The Soviet Union

The Soviet Union

World War II is a significant mark in the history of the world. The war was fought between 1939 and 1945. The vast majority of the countries in the world fought under two opposing sides which are the Axis and the Allied forces. It was perhaps the deadliest of wars in history since the resulting amount of deaths was more than 50 million. The war bears a great significance in Russia since 80% of the war was fought on the Russian front. The Soviet Union is acclaimed for winning the war. The Red Army defeated the Germans starting from Stalingrad up until the end of the war ¹ . It should be noted that many governments had viewed the Soviet Union as a pariah because of the many controversial policies that it upheld. However, the victory of World War II vindicated the Soviet Union’s policies and behavior.

Relations before the World War

The Soviet Union was a religious supporter of communist ideologies. The USSR was not only an ideological enemy to many countries, but also a racial enemy. There were no relations between the USSR and many foreign nations because of the ideological differences that existed between them. The state was not given diplomatic recognition, however, it has singularly progressed to position itself among the superpowers of the world. The cold relations that existed between the USSR and the other countries began with the ascension of the Bolsheviks to power. Many of the other international players believed that the leadership of the Bolsheviks was not democratically elected, neither was their government representative. The Bolsheviks under the leadership of Vladimir Lenin set up the Communist International whereby they aimed to spread communism to the whole of Europe and Asia. Germany was an admired country to the leaders of the USSR hence it was a surprise when the communist ideas of the Soviet Union were not taken up by Hitler. The Soviet foreign policy had been to ensure a worldwide communist revolution and as such rising levels of concern grew in other countries which wholly supported communism. The Bolsheviks and Vladimir Lenin revised the policy to ensure the protection of Russia through territorial expansion ² . Other countries within Eastern Europe began to contemplate about military intervention in Russia and as such made military provisions to the teams of opposition in the country. Sadly, all opposition was thwarted by Bolshevism and as such, they embarked on their original plan on of staging communist revolutions across the whole globe. The relations between the USSR and other nations went state and as such USSR was no longer recognized as a diplomatic counterpart.

The creation of different pacts between the Soviet and Germany also stirred unsettlement in the Eastern European region. The thought of German domination seemed to come alive with the support and reinforcement that the Soviets provided Nazi Germany. The main aim of the Soviets still remained to spread communism across the globe by all means including the use of diplomatic relations. A good number of the civilized countries were against communism including the United States. Germany failed the Bolsheviks and at last, they resorted to the spread of communism in the Soviet Union. The shift in ideological focus of the Bolsheviks also came with the beginning of bilateral agreements with other countries including capitalist countries. It is important to note that the USSR sweetened or soured relations with other countries for their own advantage. Therefore relations with Germany who had been declared the greatest racial enemy in Eastern Europe were forged in attempts to modernize the Soviet Union. When Stalin took over control of the government and was able to crush the oppositions therein, he sought to see the growth of socialism as well as establish an alliance with Germany. Perhaps the Soviet’s persistence with Germany in terms of an alliance was the most disturbing foreign policy that the other players in Eastern Europe feared. The cold relations with other countries were further worsened when Stalin attacked Finland and absorbed the Baltic states of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania. Before, the invasion of Poland by both Germany and USSR had stirred up tension in America.

Hitler’s invasion of the USSR in 1941 took Stalin by surprise ³ . It was also a move that changed the attitudes of the other countries towards USSR. Relations between the USSR, USA and Britain quickly improved on the basis of military assistance. The Japanese Attack on Pearl Harbor triggered the view of the USSR as an embattled country overrun by fascist forces and as such, all manner of help was provided.

During the war

The relationship between the Soviet Union and other countries has always been strained. The Soviet Union's withdrawal from the First World War and also the joint invasion of Poland with Germany angered the Allied forces to the extent that the union was expelled from the League of Nations. When the Germans invaded Russia, a temporary alliance was formed between the Allied forces and the USSR and as such, there was a combined effort to thwart Hitler's armies. It should be noted that the Soviet Union shouldered a big part of this burden since a large percentage of the war was fought on their land and many of their military men and civilians were lost. The Mutual Assistance treaty that was signed between the USSR and Great Britain allowed for assistance to be received from the allied forces including the American Lend-Lease program, therefore, the tensed relationship between the Soviet and the American nation were relieved. The Lend Lease program provided weaponry, ships, aircrafts and food to the soldiers at the war front. The countries came together to be able to fight the Nazi Germany and even overpower them.

The Yalta conference in 1943 saw to the intensive and prolonged diplomatic negotiations between the big three powers of the Allied forces. These were the USSR, USA and Britain. Roosevelt and Churchill made a few concessions to the demand of Stalin who crafted the whole scope of the World War. The wartime conferences sough to shape the world after the war by ensuring German domination was impossible. After the defeat of Germany, the Soviet Union promised the allies that it would proceed with war with the Japanese. Therefore at the Yalta Conference, many punitive measures were laid against Nazi Germany with consideration being given to reparations and Allied occupation. Berlin fell to the forces of the Soviet Army in 1945. It should be noted that Stalin had insisted for the war to be fought on two fronts. This was so because of his fear for the security of Russia. He, like his predecessors, believed in the security of Russia through territorial expansion and the recent German invasion of his land has easily served to increase his paranoia. He feared that the capitalists would unite to overthrow the regime of the communists and take over the USSR.

The impending ideological difference in the backdrop of the agreements could not be ignored. In the Soviet foreign policy, Stalin demanded that the boundaries of Russia be restored to where they were in 1941. According to him, Poland was weak and as such, it was the corridor that would be used by the capitalists to attack the communist regime. The demands of Stalin threatened the possible existence of the Alliance since Britain was reluctant to grant these demands and Stalin threatened to refuse to sign the alliance. Stalin wanted a buffer zone from aggression and conflict with the capitalists and he hoped that the Nazi-Soviet pact would see to it that he enhanced the position of Russia. He wanted the destruction of Germany, just like the other Allied powers. He, however, realized that his state was a significant determinant in the outcome of the war and as such was less conciliatory with the proposed agreements until his demands were met. In the year, 1942, Stalin signed the agreement proposed by the Allied forces so that he would have Britain under a sense of obligation. It was highly likely that the foreign policies and ideological standing of the USSR would have turned the Allied powers against the Soviet Union after the war but the wartime conferences were engineered to craft world peace. Efforts were made by the other Allied forces under the insistence of Stalin that a second front be opened on the Western side so as to relieve the pressure and ensure the survival of the USSR. Therefore, by coming to terms with the Allied forces and also giving a large sacrifice of its national wealth in order to win the war, the USSR was vindicated off her prewar crimes and policies.

The alliance that was forced among the ‘Big Three’ of the Allied forces was the beginning of a significant and fundamental orientation of the USSR ⁴ . Soviet’s foreign policy was slowly evolving to embrace diplomacy and to accommodate capitalism. The Alliance was important to Stalin as it was important to the other Allied powers. The presence of the Red Army was mandatory for victory against the Germans to be actualized. Help from countries such as America and Britain was also pivotal in ensuring success. Stalin also visualized a significant post-war continuation of the ‘Big Three’ to be of the utmost importance. The alliance revolutionized Stalin’s ideologies of security and protection of Russia by showing him that these goals could be achieved through the continuation of peace. As aforementioned, Russia strengthened its relations with other countries basing on the advantage that stood to be gained by them. Stalin supported the continuation of peace and alliance because of the benefits that he would get. First of all, his long-term desires for security could be met through the alliances. Second, he realized that since 80% of the war had been fought within his lands and by his resources, Russia would be at its weakest after the war and as such would need protection. Russia would also need support in economic terms to be able to recover from the losses incurred in the war. A significant amount of the country's wealth and resources was poured into the war while a larger amount was lost because of the war. The alliance would, therefore, forestall aggression while at the same time provide aid for recovery and reconstruction.

Despite the significant contribution of the Allied countries to the Soviet efforts on the Eastern Front, the lion's share of the financial burden was shouldered by the USSR. The victory achieved against the Germans did not come cheap. Property and lives were lost in large quantities. Statistics indicate that there were sixteen million casualties in the Red Army and a similar number of deaths of Soviet civilians. The state lost nearly 25% of its national wealth that can be broken down to six million houses, six thousand medical centers, 82,000 schools, 32,000 factories, farms and libraries in their thousands as well as a significant quantity of roads and railways were destroyed. The astronomical costs that the state incurred were the main reason that the country was viewed in a positive light by the other superpowers. It is true that many leaders asserted Stalin's victory came at too great a cost but then again, the victory of the Soviets was preferred to the global racist empire that Hitler had aspired to create. Despite the anti-communist stand that had put many countries against the USSR, Stalin was acclaimed for the victory and even accorded the accolade of ‘generalissimus'- a title that he well deserved. There was also the need to assist the USSR in reconstructing and reclaiming the lost wealth.

Stalin’s personal influence

Stalin’s personality in the pre-war times and during the war was very questionable and disfavored by many. It was no secret that he had the final say in whatever issues came up, big or small, military or diplomatic, economic, social or political. There were some who viewed him as a benign dictator, but in reality, he was a ruthless authoritarian. To be able to gather the Red Army and maintain it in the utmost discipline and loyalty meant that he had to strike a chord with ruthlessness. The public viewed him in good light and assumed that he would enforce democracy and liberalism. However, the events of his regime were coupled with war and tensed relations, and the state evidently turned into an authoritarian communist state. This aspect caused the Soviet Union to brush shoulders with many other nations that were against communism and also supported the democratic kind of leadership.

The era of Stalin's leadership saw the harshest discipline being imposed on the citizens of the state. Cowardice, ill-discipline and treason were heavily punished and a large number of executions were recorded. Those who had fought alongside the Germans were shown no mercy since the leader felt the personal responsibility to rally a patriotic war for national defense. Despite the hostilities that he faced owing to his terrorist-like mode of leadership, he steered the country towards a victory in the war. The authoritarian personality of Stalin had a personal influence on the policies that he signed into effect including the foreign policy ⁵ . He sought to establish a geopolitical policy through the expansion of the Russian borders and making Russia a dominant power. He sought to achieve this through unorthodox means and was willing to do whatever it took including having an alliance with Nazi Germany causing the Soviet Union to be at loggerheads with other nations and even expulsion from the League of Nations. When it was evident that the Germans had used him to achieve their own goals, he reconciles with the Allied forces with a serious determination to defeat Germany.

At the time of the Second World War, the USSR had Stalin as the supreme commander of the military forces. He took it upon himself to supervise and strategize the war. Not only did the Soviet Union have a high morale for fighting the war, but also they were materially prepared to incur the costs of the war. The victory of the Soviet Union in the World War did not occur primarily because of the proper strategies that were employed by the fighting armies. It was Stalin’s industrialization that saw to the endurance of the Red Army in their attempts to thwart the Germans. Stalin recognized that the policies he employed in the country were to be angled on economic transformation. Therefore, he lobbied for rapid industrialization and the collectivization of agriculture ⁶ . The main purpose of the collectivization of agriculture was to ensure that in the face of war, the state did not suffer a food crisis that would cripple the military efforts of the Red Army. The high production of food served the people and the army alike resulting into a high-level wartime supply of materials. Prior to the war, specifically in the years 1928-1931, Stalin had advocated for rapid industrialization in the country. This is the policy that was validated by wartime experience. The industries were able to increase their output significantly up to 2.6 times more. There was a high level of armament whereby the civilian industries increased the output of munitions 70-fold. The policy of armament and rapid industrialization at high costs did not sit well with the other nations that feared the domination of the Soviet Union as a superpower. Stalin recognized the fact that the Second World War could only be won with the contribution of the USSR and thus prepared adequately for the war even before it occurred.

An imperative factor to the positive outcome of the war was the volume of weaponry and ammunition that was available to the Red Army in the course of the war. In addition to the stockpile that had been amassed by the Soviet Union, the Lend-Lease program added significantly to the existing resources. The capacity of the Red Army to be able to replenish and expand their weaponry and attacks were the most vital factor towards victory in the war as compared to the quality of ammunition that was being used. The USSR would not have lasted long in the war without such factors being put into consideration. Therefore, it is safe to conclude that Stalin engineered the course and the end of the Second World War. The ability of the Soviet to outlast and overpower the Germans was not accidental, and neither was it because of the Mutual Assistance Treaty, it was a by-product of the controversial rapid industrialization policy that had been put in place by Stalin. He registered his satisfaction and confidence in his efforts towards the war and also affirmed that war is a national test. By winning the Second World War, the Soviet Union had the verification of all the people and states. ““a great school of testing and verification of all the people’s forces . . . an examination for our Soviet system, our state, our government, our Communist Party” With this verification, the pre-war tensions were eroded. Also, the Soviet social systems, armed forces and multinational state were vindicated in the eyes of the critics and naysayers. Later on, during the Tehran conference in 1943 and other subsequent conferences, the relationship between the Soviet Union and other nations improved to the extent the state was allowed influence in Eastern Europe because of the huge sacrifice that it had made in the world war.

In conclusion, Stalin was a wise leader with great foresight and hindsight. It is because of these that he engineered the course of the Second World War to ensure a resounding victory for the Soviet Union while at the same time securing his interests and goals for his country. By having a good strategy, learning from his mistakes and seeking for the loopholes by which he would gain maximum benefit, the USSR was secured despite the large sacrifice that would be made in the course of the war. The prewar policies of the Soviet nation had spurred a lot of negativity towards the USSR and as such, the sacrifice in war and the resultant victory cleared all negativity.

Bibliography

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