Partition of Russia
.svg) Prevailing ethnolinguistic groups of the Russian Empire (1897), one of the bases for the eventual partition of Russia | |
| Date | 1965–1971 |
|---|---|
| Location | Eurasia |
| Outcome | Partition of Russia into numerous smaller states, forced displacement, refugee crises, ethnic conflicts |
The partition of Russia (Russian: Раздел России, tr. Razdel Rossii) was a geopolitical event that occurred in the aftermath of Great War II with the fall of Derzhavist Russia and the Allied-led occupation of Russia by British, Continental, German, and Sierran forces in 1965. The Allied Powers arranged plans to divide Russia into several new states beginning in 1963. Russia had been a great power in both Europe and Asia since the 19th century, amassing a large empire that spanned two continents and included a vast nation-state comprising dozens of ethnic groups, languages, and religions. The partitioning left a long-lasting impact on Eastern Europe, West Asia, Central Asia, and Northeast Asia as it came to be dominated by Western powers. It also reinvigorated the Turkic world, which was divided after the partition of the Ottoman Empire at the end of Great War I, as numerous Turkic states gained independence, such as Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, and Tuva. Russia survived as a rump state centered in Moscow, becoming the modern-day Russian Democratic Republic.
During and following the Second Great War, the Allied Powers wanted to curb the extent and influence of Russia. During the Raleigh Conference, the Big Four (Germany, Sierra, the United Commonwealth, and the United Kingdom) agreed that dividing Russia up permanently would preserve the balance of power in Eurasia. It was further agreed that, under the auspices of the League of Nations, the majority of postwar states of the former Russian empire would be granted independence after a period of military occupation and supervision, rather than become colonies. Russia was to be divided into three occupation zones between Germany, Sierra, and the United Kingdom, while the United Commonwealth, as well as Japan (which had been a Russian ally until its early surrender in 1964) and Skandinavia held minority stakes in the partitioning. The Allied Powers met with representatives from Moscow, who represented the post-Derzhavist government in Russia, ratifying and signing the Treaty of Spandau. The treaty officially recognized the League of Nations mandates in the region and the Russian Democratic Republic as the successor state to Derzhavist Russia.
The process of partition was contentious and marked the beginning of the Cold War. British and Sierran interests became aligned after the Second Great War, while Germany sought to exert its dominance over the European continent as the preeminent European power. The longstanding Anglo-German enmity became more evident as the two European powers sought to establish their own spheres of influence in the region. The Landonist powers, China and the United Commonwealth, also held interests in the postwar development of the former Russian Empire. Among the subjects of the former Russian Empire, reactions were mixed. Non-Russian ethnic groups such as the Ukrainians, Kazakhs, Tatars, Uzbeks, Nakhs, Karelians, and Tuvans were able to establish their own independent states, and welcomed the changes. Ethnic Russians, especially those who lived either as minorities or the majority in regions that were partitioned from Russia, faced discrimination and ostracization. Russian nationalists who opposed the partition sought to establish their own independent republics within lands designated to the partitioning states, but were actively suppressed by the new governments and the Allied powers. Resistance and violence often manifested as ethnic groups clashed, especially as the Allied powers facilitated often mandatory, forced population transfers over ethnic and national lines. Within Russia proper, the partition was widely regarded as a national embarrassment and humiliation, as the Russian nation had been reduced drastically to its borders during the pre-imperial period. The effects of the partition opened up an environment of competing ideologies and geopolitical dynamics, which have persisted into modern contemporary history.
Background
Leading up to Great War II, Russia was the largest state in modern history. It was the regional hegemon in Central Asia and Eastern Europe politically, culturally, and economically. Russia was a principal member of the victorious Triple Alliance during Great War I, but suffered economic downturn, corruption, and political gridlock soon after. The rise of the Russian Derzhavist Party in the wake of the 1948 Russian coup d'état witnessed the transformation of Russia into a totalitarian dictatorship. The Derzhavists pursued social policies that included the Chistka (ethnic cleansing and pogroms) and repression of political opponents, and an expansionist foreign policy. Russia's actions domestically and internationally in Eastern Europe caused concern among Western Europe and the Americas. When the Second Great War broke out in 1961, Russia had ambitions to expand its territory beyond its borders, beginning with its invasion of Poland. Russia and its principal European ally, France, formed the Axis powers and occupied much of Continental Europe at the peak of their mutual expansion. By late 1963, the Allies were able to reverse Axis gains. Following the fall of Derzhavist France and the liberation of Germany, the Allied powers began making in-roads into Russia. Great War II ended after the Derzhavist Russian regime collapsed after the Allied powers captured and occupied Moscow.
List of partitions and concessions
Joint Mandate
Central Russia
The League of Nations and the Allied Powers determined that Central Russia was the integral core of the Russian Empire. It included the majority of Russian governorates that were considered a part of Great Russia, including the city of Moscow, where the historical Grand Duchy of Moscow was centered in. At the Raleigh Conference, the Allied Power leaders agreed that the region would remain in the hands and control of the ethnic Russians. The League of Nations awarded a joint mandate to Germany, Sierra, and the United Kingdom, dividing Central Russia into three occupational zones, while the city of Moscow itself, which was based entirely in the German-occupied zone, was also divided into the same number of zones between the occupying powers. Although the Allied powers wanted to preserve a cohesive all-Russian nation within the Joint Mandate, the possibility of further dividing the Joint Mandate into permanent, independent states was entertained during the Moscow Summit in 1968 to address unresolved issues following the partition. The Russian representatives in attendance soundly rejected the proposal.