Attempts by the Soviet leadership to create a system of collective security. Attempts to create a system of collective security. Creation of a peaceful space in the CIS
COLLECTIVE SECURITY SYSTEM - a state of international relations that excludes a violation of world peace or the creation of a threat to the security of peoples in any form and is implemented by the efforts of states on a global or regional scale.
Ensuring collective security is based on the principles of peaceful coexistence, equality and equal security, on respect for the sovereignty and borders of states, mutually beneficial cooperation and military detente.
The question of creating a collective security system was first raised in 1933-1934. at the negotiations of the USSR and France on the conclusion of a multilateral regional European treaty of mutual assistance (later called the Eastern Pact) and the negotiations between the USSR and the US government on the conclusion of a regional Pacific pact with the participation of the USSR, the USA, China, Japan and other states.
However, in Europe, persistent opposition from Great Britain, the maneuvers of the French government trying to reach an agreement with Germany, and the tricks of A. Hitler, who demanded equal rights for Germany in the field of weapons, all this frustrated the conclusion of a regional pact and the discussion of the issue of collective security resulted in a fruitless discussion.
The growing threat of aggression from Hitler's Germany forced the USSR and France to start creating a collective security system with the conclusion of the Soviet-French agreement on mutual assistance (May 2, 1935). Although it did not envisage the automatic action of the obligations of mutual assistance in the event of an unspoken attack from any European state and was not accompanied by a military convention on the specific forms, conditions and amounts of military assistance, nevertheless it was the first step in organizing a collective security system
On May 16, 1935, the Soviet-Czechoslovak agreement on mutual assistance was signed. However, in it, the possibility of providing Czechoslovakia with assistance from the USSR, as well as Czechoslovak assistance to the Soviet Union, was limited by the indispensable condition for extending a similar obligation to France.
On Far East The USSR proposed to conclude a Pacific regional pact of the USSR, the USA, China and Japan in order to prevent the aggressive designs of Japanese militarism. It was supposed to sign a non-aggression pact and non-provision of assistance to the aggressor. Initially, the United States welcomed the project positively, but, in turn, suggested expanding the membership of the pact to include Great Britain, France and Holland.
However, the British government evaded a clear answer on the creation of a Pacific regional security pact, as it condoned Japanese aggression. The Kuomintang government of China did not show sufficient activity in supporting the Soviet proposal, as it hoped for an agreement with Japan. Given the growth of Japanese arms, the United States embarked on a naval arms race, declaring that "there is no faith pact" and that only a strong fleet is an effective guarantor of security. As a result, by 1937, negotiations on the conclusion of a regional pact to collectively ensure peace in the Far East had reached an impasse.
In the second half of the 1930s. the question of the collective security system was repeatedly discussed at the Council of the League of Nations in connection with the Italian attack on Ethiopia (1935), the introduction of German troops into the demilitarized Rhineland (1936), the discussion on changing the regime of the Black Sea Straits (1936) and the safety of navigation in the Mediterranean ( 1937).
The Western Powers' policy of "appeasing" Germany and inciting it against the USSR on the eve of World War II 1939-1945. led to the dragging out by the British and French governments of negotiations on concluding an agreement with the USSR on mutual assistance and on a military convention in the event of an attack on one of the three countries. Poland and Romania also showed reluctance to help organize a collective rebuff to the fascist aggression. Fruitless negotiations between the military missions of the USSR, Great Britain and France (Moscow, August 13-17, 1939) were the last attempt in the interwar period to create a system of collective security in Europe.
In the post-war period, to maintain peace and international security the United Nations was created. However, the achievement of the collective security system was made difficult by the deployment of “ cold war"And the creation of two opposing military-political groupings - NATO and the Internal Affairs Directorate. At the 1955 Geneva meeting, the USSR introduced a draft of the Common European Treaty on Collective Security, which stipulated that the states participating in military-political blocs would undertake obligations not to use armed force against each other. However, the Western powers rejected this offer.
The relaxation of international tension achieved in the second half of the 1960s and the first half of the 1970s contributed to the creation of political guarantees for international security. An important outcome in this process was in August 1975 the Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe (CSCE, since 1990 - ). The "Final Act ..." of the CSCE included a Declaration of Principles for Relations between States: Sovereign Equality; non-use of force or threat of force; territorial integrity of states; peaceful settlement of disputes; non-interference in the internal affairs of other states; development of mutually beneficial cooperation in the political, economic, cultural and humanitarian spheres. The implementation of these principles in practice opens up wide opportunities for solving the most important international task - the consolidation of peace and security of peoples.
Orlov A.S., Georgieva N.G., Georgiev V.A. Historical Dictionary... 2nd ed. M., 2012, p. 228-229.
The situation in the world changed dramatically after the establishment of the fascist dictatorship in Germany. 30
january 1933
The National Socialist Party, headed by Adolf Hitler, came to power in this country. The new German government put forward as its task the revision of the results of the First World War. The geopolitical theory of the "struggle for living space" has become widespread. “We stop the eternal onslaught of the Germans to the South and West of Europe and turn our gaze to the lands in the East ... But if we are talking about new lands in Europe today, then we can think first of all only about Russia and its subordinate border states”, - A. Hitler set out his program in the book "Mein Kampf". In October 1933
d. Germany withdrew from the League of Nations and embarked on a militaristic policy. In March 1935
she refused to comply with the articles of the Treaty of Versailles, which prohibited the country from having military aircraft, introduced universal military service, and in September 1936
The city adopted a "four-year plan" for the militarization of the entire economy.
Thus, in the first half of the 30s. a new, most dangerous focus of the world war has emerged in Europe. This aroused concern not only in the USSR, but also in other European states, over which the threat of fascist aggression hung, and above all France.
In October 1933
France spoke in favor of concluding a treaty of mutual assistance with the USSR in addition to the non-aggression pact 1932
g., as well as for the entry of the Soviet Union into the League of Nations. 12
december 1933
The Politburo of the Central Committee of the All-Union Communist Party of Bolsheviks, proceeding from the general political line of the Soviet state, decided to launch the struggle for collective security in Europe. The plan for the creation of a collective security system provided for the USSR joining the League of Nations, concluding within its framework a regional agreement on mutual protection against aggression from Germany with the participation of the USSR, France, Belgium, Czechoslovakia, Poland, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia and Finland or some of them, but with the obligatory participation of France and Poland; negotiations to clarify the obligations of the parties to the future agreement on mutual assistance, upon presentation by France as the initiator of the entire case of the draft agreement. Introduced in April 1934
by the French side, the draft plan for organizing a regional collective security system provided for the conclusion of two agreements: the Eastern Pact with the participation of the USSR, Germany, Poland, Czechoslovakia, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Finland, which would oblige them not to attack each other, and the Soviet-French a mutual assistance pact. Thus, a formal connection was established between the two systems - Locarno and East European, for it was meant that in this case the USSR would act as the guarantor of the first, and France - the second.
However, Germany's categorical refusal, Poland's opposition, Britain's resistance led to the failure of this project. The Soviet Union and France reached an understanding in reaching another agreement - on mutual assistance, which was signed in Paris 2
may 1935
d. According to the agreement, the parties undertook to immediately begin consultations in the event of a threat or danger of attack on one of them by any European state. The most important in the treaty was Article 2, which obliged both sides to provide immediate assistance and support to the one that would be the target of an unspoken attack by a third European power. The most important disadvantage of this treaty was that it was not accompanied by any military agreements. The treaty made it possible for other countries to join it. But this was done only by Czechoslovakia, signing 16
may 1935
Mr. pact, identical to the Soviet-French. At the same time, at the insistence of the Czechoslovak side, the wording of the article was changed 2
document. It provided for mutual assistance to each other only if France came to the rescue
victim of aggression.
Their desire to "be guided in mutual relations by the spirit of cooperation and loyal fulfillment of their obligations", the interest of both sides in strengthening collective security was stated in the final communiqué following the visit to Moscow of the British
minister A. Eden. This was the first visit to the Soviet Union of a member of the British government for 18
years of the existence of Soviet power.
The whole course of development of international relations in the first half of the 30s. on the agenda was the question of the USSR joining the League of Nations. French diplomacy has done a lot of preparatory work in this direction. AND 15
september 1934
g. 30
members of the League of Nations appealed to the Soviet government with an invitation to join this organization. 18
september The 15th session of the Assembly by a majority of votes (against - Holland, Portugal, Switzerland) admitted the USSR to the League of Nations.
The struggle against the spread of fascist aggression and for collective security is becoming the main direction of the Soviet Union's activities in the League of Nations. When fascist Italy in October 1935
Since the beginning of the war against Ethiopia, the USSR not only insisted on the application of sanctions against Italy, but also consistently implemented them. The Soviet Union was the only state to support Ethiopia's independence.
7 martha 1936
g. german troops entered the Rhine demilitarized zone. On the same day, Germany announced its rejection of the Locarno agreements. England and France confined themselves to this only verbal protest. At the session of the Council of the League of Nations, the USSR demanded that the German aggressor be curbed and that international treaties be inviolable.
8 Europe began to develop an anti-fascist movement. Held in July-August 1935
g. Vii the congress of the Comintern outlined a new strategic orientation, radically changed its previous line, although the inviolability of the previous attitudes was emphasized in the printed and oral propaganda of those years. The Congress raised the issue of cooperation with the Social Democracy in countering fascism, substantiated the policy of a broad popular front in the struggle to preserve peace.
From that moment on, the struggle against fascism and war dominated the activities of the Comintern.
In the second half of the 30s. the international events associated with the Spanish Civil War became especially acute. 16
february 1936
In the elections to the Cortes of Spain, the left-wing parties that entered the Popular Front won. The Spanish military elite, with the support of the country's right-wing forces, began to prepare a revolt against the Popular Front government.
It started on the night of 18
july 1936
The rebellion was headed by General F. Franco. A civil war broke out in the country. The rebels turned to Rome and Berlin for help and received it instantly - with august 1936
the regular supply of weapons began. Over time, they become more and more large-scale, and by the middle of autumn of the same year, Italian and German troops appear in Spain.
The intervention of the fascist powers, in addition to destroying the republican left forces in Spain, pursued the goal of establishing control over the strategic routes connecting the Atlantic with the Mediterranean Sea, Great Britain and France with their colonies; creating the possibility of using the raw materials of the Iberian Peninsula; transformation of Spain into a springboard in case of war with England and France. In addition, the struggle of the powers in the Mediterranean was beneficial to A. Hitler in the sense that it allowed Germany to engage in rearmament and preparation for war. Already in the fall 1936
On the side of F. Franco fought the 50 thousandth Italian expeditionary force, the German air corps "Condor", numbering more 100
aircraft and about 10
thousand German military personnel (pilots and service personnel, tank, anti-aircraft and anti-aircraft units). In total, in the three years of the war, Spain was sent 250
thousand Italian and about 50
thousand German soldiers.
Despite the direct threat to Great Britain and France in the event of the establishment of Italian German control over the Iberian Peninsula, London and Paris did not oppose the rebels and interventionists in the fight against the "red danger" in Spain. The French government declared its neutrality, banned the import of weapons into Spain and closed the Franco-Spanish border. On the initiative of the governments of France and England, an agreement was reached on non-interference in the affairs of Spain. To monitor the implementation of this agreement 26
august 1936
in London, a non-intervention committee was established from representatives 27
European states. He started his activity 9
September. There were endless discussions in the Committee about plans to control the Spanish borders, the appearance of active work was created, but no concrete decision was made to force the fascist Powers to withdraw troops from Spain and stop helping the rebels.
7 october 1936
The Soviet government made a statement to the chairman of the Committee on Non-Intervention, in which it pointed to the ongoing assistance to the rebels from the fascist states. The Soviet government warned that "unless the violations of the non-intervention agreement are immediately stopped, it will consider itself free from the obligations arising from the agreement."
On the eve of this statement - 29
september 1936
- The Politburo of the Central Committee of the All-Union Communist Party (Bolsheviks) approved a plan of measures to help Spain. It provided for the creation of special firms abroad for the purchase and dispatch of weapons and ammunition to Spain. Provided for deliveries from the Soviet Union of military equipment on a commercial basis at the expense of the Spanish gold reserves delivered to the USSR (from 635
tons of gold from Spain were deposited in the State Bank of the USSR 510). In general, Soviet military supplies in financial terms amounted to 202.4 million US dollars. FROM october 1936
from January 1939
USSR delivered to Spain 648
aircraft, 347
tanks, 60
armored vehicles, 1186
guns, 20.5 thousand machine guns, about 500
thousand rifles, a large amount of ammunition. In autumn 1938
the Republican government of Spain was granted a loan in the amount of 85
USD million. Soviet people collected 56
million rubles to the fund to help the Spanish Republic.
Military specialists and advisers (about 3000 people) were sent to Spain. The main military adviser to the republican government was P.I. Berzin. Military advisers in units and formations were R. Ya. Malinovsky, K.A. Meretskov, P.I. Batov, N.N. Voronov and others.
The Comintern helped the Spanish Republic by organizing international brigades. They were attended by 42
thousand volunteers from 54
countries, and they played a big role in the fight against fascism on Spanish soil.
Attempts by Soviet diplomacy with the help of the international community to stop the intervention of Italy and Germany in the civil war in Spain, to break the military-economic blockade of the republic were unsuccessful. The policy of "appeasement" followed by the leading Western powers, staunch anti-communism and fear of the Bolshevization of Spain kept Britain and France from taking action against Franco with the Soviet Union.
The intervention of Germany and Italy in Spain hastened the formation of the military bloc of the fascist powers. 25
october 1936
In Berlin, an agreement was signed, which marked the beginning of the existence of the "Berlin-Rome axis". The parties agreed on the delimitation of their economic interests in Europe, on joint actions in Spain, on the recognition of the government of f. Franco. A month later, the Japanese-German "anti-Comintern pact" was concluded. The parties undertook to inform each other about the activities of the Comintern and to wage a joint struggle against it. The secret supplement to the pact stated that in the event of a war of one of the parties with the USSR, the other should not help alleviate its situation.
Germany and Japan pledged not to enter into political agreements with the USSR that contradict the pact. 6
november 1937
Italy joined the "anti-Comintern pact". Thus, a military alliance of aggressive powers was created, directed not only against the USSR, but also against other states; an alliance that aimed to redraw the world map through war.
The initiatives of the Soviet Union in organizing collective defense against aggression were not limited only to the borders of the European continent. In the end 1933
The Soviet government put forward a proposal to collectively stop the dangerous development of events in the Far East by concluding a non-aggression pact and not providing assistance to the aggressor. The USA, USSR, China and Japan, the largest powers with interests in the Pacific Ocean region, were to become parties to such an agreement. US President F. Roosevelt spoke in favor of a multilateral Pacific Pact with the annexation of England, France and Holland. But this proposal did not receive its further development, and subsequently the Western powers and Kuomintang China lost interest in it, although the Soviet Union for four years, up to the middle 1937
G., took all possible measures to get things moving forward with the conclusion of the Pacific Pact.
The policy of "appeasement" pursued by Britain, France and the United States ultimately contributed to the expansion of Japanese aggression in Asia and, in particular, in the Far East. Time and time there were armed incidents on the Far Eastern borders of the USSR. Keeping peaceful relations with Japan became increasingly difficult. IN 1935
The Japanese government once again refused to accept the Soviet proposal to conclude a non-aggression pact. In February 1936
g. Serious armed clashes broke out on the Mongol-Manchu border. At the same time, it was decided to formalize the allied relations between the MPR and the SSR in an official protocol to warn the Japanese military. The Mutual Assistance Protocol was signed 12
martha 1936
g.
In summer 1937
The situation in the Far East became more complicated again. 7
july Japan continued the war against China and in a short time occupied its northern, central and southern provinces - the most economically developed. There was no international response to Japanese aggression. The League of Nations did not take any action, although the Soviet Union encouraged it to do so. The USSR was the only country that provided real support to China. 21
august 1937
The Soviet Union and China signed a non-aggression pact. China received from the USSR not only political, but also material support. During 1938-1939. The Soviet Union provided China with loans in the amount of 250
USD million; supplied weapons and equipment. China was supplied 1235
aircraft, 1600
artillery pieces, over 14
thousand machine guns, a large number of tanks, trucks, gasoline, ammunition. To the beginning 1939
g. there were 3665 Soviet military specialists.
Soviet-Japanese relations in the late 30s. became very tense. 15
july 1938
d. Japan, through its embassy in Moscow, made claims to the Soviet government for a number of heights in the area of \u200b\u200bLake Khasan, stating that if these demands were not met, force would be used. These demands were rejected, and the People's Commissariat of the USSR presented the Japanese Embassy with documents confirming that these heights belonged to Russia, according to the designation of the border line according to the Hunchun Agreement with China. 1886
g.
29 july Japanese Manchu troops invaded Soviet territory in the area of \u200b\u200bLake Khasan. Repeated attacks were undertaken by them up to 10
August, but did not lead to success. The clashes near Lake Khasan were associated with significant casualties on both sides. The Soviet troops lost 2,172 people in these battles, the Japanese - 1,400. The events at Lake Khasan were the first major act of Japanese aggression against the Soviet Union on the eve of World War II. 11
august 1938
d. Japan was forced to conclude an agreement to eliminate the conflict.
However, the tense situation in the Far East continued to persist. Japan made claims to part of the territory of the MPR, to the eastern bank of the Khalkhin Gol River, demanding to move the border to 20
km to the west, on the channel of Khalkhin Gol. 11
may 1939
g.
mongolian border guards were attacked by Japanese soldiers and 28
may Japan threw large forces of regular troops against the Mongolian People's Republic. To the middle august Japanese troops, brought together in the 6th Army, totaled 75
thousand people, 182
tank, more 500
guns, about 350
aircraft. In accordance with the treaty on mutual assistance, the Soviet government provided support to the Mongolian People's Republic. In the course of fierce four-month battles, parts of the Japanese army were defeated. The total losses of the Japanese were 61
thousand people (the Red Army - 20
801). As a result of negotiations 15
september 1939
In Moscow, an agreement was signed between the USSR, Mongolia and Japan on the elimination of the conflict near the Khalkhin Gol River.
Along with the aggravation of the situation in the Far East, the danger of fascist aggression in Europe increased. The policy of non-intervention and connivance on the part of the Western powers allowed Germany to proceed to acts of direct aggression. 12
martha 1938
The Nazis occupied Austria. The Soviet government's proposal for collective action in order to halt the further development of aggression did not meet with the support of other states.
After the annexation of Austria to the Nazi Reich, the German General Staff began direct preparations for the seizure of Czechoslovakia, where along the border with Germany, in the Sudetenland, lived a fairly large number of German population, among whom the Nazis incited a violent separatist campaign. Berlin hoped that neither Great Britain nor France would provide assistance to Czechoslovakia.
22 martha 1938
The British government sent a note to France in which it announced that the latter could not count on British assistance in case of entering the war in order to support Czechoslovakia. France, in spite of the fact that it had an agreement with Czechoslovakia on mutual assistance, considered the fulfillment of its obligations possible only if Great Britain would simultaneously act in its defense. By this time, the French government had virtually completely abandoned the conduct of an independent foreign policy and obediently followed in the wake of British policy.
N. Chamberlain's government tried to come to an agreement with the Itler at the expense of Czechoslovakia. 19
september 1938
England and France demanded from the government of Czechoslovakia to satisfy the claims of A. Hitler about the transfer to the fascist Reich
Sudetenland. To resolve this issue, London put forward the idea of \u200b\u200bconvening a conference of four powers: Great Britain, France, Germany and Italy.
The position of the USSR was completely different. The Soviet government has repeatedly declared to the governments of Czechoslovakia, as well as France and Great Britain, that it is fully determined to fulfill its obligations under the Soviet-Czech treaty of mutual assistance. Being in the middle may 1938
in Geneva (in connection with the session of the Council of the League of Nations), People's Commissar for Foreign Affairs of the USSR M.M. Litvinov, during a conversation with the French minister, put forward a proposal that representatives of the French, Soviet and Czechoslovak general staffs discuss specific military measures to be taken by the three countries. France did not respond to this critical initiative.
In a conversation with the French Chargé d'Affaires of the USSR J. Payard 2
september 1938
M.M. Litvinov, on behalf of the Soviet government, declared: "Subject to assistance from France, we are determined to fulfill all our obligations under the Soviet-Czech-Slovak Pact, using all the paths available to us for this." 20
september the position of the Soviet Union was also brought to the attention of the government of Czechoslovakia in response to a request from President E. Benes, and 21
september M.M. Litvinov presented it at the Assembly of the League of Nations.
To provide assistance to Czechoslovakia, the Soviet Union took the necessary military measures. 21
september the order was given to bring to combat readiness a number of units and formations of the Red Army. IN total were put on alert and concentrated at the western borders of the USSR 40
rifle and cavalry divisions and 20
tank, motorized rifle and aviation brigades. An additional 328.7 thousand people were drafted into the Red Army, the dismissal of those who served the deadline was delayed. Last few days september in the Kiev, Belorussian and other military districts were put on alert yet 17
rifle divisions and 22
tank brigades.
The governments of France and Great Britain expressed doubts about the fighting efficiency of the Red Army, devastated by the purges of military personnel, and did not see how the Soviet Union would fulfill its obligations and how the Red Army would be able to participate in hostilities due to the refusal of Poland and Romania to pass it through their territory.
Britain and France continued to put pressure on Czechoslovakia to force it to accept the demand of A. Hitler. 21
september 1938
their envoys in Prague resolutely declared to the Czechoslovak government that if the Anglo-French proposals were rejected, France would not fulfill its allied obligations to Czechoslovakia. Britain and France also warned Czechoslovakia that they were categorically against accepting aid from the USSR. In the current situation, the government of E. Benes was forced to yield.
2930 september 1938
A conference of Great Britain, France, Germany and Italy was held in Munich, at which an agreement was signed on the seizure of the Sudetenland from Czechoslovakia, which passed to Germany, and some territories transferred to Poland and Hungary.
As a result of the Munich Agreement, Czechoslovakia lost about 20% of its territory, including extremely important economically areas. The most important transport routes of the country were cut by new borders. More than a million Czechs and Slovaks fell under German rule.
The Munich agreement caused a sharp weakening of the positions of France and Great Britain in Europe. In Munich, the system of military alliances concluded by France with other European states was essentially destroyed. In fact, the Soviet-French treaty of mutual assistance as a means of ensuring peace and security in Europe also ceased to exist. Hitlerite Germany got the opportunity for further expansion.
The Soviet Union clearly saw the danger associated with the Munich Agreement. The USSR was placed in a position of virtually complete international isolation. In October 1938
The French ambassador was recalled from Moscow, and the British one in November. In the capitals of Western countries, it was believed that from now on, German expansion would be directed to the east.
From the Munich Agreement, the Soviet leaders concluded that a “new imperialist war” for the redivision of the world had already begun, “became a fact,” although, as I.V. Stalin, "has not yet become a general, world war." This conclusion was formulated by V.M. Molotov in November 1938
g, and then developed I.V. Stalin in March 1939
at XVIII Congress of the CPSU (b). At the Congress it was noted that the main reason for the growing military danger in the world is the refusal of many countries, primarily England and France, from the policy of collective security, collective rebuff to the aggressors and their transition to a position of non-interference. Such a policy encouraged and pushed Hitlerite Germany and its allies to new aggressive actions.
On the night 15
martha 1939
Mr. A. Hitler proclaimed the independence of Slovakia under the rule of a puppet government, and the Czech regions - Bohemia and Moravia in connection with the "disintegration of the Czechoslovak state" included in Germany as a protectorate. In the morning 15
martha German troops entered Prague.
Only the Soviet Union in a German note from 18
martha qualified the actions of the German government as arbitrary, violent and aggressive.
2 martha 1939
Under the threat of direct violence, an agreement was signed between Lithuania and Germany on the transfer of the last port of Klaipeda (which the Germans called Memel) and the adjacent territory.
In March-April 1939
Mr. A. Hitler sharply intensified diplomatic and military preparations for an attack on Poland.
21 martha Germany categorically declared its
tensions on Danzig (Gdansk), and also demanded from Poland
consent to the construction of an extraterritorial highway and
road to East Prussia through the so-called
"Polish corridor".
At the same time, it was developed and 11
april A. Hitler approved the Weiss plan - a plan for the military defeat of Poland. Italy was quick to take advantage of the atmosphere of impunity that had been created. 7
april 1939
d. her troops invaded Albania from the sea and occupied the whole country within a week. 14
april Albania was incorporated into the Kingdom of Italy.
18 april 1939
From the League of Nations, Horthy's Hungary defiantly left, which embarked on the path of increasingly active cooperation with Hitlerite Germany.
At the beginning may 1939
d. Germany put forward a demand to return its former colonies, taken by Britain and France after the First World War. Then another important event happened -
22 may 1939
g. between Germany and Italy was concluded
military-political alliance treaty, called
The Steel Pact. Munich policy of England and France
failed completely.
Under the pressure of circumstances, England and France were forced to take a number of political steps to strengthen their military and international position. Their parliaments are deciding to increase defense spending. For the first time in peacetime in England, a universal conscription. 22
martha 1939
During a visit to Great Britain by the President of France, an agreement was reached on mutual assistance in the event of an attack by a third power.
In Martemay 1939
London and Paris provide guarantees to small European countries. Meanwhile, the West understood that without Soviet assistance, these guarantees would be ineffective. And Anglo-French diplomacy appeals to Moscow with a request to take upon itself, in turn, similar unilateral guarantees in relation to all countries that have already become the subject of the patronage of England and France.
Response Soviet proposals were presented 17
april 1939
d. Their essence boiled down to the following: the USSR, England and France must conclude an agreement for a period of 510
years with the obligation to assist each other in case one of the powers is subjected to aggression; contracting parties undertake to render all assistance to states of Eastern Europebordering the Soviet Union in case of aggression against them; the agreement must be signed simultaneously with the military convention, which will establish the forms and amounts of military assistance; all three governments must commit themselves not to conclude any separate peace in the event of war.
27 may followed by an Anglo-French response to the Soviet proposals. It spoke of the intention to conclude an agreement with the USSR on terms of reciprocity. However, the agreement was accompanied by such reservations and procedural subtleties that in fact immediately devalued these proposals. In addition, the question of a guarantee by Great Britain and France of the security of the Baltic states, which was essential for the USSR, remained open as before.
From the middle june 1939
The method of conducting Anglo-Franco-Soviet negotiations has changed somewhat. It was decided, instead of sending each other further proposals, to proceed to direct negotiations between the three powers in Moscow.
However, even at this stage of the negotiations, the British and French sides continued to hedge their proposals with reservations that did not correspond to the principle of reciprocity and were therefore unacceptable for the Soviet Union. It was not possible to reach agreement, in particular, on two key, from the point of view of the USSR, provisions - the signing simultaneously with the treaty of a military convention, without which the treaty itself remained ineffective, and the extension of guarantees to the Baltic states in the event of direct or indirect aggression against them. The formation of the coalition was also hindered by the position of the Polish government, which refused to grant Soviet troops the right to pass through its territory and opposed any alliance with the USSR. The Soviet side was also wary of the fact that very low-ranking British and French diplomats had been authorized to conduct negotiations in Moscow.
Seeking to use every opportunity to create an effective defensive alliance of the three powers against aggression in Europe, the Soviet leadership 23
july 1939
G. proposed to the governments of England and France to begin negotiations on military issues and send appropriate military missions to Moscow.
Military negotiations have begun 12
august 1939
The Soviet delegation was headed by the People's Commissar of Defense Marshal K.E. Voroshilov, the delegations of Western countries - persons who occupied a modest position in the leadership of their armed forces: the British - Admiral P. Drake, the French - General J. Dumenc. Both of them had only the right to negotiate, but were not authorized to sign any agreement.
Despite this position of the Western side, the Soviet delegation persistently sought the development and adoption of an agreed decision on the joint repulsion of aggression in Europe. 15
august she presented a detailed draft collective action plan. But neither the British nor the French missions had any military plan for joint operations against a common enemy and could not determine the forces and means put forward by the parties to the proposed convention. Western representatives were not even ready to answer the self-evident question of whether Soviet troops would be allowed in the event of hostilities to pass through Poland and Romania in order to come into contact with the German army.
The failure of the talks was predetermined by the lack of political desire in London and Paris to conclude a pact of the type proposed by the USSR. British diplomacy, as documents later confirmed, intended primarily to take advantage of the threat of an alliance with the USSR in order to contain Hitler's claims and thereby create the preconditions for a general Anglo-German agreement.
Anglo-German negotiations on a wide range of political and economic problems began at the initiative of the British side in June 1939
d. They took place in the strictest secrecy and continued until the very beginning of the war. They discussed the conclusion of a non-aggression pact between England and Germany, an agreement providing for the non-interference of Great Britain in matters related to the implementation of German claims to "living space" in Eastern, Central and Southeastern Europe, in exchange for Germany's non-interference in the affairs of the British Empire; withdrawal by the UK from all warranty obligations in relation to European partners; refusal to negotiate with the USSR and putting pressure on France in order to withdraw it from the system of treaties with other European countries. The economic program proposed by the UK was aimed at concluding agreements on foreign trade, the use of sources of raw materials, etc.
N. Chamberlain's government was ready to agree to a new agreement with Germany, but in the summer 1939
d. the Hitlerites were no longer striving for a compromise. By this time, a decision was made in Berlin to unleash a war against England, France and Poland as a priority, and preparations for it were already in full swing.
At the same time, the German leadership was well aware that all its plans could be thwarted if an effective agreement on mutual assistance was signed between Great Britain, France and the Soviet Union. Entering summer 1939
In secret negotiations with the British government, Hitler's Diplomacy, supporting the hope of the ruling circles of Great Britain to reach an agreement with Germany, thereby pushed the governments of Chamberlain and Daladier to disrupt the Anglo-Franco-Soviet negotiations.
The ineffectiveness of trilateral negotiations in the conditions of the approaching war between Germany and Poland every day with increasing certainty confronted the USSR with the prospect of international isolation. At the same time, as the date of the attack on Poland set by A. Hitler approached, German diplomacy began to make more and more persistent efforts to get closer to the USSR.
In May 1939
Berlin began to probe the ground for the improvement of German-Soviet relations on condition that the Soviet Union refused to cooperate with Britain and France. The USSR made it clear that it does not intend to change its positions on the issue of collective security. 3
august 1939
Mr. I. Ribbentrop, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Germany, proposed to sign the corresponding Soviet-German protocol, which would settle "to mutual satisfaction" all controversial issues "along the entire space from the Black to the Baltic Seas." The Soviet reaction was cautious: agreement in principle to negotiate, but gradual in improving relations. Having learned about the sending of French and British military missions to Moscow, the German side made it clear that an agreement with Germany on a number of territorial and economic issues would be in the interests of the Soviet leadership. 14
august I. Ribbentrop announced his readiness to arrive in Moscow to clarify German-Soviet relations.
The demands of the Soviet side in connection with this statement were: the conclusion of a non-aggression pact, Germany's influence on Japan to improve Soviet-Japanese relations and eliminate border conflicts, a general guarantee to the Baltic states.
16 august I. Ribbentrop sends a new telegram to Moscow, which says about Germany's consent to accept Soviet demands.
In the reply of the USSR People's Commissar for Foreign Affairs V.M. Molotov spoke about the readiness of the Soviet Union to improve bilateral relations. But first, economic and credit agreements must be signed, and then, after a short time, a non-aggression pact. Agreeing in principle with I. Ribbentrop's visit to Moscow, V.M. Molotov noted that it takes some time to prepare for his arrival.
19 august the German government signs the 1938
d. a trade agreement highly beneficial to the Soviet Union. It provided for the expansion of trade and credit in 200
million Reichsmarks at a very small percentage. The approaching date for the start of the war with Poland (it was previously appointed for 26
august 1939
G.) forced A. Hitler to speed up the achievement of an agreement with the Soviet Union. 20
august he refers directly to I.V. Stalin with a request to immediately receive the German Foreign Minister. On the same day, the Soviet government agreed.
Soviet-German non-aggression pact was signed in Moscow 23
august 1939
d. Its action was calculated on 10
years, and it took effect immediately. It was accompanied by a secret protocol, the existence of which the USSR denied until the summer 1989
d. The protocol delimited the "spheres of influence" of countries in Eastern Europe. The Soviet "sphere of interests" included the Baltic states, with the exception of Lithuania. After Germany's military invasion of Poland, the Belarusian and Ukrainian territories were to go to the USSR, the Soviet-German demarcation line was drawn along the Narew, Vistula and San rivers. The question of the advisability of maintaining an independent Polish state was to be decided by two parties in the future.
The news of the signing of the Soviet-German pact made a real sensation throughout the world. The general public was completely unprepared for such a development of events. Even in August 1939
When the German attack on Poland seemed inevitable, the conclusion of a military alliance between the USSR, England, France, Poland and, possibly, other European countries that had not yet become victims of aggression, could stop the war. For all the adventurousness of the Hitlerite regime, he would not have dared to fight against a coalition of countries superior to Germany in military strength. However, in that concrete historical situation, such an alliance on terms that suited everyone was impossible.
The exchange of views through diplomatic channels between Moscow, Paris and London, and then the negotiations of the military missions in Moscow showed that the aim of Western diplomacy is such an agreement that would not close the door to the subsequent search for a compromise with Germany, would not bind England and France in a clear and unambiguous obligations. In other words, it was about an agreement designed to become an instrument of pressure on Germany.
So in August 1939
d. the international position of the USSR was rather uncertain. However, German diplomacy found itself in an equally difficult situation. Without clarifying the position of the USSR, the Hitler regime could not decide to start a war in Europe. Under these conditions, A. Hitler was extremely interested in neutralizing the USSR. It seemed to the Soviet leadership that without risking anything, the USSR had an opportunity to expand its territory, to return what was lost in the Civil War. In fact, I.V. Stalin, making a deal with A. Hitler, gave the green light to the fascist aggression in Europe. He hoped that by guaranteeing Germany the neutrality of the USSR, he would push her to war with the West and gain time to further strengthen the USSR's defenses.
However, the pact with A. Hitler caused enormous damage to the prestige of the USSR. Soviet diplomacy, accusing Britain and France of intending to abandon the idea of \u200b\u200bcollective security in Europe, in behind-the-scenes contacts with A. Hitler itself carried out what it attributed to others, sharing "spheres of influence" with Germany. Essentially I.V. Stalin also accepted the German version of the reasons for the outbreak of World War II. In the note of the government of the USSR from 17
september responsibility for this was assigned to the ruling circles of Poland.
In the late 20s - early 30s. the international environment has changed. The deep world economic crisis, which began in 1929, caused serious internal political changes in all capitalist countries.
Thus, the international situation sharply aggravated after the National Socialist Party, headed by A. Hitler, came to power in Germany in 1933. The new government set itself the goal of reviewing the results of the First World War. As a country that lost the war, Germany had no right to have its own armed forces, but it refused to fulfill the terms of the Treaty of Versailles and in 1935 announced the creation of military aviation and the navy, introducing universal military service.
In 1933, the Soviet government developed a plan for the struggle for collective security, which provided for the conclusion of a regional agreement between European states on mutual protection against German aggression. In 1934, the USSR joined the League of Nations.
As a result of negotiations between the Minister of Foreign Affairs of France Louis Bartoux and the People's Commissar for Foreign Affairs of the USSR M.M. Litvinov, a draft Eastern Pact was developed, according to which the USSR, Poland, Latvia, Estonia, Lithuania and Finland form a system of collective security.
But, however, the Eastern Pact as a system of collective security was not implemented due to the opposition of Britain and the reactionary right circles of France. In 1935, the Soviet-French and Soviet-Czechoslovak agreements on mutual assistance were signed by the government of the USSR. In the event of an attack on one of them, the parties pledged to immediately render each other assistance.
In March 1936, an agreement was concluded with the Mongolian People's Republic, and in August 1937 - a non-aggression agreement between the USSR and China.
In 1935 Germany brought its troops into the demilitarized Rhineland, and in 1936 Germany and Japan signed an agreement against the USSR (Anti-Comintern Pact). In 1938 Germany annexed Austria.
During this time, the Western powers pursued a policy of concessions to Germany, hoping to direct their aggression to the East. It was no accident, therefore, was the signing between Germany, Italy, France and England of the Munich Agreement of 1938, according to which Czechoslovakia lost its independence.
In conditions when the negotiations of the USSR with Britain and France in 1939 reached a deadlock, the Soviet leadership accepted Germany's proposal for peace negotiations, as a result of which a Soviet-German non-aggression pact was concluded in Moscow in August 1939, which immediately entered into force and calculated for 10 years (the Ribbentrop-Molotov Pact).
A secret protocol on the delimitation of spheres of influence in Eastern Europe was attached to the treaty. The interests of the Soviet Union were recognized by Germany in the Baltic States (Latvia, Estonia, Finland) and Bessarabia.
Thus, the USSR was faced with an alternative: either to come to an agreement with Britain and France and create a system of collective security in Europe, or to conclude a pact with Germany, or to remain alone.
By signing a non-aggression pact with Germany in 1939, when military operations were taking place in the Far East, the USSR avoided a war on two fronts.
However, the pact did not give an opportunity to create a united anti-Soviet front in Europe.
On September 1, 1939, Germany attacked Poland. Great Britain and France declared war on Germany. Thus began the Second world War.
In the new international conditions, the USSR began to implement the Soviet-German agreements. On September 17, after the defeat of the Polish army by the Germans and the fall of the Polish government, the Red Army entered Western Belarus and Western Ukraine.
On September 28, 1939, the Soviet-German Treaty "On Friendship and Border" was concluded, which secured these lands as part of the Soviet Union. At the same time, the USSR insisted on concluding agreements with Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, gaining the right to deploy its troops on their territory. In these republics, in the presence of Soviet troops, legislative elections were held, which were won by the communist forces. In 1940 Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania became part of the USSR.
In October 1939, the USSR offered Finland to lease the Hanko Peninsula, which was important for our borders, for 30 years, to transfer the islands in the Gulf of Finland, part of the Rybachiy and Sredny peninsulas, and part of the Karelian Isthmus - in exchange for territory in Soviet Karelia.
However, the Finnish side did not accept the terms and the negotiations were interrupted. A military conflict broke out. The Soviet-Finnish war lasted 105 days, from November 30, 1939 to March 12, 1940.
Although this campaign ended with the victory of the USSR, allowed our country to strengthen its strategic positions in the north-west, to move the border away from Leningrad, it nevertheless inflicted political and moral damage on our country. World public opinion in this conflict was on the side of Finland, the prestige of the USSR fell noticeably. On December 14, 1939, the USSR was expelled from the League of Nations.
Summing up, it should be noted that the Soviet government played a significant role in the creation of collective security, which provided for the conclusion of a regional agreement between European states on mutual protection against German aggression. Thanks to this, the USSR joined the League of Nations.
However, the fact that the USSR entered the war with Finland, which lasted 105 days, and ended with the victory of the USSR, allowed our country to strengthen its strategic positions in the northwest, move the border away from Leningrad, nevertheless inflicting political and moral damage on the USSR.
It should be noted that world public opinion in this conflict was on the side of Finland, and therefore the prestige of the USSR dropped noticeably.
Soviet-German treaties of 1939: essence and meaning
In 1939, the following Soviet-German treaties were concluded.
Germany provided the USSR with a loan of 200 million German marks and undertook the obligation to supply the Soviet Union with machine tools and other plant equipment, as well as military equipment under this loan; at the same time, the USSR pledged to repay the loan with supplies of raw materials and foodstuffs.
- On February 11, 1940, an economic agreement was concluded to expand trade.
- On January 10, 1941, they signed an agreement on mutual trade deliveries until August 1942.
These agreements were important for both parties, since carried a serious economic and military-technical cooperation between Germany and the USSR. And treaties were in effect until the beginning of the Second World War.
A significant treaty was the treaty (September 28, 1939, the Treaty of Friendship and the Border Between the USSR and Germany.
This treaty made the demarcation between the USSR and Germany according to “ curzon lines", Thereby securing the liquidation of the Polish state.
The treaty of January 10, 1941 was the Treaty on the Soviet-German border from the Igorka River to the Baltic Sea; Agreement on the resettlement of Germans from the Lithuanian, Latvian and Estonian SSR to Germany with an agreement on the settlement of mutual property claims related to this resettlement.
We should also dwell on the agreement of August 23 1939 (Non-aggression pact between the USSR and Germany (Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact).
This treaty meant a sharp reorientation in the USSR's foreign policy towards rapprochement with Germany... The secret protocol to the treaty established the delimitation of the spheres of interests of the parties. Germany recognized the interests of the USSR in Latvia, Estonia, Eastern Poland, Finland, Bessarabia.
Incidentally, following the conclusion of the treaty on September 1, 1939, Germany attacked Poland, and on September 17 1939 the Red Army entered the territory of Eastern Poland, after which Western Ukraine and Western Belarus (1939), and later the Baltic States and Bessarabia 1940) were included in the USSR; at the end of 1939 the USSR attacked Finland, unleashing the Soviet-Finnish war.
“Both contracting parties undertake to refrain from any violence, from any aggressive action and any attack against each other, both separately and jointly with other powers:
In the event that one of the contracting parties becomes the object of military action by a third power, the other contracting party will not support this power in any form.
The governments of both contracting parties will remain in. future in mutual contact for consultation, to inform each other about issues affecting their common interests.
Neither of the contracting parties will participate in any grouping of powers that is directly or indirectly directed against the other party.
In the event of disputes or conflicts between the contracting parties on issues of one kind or another, both parties will resolve these disputes or conflicts exclusively in a peaceful way, in the manner of a friendly exchange of views or, if necessary, by creating a commission to resolve conflicts. "
This agreement was concluded for a period of ten years. On February 11, 1940, it was supplemented by a Soviet-German trade agreement.
This agreement was of great importance then.
His imprisonment overturned the designs of those reactionary diplomats of England and France, who, having isolated the USSR, provided it with obligations of mutual assistance, counted on directing German aggression against it. This was the greatest diplomatic achievement of the USSR government.
On the other hand, by signing a non-aggression pact with the Soviet Union, Hitler's Germany thereby demonstrated to the whole world its recognition of the might of the USSR and its fear of the possible participation of the Soviet state in the struggle against Germany on the side of the Anglo-French bloc.
So, of course, the treaty with Germany was by no means evidence of the Soviet government's excessive confidence in Nazi Germany. He did not weaken the vigilance of the Soviet government and its tireless concern for strengthening the defense capability of the USSR. "This treaty," said Comrade Molotov, "is backed by confidence in our real forces, in their full readiness in the event of any aggression against the USSR."
The conclusion of a non-aggression pact between the USSR and Germany sparked a new stormy campaign against the Soviet Union. The reactionary press in England and France screamed about the unnatural alliance between communism and fascism. And IA "Reuters" that the alleged Soviet government itself explained the break in negotiations with Britain and France by the fact that it had concluded an agreement with Germany.
In an interview published on August 27 in Izvestia, Voroshilov resolutely denied all these fabrications. “Not because,” he said, “the military negotiations with Britain and France were interrupted because the USSR concluded a non-aggression pact with Germany, but, on the contrary, the USSR concluded a non-aggression pact with Germany as a result, among other things, of the fact that military negotiations with France and England have reached a dead end due to insurmountable differences. "
So, it becomes clear that the Soviet-German treaties were important. They played a rather serious role in the economies of both countries, in the development of military-technical cooperation between Germany and the USSR.
In addition, by signing a non-aggression pact with the USSR, Germany demonstrated its recognition of the might of the USSR and its fear of the participation of the Soviet state in the fight against Germany on the side of the Anglo-French bloc. It is clear that the treaty with Germany was by no means evidence of the Soviet government's excessive confidence in Nazi Germany. He did not weaken the vigilance of our government and its concern for strengthening the defenses of the borders.
France, in turn, sought to maintain and strengthen its influence in Europe by creating a common European security system. Of course, this position did not meet with the necessary support from the great powers, who, on the contrary, increased their resistance. Italy sought to develop relations with Great Britain. However, the strengthening of Italy's position in the Eastern Mediterranean led to a deterioration in Italian-British relations and its rapprochement with Germany.
Fascist bloc
International situation in the 30s of the twentieth century. and the formation
Wars
Lecture 2 International situation on the eve of World War II
1 International situation in the 30s of the twentieth century. and the formation of a fascist bloc.
2 An attempt to create a system of collective security in Europe.
3 Soviet-German relations and the conclusion of a non-aggression pact.
Political life in pre-war Europe was characterized by conflicting interests largest countries... Great Britain sought to preserve its role as the political center of the world and the supreme arbiter in European affairs. To do this, she limited the influence of France in Europe through constant concessions to Germany, which inevitably led to a revision of the Versailles-Washington system.
The authority and influence in international affairs of the Soviet Union grew. In 1924 he established diplomatic relations with France, Italy, Austria, Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Greece. International recognition was completed by the establishment in 1925 of diplomatic relations between the USSR and Japan, in 1933 - with the United States and the acceptance of the Soviet country into the League of Nations in 1934. The efforts of the Soviet Union were aimed at the equal participation of countries in international life, the preservation and maintenance of peace.
Japan sought to strengthen its influence in the Far East. The main goal of Germany was to revise the Versailles-Washington system, and, in the long term, a global change in the system of international relations of that time.
The strength of the Versailles-Washington system could be guaranteed by concerted actions in Great Britain, France, the USA and the USSR. However, the United States had little interest in the political problems of Europe, while Great Britain and France saw the prospect of a European order differently and sought to limit the Soviet Union's international influence in every possible way. It should be added that the artificial preservation of the political situation in Europe, which was characterized by the division into the defeated and the victors, objectively generated and supported revanchist sentiments in the social life of the defeated countries.
Creation of a bloc of aggressive states. The German leadership was constantly striving to strengthen military-political cooperation with the most aggressive states. On October 24, 1936, an agreement was signed to establish the Berlin-Rome Axis, in accordance with which Germany and Italy promised to pursue a common line regarding the war in Spain. On November 25, 1936, Germany and Japan concluded the so-called "Anti-Comintern Pact", which Italy joined a year later. In September 1940, Germany, Italy and Japan concluded a military-political and economic alliance in Berlin - the "Triple Pact", according to which the "Axis Berlin - Rome - Tokyo" was created. This led to the separation of spheres of influence in Europe, Asia and Africa.
The first aggressive act of Hitler's policy was the Anschluss of Austria. Under the slogan of uniting the lands inhabited by the Germans, on March 12, 1938, the 2,000-strong German army seized Austria without resistance, and on March 13 it was announced about its "reunification" with Germany
Aggressive foreign policy in 1935-1939 carried out by fascist Italy, which embarked on the creation of a colonial empire in Africa and in the basin Mediterranean Sea... The well-armed Italian army invaded Abyssinia (Ethiopia) in October 1935. In May 1936, the aggressors captured the capital of the country - Addis Ababa. Abyssinia was declared a colony of Italy. In April 1939, Italian fascists invaded Albania.
In the Far East, the struggle for territorial redistribution was led by Japan, which sought to establish its dominance in China and the Pacific basin. Back in September 1931, Japanese troops occupied Manchuria and created a puppet state - Manchukuo. In 1937, the Japanese aggressors launched large-scale military operations in Central China. They conquered a vast territory with the rich natural resources... In July-August 1938, the Japanese launched an offensive at Lake Hassan, and a year later. In May - September 1939, they unleashed a military conflict in the area of \u200b\u200bthe Khalkhin-Gol River.
It was an attempt to create a springboard for aggression against the USSR. The Red Army troops gave a fitting rebuff to the aggressor.
In Europe, the German aggressors planned the capture of Czechoslovakia. The formal clue was the position of the German national minority in the Sudetenland.
Great Britain and France demanded that the government of Czechoslovakia accept the German conditions, and on September 29-30, 1938, a conspiracy conference took place in Munich, which decided the fate of this country.
The Sudetenland was transferred to Germany, the Teshin region to Poland. In March 1939, A. Hitler finally divided Czechoslovakia into vassal territories (Bohemia, Moravia, Slovakia).
Nazi Germany strove to expand its territory.
In March 1939, the German side made "proposals" to the Polish government to resolve territorial disputes. As a result, the city of Danzig was included in the "Reich". At the end of April 1939, Germany adopted a memorandum expressing dissatisfaction with Poland's decision to reject proposals for a territorial structure. Berlin annulled the German-Polish declaration of 1934, which led to increased tensions between these countries.
In the 1930s. political activity in the international arena was also developed by the Soviet leadership. Thus, on the initiative of the USSR in May 1935, the Soviet-French and Soviet-Czechoslovak pacts of mutual assistance against aggression were signed. This could be a serious step towards containing the aggressive policy of Hitlerite Germany and its allies and serve as the basis for the creation of a system of collective security in Europe. The Soviet Union strongly condemned the aggressive actions of Germany and proposed to hold an international conference to organize a system of collective security and protect the independence of countries threatened aggression. However, the ruling circles of Western states did not express the necessary interest in its creation.
In 1939, the USSR continued active steps to induce the governments of Great Britain and France to create a system of collective security in Europe. The Soviet government came up with a specific proposal to conclude an agreement between the USSR, Great Britain and France on mutual assistance in the event of aggression against any of the countries participating in the agreement. In the summer of 1939, trilateral negotiations were held in Moscow to create a collective security system.
By the end of July, some progress was nevertheless achieved in the negotiations: the parties agreed to the simultaneous signing of a political and military agreement (earlier, England proposed to sign first a political treaty and then negotiate a military convention).
On August 12, negotiations of the military missions began. From the Soviet Union they were led by the People's Commissar of Defense K.E. Voroshilov, from England - Admiral Drax, from France - General Dumenk. The governments of England and France did not appreciate the Red Army highly and considered it incapable of active offensive operations. In this regard, they did not believe in the effectiveness of the alliance with the USSR. Both Western delegations received instructions to prolong the negotiations as much as possible, hoping that the very fact of their holding would have a psychological impact on Hitler.
The main stumbling block in the negotiations was the question of the consent of Poland and Romania to the passage of Soviet troops through their territory in the event of a war (the USSR did not have a common border with Germany). Poles and Romanians categorically refused to agree to this, fearing Soviet occupation.
Only on 23 August did the Polish government soften its position somewhat. Thus, the opportunity to obtain consent from Poland for the passage of Soviet troops through its territory had not yet been lost forever. It is also clear that the Poles were gradually inclined towards concessions under the pressure of Western diplomacy. With goodwill, the negotiations could probably still be brought to a successful conclusion. However, the mutual mistrust of the parties destroyed this possibility.
The British and French military missions were not empowered to make decisions. It became obvious to the Soviet leadership that the leadership of the Western states did not want to quickly achieve positive results. The negotiations are at an impasse.
3 Soviet-German relations and the conclusion of a non-aggression pact The position of the West, which was constantly making concessions to Germany and rejecting an alliance with the USSR, caused the strongest irritation in the Kremlin since the mid-1930s. It especially intensified in connection with the conclusion of the Munich Agreement, which Moscow regarded as a conspiracy directed not only against Czechoslovakia, but also against the Soviet Union, the borders of which the German threat approached.
From the autumn of 1938, Germany and the USSR gradually began to establish contacts in order to develop trade between the two countries. True, a real agreement could not be reached then, since Germany, which had embarked on the path of accelerated militarization, did not have a sufficient amount of goods that could be supplied to the USSR in exchange for raw materials and fuel.
Nevertheless, Stalin, speaking in March 1939 at the 15th Congress of the All-Union Communist Party of Bolsheviks, made it clear that a new rapprochement with Berlin was not excluded. Stalin formulated the goals of the foreign policy of the USSR as follows:
1 Continue to pursue a policy of peace and strengthening business ties with all countries;
2 Do not allow our country to be drawn into conflicts by war provocateurs who are accustomed to raking in the heat with someone else's hands.
In such a difficult situation, the USSR was forced to negotiate with Hitler's Germany. It should be noted that the initiative to conclude a German-Soviet pact belonged to the German side. So, on August 20, 1939 A. Hitler sent a telegram to I.V. Stalin, in which he proposed to conclude a non-aggression pact: “... I once again suggest that you receive my Minister of Foreign Affairs on Tuesday 22 August, at the latest on Wednesday 23 August. The Reich Foreign Minister will be vested with all the necessary powers to draw up and sign a non-aggression pact. "
The consent was obtained on 23 August 1939. Foreign Minister I. Ribbentrop flew to Moscow. After negotiations on the evening of August 23, 1939, the German-Soviet non-aggression pact (the Ribbentrop-Molotov Pact) was signed for a period of 10 years. At the same time, a "secret additional protocol" was signed.
As you can see, in August 1939 the situation in Europe reached the highest tension. Hitlerite Germany did not hide its intention to start military operations against Poland. After the signing of the German-Soviet treaty, the USSR could not radically influence the aggressive actions of the Berlin authorities.
Lecture 3 Beginning of World War II and events in Belarus
1 The outbreak of war, its causes and nature.
2 Accession of Western Belarus to the BSSR.
3 Germany's preparation for war against the USSR. Plan "Barbarossa".
Back to Collective Security
In the 1930s. Soviet diplomacy sought, on the one hand, to implement the collective security plan in Europe, to prevent the creation of a broad united anti-Soviet front, to exercise maximum caution and not to succumb to enemy provocations, and on the other hand, to take all necessary measures to strengthen the country's defense.
In April 1939, the Soviet government came up with a proposal to conclude a mutual assistance treaty between the USSR, Britain and France, according to which, in the event of fascist aggression against a number of European states, the three powers would jointly come to their aid. Foreign Secretary Chamberlain said he would "rather resign than sign an alliance with the Soviets."
At the same time, the partners of England and France - Romania, Poland and the Baltic countries - reacted negatively to the Soviet Union's proposal: to send troops on the territory of these countries in the event of a German attack. They feared that later the USSR would not want to withdraw its troops.
In June, delegations from Britain and France arrived in Moscow without the authority to make any decisions. They were instructed to conduct "negotiations for the sake of negotiations." 12 meetings took place, which did not lead to a specific result.
On August 15, the Chief of the General Staff of the Red Army D. Shaposhnikov announced that the USSR was ready to send 136 divisions against the aggressor in Europe. At the same time, he outlined options for joint actions and noted that the USSR, with the beginning of the war, "does not intend to adhere to defensive tactics." However, the Soviet proposals did not find support.
Meanwhile, secret negotiations were underway between representatives of England, France and Germany, aimed at pushing Nazi Germany into war against the USSR. In conditions when the negotiations of the USSR with Britain and France in 1939 reached an impasse, the Soviet leadership accepted Germany's proposal for peace negotiations, as a result of which the Soviet-German non-aggression pact was signed in Moscow on August 23, 1939 (Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact ) for a period of 10 years.
At the same time, an additional secret protocol was signed, which delimited the spheres of interests of Germany and the USSR. The USSR's sphere of interests included the eastern part of Poland, Western Ukraine and Western Belarus, Finland, Estonia, Lithuania and Bessarabia (now Moldova).
This protocol implemented Stalin's idea of \u200b\u200breturning to the USSR the lands ceded to Poland under the Riga Treaty of 1921.
Was the conclusion of a non-aggression pact with Germany the best solution to the problems facing the Soviet government?
In this regard, there are different points view of historians. The USSR was faced with a choice: either to come to an agreement with Britain and France and create a system of collective security in Europe, or to conclude a pact with Germany, or to remain alone.
Some experts view the conclusion of a treaty with Germany as the worst option, arguing that the pact provoked World War II. Another point of view boils down to an attempt to view it as an example of a compromise, the ability to use inter-imperialist contradictions. What prompted Germany and the USSR to agree to an alliance?
For Hitler, this was a tactical move: initially, he needed to guarantee the unhindered capture of Poland, and then other states. The Soviet Union, signing the treaty, sought, on the one hand, to secure itself on the eve of the war of Germany against Poland by limiting the advance of German troops and Germany's refusal to use the Baltic states for anti-Soviet purposes, and, on the other, to secure the Far Eastern borders of the USSR from an attack by Japan.
Thus, by signing a non-aggression pact with Germany in 1939, the USSR avoided a war on two fronts.
You can speculate as much as you like on the Soviet-German pact of 1939, portray it as a conspiracy of two totalitarian monsters, but to people with any sense of reality, it is clear that the pact is a mutual ploy to gain time before the main battle.
On the whole, this pact did not allow the creation of a unified anti-Soviet front in Europe, delayed the start of hostilities for a while and allowed the USSR to move its borders away from the country's vital centers. However, the USSR used the received respite less effectively than its partner in the pact.
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Toland J. - American journalist, Pulitzer Prize laureate:
“Both Stalin and Hitler believed that they could use each other for their own purposes. Both dictators were wrong, of course, but in that stormy summer of 1939 there was not a single country that did not act on the basis of one or another mistaken concept.
Europe was the center of mistrust, deception and double-dealing. Even when Ribbentrop was preparing to go to Moscow, Stalin did not lose hope for an Anglo-Franco-Soviet alliance against Hitler. And the British, unwillingly inclined to such an alliance, secretly invited Goering to England. "
Bullock A. - famous English historian:
“The inability of the governments of England and France to take effective measures to conclude an alliance with the Russians was then sharply criticized; subsequently it was rightly stated by everyone who wondered about the reasons for the war. "
Fest I.K. - German journalist:
“However, now that, after the Moscow pact, her entire policy was defeated, England understood what she would have to fight and die for under any circumstances. The appeasement policy was not least based on the fear of the bourgeois world of the communist revolution. According to British statesmen, Hitler played the role of a militant defender against this threat ... "
⦁ Explain why the idea of \u200b\u200bcollective security was not implemented. Who won and who ultimately lost?
From the memoirs of a repressed resident of Bessarabia, Euphrosinia Kersnovskaya, "How Much is a Man". Ed. 2001 - 2002
January 1st, 1941. Plebiscite day.
Judgments of foreign historians and journalists on the failure of the idea of \u200b\u200bcollective security in 1939
Election Day! I have always believed that a plebiscite is the free expression of the will of the people. Elections are a civic duty that obliges each person to choose the best from several possible ones, and if there is no better, abstain. In both cases, a person should be calm and free. No compulsion, no fear! There is no need to talk about the fact that a secret should be kept. Not a plebiscite, but a props. I am ashamed…<…> Long hall. Everywhere there are portraits of Stalin and many others unfamiliar to me. I only recognized Voroshilov.<…> Putting the ballots in the envelope, I went to the ballot box, but did not have time to lower the envelope, the chairman took it out of my hands very unceremoniously ... But before he had time to unfold it, I snatched the envelope from his hands and had time to put it into the ballot box ... The next day ... one of the NKVD authorities entered the room ... Leaning on the table with his fists, said: "The counting of votes ended at night: 35,000 -" for "and one -" against "..." I had no idea that I was playing with fire, although ... from fate nowhere you will not leave ... It is not important what your fate is, but how you meet it!
⦁ Why was it possible to achieve general support for the proposed project during the plebiscites? How objective could the results of such elections be?
§ 36. Soviet economic policy: plans, difficulties, results. Materials for the lesson-workshop
Here is a selection of documents from the times of the first five-year plans. On the basis of these texts and documentary fragments given at the end of the paragraphs, write a small work "Catch up and overtake ..." followed by a discussion in the workshop lesson.
1. Formation of the initial contradiction and problem statement. Do you see the problematic contradiction, which is already reflected in the topic of the lesson of the workshop?
2. Brief description of the historical moment. In what historical situation were the cited documents created?
3. Characteristics of sources and their possibilities for highlighting the problem.
4. Comparative analysis of documentary material from the point of view of the problem under study.
5. Conclusion and conclusions.
It is necessary to designate with numbers the parts of the work corresponding to the points of this plan.
At the same time, it is very important to demonstrate the ability to clearly formulate the provisions and argue them using a source.
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Samara College of Finance and Economics
(Samara branch of the Financial University)
Lecture notes
in the discipline "History"
specialty
38.02.01 "Economics and Accounting" (by industry)
38.02.06 "Finance"
(basic training)
Explanatory note
Lecture notes on the discipline "History" are intended for students with a secondary complete education on the basis of 11 classes, studying in the following specialties: 38.02.01 "Economics and Accounting" (by industry), 38.02.06 "Finance", 38.02.07 "Banking business".
The purpose of these abstracts is to summarize the knowledge previously acquired by students in the discipline "History" with a deeper understanding of general issues.
The academic discipline "History" is a discipline of the humanitarian and socio-economic cycle in the structure of the main professional educational program.
As a result of studying the discipline, the student must
know:
- Main directions of development of key regions of the world at the turn of the century;
- The essence and causes of local, regional, interstate conflicts at the end of the 20th century and the beginning of the 21st century;
- The main integration, multicultural, migration and other processes of political and economic development of the leading states and regions of the world;
- The appointment of the UN, NATO, EU and other organizations and the main directions of their activities;
- On the role of science, culture, and religion in the preservation and strengthening of national and state traditions;
be able to:
- navigate the current economic, political and cultural situation in Russia and the world;
- analyze historical facts and events, give them their own assessment;
- to reveal the main directions of development of the regions of the world at the turn of the century;
- to identify the relationship of domestic, regional, world socio-economic, political and cultural problems;
- methodologically competently analyze various historical facts;
- to understand in general the current political situation in Russia and the world, to compare political, economic problems in different regions of the world, applying theoretical knowledge;
This lecture notes consist of the main topics and concepts of the course.
As a result of studying the topic: "Post-war peace settlement in Europe", the student should know the features and patterns of the post-war political development of the countries of Europe and America, be able to trace the stages of the formation of the "cold war".
In the topic: "The first conflicts and crises of the Cold War", the student should know the main political conflicts between the two superpowers and the countries of the Asia-Pacific region.
Section II "The main socio-economic and political trends in the development of countries in the second half of the XX century" is aimed at the formation of knowledge about the socio-political and economic development developed and developing countries of the world after the Second World War, understanding the specifics of their internal political relations and the specifics of their foreign policy course.
This section examines the political development of such states as the USA, Germany, Japan, China, India, Eastern European countries, countries Latin America... This section also draws attention to international relations of the second half of the twentieth century. The student can use the lecture material to study missed topics or to prepare for a test and in independent work on educational material.
The final form of discipline control is credit.
Section 1. Post-war peace settlement in Europe
Topic 1. Post-war peace settlement
1. Consequences of the Second World War. Interests of the world's leading powers in Europe.
2. Allied policy towards Germany.
3. Ideas of collective security in Europe.
4. Speech by Winston Churchill in Fulton.
5. The Marshall Plan and the beginning of the Cold War.
Consequences of the Second World War. Interests of the world's leading powers in Europe
The Second World War left an imprint on the entire history of mankind in the second half of the 20th century. In the USSR alone, 27 million died (total 54 million). 46% of cities, villages, buildings were destroyed. 10 million people became refugees. Almost every country participating in the war was exposed to hunger, losses and had serious material, economic difficulties and losses. The main task of the post-war period is the restoration of the destroyed economy and the establishment of life. The main countries that declared claims to world domination after the war were the USSR, Great Britain, and France. Each of them had its own national claims and interests that it would like to dictate to the whole world. A situation of international tension and misunderstanding arose, which resulted in the Cold War.
The United States was the least affected party in the war and managed to preserve most of its national treasure, therefore it claimed world leadership. Britain and France competed economically and militarily and tried to turn the world towards democracy and capitalism. The USSR sought to win more allies and turn world politics towards a socialist order.
Allied policy towards Germany.
All the most important agreements on post-war problems were reached by the allies at the Crimean Conference (February 1945) between the USSR, USA, Great Britain and the Potsdam Conference (July - August 1945). After the war, Germany was to be divided into four occupation territories, each of which was controlled by one of the victorious countries. Eastern zone was under the control of the USSR, in the three western zones control was exercised by the United States, Great Britain and France. Berlin was also divided into four zones. In Germany, the following measures were taken to restore peaceful life and destroy the remnants of fascism:
1) demilitarization - the elimination of all military production and complete disarmament.
2) the dissolution of all military fascist organizations, institutions, the fascist party, the arrest of war criminals and fascist leaders.
3) the destruction of cartels and syndicates that produced military products.
4) denomination - the implementation of monetary reform.
5) permission to establish any public, civil unions and associations of civilians, granting them democratic freedoms for the early restoration of normal life in Germany.
Conclusion: instead of creating a unified Germany, the country split into two systems. In 1949, the western state of the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) and the East German Democratic Republic (GDR) were created.
Collective security ideas in Europe.
Idea national security developed gradually and in stages.
In February 1947. at the Paris Peace Conference, peace treaties were signed with the parties of the former Hitlerite coalition (Finland, Bulgaria, Romania, Hungary, Italy). The question of a peace treaty with Austria was postponed due to the disagreement between the USSR and the United States over Austria's domestic and foreign policy and the USSR's demand to ban the creation of military-political alliances in Austria.
September 2, 1945 the war with Japan ended and the positions of the two states (the USSR and the USA) finally parted. The USSR wanted to withdraw all troops from Japan and insisted on prohibiting Japan from joining various alliances, while America wanted the opposite, so the United States concluded a peace treaty with Japan, and the USSR and some other countries refused to join the international treaty. The world was in a precarious position. The idea of \u200b\u200bcollective security was primarily to unite all states against a new military threat and against the revival of fascism. In 1949, the UN international organization was formed, with two main goals:
1) ensuring and protecting world security
2) development of interethnic friendly contacts and international cooperation between countries and states.
First, the UN united five permanent members, then the number of UN members increased due to non-permanent members.
Today the UN has five permanent members, including the Russian Federation. The UN structure includes such international organizations as General Assembly, Secretariat, Economic and Social Union, International Court of Justice and UN Security Council.
4. Winston Churchill's speech at Fulton.
March 5, 1946 British Prime Minister Winston Churchill delivered his famous speech on the Fulton campus, in which he called on all the peoples of Europe to freedom and democracy through unification and protection from the main enemy of democracy, communism and totalitarianism. He pointed out that the United States today is at the pinnacle of world fame, and it is able to unite all free peoples around itself in order to protect itself from war and tyranny. The only salvation from Bolshevism and communism is the fraternal association of English-speaking peoples, that is, the union of the United States, Great Britain and France, Switzerland, Luxembourg and others, which joined them. It is necessary to prevent the influence of the USSR, which can infect Europe with communism like a plague.
Conclusion: After Churchill's speech, Western countries called on the peoples of Europe to unite and cooperate, and Russia and, in particular, Stalin accused Churchill of racism and inciting war. The creation of military-political blocs of allied countries began in order to strengthen their positions. In the West, NATO was created in 1949, the USSR, in turn, created the Council for Mutual Economic Assistance (CMEA) in 1949, and in 1955 - the Warsaw Pact Organization (OVD).
Marshall Plan and the beginning of the Cold War.
March 12, 1947 US President Harry Truman announced a new political direction in the United States, which is called the "Truman Doctrine." The essence of the Truman doctrine was as follows: the United States will consistently and steadily interfere in the internal affairs of other countries and peoples in order to secure them from the negative influence of the USSR. Truman believed that it was necessary to secure the borders of European states and provide assistance to Greece and Turkey, whose borders were in danger, in order to enlist their support in the fight against the USSR. It is also necessary to develop international diplomacy and intelligence in order to be ready for aggression and attack.
Attempts to create a collective security system in Europe and the reasons for their failures.
The continuation of the Truman doctrine was the plan of the American Secretary of State Marshal, according to which the United States will provide assistance to European countries wishing to join their alliance. It was planned to allocate about US $ 13 billion.
The bulk of the appropriations went to England, France, Spain, West Germany and Holland. A total of 16 countries signed the Marshall Plan. As a prerequisite for providing assistance, the United States demanded that the Communists be removed from the government of the countries that signed the treaty. Thus, the United States consolidated its image as the world leader of a country that was considered a stronghold of democracy, freedom and liberalism.
In the 1930s. political activity in the international arena was also developed by the Soviet leadership. Thus, on the initiative of the USSR in May 1935, the Soviet-French and Soviet-Czechoslovak pacts of mutual assistance against aggression were signed. This could be a serious step towards containing the aggressive policy of Hitlerite Germany and its allies and serve as the basis for the creation of a system of collective security in Europe. The Soviet Union strongly condemned the aggressive actions of Germany and proposed to hold an international conference to organize a system of collective security and protect the independence of countries threatened aggression. However, the ruling circles of Western states did not express the necessary interest in its creation.
In 1939, the USSR continued active steps to induce the governments of Great Britain and France to create a system of collective security in Europe. The Soviet government came up with a specific proposal to conclude an agreement between the USSR, Great Britain and France on mutual assistance in the event of aggression against any of the countries participating in the agreement. In the summer of 1939, trilateral negotiations were held in Moscow to create a collective security system.
By the end of July, some progress was nevertheless achieved in the negotiations: the parties agreed to the simultaneous signing of a political and military agreement (earlier, England proposed to sign first a political treaty and then negotiate a military convention).
Towards World War II: The Failure of the Idea of \u200b\u200bCollective Security. Annexation of the Czech Republic
From the Soviet Union they were led by the People's Commissar of Defense K.E. Voroshilov, from England - Admiral Drax, from France - General Dumenk. The governments of England and France did not appreciate the Red Army highly and considered it incapable of active offensive operations. In this regard, they did not believe in the effectiveness of the alliance with the USSR. Both Western delegations received instructions to prolong the negotiations as much as possible, hoping that the very fact of their holding would have a psychological impact on Hitler.
The main stumbling block in the negotiations was the question of the consent of Poland and Romania to the passage of Soviet troops through their territory in the event of a war (the USSR did not have a common border with Germany). Poles and Romanians categorically refused to agree to this, fearing Soviet occupation.
Only on 23 August did the Polish government soften its position somewhat. Thus, the opportunity to obtain consent from Poland for the passage of Soviet troops through its territory had not yet been lost forever. It is also clear that the Poles were gradually inclined towards concessions under the pressure of Western diplomacy. With goodwill, the negotiations could probably still be brought to a successful conclusion. However, the mutual mistrust of the parties destroyed this possibility.
The British and French military missions were not empowered to make decisions. It became obvious to the Soviet leadership that the leadership of the Western states did not want to quickly achieve positive results. The negotiations are at an impasse.
3 Soviet-German relations and the conclusion of a non-aggression pact The position of the West, which was constantly making concessions to Germany and rejecting an alliance with the USSR, caused the strongest irritation in the Kremlin since the mid-1930s. It especially intensified in connection with the conclusion of the Munich Agreement, which Moscow regarded as a conspiracy directed not only against Czechoslovakia, but also against the Soviet Union, the borders of which the German threat approached.
From the autumn of 1938, Germany and the USSR gradually began to establish contacts in order to develop trade between the two countries. True, a real agreement could not be reached then, since Germany, which had embarked on the path of accelerated militarization, did not have a sufficient amount of goods that could be supplied to the USSR in exchange for raw materials and fuel.
Nevertheless, Stalin, speaking in March 1939 at the 15th Congress of the All-Union Communist Party of Bolsheviks, made it clear that a new rapprochement with Berlin was not excluded. Stalin formulated the goals of the foreign policy of the USSR as follows:
1 Continue to pursue a policy of peace and strengthening business ties with all countries;
2 Do not allow our country to be drawn into conflicts by war provocateurs who are accustomed to raking in the heat with someone else's hands.
In such a difficult situation, the USSR was forced to negotiate with Hitler's Germany. It should be noted that the initiative to conclude a German-Soviet pact belonged to the German side. So, on August 20, 1939 A. Hitler sent a telegram to I.V. Stalin, in which he proposed to conclude a non-aggression pact: “... I once again suggest that you receive my Minister of Foreign Affairs on Tuesday 22 August, at the latest on Wednesday 23 August. The Reich Foreign Minister will be vested with all the necessary powers to draw up and sign a non-aggression pact. "
The consent was obtained on 23 August 1939. Foreign Minister I. Ribbentrop flew to Moscow. After negotiations on the evening of August 23, 1939, the German-Soviet non-aggression pact (the Ribbentrop-Molotov Pact) was signed for a period of 10 years. At the same time, a "secret additional protocol" was signed.
As you can see, in August 1939 the situation in Europe reached the highest tension. Hitlerite Germany did not hide its intention to start military operations against Poland. After the signing of the German-Soviet treaty, the USSR could not radically influence the aggressive actions of the Berlin authorities.
Lecture 3 Beginning of World War II and events in Belarus
1 The outbreak of war, its causes and nature.
2 Accession of Western Belarus to the BSSR.
3 Germany's preparation for war against the USSR. Plan "Barbarossa".