Those imprisoned by different countries in the 20th century have become objects of close study by politicians and historians in the last two decades. Many of them have long lost their meaning and legal force. Of particular interest is the Soviet-German Pact of 1939 concerning the division of spheres of influence in Eastern Europe. But somehow another important document has been forgotten - the Treaty of Rapallo. It had no statute of limitations and is formally still in effect.

Strangers in Genoa

In 1922, Soviet diplomacy made a major breakthrough in the field of international relations. The world's first proletarian state was isolated; the government of the recently formed USSR did not want to be recognized by European countries, Britain, the USA and many other states. The Soviet delegation arrived in Genoa in order to establish cooperation, mainly trade and economic, and to establish a fait accompli in the world consciousness. A new state arose from the ruins of the Russian Empire; here is its flag - red, and here is its anthem - "Internationale". Please be considered.

On the first try, little was achieved. The head of the delegation, People's Commissar G.V. Chicherin, understood that it was necessary to look for allies, and among opponents, because there was nowhere else. And he found it.

Germany, after the crushing defeat of 1918, was a rogue country on a global scale. It was with this state that the mutually beneficial Rapallo Treaty was concluded a little later.

German affairs

Woe to the vanquished, this has been known since ancient times. The reparation payments imposed by the Entente countries on Germany put an unbearable burden on the economy of the country, which itself suffered enormous losses, human and material, during the four years of the Great War. In fact, state independence was violated, the size of the army, trade activities, foreign policy, the composition of the fleet and other issues usually resolved by sovereign entities independently came under foreign control. An avalanche-like inflation was raging in the country, there was no work, the banking system was ruined, in general, residents of post-Soviet countries who remember the early nineties are generally familiar with this sad picture. In the early twenties, Germany needed an external partner, reliable and strong, just like Soviet Russia. The interest was mutual; the Germans needed raw materials and markets. The USSR had an urgent need for technology, equipment and specialists, that is, for everything that the countries of the industrialized West denied. The Treaty of Rapallo with Germany became a means of overcoming this foreign policy frustration. It was signed by Georgy Chicherin and Walter Rathenau at the Imperial Hotel.

Refusal of mutual claims

In the Italian city of Rapallo in 1922, on April 16, an event occurred that was important not only for Soviet Russia, but also for Germany. This was understood by both sides, who found themselves outside the economic and political world processes. The fact is that the Rapallo Peace Treaty became the first post-war international agreement concluded by Germany on equal terms. The parties made mutual concessions unprecedented in history. The Germans recognized the alienation of the property of their fellow citizens (called nationalization) as fair, and the USSR renounced claims for damage caused by the aggressor during hostilities. In fact, the compromise was forced. Both parties understood the impossibility of recovering any damages, and preferred to come to terms with the real state of affairs.

Realism and pragmatic considerations served as the basis on which the Treaty of Rapallo with Germany rested. The date April 16, 1922 marked only the beginning of joint activities between two countries that found themselves in international isolation. The main work was ahead.

Economic aspect

Before the First World War, Germany was considered the most industrially developed country in Europe. It was here, in the place of greatest concentration of the working class, according to Karl Marx, that the first proletarian revolution should have arisen and taken place. The defeat and shameful conditions of the world seemed to put an end to the industrial development of this state. Nevertheless, German firms, experiencing a serious shortage of raw materials and marketing and sales problems, continued to struggle for existence. The significance of the Treaty of Rapallo is eloquently demonstrated by the contracts that followed it. Already in 1923, Junkers committed to build two aircraft factories on the territory of the USSR and sell a batch of finished aircraft; representatives of chemical concerns expressed a desire to jointly produce certain products (more on that later) on a joint basis, and also in the Soviet Union. The Reichswehr (which later became the Wehrmacht) made a large engineering order (more on that later). German engineers were invited to the USSR for work and consultations, and Soviet specialists went to Germany for internships. The Treaty of Rapallo led to the conclusion of many other mutually beneficial treaties.

Military cooperation

Soviet Russia was not bound by the terms of the Versailles Peace Treaty; it did not sign it. However, the young proletarian state could not openly ignore it - this would cause unnecessary complications on the diplomatic fronts, where the positions of the People's Commissariat for Foreign Affairs were not yet very strong. Germany - under the terms of Versailles - was limited in the size of the Reichswehr and did not have the right to create an air force or a full-fledged navy. The conclusion of the Treaty of Rapallo allowed German pilots to be trained in secrecy at Soviet flight schools located deep in Russia. Officers for other branches of the military were trained on the same basis.

Treaty of Rapallo and the defense industry

Industrial cooperation also covered the joint production of weapons.

The Treaty of Rapallo with Germany, in addition to the officially published text, had a number of secret annexes. In addition, it has been supplemented several times.

The order for 400 thousand three-inch caliber artillery shells was fulfilled by the Soviet side. The planned construction of a joint venture producing chemical agents (mustard gas) was not implemented due to the lag of German technology in this area. The Germans sold the cargo-passenger Junkers, but when organizing the licensed assembly, the company's representatives tried to cheat by supplying all the technically complex components ready-made. This did not suit the Soviet side, which was striving for the most complete development of advanced technologies. Subsequently, aviation technology in the USSR developed mainly on the domestic industrial base.

Result

The Rapallo Treaty did not solve all the diplomatic problems facing the communist government of Soviet Russia, but it created a precedent for mutually beneficial trade and cooperation between countries with different political and economic systems. The ice was broken, the process began, the issue of recognition of the new state as a subject of international law was resolved de facto for the first time. Already in 1924, diplomatic relations were established with Britain, Norway, Italy, Greece, Austria, Denmark, Sweden, France, China and several other countries. The results of the Treaty of Rapallo outlined the path along which our country had to travel for almost the entire rest of the 20th century.

Concluded during Genoa Conference in the city of Rapallo (Italy). Signified a breakthrough in the international diplomatic isolation of Soviet Russia. Signed by the RSFSR G. V. Chicherin . The agreement provided for the immediate restoration in full of diplomatic relations between the RSFSR and Germany. The parties mutually renounced claims for compensation for military expenses and non-military losses and agreed on a procedure for resolving disagreements among themselves. Germany recognized the nationalization of German state and private property in the RSFSR and renounced claims arising “from the activities of the RSFSR or its bodies in relation to German citizens or their private rights, provided that the government of the RSFSR will not satisfy similar claims of other states.” Both sides recognized the principle of most favored nation as the basis of their legal and economic relations and pledged to promote the development of their trade and economic ties. The German government declared its readiness to provide assistance to German companies in developing business ties with Soviet organizations. The agreement was concluded without specifying a period. According to the agreement signed on November 5, 1922 in Berlin, it was extended to other Soviet republics.

(Published with abbreviations)

The German Government, represented by the Reich Minister, Dr. Walter Rathenau, and the Government of the Russian Socialist Federative Soviet Republic, represented by People's Commissar Chicherin, have agreed on the following provisions:

Article 1. Both governments agree that differences between Germany and the Russian Soviet Republic on issues arising during the state of war between these states shall be settled on the following grounds:

a) The German state and the RSFSR mutually refuse compensation for their military expenses, as well as compensation for military losses, in other words, those losses that were caused to them and their citizens in areas of military operations as a result of military measures, including those taken on the territory of the opposing side requisitions. Likewise, both parties refuse to compensate for non-military losses caused to citizens of one party through the so-called exceptional military laws and violent measures of state bodies of the other party.

b) Public and private legal relations affected by the state of war, including the question of the fate of commercial courts that fell into the power of the other side, will be settled on the basis of reciprocity.

c) Germany and Russia mutually refuse to reimburse their expenses for prisoners of war. Likewise, the German government refuses to reimburse expenses incurred for Red Army units interned in Germany. For its part, the Russian government refuses to reimburse it for the amounts received by Germany from the sale of military equipment brought into Germany by these interned units.

Article 2. Germany renounces claims arising from the application to the present time of the laws and measures of the RSFSR to German citizens and their private rights, as well as to the rights of Germany and the German states in relation to Russia, and also from claims arising in general from measures of the RSFSR or its bodies in relation to German citizens or their private rights, provided that the government of the RSFSR will not satisfy similar claims of other states.

Article 3. Diplomatic and consular relations between Germany and the RSFSR are immediately resumed. The admission of consuls of both sides will be regulated by a special agreement.

Article 4. Both Governments further agree that for the general legal status of the citizens of one party in the territory of the other and for the general regulation of mutual trade and economic relations, the principle of most favored nation should apply. The principle of most favored nation does not apply to the advantages and benefits that the RSFSR provides to another Soviet Republic or a state that was formerly an integral part of the former Russian state.

Article 5. Both governments will mutually meet the economic needs of both countries in a friendly spirit. In the event of a fundamental settlement of this issue on an international basis, they will enter into a preliminary exchange of opinions among themselves. The German government declares its readiness to provide possible support to the agreements drafted by private firms recently communicated to it and to facilitate their implementation.

c) art. 1st, art. 4th of this treaty come into force from the moment of ratification; the remaining provisions of this agreement come into force immediately.

Rappal Treaty of 1922 - between Germany and the RSFSR; signed on IV 16, during the Genoa Conference (...), on behalf of the RSFSR by People's Commissar for Foreign Affairs G.V. Chicherin, on behalf of Germany by Foreign Minister Rathenau.

Even before the signing of the Soviet-German agreement of 1921 (...), negotiations began between Germany and the RSFSR on the establishment of normal diplomatic and economic relations. On the way to Genoa, the Soviet delegation stopped in Berlin, where at the beginning of April 1922, after lengthy negotiations delayed by Germany, a draft treaty was developed. However, the Wirth-Rathenau government did not dare to sign an agreement with the RSFSR. At this time, Rathenau still continued to defend his project of organizing an international Anglo-German-American cartel for the exploitation of Russia's wealth. The German government was convinced that Soviet Russia would capitulate in Genoa to the united forces of the capitalist states, and feared that as a result of the premature signing of the treaty, Germany would lose the right to participate in the division of the “Russian pie.”

After the opening of the Genoa Conference and especially after the negotiations that began between Lloyd George and the Soviet delegation at Villa Albertis, Wirth and Rathenau began to fear the possibility of an agreement between Soviet Russia and the Allies. On their initiative, negotiations, interrupted in Berlin, resumed in Genoa.

The reasons that prompted Germany to immediately conclude the Treaty at Rappalo can be reduced to the following: a) the desire to strengthen foreign policy positions in general and eliminate its international isolation by an agreement with Soviet Russia; b) the desire to eliminate Art. 116 of the Treaty of Versailles (Russia’s right to reparations from Germany) and to prevent any agreement between Soviet Russia and the Western powers on its basis; c) the groundlessness of calculations for the capitulation of Soviet Russia to the united forces of the capitalist powers in Genoa; d) the desire to monopolize the Russian market, which the German economy desperately needed, and to achieve the elimination of the foreign trade monopoly established in the RSFSR.

For the Soviet Republic, the signing of this agreement meant a breakthrough of the hostile united front of capitalist states.

The Treaty of Rappal consisted of 6 articles.

Art. 3 provided for the immediate resumption of diplomatic and consular relations between both countries. All disagreements between the RSFSR and Germany were to be settled on the following grounds: a) mutual refusal to reimburse military expenses, military and non-military losses; b) resolving the issue of the fate of commercial courts on the basis of reciprocity; c) mutual refusal to reimburse expenses for prisoners of war and internees (Article 1).

According to Art. 2 Germany recognized the nationalization of German state and private property carried out in the RSFSR on the basis of decrees of the Council of People's Commissars.

Germany renounced the claims of private German citizens, as well as the property and rights of Germany and the German states in the RSFSR, however, "... on the condition that the government of the RSFSR will not satisfy similar claims of other states."

Art. 4 established that the regulation of trade and economic relations between the two countries would be carried out on the basis of the most favored nation principle. At the same time, it was stipulated that this principle does not apply to the benefits and advantages that the RSFSR provides to another Soviet republic or to a state that was previously an integral part of the Russian Empire.

The Treaty of Rappal was concluded without specifying a period of validity. 5. XI 1922, through a special agreement, the treaty was extended to other Soviet republics.

The German government put the treaty up for discussion in the Reichstag only on V. 29, 1922, that is, 12 days after it was ratified by the government of the RSFSR. Social Democrats were especially active against the ratification of the treaty. Nevertheless, the Treaty of Rappal was ratified by Germany.

The Rappal Treaty marked a major success of Soviet diplomacy, because it established normal diplomatic relations with a major European state. In addition, the Treaty of Rappal annulled German claims related to the nationalization of property of foreigners in the RSFSR, and thereby significantly complicated the possibility of making similar demands on the part of the Entente.

The signing of the Treaty of Rappal caused confusion in the circles of the Genoa Conference. The French delegation led by Barthou insisted on the annulment of this treaty. Lloyd George took an ambivalent position on this issue: outwardly he shared Barth's indignation, but in reality he was well aware of the progress of negotiations between the RSFSR and Germany and regarded the Treaty of Rappal as a step directed against French hegemony in Europe. He also considered it advisable to direct German exports to Russia so that these exports could serve as a source for paying German reparations.

Diplomatic Dictionary. Ch. ed. A. Ya. Vyshinsky and S. A. Lozovsky. M., 1948.

During the Genoa Conference in Rapallo (Italy). Both contracting parties mutually refused compensation for military expenses, military and non-military losses, expenses for prisoners of war, introduced the principle of most favored nation in the implementation of mutual trade and economic relations; In addition, Germany recognized the nationalization of German private and state property in the RSFSR and the cancellation of tsarist debts by the Soviet government.

Treaty of Rapallo
Representatives of the Soviet and German sides in Rapallo: Karl Joseph Wirth, Leonid Krasin, Georgy Chicherin and Adolf Joffe
date of signing	April 16, 1922
place	Rapallo
Signed	Georgy Vasilievich Chicherin, Walter Rathenau
Parties	Russian SFSR, Weimar Republic
Audio, photo and video on Wikimedia Commons

The peculiarities of the Rappal Treaty include the fact that its reason and basis was the common rejection of the Versailles Treaty between the two countries. In the West, the Treaty of Rapallo is sometimes informally called "contract in pajamas" because of the famous night “pajama meeting” of the German side on the acceptance of Soviet conditions [ ] .

Background and significance

Negotiations on the settlement of existing controversial issues began even before Genoa, including in Berlin in January - February 1922 and during the meeting of G.V. Chicherin with Chancellor K. Wirth and Foreign Minister W. Rathenau during the stop of the Soviet delegation in Berlin on the way to Genoa.

The Treaty of Rapallo meant the end of the international diplomatic isolation of the RSFSR. For Russia it was the first full-scale treaty and de jure recognition as a state, and for Germany the first equal treaty since Versailles.

Both sides recognized the principle of most favored nation as the basis of their legal and economic relations and pledged to promote the development of their trade and economic ties. The German government declared its readiness to assist German companies in developing business ties with Soviet organizations.

The text of the treaty does not contain secret military agreements, but Article 5 states that the German government declares its willingness to support the activities of private companies in the Soviet Union. This practice avoided compromising the German government, although the costs were covered directly by the War Ministry.

On the Russian side (RSFSR) it was signed by Georgy Chicherin. From the German side (Weimar Republic) - Walter Rathenau. The agreement was concluded without specifying a period. The provisions of the treaty came into force immediately. Only paragraph “b” of Art. 1 on the settlement of public and private law relations and Art. 4 on most favored nation came into force from the moment of ratification. On May 16, 1922, by resolution of the All-Russian Central Executive Committee, the Treaty of Rapallo was ratified. On May 29, 1922, the German government put the treaty up for discussion in the Reichstag and on July 4, 1922 it was ratified. The exchange of instruments of ratification took place in Berlin on January 31, 1923.

According to the agreement signed on November 5, 1922 in Berlin, it was extended to the allied Soviet republics - the BSSR, the Ukrainian SSR and the ZSFSR. The agreement was signed by their authorized representatives: Vladimir Ausem (Ukrainian SSR), Nikolai Krestinsky (BSSR and ZSFSR) and Director of the German Foreign Ministry Baron Ago von Malzahn. Ratified by: BSSR on December 1, 1922, SSR of Georgia on February 12, 1922, Ukrainian SSR on December 14, 1922, SSR of Azerbaijan and SSR of Armenia on January 12, 1923. The instruments of ratification were exchanged in Berlin on October 26, 1923.

Russia and Germany developed Rapallo's policy in the Treaty of Berlin on April 24, 1926.

Preventive war against Russia - suicide due to fear of death

Otto von Bismarck

The Treaty of Rapallo with Germany was signed by representatives of the Soviet delegation on April 16, 1922 during an emergency conference in the city of Genoa. This was an important step for both countries as it allowed them to break the economic blockade.

Prerequisites for signing the agreement

Despite the fact that in modern history textbooks, especially in Western ones, the significance of the signed documents in Rapallo is very great, and they had a huge impact on the entire political world of that era. In fact, we are talking about an agreement between two states that found themselves in global isolation for many years:

• Germany, due to the fact that they signed the Treaty of Versailles, which was extremely unfavorable for themselves, during which they actually lost their independence and were economically dependent on other world superpowers.
• Russia, which was represented at the international conference by delegates of the RSFSR led personally by V.I. Lenin, from the moment he came to power, tried unsuccessfully to establish diplomatic and economic relations with the Western powers.

As a result, a rather paradoxical situation developed, which no one could even think about a few years ago. The Treaty of Rapallo with Germany and the USSR was signed by the largest countries of Europe under fear and strong pressure...

Speaking about this historical event, many historians attribute it to a momentary impulse that was poorly thought out by the parties. This is wrong. After all, negotiations began even before the summit itself. The Soviet side was in Germany back in January 1922, where it held the corresponding round of negotiations.

Consequences of the signed agreement

The conference did not produce any positive results for either side. This was due to the fact that the Bolsheviks came to defend the interests of their Motherland, while Western states wanted only one thing - 18.5 billion gold rubles, which Russia allegedly owed for the supply of weapons.

However, on the night of April 16, 1922, the Treaty of Rapallo was concluded with Germany, which became known the very next day. The significance of this event could not be overestimated. In fact, this meant the lifting of the economic blockade of the RSFSR and recognition of the independence of this country. Indeed, among the terms of the agreement itself were:

1. Close economic cooperation, including in the field of trade
2. Establishing diplomatic relations.
3. Refusal of any economic claims to each other.
4. Recognition of the nationalization of enterprises on the territory of the USSR, including German ones.
5. Military cooperation as such was not envisaged, although the principles of mutual assistance in training and cooperation between the armies were subsequently voiced.

The parties entered into an agreement in Rapallo

The Treaty of Rapallo with Germany was signed on the Soviet side by Georgy Chicherin (in the top photo) and on the German side by Walter Rathenau (on the left in the photo). A small caveat must be made. In the document itself, Rathenau names the Weimar Republic as his country.

We see that the Treaty of Rapallo with Germany did not contain any significant restrictions that could affect other countries. It was a simple document between two parties. However, the reaction of the West was simply stunning. Everyone, both politicians and the press, began to talk about betrayal and literally force the Germans to break the agreement. It is even known for certain that Rathenau personally visited the Soviet diplomatic mission on April 17 with one sole purpose - to persuade them to steal the papers. But this was not implemented.

The significance of the Treaty of Rapallo with Germany for the young Soviet republic was extremely great, since it allowed them to secure a document that actually recognized the USSR on the part of Germany, which in turn had agreements with other countries. This meant the end of the international isolation of the USSR.