‘World Revolution’ on the оutskirts of the British Empire in the second half of the 1920’s. Myth or reality?
https://doi.org/10.28995/2073-6339-2022-4-10-32
Abstract
Based upon the wide range of sources, including Russian and British archival documents, published diplomatic correspondence, diaries penned by some eye-witnesses and newspaper commentaries, the article dwells upon the attempts by the Comintern to bring to life the ideas of “world revolution” in the Middle East states – such as Persia and Afghanistan, as well as in the Chinese possessions – Sinkiang and Tibet, which in the period under review – the second half of the 1920s, gained a quasi-independent status. The author meticulously examines various forms and methods of exporting revolutionary practices to the British Empire Asian outskirts, where Indian subcontinent occupied a key position. As a result of the study, it was established that by the beginning of the 1930s, the concept of the “world revolution” as one of the directions of Soviet foreign policy underwent a transformation from reality into a myth, which began to perform mainly propaganda functions. Besides that, the author came to conclusion that the transformation had a serious impact on the development of Soviet-Britain relations during the second conservative government of S. Baldwin, being zigzag in nature – from the state of mutual confrontation in 1925–1926, through the rupture of 1927, to the restoration after the return to power of the Labour Party in 1929.
Keywords
Supporting agencies: The paper is supported by the Russian Foundation for Basic Research, project “Transfers of Colonial Order: Models of Internal Defence in the aftermath of the Great War”, no. 22-18-00011.
About the Author
E. Yu. Sergeev
Russian Academy of Sciences Institute of World History
Russian Federation
Russian Federation
Evgeny Yu. Sergeev, Dr. of Science (History), professor
bld. 32A, Leninsky Av., Moscow, Russia, 119334
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Review
For citations:
Sergeev E.Yu. ‘World Revolution’ on the оutskirts of the British Empire in the second half of the 1920’s. Myth or reality? RSUH/RGGU Bulletin Series "Political Science. History. International Relations". 2022;(4):10-32. (In Russ.) https://doi.org/10.28995/2073-6339-2022-4-10-32
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