Molotov-Ribbentrop and the Winter War

Let's keep going on Russia shall we? Last time we covered, very swiftly, how Russia got so big between about 1300 and 1900. Muscovy became the Tsardom which became the Empire, all continually growing through the conquering of land east, west and south. The rulers from this period were, even for the time, especially autocratic and brutal toward the country's general population. This repression led directly to the violent Russian Revolution. Shortly afterward, in 1922, the USSR was founded following the Russian Civil War, where 'Reds' defeated 'Whites.'

At the resolution of WW1 (1914-1918) and during the Revolution (1917-1923), the former Russian Empire lost land and people on its western borders, in Europe, while maintaining everywhere else. Finland declared independence in 1917 during the war and following abdication of the Tsar, gaining recognition by Europe by early 1918. The Baltic states (Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania) also each declared themselves separate countries and signed peace treaties with the Soviets in 1920. Poland, a new version created by the Treaty of Versailles, had its borders finalized in 1922, much larger than the current version of the country, by combining chunks of former Imperial Germany and former Imperial Russia. The Soviet Union did retain Russian rule over what is modern-day Ukraine and Belarus as well as the Caucasus. These territories became separate Soviet Socialist Republics (SSRs) within the newly created Soviet Union, though that was largely a distinction without a difference. All power rested in Moscow.

The Soviet Union combined what made Russia feared for centuries with a whole new political ideology. Old Russia was essentially a personal monument to the Tsars and Emperors. The new one was, at least initially and in theory, international in scope. This was the first successful and lasting communist revolution, seeking the overthrow of capitalism and formation of a classless society as described in Marx's Manifesto. It was to be spread over the entire world through either direct action or by fostering revolution in other countries. The Bolsheviks believed they were the ones to further this goal and now led one of the worlds largest populations, one with a long history of military success. What happened afterward was thoroughly predictable. In 1924 the primary leader of the revolution, Vladimir Lenin, died. His successor was a power-hungry, paranoid, murderous thug, Joseph Stalin, who entirely consolidated party power in himself by the 1930s. There was once again an absolute, ambitious ruler in Russia, one that held greater centralized power than the old ones. He was truly a totalitarian dictator, a creation of the 20th century, resulting in a whole new type of Russian aggression.

The 1930s also saw the rise of Hitler and a resurgent Germany both economically and militarily. The internationalist communist Soviet Union and the nationalist fascist Germany were natural enemies. This was actually a defining characteristic of the 30s, where the specter of communism aided in the rise of extreme nationalism (and vice versa) and is best exemplified by the Spanish Civil War (1936-1939). But still Stalin clearly wanted to no part of deterring the Nazi advance. By mid-1939 Hitler had unified Germany and Austria (the 'Anschluss') and broken the Munich Agreement to invade the bulk of Czechoslovakia. Next up was Poland, bordering the USSR.

Molotov (L) and Ribbentrop (R) shake hands

Stalin used this situation of an approaching threat to seize more land and grow his sphere of influence, taking short term gains irrespective of longer term implications. The Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact was signed in Moscow on August 23, 1939, a non-aggression agreement between the German Reich and the USSR. It was named for the foreign ministers of the two countries, if you care, Vyacheslav Molotov and Joachim von Ribbentrop, who negotiated the treaty. The primary purpose was to openly guarantee peace between the two powers. Secretly it also contained protocols for how to carve up Europe between them, details of which were only discovered during the Nuremberg Trials. Nine days after the agreement, on September 1, Germany invaded Poland, kicking off the larger war with Great Britain and France. On September 17 the USSR also invaded Poland. The Second Polish Republic ceased to exist, its land entirely ceased.

For the time being Germany didn't have to worry about the interference of the Soviet Union and could focus on France and Britain. In other words, Molotov-Ribbentrop allowed Nazi Germany to fight a one front war, and it did so incredibly effectively. Paris fell to the blitzkrieg in June 1940. Though the Battle of Britain, the fight for the skies, was unsuccessful, Hitler soon after owned the continent and worked to fortify it from amphibious invasion, creating Fortress Europe. Germany couldn't have done all this, certainly not with this kind of speed and perhaps not at all, without the deal with Stalin.

Great map showing Nazi and Soviet moves after the Pact (click for link)

Stalin, for his part, was busy with his own moves. With the Soviet Union not worried about encroachment from Nazi Germany, they aimed to reclaim what was lost during the revolution. In addition to taking half of Poland, Finland was invaded over the winter of 1939-1940. The Baltic states were occupied in June 1940. Parts of the Kingdom of Romania were taken too. For a short while Stalin was probably pretty proud of himself.

For a quick aside I want to dwell for a bit on Finland, specifically the Winter War, a fascinating conflict I think is too frequently glossed over. Finland developed as an outgrowth, essentially a colony, of Sweden during the late Middle Ages. Russia assumed control over the territory, then called the Grand Duchy of Finland, in 1809. It was under their rule that the idea of an independent Finland grew. After achieving this in 1917 the Finns had no interest in again going under the Russian (or Soviet) thumb. Soon after Molotov-Ribbentrop the USSR invaded in November 1939. The Soviets clearly thought they could conquer the country quickly but were bogged down and took heavy losses (300k vs 70k for the Finns). Some of this was the well below zero temperatures. Most of it was the determination of the stalwart defenders, who time after time trapped Soviet tanks and convoys and destroyed them. It was during the Winter War that the term 'Molotov cocktail' was invented (named for the Soviet foreign minister) and they were mass produced to deadly effect. You have to read about Simo Häyhä, 'The White Death.' Credited as the deadliest sniper in history, it's believed he killed 500 Soviet soldiers himself during the months-long clash. Mind-boggling. Eventually a peace was signed and the USSR withdrew with Finland remaining independent, though it lost some territory mostly near Leningrad (St. Petersburg). The reputation of the Soviet Union and the Red Army in particular suffered due to its apparent gross incompetence. Not only was this influential with what happened next in WWII but there are a ton of parallels to the current Russian invasion of Ukraine. Times change and yet events repeat themselves.

Some places draw a straight line from the Winter War to Operation Barbarossa, where supposed Soviet military weakness led Hitler to attack Russia in 1941, but that must've always been his intent from the start. Hitler used time bought from the Pact to solidify western and central Europe, essentially with Stalin's blessing, before preparing his massive invasion of the east. The plan to gain Lebensraum (literally 'living space') had clear racial overtones and would've seen widespread repopulation of conquered Russia with Germans, so Hitler didn't just want to turn Russia into a vassal state either. We're left to wonder if Stalin underestimated Hitler and actually thought the deal would prevent war or if he later recognized it as a mistake. In the end the Soviet Union suffered upward of 10 million military casualties on the Eastern Front plus something like 15 million civilian deaths on top of it. The USSRs sacrifice would in time break the back of the Nazis and was a huge part of the Allies victory in Europe. But it possibly, or likely, wouldn't have been nearly so great if Stalin never made this shameful, short-sighted deal in the first place. Of course we also can't rule out that maybe he didn't even care. He won and he stayed in power.