Foreign policy of the USSR was managed by a separate department. The official history of the special department for foreign policy began on July 6, 1923. During its existence before the collapse of the USSR, the authority was renamed several times, which did not change the essence of its tasks.
First Minister of Foreign Affairs of the USSR
The People's Commissar was headed by George Chicherin, who was born in 1872 in the Tambov province. Received a specialized diplomatic education. Since 1898, Chicherin has been working at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Empire. The profile of the future Soviet diplomat is the creation of a collection on the history of the ministry. Gradually becomes a supporter of socialist views. From 1904 before the revolution he lived abroad. He was a member of the socialist parties of Western Europe. After the revolution, the USSR Foreign Minister returns from exile, enters into the active political life of the state during the Civil War. He officially heads the foreign ministry from July 6, 1923 to July 21, 1930.
At the same time, Chicherin actually carried out diplomatic work even before he was granted official status. It is very difficult to overestimate Chicherin's merit in resolving many issues of relations between the Union and Western countries at the Genoa and Lausanne conferences (1922 and 1923), as well as during the signing of the Rappals Peace Treaty.
USSR Ministry of Foreign Affairs from 1930 until the formation of the UN
Litvinov Maxim Maksimovich headed the department of foreign affairs at the most difficult time from the political point of view (1930-1939), because it was during this period that there were massive political repressions in the USSR . As minister, he completed several important missions:
- The resumption of diplomatic relations with the United States.
- The USSR was accepted into the League of Nations (the prototype of the UN, the organization existed from 1918 to 1940 in fact, and legally before the creation of the UN). He was the permanent representative of the state in the League of Nations.
The first diplomat who officially held the post (after all the renaming) was "Minister of Foreign Affairs of the USSR" was Vyacheslav Molotov, who headed the department from May 3, 1939 to March 4, 1949. In history, he remained as one of the authors of the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact. This document actually divided Europe into zones of influence of the USSR and Germany. After the pact was signed, Hitler no longer had any obstacles to starting the Second World War.
From March 1949 to 1953, the ministry was headed by Andrei Vyshinsky. Historians have yet to evaluate its role in the foreign policy of the USSR. After the war he took an active part in the Potsdam Conference, in the creation of the UN. He actively defended the political interests of the USSR in the external arena. Also, do not forget that it was during these years that there was a war in Korea, which split this country into two states: communist and capitalist. Of course, this minister has a large role in fomenting a cold war between the Union and the United States.
Vyacheslav Molotov is the only Minister of Foreign Affairs of the USSR who returned to his post after the death of Stalin. True, he did not work as a minister for too long - until the famous Twentieth Congress of the CPSU.
Andrey Gromyko
USSR ministers often worked in government for a long time. But not one of them could hold out as long as Andrei Andreyevich Gromyko (from 1957 to 1985), a professional diplomat who many Western leaders listened to, succeeded. One can talk a lot about this politician, because if not for his consistent balanced position on many issues of relations with the United States, the Cold War could easily develop into a real one. The most important achievement of the Minister is the conclusion of the OSV-1 agreement.
Last Minister of Foreign Affairs of the USSR
Eduard Shevardnadze also had the honor of leading the USSR Ministry of Foreign Affairs. In fact, he was the country's main diplomat until the collapse of the Union, although he left this post for a short time in 1991. As you know, in 1985 the period of perestroika began in the state.
Foreign policy priorities have also changed. For example, the unification of Germany was an important task . The solution to this question depended directly on the policies of the USSR. The country's leaders saw the need for change, so the foreign policy could not remain the same. Eduard Shevardnadze was an outstanding diplomat.