Soviet economy

The economy was affected by the approach of war. In the third five-year plan (1938-1942), special attention was paid to the development of the eastern regions of the country. The construction of backup factories began in the Urals, Siberia, and Kazakhstan.

The forestry and mining industries are developing due to the labor of prisoners. The manufacturing industry remained in the old industrial centers, because had the necessary structure and skilled workers. On the eve of the war, the eastern region of the country produced only 19% of military production.

The 3rd 5-year plan was called “chemical and special steels.” Ferrous and non-ferrous metallurgy, mechanical engineering and the chemical industry developed. Oil fields were created in the Volga region

1938-1940 – spending on military needs doubled, and in 1941 – already amounted to 40% of the country’s budget.

The flow of workers from the countryside to industry has decreased. The consequence is that the workload on the worker has increased.

26.6.1940 – Decree “On the transition to an 8-hour working day, a 7-day working week and on strengthening labor discipline.” Establishment of 8-hour work. day (it was 7 hours) and 7-day work. a week with one day off. – 10.21.1940 - Decree “On the prohibition of unauthorized transfer of engineering and technical workers, foremen, office workers and skilled workers to another place of work.” Tightening of production discipline: an employee was not fired without the consent of the administration; absenteeism and tardiness were criminally prosecuted for up to 5 years.

Strengthening the army and improving the border

1939-1941 – rearmament of the army. New fighters: Yak-1, LAGG, MiG, Tu-2, Pe-2, Il-2. The production of new T-34 and KV tanks and rocket-propelled mortars (Katyusha) began.

Flaws:

The doctrine of offensive war prevailed, to fight “on foreign territory, with little loss of life”

Attention was paid to offensive weapons. Anti-tank guns, etc., have been discontinued.

The soldier's training level is low

1937-1939 – repressions of Kr. Army

The old line of fortifications was abandoned, but the new “Stalinist” line was not completed at the beginning of the war

Military warehouses were moved to the border at the beginning of the war

Creation of the NKVD. Goal: repressive and punitive actions to “liberate” Europe from landowners and capitalists.

Departure from the territorial police system and transition to a personnel system. Increased service life from 2 to 3 years.

The conscription is not from the age of 21, but from the age of 19. Increase in number from 1.9 million to 5.4 million people.

The question of readiness for war

This question has been debated by historians since the 50s. It is known that Stalin ignored intelligence reports that war was approaching. Commanders near the border were forbidden to put troops on full alert. It was believed that Stalin trusted Hitler because... The Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact on non-aggression and delimitation of spheres of influence between Germany and the USSR was signed in 1939. Second point of view - this is because Stalin believed that the army was poorly trained and therefore he delayed the war with Germany.

In the 90s There was already a different version of events:

According to former USSR intelligence officer Suvorov, Germany started the war first and thereby forestalled the USSR’s attack on the West. The USSR wanted to attack first with the goal of the triumph of socialism throughout the world.

1940 – deterioration of relations with Germany after the Soviet occupation of Bukovina.

Key dates and events:

May 1939 - battle with Japan on the river. Khalkhin Gol (Zhukov)

11.8.1939 - the last attempt to create a system of collective security between the USSR, England and France

23.8.1939 – Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact

September 1, 1939 – German attack on Poland. Beginning of World War II

17.9.1939 – entry of Kr. Armies in the West Belarus and Western Ukraine

28.9.1939 – conclusion of the Soviet-German Treaty “On Friendship on the Borders”, after the entry of German and USSR troops into Poland

November 1939 – March 1940 – Soviet-Finnish war. Goal: move the border away from Leningrad. Inclusion of the entire Karelian Isthmus into the USSR. The war showed that Kr. The army is weak, the command made mistakes, the army's morale is low. Result: Finland gave up part of its territory, the USSR was expelled from the League of Nations as an aggressor, the timing of Hitler’s attack on the USSR accelerated, the opportunity for England and France to become allies for Germany

August 1940 – Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania joined the USSR

July 1940 - the inclusion of Bessarabia (a province of Romania) and the North into the USSR. Bukovina. Result: the USSR already includes 16 republics, the Russian empire has been restored to its former borders.

THAT. in the pre-war years, the foreign policy of the USSR allowed the inclusion of large territories with a population of more than 14 million people. and move the border to a distance of 300 to 600 km.

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THE SOVIET UNION IN THE PRE-WAR YEARS

USSR at the beginning of World War II. On September 1, 1939, Germany began the war against Poland. On September 17, Soviet troops entered its eastern regions. The secret protocol "worked". The USSR included the lands of Western Ukraine and Western Belarus, where 13 million people lived.

On September 28, immediately after the completion of military operations in Poland, Ribbentrop and Molotov signed in Moscow an agreement on friendship and borders and new secret protocols, which clarified the “spheres of interest” of the two countries (in exchange for a number of regions of Eastern Poland, Germany “ceded” to the USSR Lithuania).

Soviet-Finnish war. Success in Poland inspired Stalin to continue his work. Referring to the fact that the Soviet-Finnish border passed only 32 km from Leningrad, the USSR invited Finland to transfer to it part of the Karelian Isthmus and a number of islands in the Gulf of Finland. In exchange, the Finns were offered undeveloped lands in Karelia. Finland's refusal to sign a “mutual assistance” agreement with the Soviet Union (according to which it was planned to create Soviet military bases on Finnish territory) was declared an act “indicating the hostility of the intentions” of the Finnish leadership. In response to this, the USSR announced the denunciation of the non-aggression treaty with Finland.

On November 30, the Red Army began military operations against the Finns. However, they put up such vigorous resistance that the Soviet troops suffered huge losses and were stuck for a long time in a deeply echeloned fortification system - the “Mannerheim Line” on the Karelian Isthmus.

The start of the USSR's war against Finland was perceived in the world as an act of aggression. The Soviet Union, as an aggressor state, was expelled from the League of Nations. The provision of economic and military assistance to Finland began. It was even planned to land an expeditionary force of Western countries to fight the Red Army.

Meanwhile, in February 1940, taking into account the lessons of the first offensive, Soviet troops launched a new, more successful offensive at the front. As a result, Finland sued for peace. In March, a peace treaty was signed in Moscow. As a result, all territorial claims of the USSR to Finland were satisfied. The Finnish campaign led to serious losses in the Red Army: about 75 thousand people died, another 175 thousand were wounded or frostbite.

The war not only led to the international isolation of the USSR, but also seriously undermined the prestige of the Red Army. Hitler saw its inability to conduct effective combat operations in modern warfare. But conclusions from the war were also drawn in Moscow. K. E. Voroshilov was removed from the post of People's Commissar of Defense, and his place was taken by S. K. Timoshenko. Measures were taken to strengthen the country's defense.

USSR and Baltic states. Immediately after the defeat of Poland, the USSR achieved the conclusion of agreements on “mutual assistance” with the Baltic countries: Estonia (September 28), Latvia (October 5) and Lithuania (October 10). The agreements provided for the creation of Soviet naval and air bases on the territory of these countries and the deployment of significant Red Army forces on them. The presence of Soviet troops was used to change the existing system in these states.

In mid-June 1940, the Soviet government, in the form of an ultimatum, demanded the appointment of new governments in the Baltic countries, which were to include communists. Faced with the threat of the immediate establishment of complete Soviet military control over Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia, the authorities of these countries agreed to the demands of the USSR. The formed "people's governments" soon turned to the Soviet Union with a request to join the USSR as union republics.

At the end of June 1940, the USSR also presented an ultimatum to Romania demanding the immediate transfer of Bessarabia and Northern Bukovina under its control. Romania, after consultations with Germany, was forced to agree to this demand. The Moldavian SSR was formed in the new territories, which was also accepted into the Soviet Union.

As a result, in less than a year, the western borders of the USSR were pushed back by 200-600 km.

Soviet-German relations. Thus, the agreements between the USSR and Germany on the division of “spheres of influence” were implemented by the fall of 1940. Having received freedom of action in Europe, Hitler by this time had managed to conquer France, Belgium, Holland, Luxembourg, Denmark, and Norway. In the summer of 1940, on behalf of the fascist leader, a plan for war against the USSR (“Barbarossa”) was developed. However, both sides sought to delay the start of the war until they were fully ready for it to begin.

In November 1940, Molotov arrived in Berlin for negotiations with Hitler, having received instructions from Stalin to agree to continue Soviet-German cooperation provided that Bulgaria and the Black Sea Straits were included in the “sphere of interests” of the USSR. Hitler invited the Soviet Union to join the Tripartite Pact (Germany, Italy, Japan) and promised to expand the Soviet “spheres of interest” to the south - at the expense of Persia. But no agreement was reached. In December 1940, Hitler signed the decision to implement the Barbarossa plan.

What you need to know about this topic:

Socio-economic and political development of Russia at the beginning of the 20th century. Nicholas II.

Internal policy of tsarism. Nicholas II. Increased repression. "Police Socialism"

Russo-Japanese War. Reasons, progress, results.

Revolution 1905 - 1907 Character, driving forces and features of the Russian revolution of 1905-1907. stages of the revolution. The reasons for the defeat and the significance of the revolution.

Elections to the State Duma. I State Duma. The agrarian question in the Duma. Dispersal of the Duma. II State Duma. Coup d'etat of June 3, 1907

Third June political system. Electoral law June 3, 1907 III State Duma. The alignment of political forces in the Duma. Activities of the Duma. Government terror. Decline of the labor movement in 1907-1910.

Stolypin agrarian reform.

IV State Duma. Party composition and Duma factions. Activities of the Duma.

Political crisis in Russia on the eve of the war. Labor movement in the summer of 1914. Crisis at the top.

International position of Russia at the beginning of the 20th century.

The beginning of the First World War. Origin and nature of the war. Russia's entry into the war. Attitude to the war of parties and classes.

Progress of military operations. Strategic forces and plans of the parties. Results of the war. The role of the Eastern Front in the First World War.

The Russian economy during the First World War.

Worker and peasant movement in 1915-1916. Revolutionary movement in the army and navy. The growth of anti-war sentiment. Formation of the bourgeois opposition.

Russian culture of the 19th - early 20th centuries.

The aggravation of socio-political contradictions in the country in January-February 1917. The beginning, prerequisites and nature of the revolution. Uprising in Petrograd. Formation of the Petrograd Soviet. Temporary Committee of the State Duma. Order N I. Formation of the Provisional Government. Abdication of Nicholas II. The reasons for the emergence of dual power and its essence. The February revolution in Moscow, at the front, in the provinces.

From February to October. The policy of the Provisional Government regarding war and peace, on agrarian, national, and labor issues. Relations between the Provisional Government and the Soviets. Arrival of V.I. Lenin in Petrograd.

Political parties (Kadets, Socialist Revolutionaries, Mensheviks, Bolsheviks): political programs, influence among the masses.

Crises of the Provisional Government. Attempted military coup in the country. The growth of revolutionary sentiment among the masses. Bolshevization of the capital's Soviets.

Preparation and conduct of an armed uprising in Petrograd.

II All-Russian Congress of Soviets. Decisions about power, peace, land. Formation of government and management bodies. Composition of the first Soviet government.

Victory of the armed uprising in Moscow. Government agreement with the Left Socialist Revolutionaries. Elections to the Constituent Assembly, its convocation and dispersal.

The first socio-economic transformations in the fields of industry, agriculture, finance, labor and women's issues. Church and State.

Treaty of Brest-Litovsk, its terms and significance.

Economic tasks of the Soviet government in the spring of 1918. Aggravation of the food issue. Introduction of food dictatorship. Working food detachments. Combeds.

The revolt of the left Socialist Revolutionaries and the collapse of the two-party system in Russia.

The first Soviet Constitution.

Causes of intervention and civil war. Progress of military operations. Human and material losses during the civil war and military intervention.

Domestic policy of the Soviet leadership during the war. "War communism". GOELRO plan.

The policy of the new government regarding culture.

Foreign policy. Treaties with border countries. Russia's participation in the Genoa, Hague, Moscow and Lausanne conferences. Diplomatic recognition of the USSR by the main capitalist countries.

Domestic policy. Socio-economic and political crisis of the early 20s. Famine 1921-1922 Transition to a new economic policy. The essence of NEP. NEP in the field of agriculture, trade, industry. Financial reform. Economic recovery. Crises during the NEP period and its collapse.

Projects for the creation of the USSR. I Congress of Soviets of the USSR. The first government and the Constitution of the USSR.

Illness and death of V.I. Lenin. Intra-party struggle. The beginning of the formation of Stalin's regime of power.

Industrialization and collectivization. Development and implementation of the first five-year plans. Socialist competition - goal, forms, leaders.

Formation and strengthening of the state system of economic management.

The course towards complete collectivization. Dispossession.

Results of industrialization and collectivization.

Political, national-state development in the 30s. Intra-party struggle. Political repression. Formation of the nomenklatura as a layer of managers. Stalin's regime and the USSR Constitution of 1936

Soviet culture in the 20-30s.

Foreign policy of the second half of the 20s - mid-30s.

Domestic policy. Growth of military production. Emergency measures in the field of labor legislation. Measures to solve the grain problem. Armed forces. The growth of the Red Army. Military reform. Repressions against the command cadres of the Red Army and the Red Army.

Foreign policy. Non-aggression pact and treaty of friendship and borders between the USSR and Germany. The entry of Western Ukraine and Western Belarus into the USSR. Soviet-Finnish war. Inclusion of the Baltic republics and other territories into the USSR.

Periodization of the Great Patriotic War. The initial stage of the war. Turning the country into a military camp. Military defeats 1941-1942 and their reasons. Major military events. Surrender of Nazi Germany. Participation of the USSR in the war with Japan.

Soviet rear during the war.

Deportation of peoples.

Guerrilla warfare.

Human and material losses during the war.

Creation of an anti-Hitler coalition. Declaration of the United Nations. The problem of the second front. "Big Three" conferences. Problems of post-war peace settlement and comprehensive cooperation. USSR and UN.

The beginning of the Cold War. The USSR's contribution to the creation of the "socialist camp". CMEA education.

Domestic policy of the USSR in the mid-40s - early 50s. Restoration of the national economy.

Social and political life. Policy in the field of science and culture. Continued repression. "Leningrad case". Campaign against cosmopolitanism. "The Doctors' Case"

Socio-economic development of Soviet society in the mid-50s - the first half of the 60s.

Socio-political development: XX Congress of the CPSU and condemnation of Stalin’s personality cult. Rehabilitation of victims of repression and deportation. Internal party struggle in the second half of the 50s.

Foreign policy: creation of the Department of Internal Affairs. Entry of Soviet troops into Hungary. Exacerbation of Soviet-Chinese relations. Split of the "socialist camp". Soviet-American relations and the Cuban missile crisis. USSR and "third world" countries. Reduction in the size of the armed forces of the USSR. Moscow Treaty on the Limitation of Nuclear Tests.

USSR in the mid-60s - first half of the 80s.

Socio-economic development: economic reform of 1965

Increasing difficulties in economic development. Declining rates of socio-economic growth.

Constitution of the USSR 1977

Social and political life of the USSR in the 1970s - early 1980s.

Foreign policy: Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons. Consolidation of post-war borders in Europe. Moscow Treaty with Germany. Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe (CSCE). Soviet-American treaties of the 70s. Soviet-Chinese relations. Entry of Soviet troops into Czechoslovakia and Afghanistan. Exacerbation of international tension and the USSR. Strengthening Soviet-American confrontation in the early 80s.

USSR in 1985-1991

Domestic policy: an attempt to accelerate the socio-economic development of the country. An attempt to reform the political system of Soviet society. Congresses of People's Deputies. Election of the President of the USSR. Multi-party system. Exacerbation of the political crisis.

Exacerbation of the national question. Attempts to reform the national-state structure of the USSR. Declaration of State Sovereignty of the RSFSR. "Novoogaryovsky trial". Collapse of the USSR.

Foreign policy: Soviet-American relations and the problem of disarmament. Agreements with leading capitalist countries. Withdrawal of Soviet troops from Afghanistan. Changing relations with the countries of the socialist community. Collapse of the Council for Mutual Economic Assistance and the Warsaw Pact Organization.

Russian Federation in 1992-2000.

Domestic policy: “Shock therapy” in the economy: price liberalization, stages of privatization of commercial and industrial enterprises. Fall in production. Increased social tension. Growth and slowdown in financial inflation. Intensification of the struggle between the executive and legislative branches. Dissolution of the Supreme Council and the Congress of People's Deputies. October events of 1993. Abolition of local bodies of Soviet power. Elections to the Federal Assembly. Constitution of the Russian Federation 1993 Formation of a presidential republic. Exacerbation and overcoming national conflicts in the North Caucasus.

Parliamentary elections of 1995. Presidential elections of 1996. Power and opposition. An attempt to return to the course of liberal reforms (spring 1997) and its failure. Financial crisis of August 1998: causes, economic and political consequences. "Second Chechen War". Parliamentary elections of 1999 and early presidential elections of 2000. Foreign policy: Russia in the CIS. Participation of Russian troops in “hot spots” of the neighboring countries: Moldova, Georgia, Tajikistan. Relations between Russia and foreign countries. Withdrawal of Russian troops from Europe and neighboring countries. Russian-American agreements. Russia and NATO. Russia and the Council of Europe. Yugoslav crises (1999-2000) and Russia’s position.

• Danilov A.A., Kosulina L.G. History of the state and peoples of Russia. XX century.

In the late 20s and early 30s, the international situation changed significantly. The deep global economic crisis that began in 1929 caused serious internal political changes in all capitalist countries. In some (England, France, etc.) he brought to power forces that sought to carry out broad internal reforms of a democratic nature. In others (Germany, Italy), the crisis contributed to the formation of anti-democratic (fascist) regimes that used social demagoguery in domestic politics simultaneously with the unleashing of political terror, the intensification of chauvinism and militarism. It was these regimes that became the instigators of new military conflicts (especially after A. Hitler came to power in Germany in 1933).

Hotbeds of international tension began to form at a rapid pace. One developed in Europe due to the aggressiveness of fascist Germany and Italy. The second in the Far East due to the hegemonic claims of the Japanese militarists.

Taking these factors into account, in 1933 the Soviet government defined new objectives for its foreign policy: refusal to participate in international conflicts, especially those of a military nature; recognition of the possibility of cooperation with democratic Western countries to curb the aggressive aspirations of Germany and Japan (the policy of “appeasement”); the struggle for the creation of a system of collective security in Europe and the Far East.

In the first half of the 1930s, the USSR achieved further strengthening of its position in the international arena. At the end of 1933, the United States recognized the Soviet Union and diplomatic relations were established between the two countries. The normalization of political relations between the USA and the USSR had a beneficial effect on their trade and economic ties. In September 1934, the Soviet Union was admitted to the League of Nations and became a permanent member of its Council. In 1935, Soviet-French and Soviet-Czechoslovak treaties on mutual assistance were signed in the event of any aggression against them in Europe.

However, in the mid-1930s, the foreign policy activities of the Soviet leadership began to move away from the principle of non-interference in international conflicts. In 1936, the USSR provided assistance to the government of the Popular Front of Spain with weapons and military specialists to fight General F. Franco. He, in turn, received broad political and military support from Germany and Italy. France and England adhered to neutrality. The United States shared the same position, prohibiting the Spanish government from purchasing American weapons. The Spanish Civil War ended in 1939 with the victory of the Francoists.

The policy of “appeasement” pursued by the Western powers towards Germany, Italy and Japan did not produce positive results. International tensions increased. In 1935, Germany sent troops into the demilitarized Rhineland; Italy attacked Ethiopia. In 1936, Germany and Japan signed an agreement directed against the Soviet Union (Anti-Comintern Pact). Relying on German support, Japan launched a large-scale military operation against China in 1937.

The territorial claims of Hitler's Germany were especially dangerous for the preservation of peace and security in Europe. In March 1938, Germany carried out the Anschluss (annexation) of Austria. Hitler's aggression also threatened Czechoslovakia. Therefore, the USSR came out in defense of its territorial integrity. Based on the 1935 treaty, the Soviet government offered its assistance and moved 30 divisions, aircraft and tanks to the western border. However, the government of E. Benes refused it and complied with A. Hitler’s demand to transfer to Germany the Sudetenland, populated mainly by Germans.

The Western powers pursued a policy of concessions to Nazi Germany, hoping to create a reliable counterweight against the USSR and direct its aggression to the east. The culmination of this policy was the Munich Agreement (September 1938) between Germany, Italy, England and France. It legally formalized the dismemberment of Czechoslovakia. Feeling its strength, Germany occupied all of Czechoslovakia in 1930.

In the Far East, Japan, having captured most of China, approached the Soviet borders. In the summer of 1938, an armed conflict occurred on the territory of the USSR in the area of ​​Lake Khasan. The Japanese group was repulsed. In May 1939, Japanese troops invaded Mongolia. Units of the Red Army under the command of G.K^TsKukov defeated them in the area of ​​the Khalkhin Gol River.

At the beginning of 1939, the last attempt was made to create a system of collective security between England, France and the Soviet Union. However, Western states did not believe in the potential ability of the USSR to resist fascist aggression. Therefore, they delayed the negotiations in every possible way. In addition, Poland categorically refused to guarantee the passage of Soviet troops through its territory to repel the expected fascist aggression. At the same time, Great Britain established secret contacts with Germany in order to reach agreement on a wide range of political problems (including the neutralization of the USSR in the international arena).

The Soviet government knew that the German army was already in full readiness to attack Poland. Realizing the inevitability of war and its unpreparedness for it, it sharply changed its foreign policy orientation and moved towards rapprochement with Germany. On August 23, 1939, a Soviet-German non-aggression pact was concluded in Moscow, which entered into force immediately and lasted for 10 years (Ribbentrop-Molotov Pact). Attached to it was a secret protocol on the delimitation of spheres of influence in Eastern Europe. The interests of the Soviet Union were recognized by Germany in the Baltic states (Latvia, Estonia, Finland) and Bessarabia.

On September 1, 1939, Germany attacked Poland. Poland's allies Great Britain and France declared war on Germany on September 3. However, they did not provide real military assistance to the Polish government, which ensured A. Hitler a quick victory. The Second World War began.

In the new international conditions, the leadership of the USSR began to implement the Soviet-German agreements of August 1939 on September 17, after the Germans defeated the Polish army and the fall of the Polish government. The Red Army entered Western Belarus and Western Ukraine. On September 28, the Soviet-German Treaty “On Friendship and Border” was concluded, securing these lands as part of the Soviet Union. At the same time, the USSR insisted on concluding agreements with Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, receiving the right to station its troops on their territory. In these republics, in the presence of Soviet troops, legislative elections were held, in which communist forces won. In 1940, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania became part of the USSR.

In November 1939, the USSR began a war with Finland in the hope of its quick defeat and the creation of a pro-communist government in it. There was also a military-strategic need to ensure the security of Leningrad by moving the Soviet-Finnish border away from it in the area of ​​the Karelian Isthmus. Military operations were accompanied by huge losses on the part of the Red Army. They demonstrated her poor preparedness. Stubborn resistance of the Finnish army was ensured by the deeply echeloned defensive "Mannerheim Line". Western states provided Finland with political support. The USSR, under the pretext of its aggression, was expelled from the League of Nations. At the cost of enormous efforts, the resistance of the Finnish armed forces was broken. In March 1940, a Soviet-Finnish peace treaty was signed, according to which the USSR received the entire Karelian Isthmus.

In the summer of 1940, as a result of political pressure, Romania ceded Bessarabia and Northern Bukovina to the Soviet Union.

As a result, large territories with a population of 14 million people were included in the USSR. The country's border has moved in the west in different places to a distance of 300 to 600 km. The foreign policy agreements of 1939 helped delay the German attack on the Soviet Union for almost two years.

The Soviet leadership agreed to an agreement with fascist Germany, whose ideology and policies it had previously condemned. Such a turn could be carried out under the conditions of the state system, all internal means of propaganda of which were aimed at justifying the actions of the government and forming a new attitude of Soviet society towards the Hitler regime.

34. Foreign policy of the USSR in the pre-war years.

Foreign Policy In the 30s. In the late 20s and early 30s, the international situation changed significantly. The deep global economic crisis that began in 1929 caused serious internal political changes in all capitalist countries. In some (England, France, etc.) he brought to power forces that sought to carry out broad internal reforms of a democratic nature. In others (Germany, Italy), the crisis contributed to the formation of anti-democratic (fascist) regimes.

Taking these factors into account, in 1933 the Soviet government defined new tasks for its foreign policy: refusal to participate in international conflicts, especially those of a military nature; recognition of the possibility of cooperation with democratic Western countries to curb the aggressive aspirations of Germany and Japan (the policy of “appeasement”). At the end of 1933, the United States recognized the Soviet Union and diplomatic relations were established between the two countries. In 1935, Soviet-French and Soviet-Czechoslovak treaties on mutual assistance were signed in the event of any aggression against them in Europe.

The policy of “appeasement” pursued by the Western powers towards Germany, Italy and Japan did not produce positive results. International tensions increased. In 1935, Germany sent troops into the demilitarized Rhineland; Italy attacked Ethiopia. In 1936, Germany and Japan signed an agreement directed against the Soviet Union (Anti-Comintern Pact). Relying on German support, Japan launched a large-scale military operation against China in 1937.

The territorial claims of Hitler's Germany were especially dangerous for the preservation of peace and security in Europe. The Western powers pursued a policy of concessions to Nazi Germany, hoping to create a reliable counterweight against the USSR and direct its aggression to the east. The culmination of this policy was the Munich Agreement (September 1938) between Germany, Italy, England and France. It legally formalized the dismemberment of Czechoslovakia. Feeling its strength, Germany occupied all of Czechoslovakia in 1930.

In the Far East, Japan, having captured most of China, approached the Soviet borders. In the summer of 1938, an armed conflict occurred on the territory of the USSR in the area of ​​Lake Khasan. The Japanese group was repulsed. In May 1939, Japanese troops invaded Mongolia. Units of the Red Army under the command of G.K. Zhukov defeated them in the area of ​​the Khalkhin Gol River.

The Soviet government knew that the German army was already in full readiness to attack Poland. Realizing the inevitability of war and its unpreparedness for it, it sharply changed its foreign policy orientation and moved towards rapprochement with Germany. On August 23, 1939, a Soviet-German non-aggression treaty was concluded in Moscow, which entered into force immediately and lasted for 10 years (Ribbentrop-Molotov Pact). Attached to it was a secret protocol on the delimitation of spheres of influence in Eastern Europe. The interests of the Soviet Union were recognized by Germany in the Baltic states (Latvia, Estonia, Finland) and Bessarabia.

On September 1, 1939, Germany attacked Poland. Poland's allies, Great Britain and France, declared war on Germany on September 3. However, they did not provide real military assistance to the Polish government, which ensured A. Hitler a quick victory. The Second World War began.

On September 17, the Red Army entered Western Belarus and Western Ukraine. On September 28, the Soviet-German Treaty “On Friendship and Border” was concluded, securing these lands as part of the Soviet Union. In 1940, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania became part of the USSR.

In November 1939, the USSR began a war with Finland in the hope of its quick defeat and the creation of a pro-communist government in it. There was also a military-strategic need to ensure the security of Leningrad by moving the Soviet-Finnish border away from it in the area of ​​the Karelian Isthmus. Military operations were accompanied by huge losses on the part of the Red Army. They demonstrated her poor preparedness.

Foreign policy of the USSR on the eve of the war:

struggle for collective security

2 opposition to the Munich agreement

March-August 1939 - unsuccessful negotiations between the USSR and England and France.

August 1939 - 3 groups of negotiations:

Military missions of the USSR, England and France.

Military missions of England and Germany

Military missions of the USSR and Germany

August 1939 - a non-aggression pact was concluded between the USSR and Germany (10-year term)

summer 1938 - battles near Lake Khasan

May-summer 1939 - battles at Havnen Gala (Japan learned a serious lesson)

September 1939 - The Red Army entered Western Ukraine and Western Belarus.

September 1939 - Treaty of Friendship and Border with Germany.

summer 1940 - Bessarabia, Northern Bukovina and the Baltic states become part of the USSR.

December 1940 - Hitler approves a plan to attack the USSR.

Already in the early 30s, the USSR established diplomatic relations with most of the countries of the world at that time, and in 1934 it joined the League of Nations, an international organization created in 1919 with the aim of collectively resolving issues in the world community. In 1936, a Franco-Soviet treaty on mutual assistance in the event of aggression followed. Since in the same year fascist Germany and Japan signed the “Anti-Comintern Pact,” which Italy later joined, the response to this was the conclusion of a non-aggression treaty with China in August 1937.

The threat to the Soviet Union from the countries of the fascist bloc was growing. Japan provoked two armed conflicts - near Lake Khasan in the Far East (August 1938) and in Mongolia, with which the USSR was bound by an allied treaty (summer 1939). These conflicts were accompanied by significant losses on both sides. .

After the conclusion of the Munich Agreement in 1938 on the separation of the Sudetenland from Czechoslovakia, the USSR's distrust of Western countries that agreed with Hitler's claims to part of Czechoslovakia intensified. Despite this, Soviet diplomacy did not lose hope of creating a defensive alliance with England and France. However, negotiations with delegations from these countries (August 1939) ended in failure.

This forced the Soviet government to move closer to Germany. On August 23, 1939, a Soviet-German non-aggression treaty was signed, accompanied by a secret protocol on the delimitation of spheres of influence in Europe. Estonia, Latvia, Finland, and Bessarabia were included in the sphere of influence of the Soviet Union. In the event of the division of Poland, its Belarusian and Ukrainian territories were to go to the USSR.

After Germany’s attack on Poland on September 28, a new agreement was concluded with Germany, according to which Lithuania also transferred to the sphere of influence of the USSR. Part of the territory of Poland became part of the Ukrainian and Belarusian SSR. In August 1940, the Soviet government granted the request to admit three new republics into the USSR - Estonian, Latvian and Lithuanian, where pro-Soviet governments came to power. At the same time, Romania gave in to the ultimatum demand of the Soviet government and transferred the territories of Bessarabia and northern Bukovina to the USSR. Such a significant territorial expansion of the Soviet Union pushed its borders far to the west, which, given the threat of invasion from Germany, should be assessed as a positive development.

Similar actions of the USSR towards Finland led to an armed conflict that escalated into the Soviet-Finnish War of 1939-1940. During heavy winter battles, only in February 1940 did the Red Army troops, with great difficulty and losses, manage to overcome the defensive “Mannerheim Line” that was considered impregnable. These actions led to the USSR being expelled from the League of Nations. However, Finland was forced to transfer the entire Karelian Isthmus to the USSR, which significantly moved the border away from Leningrad.

By the end of the 1930s. The Soviet Union took first place in Europe and second place in the world in terms of total industrial production. Hundreds of new cities have risen in previously uninhabited areas, and thousands of new factories have come into operation. Millions of people worked selflessly, perceived the successes and concerns of the country as their own, and believed that they were building a new world. Success in the economy was achieved at the cost of enormous effort and self-restraint while maintaining serious imbalances in the national economy. And in the third five-year plan (1938-1942), the emphasis was on the development of heavy industry. Meanwhile, weak discipline, insufficient professional training and staff turnover persisted in this industry. Many new buildings were built with the labor of prisoners. By this time, the country had finally established a political regime with a completely nationalized economy and command-administrative methods of management. The spiritual and cultural life of society was under constant ideological control. The psychological atmosphere in society was characterized by a combination of mass enthusiasm, faith in a better future with fear of the unknown, and lack of understanding of the reasons for the repressions being carried out.