Anglo Soviet Relations In The 1920s
Why Were Anglo-Soviet Relations So Poor In The Early 1920s?
In November 1917 Lenin and his Bolshevik (Communist) Party came to
power in Russia. The Bolsheviks announced that Russia was in a state of
war with every other non-Communist state (including GB). Whilst there
was some sympathy with the regime (mainly from the British left), the
majority of British opinion including public opinion opposed Lenin’s
government. There were a number of reasons for this hostile attitude
through the 1920s;
 The British resented Russia’s withdrawal from WW1. She had
signed a separate peace treaty at Brest-Litovsk in 1918. This freed
up German troops to fight on the Western Front against British,
French and American troops. As a result Russia was not present at
Versailles.
 The Bolsheviks immediately nationalised all foreign enterprises in
Russia without compensating. In addition they made it clear that
they would not repay any war debts owed to Britain.
 The British resented the establishment of the Comintern, an
organisation designed to spread Communism to other countries
through political unrest and revolution. The creation of a
Communist Party of Great Britain in 1920 worried governments,
especially given the poor economic circumstances of the 1920s and
1930s.
 Anglo-Soviet relations were soured when British troops intervened
in the Russian Civil War of 1918-21. Despite Lloyd-George’s advice,
Churchill and the other Conservatives in the Cabinet sent an
expedition of 30,000 troops to aid the Whites (non-Communists)
against the Reds. In addition some £100 million was sent in
financial assistance to the Whites. By 1919 it was clear the
Bolsheviks were winning and British troops were withdrawn.
What Attempts Were Made To Improve Relations?
Generally in the 1920s, Anglo-Soviet relations depended on which party
was in government. The Labour governments proved far more willing to do
business with the USSR than the Conservatives. Additionally, British
policy shifted according to Soviet objectives. Throughout British
diplomats found it difficult to adjust to the “double-speak” of the USSR;
 On one hand there was the Comintern, which still preached world
revolution and claimed that Britain was the arch imperialistcapitalist enemy.

On the other hand there was the desire of the Soviet government
to normalise relations with other countries to allow economic cooperation.
In the early period of the 1920s Lloyd-George’s coalition pressed ahead
with negotiations with USSR to establish trade relations. However he was
keen to stress that this would only come about if the regimes “Communist
principles are abandoned”. He was also deeply concerned that if Russia
was not allowed back into the European fold then she might ally with the
other pariah of Europe, Germany. His efforts proved unsuccessful;
 The Soviet Union was not diplomatically recognised by Britain.
 In 1921 an Anglo-Soviet Trade Agreement was signed. As part of
this, both sides agreed not to engage in hostile propaganda.
Additionally, the Soviets recognised (in principle), its obligation to
pay private citizens in Britain for goods supplied to Russia during
the war.
 In 1922 Lloyd-George attempted to widen the scope of this
agreement by bringing Russia into the European economic fold. At
the World Economic Conference at Geneva secret discussions took
place but made little progress due to the issue of compensation for
western pre-war investment in Russia. Britain’s fears were
confirmed when during the conference Russia and Germany
announced the Treaty of Rapallo. This brought substantial
economic and military benefit to both countries including allowing
Germany to sidestep the military terms of Versailles by testing
weapons on Russian soil.
The Conservative government which followed (with Lord Curzon as foreign
secretary) proved less committed to economic cooperation. In fact,
Britain threatened to end the 1921 trade agreement after Soviet
violation of the hostile propaganda clause.
In 1924 the Labour Party came to power at the head of a minority
government. Immediately Ramsey MacDonald who was both PM and
Foreign Secretary, recognised the USSR and sought an expanded trade
agreement. The 1924 Anglo-Soviet Trade Agreement promised the
following;
 A promise of friendship and an end to propaganda.
 A British loan of £30 million if Russia satisfactorily settled debts
owed.
Many viewed this rapprochement with the USSR suspiciously. The
Liberals withdrew their support from the minority government. During
the general election that followed Labour was charged with being
susceptible to Communist pressure.
Labour’s cause was not helped by the Zinoviev Letter scandal. A few days
before the election started, a letter from Gregory Zinoviev (head of the
Comintern) addressed to the British Communist Party was published in
British newspapers. It pressed them to promote revolution in Britain
through agitation and rebellion. Whether it was a forgery or not, it
turned middle class opinion against Labour. Unsurprisingly the
Conservatives won a crushing victory.
1924-1931 The Deterioration of Anglo-Soviet Relations:
The new Conservative government under Stanley Baldwin saw a new dip in
relations. There were a number of reasons;
 The Conservatives did not ratify the recent Anglo-Soviet Trade
Agreement.
 During the 1926 General Strike the Soviets made a large
donation to the Miners’ Federation, leading to angry protests in
the British government.
 The ARCOS raid in 1927 caused the severing of all diplomatic and
trade relations. The British secret service raided the All Russian
Co-operative Society’s London premises believing that the Soviets
were using it as a means of directing espionage and subversion
against Britain. The raid was inconclusive but relations were
severely damaged.
On its return to power in 1929 the Labour government succeeded in
restoring diplomatic relations as well as signing a commercial treaty.
However nothing further developed due to the deadlock over Russian
debts. Stalin (now leader of the USSR) was also more concerned with the
economic development of Russia. Russia remained on the periphery of
Europe.