Capitalist Encirclement

Capitalist encirclement was the Soviet idea under Joseph Stalin that the Soviet Union was surrounded by capitalist countries that meant to do harm to the Soviet Union. Stalin believed that they wanted to weaken the Soviet Union and, when possible, intervene militarily. This fear had begun during the civil war in which countries such as France and the United Kingdom had provided support to the White movement. The British government was reportedly open to financing terrorist actions by the Whites in order to overthrow the Soviet government. To add to this fear, the Soviet leadership thought that Britain and France had financed and provided military assistance (such as 600 advisors near Warsaw) to the Poles who attacked Russia in 1920. During the 1920s, Stalin seemed to think that there was no possibility of "peaceful coexistence". In the Long Telegram, it was reported that Stalin said that:

In course of further development of international revolution there will emerge two centers of world significance: a socialist center, drawing to itself the countries which tend toward socialism, and a capitalist center, drawing to itself the countries that incline toward capitalism. Battle between these two centers for command of world economy will decide fate of capitalism and of communism in entire world.


References

  1. ↑ Vagts, Alfred. "Capitalist Encirclement; A Russian Obsession--Genuine or Feigned?". The Journal of Politics. Vol. 18. p. 505 – via JSTOR.
  2. ↑ Cantir, Cristian. "The Allied punishment and attempted socialisation of the Bolsheviks (1917—1924): An English School approach". Review of International Studies. 37 (4). Cambridge University Press.
  3. ↑ Harris, James (2007). "Encircled by enemies: Stalin's Perceptions of the capitalist world, 1918 – 1941". Journal of Strategic Studies. 30 (3). doi:10.1080/01402390701343490.
  4. 1 2 "George Kennan's "Long Telegram"". National Security Archive.