Foreign Policy During the Civil War:

• Comintern: 

  • Organisation set up by Lenin in 1919.
  • ‘Com’ standing for Communist. 
  • ‘Intern’ standing for International.
  • It stood for the Communist International.
  • Aiming to spread Communism, to develop links with other communist parties. To encourage them to get stronger, rise up and launch a workers’ revolution when the time is right.  
• What happens with Commintern:

  • Initially seems hopeful. There are a number of Communist uprisings: Spartacist Uprising (Jan 1919) in Berlin, Hungary: a brief Communist government in 1920. In Germany: a Soviet Republic set up in Bavaria. 
  • However, by the end of 1920, these hopes had been crushed. 
  • There was a Comintern meeting with lots of other delegates hoping for a Communist rev. Zionviev was chairman of these meetings, but Lenin was the boss.
• What happens with Commintern (2):

  • However, when it became clear that they were on their own, Bolshevik leaders just focused on Russia. It was clear that revolution wasn’t close anywhere else in the world. They always held links with other Communist parties, but focused firstly on internal matters. 
• The Russo-Polish war:

  • Poles attacked Russia in 1920. 
  • Poland was a new state created in the peace treaties out of a bit of Germany, bit of Austria-Hungary and a bit of Russia.
  • The boundary to the east was set in the ‘Kerzan’ line. The Poles were not happy with this line.
  • In 1920, they knew that Russia was in chaos (the Civil War) and the Poles hoped to gain land (being quite cheeky) and crossed this Kerzan line.
• The Russo-Polish war (2):

  • At first Poland is doing great, but the Russians attack back under Marshall T. They push the Poles back to Warsaw, gain land for Russia. 
  • Bolsheviks are forced into retreat (Battle of Vistula). The Poles end up gaining land in 1921 and making Poland bigger than it should have been. 
  • The Bolsheviks are hoping to succeed, gain land, resources and support in Poland and SPREAD COMMUNISM to them. doesn't work.
  • Poland and its people hate the Russians. P workers don’t rise up. They see Russia as imperial invaders. Historically, they had always been invaded by the Tsars.
• The Russo-Polish war (3):

  • Result: Treaty of Reager. Russia is forced to give more land to Poland (parts of ‘White Russia’). 
  • Lenin realised that Russia was vulnerable. He can’t spread Communism at this point to another country, because Russia isn’t strong enough. 
• Treaty of Rapollo 1922:

  • Between Germany and Russia.
  • Lenin saw them both as "outcast nations" and he saw them as a way out of diplomatic isolation for Russia.
  • They could now both trade with each other.
  • There was a secret additional agreement in July 1922 that authorised the German army to carry out training and military exercises within the USSR. Sneakily undermining the Treaty of Versailles. 
• Ziniviev Letter:

  • In 1924, Britain had a labour (left-wing) governemnt and was getting on better with Russia.
  • They diplomatically recognised the Communist USSR.
  • An Anglo-Soviet treaty is even negotiated.
  • But the "Zinoviev letter" was printed in the daily mail four days before the British Great Election.
  • it was a forgery, but supposedly Z wrote a letter to the British Communist party, urging them to start a revolution.
  • Relations between Britain and USSR soured and the anglo-soviet treaty was abandoned.