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'Evaluate the successes and failures of Lenin's foreign policy…
'Evaluate the successes and failures of Lenin's foreign policy between 1917 and 1924'
Successes
Security
Treaty of Rapallo April 1922- Decreased security concerns, as treaty was signed with Germany, agreed to recognise each other, cancel all debt, work on their trade relations and co-operate in secret militarily. Also, tension over the failed communist uprising in 1921-1924 receded.
Liberalisation of NEP allowed Russia to make a trade treaty with Britain in 1921, although this was just economic.
Aim of peace
Announced an armistice in November 1917, and decree on peace and land - peace without 'annexation or indemnities' very popular. This policy succeeded
Working with capitalist states for security
Diplomacy
Gradually gained it, beginning with Labour Government in 1924 in Britain. From 1920, USSR began to achieve technological assistance and commercial links with private American and Western firms.
Aims
Brest Litovsk- 3rd March 1918-
exit the war
April 1918 Georgi Chicherin replaced Trotsky as Commissar for foreign affairs, and his goal was
peaceful co-existence with Western Capitalists
Decree on self determination for people in the former Russian Empire,
encouraged separatist movements
in Finland, the Baltic States and Caucasus.
Wanted to spread revolution- '
permanent revolution'
abroad, Bolsheviks saw themselves as setting an example of how a proletarian communist revolution should commence.
Comintern 1919
'The basic underlying condition of our victory is to propagate communist uprisings in at least to several of the more advanced countries.'
After the pressures of the Civil war, and the failure of Comintern, Lenin was forced to adopt the policy of peaceful co-existence with Western Capitalists. Needed to establish links for security, and also make sure that they remained divided, and so they could not all turn against Russia.
Failures
permanent revolution
Comintern 1919- Aimed at spreading communist revolutions abroad, and remained active despite disruptions of the Civil War. However, the stress on other countries following the Leninist model and having their programmes agreed by Lenin deterred a lot of the workers. It also made the West more anti-communist, and the aims of initiating a communist revolution in Germany failed, and their plans regarding Poland also failed, as they aimed to take Warsaw and then this revolution would expand into Germany.
Zinoviev letter - 1924. Appeared to suggest that Comintern was encouraging British labour to work for a communist revolution. Ensured Conservative victory, even though it was shown to be a forgery.
Western Capitalists were
suspicious of Russia,
as they had cancelled tsarist debts and also propagated permanent revolution, and exposed their secret war aims regarding territorial ambitions. Lenin needed to overcome this.
Judgement
Aim of spreading Revolution not fulfilled, instead Lenin resorted to encouraging rebellion of colonial people against 'imperialist exploitation'.
Lenin died before he had time to shape the consequences of the revolution he had led.
Robert Service, 'his times moulded him'.