What prevented Stalin from going back on his word from the Yalta Conference and declaring war on the Allies as soon as Germany capitulated to move the Red Army further westward and spread the banner of communism to all of Europe? He could've done it, and I don't think there was any reason for him to honour his commitments to the western Allies who were fighting a different war anyway.
What prevented Stalin from going back on his word from the Yalta Conference and declaring war on the Allies as soon as...
William Turner
Elijah Miller
lack of popular support
whoever breaks their words, would have less popular support
it was pretty much everything, since the two powers were in the balance. Soviet had a stronger land army, but Murica and Britain had the nuke and air/ships.
Sebastian Howard
He didnt want to continue the war and just take as much land as he thought he could get away with. Which was suprisingly a lot.
Adrian Allen
The Soviet Union needed time to heal and consolidate. Starting another war and one that would certainly be a protracted conflict, would put more undue strain on the nation. Likewise the Soviet Union acquired a lot of territory and would be puppet states to manage and expand their sphere of influence.
Luis Gonzalez
Also, Stalin was a very diplomatic person. He argued against the Polish-Soviet war 1919, he stayed out of ww2 as long as he could, he made peace with Japan, he stayed out of Korea.
It's surprising for most people, because they get the "muh ebil dictator" treating for Stalin in School. So while he did execute political opponents, he wasn't a warmonger, and he had no material greed (lived a very humble life, slept in a room behind his office). He also wasn't mentally deranged like Hitler.
He never wanted to go to war. He firmly believed that planned economy was superior to capitalism, and that, in time, communism would outperform the west anyway. So why go to war and risk it?
Nolan Davis
>Winter war
>Not a war monger
user pls.
Carter Robinson
Partially because it would be a logistical nightmare and Stalin really had no intention of invading the rest of Europe.
Partially because America had nukes.
Brody Price
knowledge of the a bomb
Blake Martinez
It was a preparation for ww2. He made important territorial gains, which enabled the Soviet Union to supply Leningrad over lake Ladoga.
Besides, the Finns were literally Nazis:
Hunter Sanders
Oh now i get it, you're a stalinboo. If you wanted to get taken seriously maybe you shouldnt post literal nonsense to defend your point.
Carter Morris
Stalin was never really interested in expansion.
Ironically enough, when it came to power and control, he valued quality much more than quantity.
So he saw no good reason to attack into Europe, facing opposition from the inside, risk of failure during the action, a nuclear bomb or two, all that to gain a territory full of people with a long history of fighting for independence, with a strong rival strain of communism, and a recent training in civilian resistance.
Why would he endanger his well-secured place at the top of 75% of eurasia for that?
Benjamin Miller
>you're a stalinboo
I'm not, I'm just not ignorant as yourself.
During the Siege, Leningrad was crucially supplied over lake Ladoga (pic related):
Connor Jenkins
>Besides, the Finns were literally Nazis
What? No they weren't. When the hell did Finland become Nazi?
Blake Reed
this, stalind dindu nothing wrong, his extended family and countless civilians deserved death and the gulags for being seen as formenting treason
Also, fuck the jews and ukrainians and the finns, they all brought in on themselves, stalin was a good boy.
Jace White
Im failing to see how this is relevant to the point of if Stalin was a warmonger. Stalin started winter war by faking the mainila shelling
en.wikipedia.org
He started a war. He is a warmonger.
Justin Sullivan
>Besides, the Finns were literally Nazis:
lel if Finland were Nazis what would you call Norway and bloody Sweden?
Nicholas Moore
Stalin certainly did go back on his word a lot. He initially agreed to free and fair elections in Eastern European nations to keep on the allies good side, then proceeded to establish Communist pro-Soviet governments in the aftermath of the war.
but what prevented a slug-fest between the West and Russia was war exhaustion. After 6 straight years of nothing but killing that left the entire European continent shattered, literally everyone was sick and fucking tired of war as so much has already been lost. It made no sense for 20+ million more people to die just immediately after a war that already killed 60-80 million.
And this fact that all powers were fatigued by this Great War was the reason why Stalin could spit in the face of the Allies and establish the Warsaw Pact. He and the Western Allies both knew that there would be no war immediately following such devastation, so the West certainly wasn't going to go back to war over Poland and Hungary.
When WW2 was over, it was clear that the USSR got the lion's share of war gains in the form of half the Continent, and Stalin wanted to make sure could consolidate and control his winnings before making a move against a new enemy.
Nathan Roberts
>starting one war in 30 years =/= warmonger
Josiah Thomas
>When WW2 was over, it was clear that the USSR got the lion's share
How's that the lion's share? Russia fought the war from 1941 - 1945, the Western allies only from 1944 - 1945.
The west got France, Iberia, Italy, and (bigger) Western Germany.
Parker Hernandez
Here's a poll in France titled "who contributed the most in the defeat of Germany in ww2" - conducted in 1945 and 2004.
Western allies = Pure lies
Chase Green
>1944-1945
lad, you're as bad as the wehraboos
Isaiah Murphy
> Winter war
> Warmongering
Not this meme again.
Finns were batshit crazy (especially those coastal artillery projects they tried to have together with Estonia) and were spoiling for (yet another) war with Soviets. Nobody would tolerate this shit on their borders. Not when WWII had already begun.
> What? No they weren't. When the hell did Finland become Nazi?
What what would be a definition of Nazi? Because Finland was not a pretty place at the time, let me tell you.
Kayden Martinez
...
Tyler Ortiz
> He initially agreed to free and fair elections in Eastern European nations to keep on the allies good side, then proceeded to establish Communist pro-Soviet governments in the aftermath of the war.
And your point is?
Post-war Eastern Europe had 3 kinds of politicians: cowards, Nazi collaborators, and Communists. It's quite unsurprising that Communists got the lion share of votes. It is even less surprising that Communists preferred to deal with the Soviets who did not consider "kill all Communists" a viable political program.
Carter Morales
> Im failing to see how this is relevant to the point of if Stalin was a warmonger.
If you refuse to recognize the facts, it's hardly possible to have any discussion with you
Luke Hughes
As long as they had been fighting I imagine he wanted some peace time to try and rebuild the broken areas of the USSR.
There might have also been some feelings of honor from him. The Allies had helped arm his country against the Nazis. I wouldn't be surprised if a man even as cold as him had some sense of honor left.
Carson Garcia
He wanted to be allies with the western powers in a similar way that Mao wanted initally and he also truste and liked Fdr. Truman and Churchill fuck it all up though.
Jaxon Ross
> honor
user, please.
Stalin (and Soviet Communists in general) never considered Western elite to be anything more than a bunch of glorified criminals. Any feelings of honor would've been directed towards Allied soldiers and citizens in general, not politicians nor capitalist elite. Deposing said elite would've been respecting his real allies - regular people from the West.
Mason Myers
Stalin sent millions gulags for no reason
Ayden Jones
At least he didn't shitpost.