ABSTRACT
As a result of the Bolshevik Revolution, Soviet Russia found itself isolated in international diplomacy and excluded from the Paris Peace Conference. Then, in 1922, while Lenin was still, in name at least, in charge of Soviet affairs, Russia and Germany stunned the other powers by drawing up an agreement at Rapallo that conferred mutual diplomatic representation and provided trade and investment links. This was tightened in 1926 by the Treaty of Berlin, which was, in effect, a neutrality pact. Relations between the Soviet Union and other capitalist powers were more problematic. Diplomatic relations were established with Britain in 1924, broken by Britain in 1927 and re-established in 1929. It seemed, therefore, that the most consistent connection before 1931 would be with Germany.
