📆 #OTD, the non-aggression treaty between the Soviet Union and Nazi Germany, often referred to as the Molotov-Ribbentrop pact, was signed in Moscow in 1939.
Soviet leadership, after Hitler came to power, made every effort to stop the aggressor and set up a system of collective security in Europe.
👉 These endeavors were blocked by the leading Western powers, Great Britain and France, which eventually found themselves trapped in their own schemes. The Munich Agreement signed by the heads of government of Germany, Great Britain, France and Italy in September 1938 became the most glaring example of the “policy of appeasement” of Hitler by Western countries. By signing it, the European leaders “greenlighted” the annexation of parts of Czechoslovakia by Nazi Germany, in an obvious attempt – on a larger scale – to channel German aggression to the East.
☝️ In fact, the Soviet Union became the last to conclude a treaty with Germany after Poland (1934), Great Britain (1935, 1938), France (1938), Italy (1939), Denmark (1939), Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia (1939).
🔻 The conclusion of the Pact was a severe necessity for the Soviet Union after the final failure of negotiations with the British and the French, a lifesaver within the aggravating international situation.
🔻The decision was taken in an extremely short period of time, when the futility of Moscow’s calls for an effective anti-Hitler coalition was fully revealed. The USSR also could not risk a war on two fronts, given that clashes with Japan were already ongoing in the Far East and there was no guarantee that they would escalate into a large-scale confrontation.
❗️ Therefore, the Soviet decision was primarily dictated by a need to ensure national security and any parallels between the USSR and Germany in starting WWII are simply cooked up.
#WWII #SovietHistory #RussianHistory #MolotovRibbentropPact
Soviet leadership, after Hitler came to power, made every effort to stop the aggressor and set up a system of collective security in Europe.
👉 These endeavors were blocked by the leading Western powers, Great Britain and France, which eventually found themselves trapped in their own schemes. The Munich Agreement signed by the heads of government of Germany, Great Britain, France and Italy in September 1938 became the most glaring example of the “policy of appeasement” of Hitler by Western countries. By signing it, the European leaders “greenlighted” the annexation of parts of Czechoslovakia by Nazi Germany, in an obvious attempt – on a larger scale – to channel German aggression to the East.
☝️ In fact, the Soviet Union became the last to conclude a treaty with Germany after Poland (1934), Great Britain (1935, 1938), France (1938), Italy (1939), Denmark (1939), Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia (1939).
🔻 The conclusion of the Pact was a severe necessity for the Soviet Union after the final failure of negotiations with the British and the French, a lifesaver within the aggravating international situation.
🔻The decision was taken in an extremely short period of time, when the futility of Moscow’s calls for an effective anti-Hitler coalition was fully revealed. The USSR also could not risk a war on two fronts, given that clashes with Japan were already ongoing in the Far East and there was no guarantee that they would escalate into a large-scale confrontation.
❗️ Therefore, the Soviet decision was primarily dictated by a need to ensure national security and any parallels between the USSR and Germany in starting WWII are simply cooked up.
#WWII #SovietHistory #RussianHistory #MolotovRibbentropPact