USSR

• Joseph Stalin was the dictator of the Communist USSR
• Stalin was concerned about Hitler - who hated and had promised to destroy Communism - but he was also wary of the USA, Britain and France
• Relations had started to improve in 1934 when the USSR had finally been allowed to join the League of Nations, and in May 1935 a treaty of mutual assistance was signed with France
• Stalin decided that it was worth cooperating with capitalist states if it meant that Hitler's expansion in the East could be stopped
• Incredibly likely to stand up to Hitler