The Soviet–Polish Non-Aggression Pact (, , transliterated as ) was a

non-aggression pact A non-aggression pact or neutrality pact is a treaty between two or more states/countries that includes a promise by the signatories not to engage in military action against each other. Such treaties may be described by other names, such as a t ...

signed in 1932 by representatives of

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

and the

Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

. The pact was unilaterally broken on September 17, 1939, during the

Soviet invasion of Poland The Soviet invasion of Poland was a military conflict by the Soviet Union without a formal declaration of war. On 17 September 1939, the Soviet Union invaded Second Polish Republic, Poland from the east, 16 days after Nazi Germany invaded Polan ...

Background

After the 1919-1921

Polish–Soviet War The Polish–Soviet War (14 February 1919 – 18 March 1921) was fought primarily between the Second Polish Republic and the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic, following World War I and the Russian Revolution. After the collapse ...

, the Polish authorities pursued a policy of "equal distance" between

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

and the

. Most Polish politicians on both the

left Left may refer to: Music * ''Left'' (Hope of the States album), 2006 * ''Left'' (Monkey House album), 2016 * ''Left'' (Helmet album), 2023 * "Left", a song by Nickelback from the album ''Curb'', 1996 Direction * Left (direction), the relativ ...

and the

right Rights are law, legal, social, or ethics, ethical principles of freedom or Entitlement (fair division), entitlement; that is, rights are the fundamental normative rules about what is allowed of people or owed to people according to some legal sy ...

believed that

should rely mostly on the crucial 1921 Franco-Polish alliance, which dated back to shortly after the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, and should support neither Germany nor the Soviet Union. To normalize bilateral contacts with the Soviets, talks were started in January 1926 to prepare a

to strengthen the Polish borders that had been established by the 1921

Peace of Riga The Treaty of Riga was signed in Riga, Latvia, on between Poland on one side and Soviet Russia (acting also on behalf of Soviet Belarus) and Soviet Ukraine on the other, ending the Polish–Soviet War (1919–1921). The chief negotiators o ...

and to balance it by a similar pact with Germany. However, negotiations with the Germans had not started when those with the Soviet Union were interrupted in June 1927 since the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

had broken diplomatic relations with the Soviets in May after it found a spy ring, and Soviet Ambassador Pyotr Voykov was assassinated in

Warsaw Warsaw, officially the Capital City of Warsaw, is the capital and List of cities and towns in Poland, largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the Vistula, River Vistula in east-central Poland. Its population is officially estimated at ...

in June. Instead, Poland agreed to the Kellogg-Briand Pact of 1928.

Signing

Soviet-Polish negotiations were resumed in

Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...

in 1931. The Soviet-Polish Pact was signed on July 25, 1932, effective for three years. Ratifications were exchanged in Warsaw on December 23, 1932, and the pact went into effect the same day. It was registered in the ''

League of Nations The League of Nations (LN or LoN; , SdN) was the first worldwide intergovernmental organisation whose principal mission was to maintain world peace. It was founded on 10 January 1920 by the Paris Peace Conference (1919–1920), Paris Peace ...

Treaty Series'' on January 9, 1933.''League of Nations Treaty Series''
vol. 136, pp. 42-53.
/ref> On May 5, 1934, it was extended without amendment to December 31, 1945.

Terms

Both countries agreed to renounce violence in bilateral relations, resolve their problems through negotiations and forgo any armed conflict or alliance aimed at each other.

Aftermath

The pact was broken by the Soviet Union on September 17, 1939, when it invaded Poland and helped the Germans in accordance with the secret protocols of the

Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact The Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact, officially the Treaty of Non-Aggression between Germany and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, and also known as the Hitler–Stalin Pact and the Nazi–Soviet Pact, was a non-aggression pact between Nazi Ge ...

. The Soviet-Polish Pact was considered at the time to be a major success of Polish diplomacy, which had been greatly weakened by the toll war with Germany, the renouncement of parts of the

Treaty of Versailles The Treaty of Versailles was a peace treaty signed on 28 June 1919. As the most important treaty of World War I, it ended the state of war between Germany and most of the Allies of World War I, Allied Powers. It was signed in the Palace ...

and the loosened ties with

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

after it agreed to the

Locarno Treaties The Locarno Treaties, known collectively as the Locarno Pact, were seven post-World War I agreements negotiated amongst Germany, France, Great Britain, Belgium, Italy, Second Polish Republic, Poland and First Czechoslovak Republic, Czechoslovak ...

. The pact also reinforced Poland's negotiating position with Germany, which finally resulted eighteen months later in the signing of the 1934 German–Polish declaration of non-aggression.

References

# # # #

Sources

External links

Text of Soviet-Polish Non-Aggression Pact
{{DEFAULTSORT:Soviet-Polish Non-Aggression Pact 1932 in Poland 1932 in the Soviet Union Treaties of the Soviet Union World War II treaties Second Polish Republic–Soviet Union relations Treaties concluded in 1932 Treaties of the Second Polish Republic Interwar-period treaties Non-aggression pacts

Background

Signing

Terms

Aftermath

See also

References

Sources

External links