Consolidation and Maintenance: Lenin’s Foreign Policy
- After the October Revolution (1917), Lenin’s government faced both internal civil war and external hostility.
- Foreign policy became essential for survival: to exit WWI, to gain time to consolidate power, and to promote global revolution.
Key Features
1. Treaty of Brest-Litovsk (March 1918)
- Signed with Germany to withdraw Russia from WWI.
- Terms: Russia lost ~1/3 of its population, 27% of farmland, 26% of railways, and 74% of iron and coal production.
- Seen as a humiliating “robber peace,” but Lenin justified it as necessary for survival: “To gain a respite at all costs.”
- Helped consolidate Bolshevik control by removing the immediate threat of war, though it fueled opposition internally.
2. Comintern (March 1919)
- Lenin created the Communist International to promote worldwide revolution.
- Aimed to support communist uprisings in Europe (Germany, Hungary).
- Though most failed, it spread Bolshevik ideology and gave legitimacy to the regime as the leader of global communism.
3. Allied Intervention (1918–1920)
- Britain, France, Japan, and the USA sent troops and supplies to aid the White armies in the Russian Civil War.
- Bolsheviks used this to portray themselves as defenders of Russia against “imperialist intervention.”
- Foreign troops were limited in numbers and motivation, but their presence strengthened Bolshevik propaganda.
4. Treaty of Rapallo (1922)
- Agreement with Germany: restored diplomatic relations, cancelled pre-war debts, and encouraged economic/military cooperation.
- Both isolated internationally, they found mutual benefit.
- Gave the Bolsheviks breathing space and economic aid to rebuild after the Civil War.
5. Pragmatic Retreat
- Lenin balanced ideology with pragmatism.
- Though committed to world revolution, after 1921 he promoted the idea of “socialism in one country” (later developed by Stalin) when uprisings abroad failed.
- Focused on securing the Soviet state first before exporting revolution.
Historiography
- E.H. Carr: Brest-Litovsk was “a gamble for survival” that ensured Bolshevik consolidation despite its harshness.
- Richard Pipes: Sees Bolshevik foreign policy as fundamentally duplicitous, preaching world revolution while prioritizing regime survival.
- Orlando Figes: Argues foreign intervention in the Civil War helped the Bolsheviks by enabling them to portray themselves as patriots defending Russia from imperialists.
Self review
- Why did Lenin sign the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk despite its harsh terms?
- How did the creation of the Comintern strengthen Lenin’s regime at home and abroad?
- In what ways did foreign intervention in the Civil War help rather than harm the Bolsheviks?
- How did Lenin balance ideology and pragmatism in his foreign policy?
- Did Lenin’s foreign policy ultimately consolidate his power or expose Soviet weakness?
