On the 100th Anniversary of the Locarno Conference and the First Pan-European Congress; Some Reflections on «Controversial» Anniversaries in the Context of the «Russian/Soviet Question
https://doi.org/10.18384/2949-5164-2025-5-139-151
Abstract
Aim: To restore some pages of the history of the creation of the League of Nations and the Pan-European Movement; to study the main decisions of the League of Nations in Locarno, the First Congress of Pan-Europeanists in Vienna, in general, and through the prism of the «Russian/Soviet question,» in particular; to reveal the main discussions in historical literature about the place and role of the League of Nations and the Pan-European Movement in the 1920s in international life.
Methodology. The study is based on the principles of objectivity and historicism, and employs the historical-comparative and historical-systemic methods of historical research.
Results. The article reinterprets some pages of the history of the creation of the League of Nations and the Pan-European Union in the 1920s; provides a critical analysis of some of Richard Kudenhove-Kalergi's ideas; offers an author's assessment of the main decisions made at the Locarno Conference and the First Pan-European Congress; reveals the specifics of their policies on the «Russian/Soviet issue»; and presents hypothetical consequences of the League of Nations and the Pan-European Congress' actions in their confrontation with the USSR.
Research implications. The article contributes to a new interpretation of the history of the creation of the League of Nations and the Pan-European Union in the 1920s, as well as to the study of their policies on the «Russian/Soviet issue.» The research's generalizations and conclusions will help to gain a better understanding of the activities of the League of Nations, pacifists, and the Pan-European Union during this period. The findings can be used in writing scientific articles or preparing research reports on related topics.
About the Author
I. G. Zhiryakov
Federal State University of Education
Russian Federation
Russian Federation
Zhiryakov Ivan Georgievich – Dr. Sci. (History), Prof., Department of General History
Moscow
References
1. Khodnev, A. S. (2024). Shaky memory: attitude to the Great War in the League of Nations. In: New Historical Journal, 2, 76–99 (in Russ.).
2. Kostromina, N. G. (2012). Franco-German relations between the first and second world wars (1919–1939). Kemerovo (in Russ.).
3. Turk-Popov, V. M. (1949). Locarno. Moscow; Leningrad: USSR Academy of Sciences Publ. (in Russ.).
4. Korzhenyak, A. M. (2022). Development of the concept of the formation of the European Union (19th – first half of the 20th century). In: Bulletin of Nizhny Novgorod University named after N. I. Lobachevsky, 3, 124–133 (in Russ.).
5. Kudenhove-Kalergi, R. N. (2006). Pan-Europa. Moscow: Vita Planetare Publ. (in Russ.).
6. Arapina, S. V. & Getman, M. A. (2015). Relations between Russia and Europe in the views of R.N. von Kundekhove-Kalergi. In: Bulletin of Kemerovo State University, 3-2, 7–11 (in Russ.).
7. Khakhalkina, E. V. & Dziuba, V. C. (2021). Locarno agreements of 1925 in the context of the transformation of the Versailles system: a look from London. In: Bulletin of Moscow University. Series 25: International Relations and World Politics, 1, 157–195 (in Russ.).
8. Sergeev, E. Yu. (2024). Deceptive dawn: Soviet Union and Great Britain in 1925–1932. M.: T-in scientific publications KMK Publ. (in Russ.).
9. Magadeev, I. E. (2024). From normalization to crisis and vice versa. Review: Sergeev E. Yu. Deceptive dawn: Soviet Union and Great Britain in 1925-1932. M.: T-in scientific publications KMK, 2024. In: Bulletin of the Russian State Humanitarian University. Series: History. Political science. International relations, 4, 181–188 (in Russ.).
10. Matveev, G. F. & Matveeva, E. Yu. (2020). Lokarnsky turn 1925 through the eyes of Soviet newspaper commentators and politicians. In: Bulletin of Moscow University. Series 8. History, 3, 100–122 (in Russ.).
11. Arshintseva, O. A. & Glushkov, A. E. (2005). Locarno, 80 years later. In: Izvestia of Altai State University, 4, 7–11 (in Russ.).
12. Caroy, L. (1961). Great Britain and Locarno. Moscow: IMO Publ. (in Russ.).
13. Suslov, A. Yu. (2022). Socialist League of the New East as a project to unite emigration (1920s). In: Bulletin of Tomsk State University. History, 77, 82–86 (in Russ.).
14. Tsyplin, V. G. (2013). Search for new vectors of Russian foreign policy in Europe in the early 1920s. In: Izvestia Saratov University. Series: History. International relations, 13-1, 75–80 (in Russ.).
15. Shchuplenkov, O. V. & Shchuplenkov, N. O. (2024). European idea of A. Briand in the interwar period. In: Bulletin of Bryansk State University, 2, 189–197 (in Russ.).
Review
Views:
91
JATS XML
Email this article 