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How successful was the USSR in improving its relations with Britain and…
How successful was the USSR in improving its relations with Britain and France after 1919?
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THE USSR RISING TO POWER
The Bolsheviks rise to power caused alarm in Europe.
France and Britain were concerned when the Russian government withdrew from the war by signing the treaty of Brest-litovsk with Germany
THE USSR AND BRITAIN
An Anglo–Russian trade treaty signed in March 1921 made Britain one of the first countries to formally recognise Russia’s Bolshevik government.
When the trading agreement was cancelled by a new British government in 1932, Russia responded by arresting four Moscow-based British engineers on charges of spying.
Britain was fearful of the USSR’s actions regarding India which was colonised by Britain, as it seemed to encourage independence movements. Britain had even gone to war with the USSR in the past over India - in the Second Afghan War of 1878. This led to Britain breaking off diplomatic relations with the USSR, hence worsening relations between the USSR and Britain.
THE USSR AND FRANCE
The French were particularly resentful of Bolshevik success in Russia. Not only had the revolution robbed France of a potential ally in the event of a future attack by Germany, but it also increased the threat of revolution in France itself.
The USSR and France were also not on good terms as France insisted that the USSR should not be represented at the Paris Peace Conference.
Formal diplomatic relations between the two countries were restored in 1924,but the French made little effort to enhance this relationship until the 1930s, when increasing fear of German Nazism forced them to do so.
As Hitler rose to power, France linked the USSR to Germany and Nazism due to the treaty of Rapallo and the treaty of Berlin.France believed that the USSR was a threat
TREATY OF RAPALLO AND BERLIN (not needed for this question but relevant)
After WWI, both the USSR and Germany were at risk of becoming politically and economically isolated. This status as Europe's outcasts caused the two countries to establish relationships with each other.
The USSR and Germany signed the Treaty of Rapallo in 1922, during the European conference in Genoa, Italy. this treaty reestablished normal relations between the two nations. They agreed to cancel all financial claims against each other, strengthening their economic and military ties.
In 1926, the treaty of Rapallo was renewed and the Treaty of Berlin was signed. It followed the same principles stated in the treaty of Rapallo and added a new clause: the two powers guaranteed neutrality towards each other for five years in case one of them were under attack by foreign powers.
THE ZINOVIEV LETTER
In March 1919, communists from all over the world were invited to a conference in Moscow (Comintern).
Its chairman, Grigori Zinoviev, proclaimed
that ‘in a year the whole of Europe will be communist,’ so when a letter allegedly arrived at the Headquarters of the Communist Party of Britain offering to help start a revolution in Britain, people were alarmed
public opinion in Britain was firmly against communism and they British army had actively supported the Bolsheviks’ opponents in the Russian Civil War, meaning that they could never build a relationship with the USSR.
Example exam Q:
Agree: . Treaty of Rapallo and Treaty of Berlin
To what extent was the USSR successful in its attempts to establish improved relations with the rest of Europe in the period from 1919-1933?
Disagree: France and the Paris Peace Conference
Disagree: Public opinion in Britian(relations between the USSR and Britain)
Disagree: Zinoviev letter