TRADITIONAL CONCERNS OF SECURITY AND ECONOMIC PROSPERITY WERE MORE
VALUABLE THAN IDEOLOGICAL CONCERNS IN DEVELOPING SOVIET FOREIGN POLICY 1917-
1941.
TO WHAT EXTENT WAS IDEOLOGY RESPONSIBLE FOR THE CHANGING EMPHASIS IN SOVIET
FOREIGN POLICY?
From the Bolshevik regime to Stalin, the significance of ideology as the emphasis in Soviet
Foreign Policy was subject to fluctuation, as it was often put second to traditional state concerns as a priority. In particular, it was the ideological transformation from Marxism-
Leninism’s promotion of world socialist revolution, to Stalin’s Socialism in One Country theory that ultimately resulted in changing emphasis in Soviet Foreign Policy.
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From 1917 to 1920, the Bolshevik regime – there was a distinctive swing between traditional foreign policy manoeuvres, and the ideological belief in spreading socialist revolution in other countries. o The Treaty of Brest-Litovsk: clearly indicative of the need to compromise ideological aims in order to secure their position as the new leaders of Russia, through the application of traditional foreign policy methods. As outlined by historian Martin McCauley, the Soviets entered this traditional agreement, in which they lost 32% of their arable land, due to the hope that “come the socialist revolution in Germany, the treaty would be torn up”. Thus, it is evident that although ideology was never abandoned in the mentality of the
Soviet Union, from the beginning of the time period onwards, it was often compromised for traditional concerns of security. o Opposing the ways of thinking behind the previously discussed treaty, the establishment of the Communist International (shortened to Comintern) in
March 1919 demonstrates the changing emphasis in Soviet Foreign Policy throughout the time period. Initially led by Zinoviev, the Comintern was solely focused on assisting foreign socialist revolutionaries in overthrowing their current governments – this reflected a core belief within the USSR’s ideology, the need to establish world revolution.
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Stalin’s assumption of power brought with it his theory of Socialism in One Country, which essentially altered the emphasis in Soviet Foreign Policy to that of traditional concerns. Throughout his reign, we see a complete abandonment of socialist ideological concerns in regards to foreign policy. o He changed the direction of the Comintern, detaching it from the revolutionary aims of Marxist-Leninism, and eventually ended it in 1943. o Stalin was arranging agreements with both the West and fascist Germany – both were ideological opposites and potential enemies.
 Collective security (expand on this)
 Nazi-Soviet Pact (expand on this) o As indicated by historian Richard Overy, “Soviet foreign policy aimed to play one power off against another” in the interest of national security.