ABSTRACT
Maxim Litvinov, however, was never given to idleness, and even while the Hague talks were in session, he was planning a new diplomatic maneuver—a disarmament conference in Moscow. Poland did manage to put itself in an embarrassing position at the conference, but Litvinov was unable to derive any lasting advantage from that fact. The need to normalize the situation among the countries was clear, and Litvinov probably thought he could seize this opportunity to reassert his country’s leading position in the region. Litvinov argued for open plenary sessions to seek a modus operandi, claiming that the conference’s work should be conducted in public so “that the rest of the world” could be kept “fully informed.” The Russians were about to reduce their land forces significantly, and Litvinov’s assignment was, in all likelihood, to attempt to secure similar reductions from Russia’s immediate neighbors.
