Foreign policy of Russia at the beginning of the XX century. The greatest political reformers of the 20th century The most famous political figures of the 20th century

Each person has his own heroes, but if we are talking about the most famous politicians of the 20th century, then for all they are practically the same people. Two world wars, the collapse of empires and the creation of several dozen new states revealed outstanding politicians who have forever remained in the history of mankind.

Lenin forever!

Failures in the First World War and the bad domestic policy of Russia at the beginning of the 20th century brought the great state to the brink of destruction. Vladimir Ilyich Lenin (Ulyanov) managed to create the world's first "state of workers and peasants" on the ruins of the Russian Empire. The revolution and civil war changed the history of mankind forever. To all ordinary people of the world, he gave hope for social justice in real life. By harsh and bloody methods, under his leadership, victory was won over internal opponents and intervention.

In foreign policy at the beginning of the 20th century, the young country strove to spread socialist ideas. Lenin proved to be an outstanding theoretician of Marxism and a pragmatic politician. He introduced war communism and a new economic system into world political practice, deviating from the ideals of Marxism, when it was necessary to restore the country after the war. Lenin will forever remain the greatest politician of the 20th century in Russia.

Stalin: Winner or Executioner?

Who will remain in the history of Russia Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin (Dzhugashvili), while no one can say. For many countries of the world who believe that the United States won the Second World War, he is undoubtedly a bloody tyrant who unleashed massive terror in the country and enslaved the peoples of Europe. By his order, dozens of peoples of Russia were resettled from their native land to Central Asia, hundreds of thousands of people died during the pre-war repressions.

On the other hand, it is impossible to hush up the real achievements of the leader: in the shortest possible time, industrialization and collectivization were carried out, which gave the country commercial agriculture. Stalin took control of an agrarian country destroyed by civil war and made it an industrialized power with nuclear weapons. The country won the worst war in human history. Was it possible to act differently? Do without terrible human casualties? Nobody knows that. Mao Zedong said about Stalin: "70% of success and 30% of mistakes."

Hitler is the ruler of Europe

It is no secret that Adolf Hitler, who is perceived as an undoubted pure evil for many in the post-Soviet space, is the most famous German politician of the 20th century. He went a long way from a corporal in the First World War to the chancellor of Germany. He came to power as a result of the democratic elections of 1932-1933. He can be called the initiator of World War II, when Germany easily conquered almost all of Europe and only the Soviet Union put up decisive resistance. The total genocide against Jews, Gypsies and the peoples of the post-Soviet space who ended up in the territories occupied by Germany made him the greatest villain of the 20th century. Today it is believed that his real name sounds like Güttler, but by mistake of a priest he became Hitler.

Winner of the American Depression and the Japanese

For us, Franklin Delano Roosevelt is an American politician of the 20th century who was the president of a country that is part of the anti-Hitler coalition. But for the Americans, Roosevelt is probably above all the president who overcame the Great Depression and defeated the Japanese in the Pacific War. He is the only American politician of the 20th century, and most likely the last one to be elected to the presidency of the United States four times. After his election, Roosevelt put in order the country's banking system, agricultural and industrial sectors, established a minimum wage, and created conditions for attracting foreign investment. During the Second World War, he managed to avoid the direct participation of American troops in hostilities for as long as possible.

Franklin Roosevelt made the United States a great country. While serving as President of the United States, he released in 1945 a sequel to the stories about Sherlock Homs. Roosevelt initiated the creation of the UN.

Nonviolence is power

Among the people who are directly or indirectly responsible for thousands of ruined human lives, Mohandas Karamchand (Mahatma) Gandhi will remain the only politician of the 20th century who put human life above material wealth. Having received his legal education in the UK, he dedicated his life to fighting injustice. The Mahatma achieved his first great success in South Africa, where, thanks to his efforts, discriminatory laws against Indians working in the country were repealed. He was introduced to the people of India by the Nobel laureate Rabindranath Tagore, who first named him Mahatma, which means Great Soul. He fought for women's rights and against the Indian caste system. The Mahatma called on the Indian people to fight nonviolently (satyagraha), which eventually led to the independence of India.

Comrade Mao

No one demolishes Mao Zedong's monuments in China, nor does they stigmatize him as a bloody tyrant and murderer, although millions of Chinese have suffered as a result of the policies pursued under his leadership. He remains one of the most respected Chinese politicians of the 20th century. In 1921, Mao attended a constituent assembly which he then headed for 33 years. Mao Zedong began a guerrilla war in 1927 that ended with the proclamation of the People's Republic of China in 1949, when the armed forces of the Chinese Communist Party won a civil war, like the Japanese had before.

Modern China admits Mao's mistakes in nation-building, including the Great Leap Forward and the Cultural Revolution. But merits are also recognized: from an agrarian country with an illiterate population, by the middle of the 20th century, China became an industrial state with a literacy rate of 80% (it started with 7%). Mao Zedong's theoretical legacy - Maoism (self-reliant socialism) - is still popular in some developing countries.

First black

The most famous fighter for the rights of black people against apartheid (racial discrimination) not only in South Africa, but around the world. was born into the family of a petty tribal leader who had four wives. His mother was his third wife. Starting the movement as a supporter of non-violent methods of struggle, he led the guerrilla units of the African National Congress that blew up government and military facilities. For which he was sentenced to life imprisonment. In total, he spent 27 years - first in solitary confinement, and then in a house in the courtyard of the prison. While he was in prison, he graduated from the University of London.

In 1993, Mandela received the Nobel Peace Prize as a politician in the second half of the 20th century who eliminated apartheid. In 1994, he became the first black president of his country.

China is now the largest economy in the world thanks to the reforms initiated by Deng Xiaoping. He studied in France and the Soviet Union, where he became interested in communist ideas. In Moscow, he studied under the name Dozorov, and became Deng Xiaoping in 1924, when he joined the Chinese Communist Party, at birth he was Deng Xiansheng. He fought against the Japanese in the civil war. Then there was a long way to the leadership of the party, several times he was repressed for disagreeing with the general line of the party.

Leading China, he began economic reform. First of all, agricultural communes were abolished, industry gained greater freedom and free economic zones began to be created. This marked the start of the rapid growth of the country's economy, especially the production of consumer goods and exports. became more open in the 20th century. Chinese students have appeared in all developed countries of the world. China became a market economy, but Deng Xiaoping's reforms never affected the country's political structure. In the late 1980s, he voluntarily resigned from all leadership positions, becoming the spiritual leader of the country, continuing to influence China's foreign and domestic policy.

Empire destroyer

Under his leadership, they "justly" divided the assets that Russia inherited as the successor to the Soviet empire and conducted "shock therapy" over the country.

Russian domestic politics in the 20th century was absolutely antisocial. Market reforms were carried out in the country, all the basic laws by which Russia now lives were adopted. The state has a private sector and non-state media.

Boris Yeltsin was tried three times to declare impeachment, and in 1993 all formal procedures were carried out, but after an armed confrontation with parliament he managed to stay in power. Yeltsin ruled the country from 1991 to 1999, but everyone will probably remember the first president of the Russian Federation more from television footage at the time of the transfer of power.

Political and economic prerequisites for the introduction of social policy

The goal of any economic human activity ultimately is to create a high-quality and stable material base for improving the standard and living conditions.

Definition 1

Thus, in the generally accepted concept, social policy is a complex of economic activities interacting with each other, affecting changes in the living conditions, work, quality of life of an individual in society, which are inextricably and directly related to changes in the conditions of all representatives of a given society.

The 20th century is characterized by industrial development, the strengthening of the power of advanced countries, the spread of a universal concept and social doctrine obliging the state to meet the needs of the population in accordance with legal provisions, to ensure the improvement of the well-being of the people and to act for the common good. It was at this time that the concept of a social market economy was formed, which implied a number of measures directed by the state to modernize the market sector.

The social life of the 20th century is due to the first principles of the state equal distribution of income among the population, the general trend of transition to market relations, the development of the world market, state regulation of various financial investments in labor markets through the redistribution of turnover.

Remark 1

At the beginning of the twentieth century, in the countries of Western Europe, including Britain, the problem of poverty became the main social problem, growing regardless of regional or other factors.

Among the main reasons for the emergence of poverty in the 20th century, one can observe similar signs with the present time: lack of jobs, inflation, bankruptcy of banking systems, lack of support for low-income families, lack of minimum standards in the labor market (for example, minimum wages), etc.

Poverty was classified into the absolutely poor population with no means of subsistence and the needy, the main part of citizens who had income, but it was not enough to fully meet the minimum needs of the family.

In Eastern Europe, the new Byzantine states of the state viewed human capacity rather critically: vagrancy and unemployment were considered the most important, primarily political problems; physical or mental disabilities associated with diseases, problems of orphans, motherhood, widowhood and fatherhood were considered by the state and the church as moral problems. Nevertheless, the state provided minimal assistance to all citizens with at least one sign of poverty.

Formation of social policy

For the period of the 20th century, mechanisms of social regulation and ensuring the needs of citizens were launched in advanced countries. Depending on the territorial, economically beneficial, political and many other factors, the directions of social policy were different. At that time, two ways of developing the welfare state had already been formed:

• social policy of the residual phenomenon;
• institutional social policy.

Residual social policy implied the implementation of certain tasks and direct government intervention in the formation of management for the implementation of these tasks that were assigned to the labor market and which were not implemented according to the assigned program

This type of social policy was more passive and was characteristic of the transitional stage of the economic system. Its scale and coverage of social spheres was characterized primarily by a compensation policy, which was based on the redistribution of budgetary funds to the most pressing problems of the population. The residual social policy was justified for the conservative structure of the market, but it could not fully meet the demands of the time.

Definition 2

Institutional social policy is a new phenomenon of the 20th century, which played a significant role in the development of social systems of public administration.

The most important task of institutional policy was the quality provision of private and state social institutions in economic, social and political terms. The formation of such a system of government required public support and direct relationship between society and the state, therefore, in a conceptual sense, this type of social policy can be attributed to democratic ideology.

The main provisions of social policy

The first historical phenomenon of institutional social policy was implemented by the Swiss government, later the Swedish version of building the management of social and economic aspects was repeated many times by dozens of European and Asian states.

From the social practice of countries with a developed market economy system of the twentieth century, the following conclusions can be formulated:

1. Free or preferential provision of socially important benefits and a package of services (including education, health care, cultural provision) to the population is an important, but not the primary determining factor in the high economic development of the state.
2. The level of various social, economic, socio-political indicators directly depends on the scale and scope of the policy of redistributing state activities. This provision is repeatedly confirmed by examples of social policy of the 20th century, in particular - by calculating the human capital index.
3. The economic balancing system offers society a choice of social development - an increase in personal income, which is characterized by a decrease in the tax system and state withdrawals of personal income, and an increase in the level of social security, which implies a preferential condition in providing the most significant social needs for the entire society, or the largest part of it.
4. The general idea of \u200b\u200bstate social policy in the economic cone in relation to the degree of interference of the state apparatus in the social life of citizens is a dynamic process that develops through cyclical transformations, innovations and economic reforms that affect the most relevant aspects of social life.

The social role of the state in providing social services in the 20th century was extremely unstable. For all countries, the “golden period” in the development of the socio-economic activity of the state was the 60s-70s.

At this time of favorable social development and development, the share of social spending as a percentage of the total national product in the United States and Western Europe doubled and reached in the early 1980s: 21% - in the United States; 24% in England; 30% in France; 31.5% in Germany; more than 30% - in Sweden and Denmark. However, in spite of the significant successes of the highly developed countries, during the mid-1980s the well-oiled mechanism began to malfunction due to the global crisis.

In all developed countries in the years of the 20th century, there was a revision of the scale, orientation of government bodies and forms of financing of social programs, whose definition included not only the state interest in providing social services to citizens, but also the public sector and the business sector.

The reasons for the revision of the large-scale economic and social structure were: the need to develop social payments and their provision; expansion of the consumer society; reducing the role of the state in the social sphere; control over government spending.

At the turn of the XIX-XX centuries. the split of Europe deepened. The struggle of the great powers for the redivision of the world, spheres of influence and colonies intensified. The German Empire, created in 1871 and skipping the stage of the initial division of the world between capitalist states, sought to catch up. In this regard, its contradictions with Great Britain and France sharply escalated. In addition, the United States and Japan began to act more actively on the world stage, wishing to expand their spheres of economic and political influence. The Russian empire developed by the end of the 19th century. into a powerful Eurasian state with significant international prestige. Its foreign policy was determined by its geographic location, geopolitical, strategic and economic interests. However, there was a lot of contradiction in the choice of allies and in determining the priority directions of foreign policy. Nicholas II and his entourage also showed inconsistency in the methods of carrying out foreign policy tasks. Part of the ruling elite (S. Yu. Witte, P. A. Stolypin) understood the danger of armed conflicts for the internal modernization of the country. Therefore, they insisted on resolving the contradictions by peaceful diplomatic means. Russia took the initiative in issues of disarmament, war and peace (The Hague Conference of 1899). Another part of the ruling circles held expansionist positions, advocated further territorial acquisitions (State Secretary of the Committee for Far East Affairs A. M. Bezobrazov, Foreign Ministers A. P. Izvolsky and S. D. Sazonov). The main directions of foreign policy. At the end

XIX - early XX century. the directions traditional for Russia remained. The main thing remained the Middle East - the Black Sea straits and the Balkans. The Balkan peoples, both gaining independence and remaining under the rule of the Ottoman Empire, continued to see Russia as their patroness and ally. However, the strengthening of friendly relations with them ran into opposition from many European countries, which were interested in the Balkans as an important strategic and economic region. Austria-Hungary was especially active. In the European direction, the traditional allied relations with the Central European powers (Germany and Austria-Hungary) cooled more and more due to the growing contradictions between Russia and them. This could not be prevented by the repeated "kindred" meetings of the Russian and German emperors. Under conditions of deep Franco-German antagonism and intensification of Russian-German contradictions, France and Russia strengthened their alliance, concluded in 1891-1893, and strove for rapprochement with England. This meant the folding of a new alignment of forces in Europe. At the turn of the XIX-XX centuries. Russia has stepped up the Far East direction of its foreign policy.

Russo-Japanese War of 1904-1905

Reasons: the confrontation between Russia and Japan in the Far East, the war broke out as a result of the aggravation of contradictions: economic and political. Economic contradictions construction of the Sino-Eastern Railway, jointly with China, and Russian economic expansion in Manchuria; lease by Russia of the Liaodong Peninsula and Port Arthur. Political reasons: struggle for spheres of influence in China and Korea; war as a means of distracting from the revolutionary movement in Russia.

The balance of forces Russia, with its enormous military potential, hoped for a quick victory. However, its military resources in the Far East were significantly weaker than those of Japan. The replenishment of army units during the war was insufficient due to the considerable remoteness of the theater of operations and the weak carrying capacity of the Trans-Siberian Railway. The Russian navy in the Far East was quantitatively and qualitatively inferior to the Japanese. Strategic resources were undermined by the embezzlement of military officials. There was a catastrophic lack of finance due to the economic crisis and industrial stagnation. Russia also found itself in international political isolation, since France, its ally, took a neutral position, and Great Britain and CILIA, who fought against all strengthening in the Far East, actively helped Japan. The latter is based on the rapid industrial upsurge at the beginning of the 20th century. created a powerful military industry, modernized and re-equipped the army, built a new modern navy

The course of military action. At sea: 01/27/1904 Japanese attack on the Russian fleet (the death of the cruiser "Varyag"); 03/31/1904 death of the commander of the Pacific Fleet S.O. Makarova; May 14-15, 1905 - defeat of the 2nd Pacific Squadron near Tsushima Island. On land: 27.01.-20.12.1904 - defense of the naval fortress Port Arthur; 11-21.08.1904 - Liaodong military operation. The defeat of the Russian troops; February 6-25, 1905 - the defeat of the Russian troops near Mukden (Manchuria).

Russia was forced to drink for peace talks. The growing revolution in the country pushed her to them. The patriotic upsurge of the population, which arose at the beginning of the war, was replaced by anti-war protests. Japan was also striving for peace, as its powers were exhausted. The United States offered to mediate in the negotiations.

Portsmouth Peace Treaty. In August 1905, a peace agreement was signed in the city of Portsmouth (USA). Thanks to the efforts of S. Yu. Witte (head of the Russian delegation), his conditions for Russia did not become as humiliating as expected because of the defeat. Japan's demand for an indemnity was rejected. However, Russia recognized Korea as Japan's sphere of influence, transferred to her the right to lease the Liaodong Peninsula with Port Arthur and the southern part of Sakhalin Island. Russia's influence in the Far East has been significantly undermined. In this war, unjust on both sides, Russia and Japan suffered huge financial costs and human losses.

Formation of a triple agreement. Russia and the Balkan crises. The weakening of Russia due to the Russian-Japanese wars and the need for internal stabilization forced Russian diplomats to pursue a cautious policy, to avoid external complications aimed at strengthening the country's international position and countering the aggression of Central European states in the Balkans, the Near and Middle East. In 1904, France and Great Britain, having settled controversial issues in Africa, signed an agreement (cordial agreement) on political and military cooperation. The reason was the expansion of Germany's expansion in the Balkans, the Near and Middle East and other regions of the world. In 1907, Russia and Great Britain signed an agreement on the division of spheres of influence in Iran, Afghanistan and Tibet. Those. in fact, these two agreements led to the formation of a triple alliance - the Entente (Russia-Great Britain - France) (officially it took shape only at the beginning of the 1st World War). Europe has finally split into two hostile camps. Balkan crises. In 1908-1909. the Bosnian crisis broke out. Austria-Hungary, relying on the support of Germany, using the weakening of the Ottoman Empire caused by the Turkish revolution and the rising liberation movement in the Balkans, in 1908 annexed (forcibly unilaterally annexed their territory to its own) Bosnia and Herzegovina. Russia, under pressure from Germany, was forced to recognize this action of the Austrian government, since it was not ready to interfere with it by military means. The annexation of Bosnia and Herzegovina brought together the Balkan peoples and a new upsurge in their national liberation struggle.

Bulgaria proclaimed its independence. In 1912, with the mediation of Russia, Bulgaria and Serbia entered into a defensive alliance against Austria-Hungary and an offensive against Turkey. Greece joined them. In the outbreak of the war with Turkey, they quickly achieved success. As a result, the Ottoman Empire lost virtually the entire European part of its territory, retaining only a narrow strip of land adjacent to its capital, Istanbul (Constantinople). However, in 1913, a conflict broke out between the Balkan states - Bulgaria, Serbia and Greece - due to territorial disputes. He was fueled by the intrigues of Austrian and German diplomats. Russia was unable to prevent the collapse of the Balkan Union and the war between the former allies. The Peace Conference in Bucharest, which ended the Balkan War, not only did not remove the contradictions, but also intensified them. They were especially sharp between Bulgaria, which Germany began to support, and Serbia, on whose side Russia was. The Balkans have become the "powder magazine" of Europe.

World War I. 38 states with a population of over 1.5 billion people took part in World War I. The main opponents: England, France, Russia, Serbia, Japan, later Italy, Romania and the United States - on the one hand; on the other, Germany, Austria-Hungary, Turkey and Bulgaria.

Causes of the war - contradictions between the countries of the Triple Accord (Entente: England, France, Russia) and the triple alliance (Germany, Austria-Hungary, Italy, since 1915 Turkey). The contradictions were due to colonies, spheres of influence, sales markets. The State of the Russian Army Russia in 1914 was not ready for war. The military reform that began after the defeat in the Russo-Japanese War was not over. The program for the construction of a new navy was carried out slowly due to a lack of financial resources. From the very beginning of the war, due to the low throughput of the railways, the Russian army lacked the supply of reserves and ammunition. The German artillery was significantly superior to the Russian. A particular lag was observed in providing the army with modern types of weapons (automatic weapons, a car park, communications equipment, etc.). The number of Russian cavalry was unjustifiably large. Military doctrines are outdated. The top commanding staff were insufficiently qualified. During the war, the Supreme Commander-in-Chief, Grand Duke Nikolai Nikolayevich, Chief of the General Staff N.N.Yanushkevich, and Minister of War V.A.Sukhomlinov were removed. Nicholas II, who assumed the post of Supreme Commander-in-Chief, did not have military experience and only nominally led the hostilities. Many commanders of fronts and armies demonstrated their mediocrity during the war.

Main events The reason for the outbreak of hostilities: the murder in June 1914 in Sarajevo of the heir to the Austrian throne Franz Ferdinand.

1914 - Military campaign did not bring decisive success to either side. 1915 - Defeats of the Russian army in a military company. Russia lost Poland, part of the Baltic states, Belarus, Ukraine. 1916 - The main hostilities on the Western Front. May - June 1916 - Brusilov breakthrough on the Southwestern Front against Austria-Hungary. 1917 - The defeat of the Russian troops during the revolution. Negotiations of the Bolsheviks with Germany for peace. 1918 March - a separate peace between Soviet Russia and Germany. November - the defeat of Germany and its allies from the Entente. The final results of the war were summed up by the Versailles Peace Treaty in 1919; Soviet Russia did not participate in its signing.

By its nature, the war was unjust, aggressive on both sides. It brought innumerable calamities to the peoples of the world: 9.5 million people were killed and died of wounds, 20 million were wounded, of whom 3.5 million were crippled. A large number of civilians were killed. The economies of many countries have been undermined.

At the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries, a significant change in the international situation took place. This was caused by the struggle of the great powers for an outright redivision of the world, for cheap sources of raw materials, labor and new territories for the sale of products. In the international arena, the influence of the German Empire, created in 1870, increased. and did not have time to the initial colonial division of the world. In connection with Germany's desire to participate in the redistribution of the world, its contradictions with Great Britain and France increased. In addition, Japan and the United States became more active in the international arena, wishing to expand their zones of economic influence.

At the end of the 19th century, the Russian Empire was one of the leading countries in the world. In the struggle between two groups of ruling circles (those who advocated peaceful and diplomatic means in resolving the contradictions of modernizing Russia - Witte and Stolypin), the "war party", which was openly conquering positions, won.

There are three main directions in foreign policy:

Western direction - relations with England, France, Germany. Since the end of the 1880s. France became Russia's ally in Europe. Since the late 1880s. France became an ally in Europe. Russia competed with England in Iran and Afghanistan, with Austria-Hungary - for influence in the Balkans;

Southern direction - relations with Turkey, Iran. Russia fought for the Black Sea straits and political and economic domination in Asia;

Far East direction - relations with China, Japan. The territory of China has become the subject of a special confrontation between the great powers. AT 1891 year it was decided to build Trans-Siberian Railway, which was of strategic importance. In 1896. an agreement was signed with China on the construction of the Chinese Eastern Railway (Chinese-Eastern Railway), and later on the leasing of Port Arthur and Dayran (Dalniy) by China. Russian troops in 1900. were introduced to Manchuria. These treaties and actions made Russia a dangerous rival to Japan and England in China. The struggle for influence in North China, Manchuria and Korea led to the Russo-Japanese War of 1904-1905. The "military party" believed that Russia in the face of a difficult and increasingly deteriorating internal socio-political and economic situation to demonstrate the strength of power “A small victorious war is needed” (VK Pleve).

But Japan, having carried out the rearmament of its army and navy with the help of British and American advisers, was the first to attack Russia. January 27, 1904... the Japanese fleet made a surprise attack on the Port Arthur squadron and the cruiser in the Korean port of Chemulpo "Varangian".Despite the courage and heroism of Russian soldiers and sailors, some generals and officers (Admiral Makarov, General Kondratenko), the course of the war immediately began to take shape against Russia. A number of land battles were lost ( Liaoyang, Mukden) and almost the entire fleet was lost ( in Port Arthur, in the Battle of Tsushima)... Russia entered the war unprepared. The war revealed glaring shortcomings in the army and navy, and testified to the country's economic and military-technical backwardness. The war, coinciding with the economic crisis, has become an important revolutionary factor. Considering its main task to suppress the beginning of the revolution, the government of S. Witte agreed to the mediation of the American President T. Roosevelt in the signing of the peace treaty. In August 1905 at Portsmouth (USA) the head of the Russian delegation S. Witte signed a peace treaty for Russia. Russia gave Japan South Sakhalin and the Liaodong Peninsula with Port Arthur, and finally recognized Japan's right to the Kuril Islands. To S. Witte's credit, Japan's demand for an indemnity was rejected.

Topic: Internal and foreign policy of Russia in 1907-1917. Lecture 14.

Russian foreign policy at the beginning of the 20th century was aimed at establishing official relations with other countries. At the same time, there was a desire to export revolutionary ideas. The realization of the impossibility of an immediate world revolution led to the concentration of the government's attention on strengthening stability in the country.

Soviet diplomats managed to end the economic blockade of the young state in the early 1920s. A significant role in this was played by the decree on the concessions of the Council of People's Commissars, adopted on November 23, 1920. Soon after that, trade agreements were signed with Italy, Norway, Czechoslovakia, Denmark, Germany, which was tantamount to the recognition of the USSR in the world.

However, by the end of the 20s. there was a serious complication of the international situation. The Soviet government supported the national liberation movement that had begun in China. And attempts to provide material support to the workers who began to strike in England led to a serious complication of relations with Great Britain. Religious leaders were also negatively disposed towards the young state.

In subsequent years, the policy of the USSR responded to a rather complex international situation. Already in 1933, after Hitler came to power in Germany, the leaders of the USSR began to express their interest in the formation of a serious system of collective security in Europe. In 1934, the USSR received membership in the League of Nations. In 1935, a mutual assistance treaty was concluded in the event of aggression with France.

In 1936, fascism began its march across Europe. At the same time, the situation in the Far East remained quite tense. In the period 1938-1939. there were repeated clashes on the island. Hasan, b. Khalkhin Gol and the territory of Mongolia with units of the Kwantung Army of Japan. As a result, the USSR managed to achieve certain territorial concessions.

Since attempts to create a collective security system in Europe were not successful, the Soviet government approved a new course - towards rapprochement with Germany. The most important goal of Soviet diplomacy in this case was the desire to avoid the premature start of a military conflict.

The Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact on non-aggression between the USSR and Germany was signed in August 1939. It was accompanied by a secret protocol on the division of the zones of influence of Germany and the USSR. Poland fell to the German sphere of influence. The USSR received Northern Bukovina, Western Ukraine, Finland, the Baltic States, Eastern Poland. During the same period, diplomatic relations with France and England were severed.

On September 1, 1939, Germany invaded Poland. This day marked the start of World War II. It should be noted that on September 28 of the same year, an agreement was signed between Germany and the USSR "On Friendship and Borders." And on November 30, striving to move the state border further from Leningrad, the USSR began a war with Finland. Although its goal was achieved, the Soviet-Finnish war caused serious financial damage to the USSR. These actions of the USSR were condemned by the world community and led to the exclusion of the Soviet Union from the League of Nations.

At the end of World War II, the world was split into two opposing camps. By the 50s. the ideological dictate of the CPSU has somewhat weakened. In opposition to NATO, the Warsaw Pact Organization was created in May 1955. It included the USSR, the GDR, Czechoslovakia, Romania, Hungary, Poland, Albania, Bulgaria.

The rapprochement between the USSR and China gradually began. The Soviet Union undertook obligations to withdraw troops from Port Arthur, renounced all interests in Manchuria. Nevertheless, China's refusal to deploy Soviet military bases on its territory led to an aggravation of relations. It is worth noting the construction of the Berlin Wall on August 13, 1962, which became a landmark event for the whole world. The western and eastern parts of Berlin were separated for decades. The reason for the construction of the wall was the US calls for the unification of Germany and the refusal to recognize the GDR as an independent state.

However, the most acute in history was the Caribbean crisis of 1962, provoked by the USSR's attempt to deploy nuclear missiles in Cuba. It was overcome thanks to the reasonable and balanced actions of the heads of the USSR and the USA. Soon, relations between the countries again heated up due to the introduction of US troops into Vietnam.

It should be noted that the arms race has become a heavy burden on the Soviet economy. In 1959, at the UN Assembly, he made a proposal to conclude a treaty on the non-proliferation of nuclear weapons.

Reducing tensions between West and East became the main problem for the next three decades. This was facilitated by the conclusion of an agreement between the USSR and the United States on the limitation of missile defense systems and a quadripartite agreement on West Berlin. In 1972, the FRG announced the recognition of the GDR. Both states received UN membership.

On May 26, 1972, an agreement was signed to limit the number of offensive missiles and SALT-1 submarine-launched missiles. And later, in 1978, - OSV-2. The volume of trade between the USA and the USSR also increased (8 times). Gradually, it was possible to achieve rapprochement with other capitalist countries, in particular with Britain and France. An important milestone in the history of international relations was the CSCE (All-European Conference on Security and Cooperation), held in Helsinki in 1975. Despite all diplomatic efforts in 1979, tensions in international relations increased again: the USSR sent troops to Afghanistan.

Speaking about the foreign policy of the USSR, it is worth mentioning the territorial conflict with China, which led to serious clashes on the Damansky Peninsula (1969).

In the second half of the 1980s, serious changes took place in both the domestic and foreign policy of the Soviet Union. Power was given to people with new thinking. M.S., who came to power at that time. Gorbachev proclaimed the priority of universal human values \u200b\u200band the rejection of the most important postulate of Soviet ideology about the split of the world into two opposing camps. Summit meetings began to be held regularly.

Relations with China were also normalized after the visit of a Soviet delegation to Beijing in 1989. In the same year, the withdrawal of Soviet troops from Afghanistan was completed. After the legal dissolution of the Warsaw Pact, Soviet troops were withdrawn from Czechoslovakia and Hungary. In July 1991, Gorbachev and Bush signed an offensive arms limitation treaty.

But the refusal to use force in international relations led to the swift overthrow of the communist regimes in Bulgaria, Hungary, Poland, Romania, Czechoslovakia, and the German Democratic Republic. 1989 was marked by the fall of the Berlin Wall. This event had a huge resonance all over the world. After the multiparty elections in 1990, the GDR became part of the FRG.

Confidence in the USSR and the country's leader Gorbachev has grown significantly. He was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. However, one cannot fail to say that the influence of the USSR in the world has significantly decreased.