Editing Eastern Pact (section)

==History==

===Origins===
Franco-Soviet relations improved in the years prior to Hitler's victory in Germany. In 1932 the Soviet Union signed a non-aggression pact with both France and Poland. This was possible due to the weakening of the German-Soviet Rapallo relationship, the prolongation of which in 1931 ([[wikipedia:Treaty_of_Berlin_(1926)|'''Treaty of Berlin''']]) was the last high note in German-Soviet relations. With the rise of Hitler:<blockquote>"The Rapallo relationship between Germany and Russia collapsed […].<ref>Roberts (1995) The Soviet Union and the Origins of the Second World War, 3</ref> Germany, the USSR's most important ally in the capitalist world in the 1920s, had become the object of Soviet encirclement and confrontation".<ref>Ibid., 9</ref></blockquote>This was also a big hit to the Soviet economy as by 1932 almost half of Soviet imports came from Germany.<ref>Overy and Wheatcroft (2000) The Road to War, 224</ref> Hence the Soviet reorientation to France and western powers was the only pragmatic way to avoid diplomatic isolation.

===Early Negotiations ===
Paul-Boncour and Litvinov, the French and Soviet foreign ministers respectively, met in Geneva just as Germany left the League of Nations in October of 1933.<blockquote>"Secret meetings began to be held immediately, and in spite of early differences, by the end of December the Soviet ambassador was able to present Paul-Boncour with a written draft. This was to form the basis for the negotiations over the Eastern Pact."<ref>Radice (1977) The Eastern Pact, 47</ref></blockquote>A month later the Soviet Union adopted the policy of '''Collective Security''', officially ending the German-Soviet Rapallo relations.<ref name=":2" /> One of the main preconditions for the Eastern Pact was the Soviet accession to the League of Nations,<ref name=":0" /> which was achieved in September of 1934.<ref>Library of the President of the Russian Federation, https://prlib.ru/en/history/619549</ref>

===Assassination of Louis Barthou===
Because of constant French political crisis, the negotiations stagnated from late 1933 up to the February 9th riots in 1934. Following the riots Paul-Boncour was replaced by Louis Barthou. Unlike Boncour, Barthou wasn't a socialist but rather a conservative patriot whom Carley (2001) describes as a "realist".<ref>Carley (2001) Behind Stalin's moustache, 167</ref> He continued persuading the Eastern Pact since he recognized Germany as the biggest danger in Europe. The atmosphere around the negotiations, which became public in May 1934 at the Geneva Disarmament Conference, was “positive and encouraging”.<ref>Radice (1977) The Eastern Pact, 49</ref>

On October 9, less than a month after the Soviet accession into the League of Nations, Barthou was assassinated. He was collateral in the assassination of the Yugoslav King Alexander by an Ustaše-associated Bulgarian fascist, Veličko Kerin, during a state visit to Marseilles. Barthou was succeeded by Pierre Laval which marked the change for worse in Franco-Soviet relations.

===The End of the Eastern Pact===
Laval, who became a Nazi collaborator in 1940, thought that better relations with the Soviet Union would bring to France “the International and the red flag” and if there were a European war, it would lead to an “invasion of bolshevism”.<ref>Carley (1999) The Alliance That Never Was, 15</ref> The latter point was a common anti-communist position dubbed the '''War-Revolution Nexus'''. Laval stalled the Eastern Pact negotiations as long as possible. The Soviets, having lost patience, issued a ''de facto'' ultimatum to ratify the pact. Litvinov noted in this 'ultimatum' that “Germany, Poland and the Baltic countries could adhere late“.<ref>Library of the President of the Russian Federation, https://prlib.ru/en/node/1297407</ref> But that would never happen – Poland and Germany were hard pressed to enter any arrangements with the USSR.<ref>See Retrospective.</ref> Laval eventually agreed to the draft in April at Geneva, but really only because Hitler left him no choice considering the rearmament.<ref>Carley (2001) Behind Stalin's moustache, 167</ref> Indeed, Litvinov would later note that “Hitler's speeches help us a lot“ because their expansionist and revanchist content made them impossible to ignore by French policy makers.<ref name=":1">Library of the President of the Russian Federation, [https://www.prlib.ru/en/node/1297176 https://prlib.ru/en/node/1297176]</ref> 

The final form of the pact was significantly weakened. For example, Laval’s promise of staff talks never came to be.<ref>Ibid.</ref> Moreover, Litvinov offered ''quid pro quo'' guarantees on French eastern frontiers in exchange for French guarantees on Soviet Baltic frontiers; it was all rejected, “blackballed” said one French diplomat.<ref>Carley (2018) Once Burnt Twice Shy, 8</ref><blockquote>Back in Paris, Quai d’Orsay<ref>The street name referring to the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs, similar to how 10 Downing Street refers to the British Prime Minister.</ref> senior officials further weakened the language of the pact without Soviet knowledge and sent the draft agreement to the French council of ministers for approval. When the diplomat in Paris, Vladimir Potemkin, discovered the French bad faith, he exploded.<ref>Ibid., 9</ref></blockquote>By now the French were starting to be seen as untrustworthy. Dovgalevskii, Potemkin’s predecessor in Paris as ambassador, said that you could never trust the French when it came to an agreement – even in the presence of stenographers.<ref>Carley (2015) Who Betrayed Whom?, 8</ref> As far as Litvinov goes, he "sometimes fell into cynical despair over the duplicity of French policy".<ref>Carley (1999) The Alliance That Never Was, 17</ref> 

The Eastern Pact was turned into a simple mutual assistance pact between France and the Soviet Union with a weak backing. It took the French government over a year to ratify it. 

A mirror accord was signed with Czechoslovakia a bit later, but the Soviets would support Czechia only if France did so first.<ref>Ibid.</ref> That condition was proposed by Beneš, the Czechoslovak president.<ref>Roberts (1995) The Soviet Union and the Origins of the Second World War, 49</ref> In conclusion to the Eastern Pact saga, Radice, in her older (1977) but still useful work, says that “much of the blame for the failure of the negotiations can be attributed to the new direction given to French policy by Pierre Laval.”<ref>Radice (1977) The Eastern Pact, 45</ref>