Miejsce II Rzeczypospolitej w sowieckiej polityce zagranicznej (1918-1939)

Abstract

This article attempts an assessment of the Soviet Policy towards Poland in all the inter-war period. On the basis of a detailed analysis it demonstrates radical changes in this policy which in turn resulted from the changes within the Soviet Empire. In the years 1918-1939 'The New State' underwent three phases: ideological, pragmatic and imperial. Respectively, Poland was in turn: an obstacle, an ally-to-be and an object of some wider political designs aiming at Paris, Berlin or Geneva. Up until the mid-twenties the Bolsheviks had their active policy towards Poland which ended when 'The Rapallo Line' was finally established. Nevertheless, after Locarno and the Berlin Treaty Poland grew unimportant and secondary: therefore, to understand the policy of this period one should concentrate on the Soviet activity in all Europe, especially along the lines Moscow-Paris and Moscow-Berlin. In the 1930-s Poland was for the Soviet Empire only a part of these two political triangles and its importance kept decreasing. Finally, the question of Poland in the Soviet policy was settled in the Soviet-German Agreement of September 28, 1939 which is generally and justly viewed as a founding stone of 'The Fourth Partition of Poland'.