1932: Playing with the Japanese Communist Party with a doll

In addition, although the Soviet Union had significantly improved its national strength through the "Five-Year Plan", it was still very weak compared to traditional capitalist powers.

(Hot fact: Hitler's biggest military adventure was his first attempt to test the attitudes of Britain, the United States, and France by sending troops into the Rhine demilitarized zone. Operation Barbarossa was not one of his attempts, because Germany was stronger than the Soviet Union in all aspects at the time.)

(In April 1939, when the military and political negotiations between Britain, France and the Soviet Union began in Moscow, the former two were extremely arrogant and treated the Soviet Union almost with a charity attitude. They even forced Stalin to replace Litvinov with Molotov, which enabled the negotiations to gain some initiative.)

(Fair assessment: If Britain and the United States, especially the United States, had not been frantically supporting the Soviet Union, even without the Great Purge that led to a significant decline in the quality of the army, the Soviet Union would most likely have been defeated by the first wave.)

In short, the Soviet Union lacked food, funds, talent, and technology... except for Siberian hamsters, it lacked almost everything and urgently needed external blood transfusion to alleviate internal conflicts;

The best target for providing "blood" is obviously the United States, which has a unique geographical location and suffered a lot in the last world war.

Now, the representative of the future US president said this to him, which meant that the possibility of success in the mission of establishing diplomatic relations was right in front of him. How could Litvinov not be shaken?

What's more, this saint's attitude towards the Soviet Union was obviously very friendly. She was even willing to recognize the Soviet Union first and then discuss other things. This was completely beyond the Soviet people's initial imagination.

After a few seconds of silence, Litvinov smiled what he considered to be the gentlest, most benevolent, and even slightly flattering smile since arriving in China.

"Thank you, Ms. Field. On behalf of the Soviet government, I extend my warmest greetings to the future President of the United States and look forward to establishing friendly diplomatic relations with the United States..."

Although the Soviet Union also knew that the United States was in a serious economic crisis, they did not know the extent of the problem.

In the eyes of the Soviets, it was not the United States that was trying to please them, but they should take the initiative to move closer to the United States. So after receiving Springfield's goodwill, they immediately sent Litvinov out.

But in fact, in the eyes of many people in the United States, they should "please" the Soviet Union.

It goes without saying what the state of the United States was like during the Great Depression. Opposite them, there was a country that was largely unaffected by the Great Depression, with a vast territory, a large population, and already had a certain level of consumption capacity.

In other words, there is a huge market that has hardly been developed, which is an irresistible temptation for American capital.

Some people had proposed to President Hoover to establish diplomatic relations with the Soviet Union, but his proposal was ignored. After Springfield was confirmed as the new president, hundreds of well-known professors, teachers, and politicians wrote to her, hoping that Her Highness would promote the establishment of diplomatic relations with the Soviet Union.

This is what happened in history. In 1933, the Committee on American-Soviet Relations sent a question to 1139 newspapers across the United States: "Do you recognize the Soviet Union?"

The results showed that 65.6% expressed support, 7.5% expressed neutrality, and only 26.9% expressed clear opposition.

So, in a sense, Springfield's move can be regarded as "complying with public opinion."

After initially expressing their good intention to establish diplomatic relations, it is time for both sides to discuss the specific conditions.

Litvinov politely asked the United States to speak first, but Kruger directly took out a thick document:

"Mr. Litvinov, this is the draft of the agreement on the establishment of diplomatic relations between the United States and the Soviet Union, prepared by Ms. Field. Please review it and provide your comments."

This action made Litvinov, Cunningham and Borinan all raise their eyebrows.

Um?

As we all know, establishing diplomatic relations between one country and another is often extremely time-consuming. Because of the interests involved, the negotiations between the two sides may take several years or even more than ten years.

It seems that this idea didn't just come up recently...

Could it be that before she even took the throne, Her Highness the Saint had already been considering her relationship with Su?

So terrifying.

Litvinov flipped open the text, skipping over the nonsense like "both sides respect each other's sovereignty and do not undermine the peace, happiness, and security of each other's countries" and looking at the real key content:

"...The Soviet Union stopped persecuting believers and respected freedom of religious belief..."

Hot knowledge: Legally speaking, the Soviet Union actually had freedom of religious belief, and passed laws such as the "Law on Freedom of Religion and Religious Organizations" to protect and respect the legitimate rights and interests of religious believers;

But the problem is that the law is the law and the execution is the execution.

During Lenin's time, the Soviet Union was relatively tolerant of religion, leading Islam to publicly declare that "the Soviet regime was arranged by Allah because it replaced a regime that was unjust to the people."

But after Lenin's death, the situation began to change 180 degrees.

In order to centralize power, liberate productivity or divert some contradictions, under Stalin's leadership, the Soviet government began to systematically suppress religion in the country, and this became even more severe during the Khrushchev era.

Russia's "state religion" - Orthodoxy is slightly better, but Islam is directly labeled as "anti-Soviet", "class enemy of the working people", and "a major scourge of social instability".

Well, let’s not discuss whether this is true or not (after all, Islamic courts and laws are indeed annoying to watch);

In short, the Soviet Union's actions aroused resentment and dissatisfaction among many religious countries, including the United States.

In fact, the most resolute obstacle to the establishment of diplomatic relations between the United States and the Soviet Union was the powerful religious conservative forces both inside and outside the United States.

However, after the Great Depression, everyone realized that no matter how strong your religious beliefs are, you will still go hungry and you will still not make money, so...

For the Soviets, this condition was not excessive and was completely acceptable.

At worst, they could relax a little on the Orthodox Church, which they had no intention of doing anything about, and protect the religious and personal freedom of Americans in the Soviet Union. As for Islam, that's another matter.

Anyway, I believe that Ms. Field, a Christian who is secretly challenging the authority of the Church, would not care about the life and death of Islam;

However, in return, the Soviet Union must also demand that communism and the Communist Party in the United States...

"...the U.S. government will equally guarantee the religious freedom and personal freedom of Soviet citizens within the United States..."

Oh, Her Highness the Saint is so thoughtful.

But are the Americans, or rather, are Ms. Field, so confident? Are they really not afraid that we will spread communism within the United States?

Litvinov was confused about the true intention behind the treaty and could only continue reading:

"...the Soviet Union should purchase a certain amount of American industrial and agricultural products each year, payable in US dollars or gold. If necessary, it may be offset with resources of equal value..."

Well, this one is expected.

In short, the Soviet Union needed to purchase food and industrial products from the United States to solve the economic crisis caused by product oversupply in the United States.

To be honest, the Soviet Union had originally thought so, because they also needed it. At least, the purchase of American agricultural products had long been on the Kremlin's desk.

It is understandable that Americans do not recognize the ruble. It doesn't matter if there are no US dollars or gold. At worst, they can pay with oil or other mineral resources. Anyway, the Soviet Union has plenty of those things.

(Russia is really rich in resources. As long as its industry does not collapse, it will invest a lot of money to make anything, making the Chinese feel distressed.)

"...guaranteeing the freedom of residence, travel, and business for the legal citizens of the other party within the territory of the other party...Business units may engage in commercial, manufacturing, processing, scientific, educational, religious, and charitable activities not prohibited by the laws of either party..."

Leaving aside the issue of residence and travel, the issue of "being allowed to do business" needs to be discussed.

Because once Americans were allowed to establish businesses in the Soviet Union, it would have crossed the Soviet system's bottom line;

Whose employees do Americans hire? What kind of compensation do they give them?

Is this exploitation?

How would ordinary people in the Soviet Union view this issue?

Will it have a negative impact on other domestic units and social atmosphere?

Also, although the Americans allowed Soviets to do business in the United States, what was the business capability of the Soviet businessmen of the same level?

Litvinov himself did not trust him.

Even if they really go to the United States, they will probably be beaten by the other side in all aspects except military force.

The next clause raises a similar question:

"...should not need to apply for or carry any travel documents other than a valid passport and other identification documents issued by the competent authorities of their home country..."

In short, citizens of both sides only need to carry their identity documents and passports to enter each other's territory without the need for a visa.

The Soviets would probably come into the United States in large numbers, and the Americans would come into the Soviet Union in large numbers;

At that time, who will influence whom? This is also something that needs to be considered.

"...Exports from both sides should enjoy most-favored-nation treatment in terms of tariffs..."

Well...

So it seems that all the Soviet Union can export to the United States for a long time to come are various resources?

There’s nothing we can do. Just like in business, our technology is not as good as others, so this is the only way for now.

"...both sides will reciprocally open their territorial docks and ports, and allow each other's ships, including warships, to freely navigate in any open ports, places or territorial waters..."

This made Litvinov frown slightly, but he did not object immediately.

The Soviet Union might not be good at other things, but it still had a navy and a strong army. If things went wrong, it wouldn't be attacked by anyone without being able to fight back.

Besides, the Americans wouldn't be crazy enough to start a war right after establishing diplomatic ties, right?

The following clauses were all quite similar, and all of them were the type that would make Litvinov think for a few seconds, but he would definitely not express strong opposition.

It was almost impossible for the Soviet side to say no to every item and every clause. It was very likely that the two sides would just argue for a few sentences and talk about one of the clauses, and then they would agree.

For example, you don't agree with doing business, right?

Do you still want assistance?

Free navigation of ships is not allowed, right? Then what about technical exchange? Do you think this treaty is fair?

However, the Soviet Union was inferior to the United States in many aspects, and if it really implemented it, it would definitely suffer certain losses;

You say this treaty is unfair?

But simply recognizing the Soviet Union and allowing communist organizations to exist in the United States without suppressing them, and everyone in the world saw it as "full of sincerity," the Soviet Union couldn't even cry out "unfair"!

As a senior diplomat and Soviet leader, Litvinov was secretly shocked and worried.

Because this means that Her Highness the Saint may have already figured out the Soviet Union's bottom line very clearly, so she was able to come up with such an agreement that almost danced on the Soviet Union's bottom line.

Is it a blessing or a curse for the Soviet Union that the United States has such a president?

After quickly scanning the text, Litvinov took a deep breath and asked seriously:

"Mr. Kruger, does Ms. Field have any other requests?"

Even from the perspective of his own country, he could not deny the goodwill shown in this document;

But it was precisely because of this that he couldn't figure it out no matter what:

Why would the United States suddenly change direction?

What on earth was Mrs. Field thinking about? Litvinov didn't believe Springfield had no other considerations. "No."

Kruger shook his head and said:

"Ms. Field said she only wants America and the entire planet to be the world God intended."

What kind of idealistic official jargon is this?

Unable to get any information out of Krugman, Litvinov had to talk some more about "when the formal talks will be held and when the signing will be done" and promised to report to the country immediately before leaving the room.

Soon, the British Consul Borinant, who had been playing a "bystander role", also said goodbye and left.

Judging from his appearance, he should be going back to Shanghai to report the major event of "US-Soviet merger" to the country.

At this time, Kruger and Cunningham looked at each other and nodded to each other.

Soon, Litvinov was quietly invited back, looking confused: "Gentlemen?"

"Well, Mr. Litvinov, now we should talk about more important things.

360 dismembers the British and supports the CCP

"

More important...things?

Litvinov took a quick look and found that Borinan and his entourage were not present. Thinking of his experience of being invited here secretly, he immediately realized that what they were going to discuss next was most likely related to Britain.

Or, the British might be in trouble. Hey, I'm not sleepy anymore now that you've mentioned that!

Although the Soviet Union and Britain have long established diplomatic relations, do you expect the Soviets to have any good feelings towards the British?

Come on, the title of world troublemaker is not earned for nothing.

It is no exaggeration to say that at least half of all the difficulties the Soviet Union is currently facing are the "credit" of the British.

For example, in order to support Russia in its fight against Germany, Britain provided Russia with a huge financial loan of 7.5 million pounds. However, unexpectedly, a minor conflict broke out between the Soviet Union and the Tsarist government, leading to the latter's collapse.

Naturally, the newly established Soviet Union could not acknowledge this bad debt. As a result, the two sides argued for a long time, and in the end the Soviet Union did not pay back a single cent. For this, the British hated the Soviet Union to the core and had been causing trouble for the Soviet Union over the years.

Therefore, the friendship between the Soviet Union and Britain is as unbreakable as the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics itself.

"Gentlemen, this is... you... Ms. Field..."

"Yes, Mr. Litvinov, it's just as you guessed. But please wait a moment, there's still one person who hasn't arrived yet."

"And another person?"

Litvinov was a little confused.

If the goal is to deal with the British, who else is qualified to participate besides the Soviet Union and the United States?

It can't be Germany, right?