What is the League of Nations? This is an international organization that was created to promote cooperation between different nations. One of the initiators of its creation was US President W. Wilson, although this state was not included in its composition.
Creature
This organization was created in 1919 as a result of the Versailles-Washington system of the Versailles Peace Treaty. The latter was signed on June 28, 1919 in France, at the Palace of Versailles, as a result of which the First World War was declared completed. This treaty, other treaties with the allies of Germany, the agreements that were concluded at the Washington Conference in 1921-1922. formed the basis for building a world order, which was called the Versailles-Washington system.
The goals of the League of Nations were to ensure collective security, prevent military operations, disarmament, conduct diplomatic negotiations to resolve various disputes and improve the quality of life on Earth.
The main organs of this organization were concentrated in Geneva. These bodies included: the Assembly, which included all the countries participating in the League of Nations; The Council of this organization, which was originally composed of 4 permanent members (Italy, Great Britain, Japan, France) and 4 non-permanent members, which changed periodically; the secretariat, which was led by the secretary general.
Articles of association
Any organization must have its own charter. The League of Nations was no exception. For what purpose this organization was created, was reflected in its charter. It was created by a special commission, which was formed at the Paris Peace Conference of 1919-1920 . The charter of the League of Nations was included in the peace treaties that were concluded as a result of the end of the First World War. Initially, it was endorsed by signatures of representatives of 44 states, the vast majority of which were states participating in the war on the side or joining the Entente. And only 13 of them were neutral in this war.
The eighth article of this document dealt with the need to limit national armaments in order to maintain world peace. In case of danger of a war, regardless of whether it directly affects any member of the League of Nations, according to Art. 11 of the Charter, the Secretary General at the request of any member was to convene a meeting of the Council. To date, the provisions of Article 23 of this Charter, which contained information regarding control over the trade in arms, various harmful substances, including opium, the interests of women and children, have not lost their relevance. It was also stated here that the League of Nations would do everything in its power to prevent and combat diseases.
Article 16 proclaimed that in the event of the outbreak of war by one of the members of the League of Nations, the remaining countries should have severed all financial and trade relations with this country, including such relations between citizens. In addition to all citizens, it was forbidden to have personal relations with the citizens of the country that declared war. The actions of this article were extended to some states: the USSR in 1939 after the outbreak of the Soviet-Finnish war, Italy in 1937 after the attack on Ethiopia in 1935.
Already in this Charter recognized the sovereignty and territorial integrity of all members of the League of Nations.
What was included in this document that allowed its members to feel confident in the future? It was laid down there that all members of the League of Nations should exchange the scale of armaments, programs, and the state of industries that could be related to the military industry. Support was provided for partner countries outside the League of Nations.
If there was any dispute between the members of the League of Nations, it should have been resolved with the help of the Council or an arbitrator. The war was not allowed until 3 months after the decision of these bodies.
Thus, the essence of the League of Nations was to prevent wars.
Official symbols and languages of the League of Nations
Almost any international organization has its own symbolism, its own flag. When was it created in the League of Nations? Here the answer is simple - never. Unfortunately, the contradictions between the member countries of this organization did not allow the creation of either the flag or the emblem of the League of Nations, despite the fact that proposals for official symbols came from the moment the organization was formed.
There were official languages in this organization. They were Italian, French and English. There was also a desire to make Esperanto the working language of the League of Nations, but the proposal was blocked by the French delegation, frightened by the oppression of its language. The goals of the League of Nations were achieved through the use of official languages.
The activities of the Soviet Union in the organization
30 members of the League of Nations invited the USSR to join this organization as a permanent member, which meant recognition of the role of the state as a great power. In 1934, the country's leadership decided to accept this invitation. This entry was largely due to the country's desire to protect its western borders. Mostly hopes were associated with France. In Moscow, negotiations were held between the foreign ministers of the USSR and France, as a result of which a draft of the Eastern Pact was developed, according to which the Baltic states, Poland, the USSR, and Finland were to create a collective security system. This project was not implemented because there were insurmountable contradictions between a number of countries. As a result, this served as one of the grounds for the acceptance by the Soviet Union of an invitation to join the League of Nations.
In 1935, a Soviet-French agreement on mutual assistance was signed in the event of a potential attack by the aggressor, but it was not supported by a military agreement, and therefore was ineffective. Later, a similar treaty was concluded with Czechoslovakia.
In the same year, the USSR Foreign Minister made an appeal to the Council of the League of Nations because of the outbreak of Italy’s war with Ethiopia, as well as Germany’s withdrawal from the articles of the Treaty of Versailles, which limited its armament, combining the efforts of various states in the fight against aggression through application of sanctions. However, France and the United Kingdom blocked the adoption of this decision.
Exclusion of the Soviet Union
The USSR in the League of Nations lasted almost until 1940 and was expelled from it in connection with the outbreak of the Soviet-Finnish war. On December 14, 1939, Argentina initiated the 20th Assembly of the League of Nations, at which 28 of the 40 countries voted to exclude our country. At a meeting of the Council of the League of Nations, 7 out of 15 votes were cast for the exclusion of the Soviet Union from this organization. These were France, Dominican Republic, Bolivia, Belgium, Egypt, Great Britain, South Africa. Greece, Finland, China and Yugoslavia abstained. Other members of the Council were absent, which did not hinder the expulsion of the USSR from the League of Nations, which was done in flagrant violation of the Charter. After 2 days, TASS made a statement calling the decision absurd and causing an ironic smile.
Other reasons for the exclusion of the USSR
What could the League of Nations bring to the Soviet Union that caused an irresistible desire, even with a violation of its own Charter, to exclude it? This organization has always been suspicious of our country, which was developed after the industrialization of the country by the leadership, and after the growth of the Soviet army both in numbers and in military-technical potential. An active campaign was conducted in foreign media to denigrate the image of the Soviet Union. Soviet bombs did not always hit Finnish military installations. When it fell into civilian facilities, all this was recorded and brought to the knowledge of foreigners that the USSR was an aggressor country, so it must be punished.
Many countries feared that the influence of the Soviet Union in this organization would increase in the event of a successful war and sought to disarm our country by imposing sanctions and exacerbating already tense relations. This situation is largely reminiscent of the one that began to take shape in relation to Russia after 2014.
The end of the League of Nations story
Shortly after the end of World War II in 1946, the League of Nations ceased its formal existence, since the actual existence has been discontinued since the start of this war. Why has the League of Nations ceased operations? Up to the 30s of the XX century, many interstate disputes and conflicts were successfully resolved by this organization. But since 1931, when Japan attacked Chinese Manchuria, the League of Nations stopped accepting military or economic sanctions against the aggressor. Against Italy for the war against Ethiopia in 1935, only economic sanctions were introduced, which were already repealed in 1936. These two aggressions shook the confidence of the countries of the world in the League of Nations, which resulted in connivance in the attack of some states on others. However, the socio-economic work in this organization continued until the outbreak of World War II, which put an end to this work.
The interaction between the member countries of the League of Nations was weak. She was also weakened by the fact that the United States was not among its members. The USSR and Germany were for a short time members of this organization. The League of Nations was little armed to fulfill its goals. All this led to the fact that in 1946 the League of Nations ceased to exist. But, as they say, a holy place does not happen empty. In its place came the United Nations.
Use of the brand of the League of Nations in football
Despite the fact that the League of Nations has gone down in history, the brand of this organization continues to live today. Since 2018, regular matches of the UEFA Nations League are planned. This should increase the prestige and level of football among national teams. In this league of 54 teams four groups will be formed, which will be divided into subgroups of 3-4 teams. The latter will play among themselves both at home and away. The winning teams will either increase their class or reach the final, where 4 teams will participate. The same teams that take one of the last places in subgroup games will receive a demotion in the class.
In 2020, butt matches will be held between the winners of the four subgroups of large groups of each group. From each large group, one team will be joined to the teams that will pass the European qualification.
This League of Nations is called to replace friendly matches, in this tournament a serious fight should be ensured.
As a result of this tournament, the load on the national teams should decrease, which will be facilitated by a reduction in trips to friendly matches that will not completely leave the football calendar. Test matches remain to prepare for international tournaments.
The pun in the name of a public organization
The name "League of Nations" turned out to be quite popular. In Russia, there is the "League of the Health of the Nation" - one of the largest public organizations led by the cardiac surgeon L. Bokeria.
The experts of this organization, in addition to informing citizens about the poor state of their health, demonstrate how you can change your life if you want to.
Every year there is an action "Touch the heart of a child", in the framework of which the SC SCX named after Bakuleva is helping children with heart defects. Every year, the "Wave of Health" campaign takes place, during which, during swimming, leading doctors from different parts of the country issue children certificates for treatment in clinics of the capital, having examined them beforehand.
This organization fights bad habits by holding campaigns such as Russia Without Tobacco, Society Against Drugs, and Alcohol-Free Russia.
Since 2012, the organization has been holding forums in the CIS countries on the exchange of experience and the development of cooperation to improve the quality and standard of living of the population with the formation of a culture of health and a healthy lifestyle.
Thus, this organization continues to make efforts to preserve and enhance the health of the population, which were proclaimed in the Charter of the League of Nations. True, while this is being carried out at the national and interstate levels.
Finally
To the question of what the League of Nations is, it is impossible to give a definite answer that it was only an international organization, the analogue of which is the United Nations today. If we consider this issue irrespective of the international organization that existed in the middle of the 20th century, then this name can also be found in the future UEFA tournament, as well as in the name of a public organization dedicated to the health of the nation. It can be hoped that distracting these structures from politics and, above all, from military topics, will allow them to exist for a longer period of time compared to an international organization.