The Soviet Union, Finland, and the Baltic StatesSoviet War News — Soviet Information Bureau, 1941

THE FOREIGN POLICY OF THE U.S.S.R. AND HER RELATIONS WITH THE BALTIC COUNTRIES IN THE PERIOD, 1927-1933

During these years, as earlier, Soviet peace efforts met with little response from the Governments of the Baltic countries. Indeed Soviet peace proposals were only accepted when (and then often only partially) it was impossible to reject them without the risk of compromising themselves in the eyes of public opinion which was invariably in favour of consolidating peace relations with the Soviet Union.

Let us cite some facts which illustrate and confirm these statements.

The Moscow Protocol.

On December 29, 1928, the Soviet Government proposed to the Polish Government the signature of a special Protocol for the immediate coming into force of the Kellogg Pact, which had been concluded, on August 27, 1928. This proposal was made because many States which had signed or adhered to the Kellogg Pact seemed to be in no hurry to ratify it, and consequently it could not come into force very rapidly.

In making this proposal to Poland regarding the immediate bringing into force of the Kellogg Pact, the Soviet Government endeavoured to create a new factor for pacification in Eastern Europe.

The Note of the People’s Commissariat for Foreign Affairs pointed out that the proposal to bring the Kellogg Pact into force as soon as possible was made because “ the assurance of peace in Eastern Europe was of first-class importance, and of the States having contiguous frontiers with the Soviet Union, the Paris Pact had been signed by Poland.” The Soviet Government in this same Note stated that “ A similar proposal was being made by them simultaneously to the Lithuanian Republic as the only Baltic country which had already accepted the Paris Treaty. They were not addressing themselves for the time being to Finland, Estonia, and Latvia, only because these States had not yet adhered formally to the Paris Treaty.”

To the above-mentioned Note a draft Protocol was added, which the Soviet Government suggested for signature to Poland. Polish diplomacy resisted this peace initiative of the Soviet Government in every way possible, and tried to bring forward various conditions which would have annulled its effect. These attempts failed and Poland was finally forced to adopt the Soviet proposals, It was only after Poland had decided to adhere to the Moscow Protocol that the Baltic States also agreed to sign it.

On February, 9, 1929, the Moscow Protocol was signed by the U.S.S.R., Poland, Rumania, Estonia, and Latvia. After the signature of this Protocol, Turkey, Iran, and Lithuania also adhered to it. It is interesting to note that Finland put off her signature to the Protocol until the Kellogg Pact had been put into force by nearly all those who had signed it, and consequently the signature of the Moscow Protocol had lost its significance. This behaviour of Finland was typical of her attitude towards the U.S.S.R. for over 20 years.