who believed they were appeasing fascism.
This deepened Soviet distrust of Western democracies and encouraged Stalin to consider alternative alliances.
The Road to the Nazi-Soviet Pact
Failed Negotiations with Britain and France
As tensions rose in the late 1930s, Stalin explored alliances against Germany.
Talks with Britain and France in 1939 were slow and indecisive.
Stalin doubted Western commitment, particularly after the Munich Agreement (1938), where Czechoslovakia was sacrificed to Hitler without Soviet input.
The Nazi-Soviet Pact (1939)
In August 1939, the USSR shocked the world by signing the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact with Nazi Germany.
The pact was officially a non-aggression treaty.
A secret protocol divided Eastern Europe into spheres of influence.
Map showing the German and Soviet spheres of influence created by the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact and the border changes that followed in 1939–1940. It clarifies how Poland was partitioned and why the Baltic states and Bessarabia came under Soviet control. Source
Poland was partitioned; the USSR gained the Baltic states and parts of Romania.
Nazi-Soviet Pact (Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact): A non-aggression agreement between Germany and the USSR signed in August 1939, with secret clauses dividing Eastern Europe between them.
This agreement gave Hitler security to invade Poland, directly triggering the Second World War. For Stalin, it bought time to strengthen Soviet defences.
Relations 1939–1941
The Nazi-Soviet Pact created a temporary partnership:
Economic agreements saw the USSR supply Germany with raw materials.
The USSR occupied Eastern Poland (1939), annexed the Baltic states (1940), and fought the Winter War against Finland (1939–40).
Relations grew strained as Hitler prepared for Operation Barbarossa (1941), the invasion of the USSR.
By June 1941, German aggression ended cooperation, and the USSR entered the war against Germany, shifting alliances dramatically once again.
Key Themes in Soviet-European Relations
Ideological mistrust: Communism vs capitalism and fascism created deep suspicion.
Shifting alliances: The USSR moved between isolation, cooperation with the West, and ultimately alignment with Nazi Germany.
Realpolitik: Stalin prioritised survival and security over ideology, exemplified by the Nazi-Soviet Pact.
Impact on Europe: Soviet policy directly shaped the outbreak and early stages of the Second World War.
FAQ
The Treaty of Rapallo (1922) set a precedent for pragmatic collaboration between two isolated states. Secret military training and industrial exchanges fostered mutual dependence.
This history of cooperation made it easier for both sides to consider a non-aggression agreement in 1939, despite ideological hostility.
Although membership offered international legitimacy, Stalin doubted the League’s willingness to protect Soviet interests.
The League’s failures in Manchuria and Abyssinia suggested weakness.
Western powers often prioritised their own security over collective action.
Stalin feared the USSR might be used as a “shield” against Germany while Britain and France avoided direct commitments.
The Baltic states (Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania) were strategically vital as access points to the sea and buffers against German invasion.
Under the Nazi-Soviet Pact’s secret protocol, these states fell into the Soviet sphere of influence. By 1940, the USSR occupied and annexed them, extending its borders westwards.
The Soviet attack on Finland in 1939 drew widespread international condemnation.
The USSR was expelled from the League of Nations in December 1939.
Western democracies saw the war as evidence of Soviet aggression rather than defence.
This damaged potential trust between the USSR and Britain or France, reinforcing the divide that made the Nazi-Soviet Pact appear logical.
The pact united two regimes seen as bitter ideological enemies.
Communism and Nazism were supposedly irreconcilable.
Britain and France expected Stalin to align against Hitler, not with him.
The secrecy of the territorial protocol, later revealed, intensified the shock, as it exposed cynical power politics over ideological principle.
Practice Questions
Question 1 (2 marks)
Name one European state with which the Soviet Union signed a treaty of cooperation during the 1920s, and state the year it was signed
Mark scheme:
1 mark for correctly identifying a European state (e.g. Germany).
1 mark for correctly identifying the year (e.g. 1922).
Question 2 (6 marks)
Explain two reasons why Stalin signed the Nazi-Soviet Pact in 1939.
Mark scheme:
Up to 3 marks for each explained reason (2 marks for identification, 1 mark for clear explanation).
Examples of acceptable reasons:
To gain time to prepare Soviet defences (identification: 2 marks; explanation that it delayed a likely German attack, allowing rearmament: +1 mark).
To secure territorial gains in Eastern Europe (identification: 2 marks; explanation that the secret protocol gave the USSR the Baltic states and part of Poland: +1 mark).
To avoid isolation after the failure of negotiations with Britain and France (identification: 2 marks; explanation that Stalin doubted Western commitment to resisting Hitler: +1 mark).
Maximum: 6 marks.
