In GCSE History students will look at Russia in the first half of the 20th Century. One aspect of this is the foreign policy of Stalin's Russia prior to the Second World War.
Stalin's Russia was an international pariah, such was the fear of communism in much of the rest of the world. However, after Hitler's takeover of power in 1933, Stalin's foreign policy changed and he was anxious to establish alliances to deter a German attack. Eventually Stalin decided to do a deal with Hitler, but the deal was shattered when Hitler attacked in 1941.
Learn about the foreign policy of the Soviet Union in the run-up to World War II in this quiz.
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By 1924 the Bolshevik government seemed to be entrenched in power, and the European political and economic situation seemed to be settling down. Why not recognise the USSR, if only further to encourage trade?
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Ideally Litvinov wanted agreements with major powers, but sometimes he had to be content with weaker states
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Litvinov persuaded Stalin that the advent of fascism (Mussolini had been in power since 1922, and Hitler since the previous year) could best be countered by international co-operation around the principle of collective security. However, Stalin was quite capable of changing his mind if international action seemed not to work
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A change of Foreign Commissar would most likely lead to a change in foreign policy, but the cynical Stalin could always revert to the previous policy, if Litvinov's successor failed to deliver the goods
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This deal stunned the rest of the world. Now Hitler could attack Poland - his next target - with impunity
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The August deal with Germany gave Stalin a free hand in much of Eastern Europe
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Stalin's forces, weakened by the recent purge of senior officers, had difficulty in defeating a much smaller Finnish army. Before succumbing to an inevitable defeat, the Finns surrounded and destroyed several Russian regiments
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Stalin was unlikely to respect the terms of the 1928 agreement, which he felt had been superseded by the August 1939 pact
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Hitler saw this invasion (in full breach of the understanding reached with Stalin two years before) as in keeping with traditional Teutonic (German) hostility to the "barbarian" Slavs in the East
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The old adage, "My enemy's enemy is my friend", seemed to apply on this occasion
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