From the partition of Europe to the partition of the world

The redivision of Europe began even before the Second World War struck it like a thunder in the middle of a clear sky. The USSR and Germany signed the famous non-aggression pact, also called the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact, which became infamous for its secret addition, the protocol on determining the spheres of influence of the two powers.

Russia, according to the protocol, "retreated" Latvia, Estonia, Finland, Bessarabia and the east of Poland, and Germany - Lithuania and the west of Poland. On September 1, 1939, Germany invaded Polish territories, initiating World War II and the great redistribution of lands.

However, after Germany was recognized as the only aggressor in World War II, the victorious countries had to agree on how to distribute between themselves and the defeated territories.

The most famous meeting, which influenced the further course of history and in many ways determined the peculiarities of modern geopolitics, was the Yalta Conference, held in February 1945. The conference was a meeting of the heads of the three countries of the anti-Hitler coalition - the USSR, the USA and Great Britain in the Livadia Palace. The USSR was represented by Joseph Stalin, the USA - by Franklin Roosevelt, and Great Britain - by Winston Churchill.

The conference took place during the war, but it was already obvious to everyone that Hitler must be defeated: the allied forces were already waging a war on enemy territory, advancing on all fronts. It was absolutely necessary to redraw the world in advance, since, on the one hand, the lands occupied by National Socialist Germany needed a new demarcation, and on the other hand, the alliance of the West with the USSR after the loss of the enemy was already outdated, and therefore a clear division of spheres of influence was a priority task.

The goals of all countries were, of course, completely different. If it was important for the United States to involve the USSR in the war with Japan in order to end it as quickly as possible, then Stalin wanted the allies to recognize the USSR's right to the recently annexed Baltic states, Bessarabia and eastern Poland. Everyone, one way or another, wanted to create their own spheres of influence: for the USSR it was a kind of buffer from the controlled states, the GDR, Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Poland and Yugoslavia.

Among other things, the USSR also demanded the return to its state of former citizens who emigrated to Europe. It was important for Great Britain to maintain influence in Europe and prevent the penetration of the Soviet Union there.
Other goals of neatly dividing the world were to maintain a steady state of calm, as well as to prevent destructive wars in the future. That is why the United States especially fostered the idea of ​​creating the United Nations.

Today marks exactly three years after the Crimean referendum on joining Russia. As we know, its results (96.77% voted for disconnection from Ukraine) were put into effect. Borders in Europe have once again changed, and this fact, frankly, frightened many. Some called it "an unprecedented case in post-war Europe" and reminded of the principle of the territorial integrity of states.

In fact, there is nothing unusual and "unprecedented" in the disconnection of Crimea. Borders are constantly changing and changing. Even after World War II. Even in Europe. Let's remember how the map of the Old World was redrawn after 1945.

Let's start with the fact that immediately after the war, the victors (USA, USSR, and Great Britain) signed two important treaties - Yalta (February 13, 1945) and Potsdam (August 2, 1945). It was in these documents that the borders of the new, post-war Europe were laid.

Three decades later, in the 1970s, the principle of inviolability of post-war borders was enshrined in the adoption of another multilateral document - the Final Act of the Helsinki Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe in the system of principles of relations between the states participating in the Conference, in which the following was enshrined: consider both the inviolable borders of each other and the borders of all states in Europe, and therefore they will refrain now and in the future from any encroachments on these borders. throughout the territory of any participating State. "

True, the provisions of the above agreements remained only on paper. In reality, politicians have never paid attention to them.

Already in 1957, they began to slowly change the borders: then the Saar region became part of the Federal Republic of Germany. After World War II, this small territory was endowed with the status of a separate buffer state, like Luxembourg, but it was ruled by France. The United States and Great Britain sought to give the Saar region completely under the rule of Paris, but the then President Charles de Gaulle was in no hurry to accept its composition as his republic. In the course of a stormy public discussion and scandals, it was decided to give up this territory. But not France, but Germany.

In 1964 Malta seceded from Great Britain. A new state appeared on the map of Europe.

In 1990, the annexation of the GDR (Eastern, socialist Germany) to the FRG (Western, capitalist) happened.

In 1991, the Soviet Union ceased to exist and split into 15 independent states. This was the most ambitious redrawing of the map of not only Europe, but the whole world in recent decades. Independent Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Belarus, Ukraine, Moldova, Russia, Georgia, Armenia, Azerbaijan appeared in the Old World. A number of new states also emerged in Central Asia between Russia and Afghanistan - Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan.

In 1992, four more new states appeared on the map of Europe: Slovenia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia and Macedonia. They seceded from Yugoslavia, in which only Serbia and Montenegro remained.

On January 1, 1993, Czechoslovakia ceased to exist. Since then, two new states have appeared in Europe - the Czech Republic and Slovakia.

In 1994, South Ossetia and Abkhazia were separated from Georgia.

In 1999, NATO troops made every effort to ensure that the remnants of Yugoslavia were destroyed. Their bombing overthrew the regime of Slobodan Milosevic, who became one of the central figures in the ethnic conflicts in the Balkans in the 1990s. Historians and politicians still argue about its role. Someone criticizes and blames all the troubles, others consider it a hero of the Serbian people, protector and peacemaker.

Be that as it may, in 2000 he resigned, and a year later he was detained and secretly transferred to the International War Crimes Tribunal in the former Yugoslavia, which outraged a large part of the Serbian public and President Kostunica.

The above-described political crisis led to the fact that the remnants of Yugoslavia in 2002 began to be called the Republic of Serbia and Montenegro, and in 2006 finally disintegrated into two new states - Serbia and Montenegro.

Just two years later, little Serbia was further fragmented, giving the Republic of Kosovo a chance for self-determination. Moreover, the Serbian leadership was categorically against this, but the Western states reminded Belgrade of the "right to self-determination", while Russia did not recognize the emergence of a new state.

Now Kosovo is a partially recognized state, de facto independent. But according to the Serbian Constitution, it is still obliged to obey Belgrade.

In 2014, Crimea seceded from Ukraine, and following a referendum became part of Russia.

As you can see, the illusion that border changes are in the distant past is a myth. Even in our time, when international relations are regulated by many declarations and treaties, and politicians are increasingly talking about global projects and common human brotherhood, the emergence of new states on the map of civilized Europe is a common thing. It's only the beginning...

Kirill Ozimko

If the geographical map practically does not change over the years, then the political map of the world is undergoing changes, noticeable even to people who have lived no more than half a century. I propose to review the TOP-10 countries that disappeared from the world map in the last century for one reason or another.
10. German Democratic Republic (GDR), 1949-1990

Established after World War II in a sector controlled by the Soviet Union, the German Democratic Republic was best known for its Wall and its tendency to shoot people who tried to cross it.

The wall was torn down with the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1990. After its demolition, Germany was united and again became a whole state. However, in the beginning, due to the fact that the German Democratic Republic was rather poor, the union with the rest of Germany nearly ruined the country. At the moment, everything is working out in Germany.

9. Czechoslovakia, 1918-1992

Created on the ruins of the old Austro-Hungarian Empire, during its existence, Czechoslovakia was one of the most vibrant democracies in Europe before World War II. Betrayed by England and France in 1938 in Munich, she was completely occupied by Germany and disappeared from the world map by March 1939. She was later occupied by the Soviets, who made her one of the vassals of the USSR. It was part of the Soviet Union's sphere of influence until its collapse in 1991. After the collapse, it again became a flourishing democratic state.

This was the end of this story, and, probably, the state would have been integral to this day, if the ethnic Slovaks living in the eastern half of the country had not demanded secession into an independent state, dividing Czechoslovakia in two in 1992.

Today Czechoslovakia no longer exists, in its place is the Czech Republic in the west and Slovakia in the east. Although, given the fact that the Czech economy is booming, Slovakia, which is not doing so well, probably regrets secession.

8. Yugoslavia, 1918-1992

Like Czechoslovakia, Yugoslavia was a product of the collapse of the Austro-Hungarian Empire as a result of the Second World War. Consisting mainly of parts of Hungary and the original territory of Serbia, Yugoslavia unfortunately did not follow the more intelligent example of Czechoslovakia. Instead, it was something of an autocratic monarchy before the Nazis invaded the country in 1941. After that, she was under German occupation. After the defeat of the Nazis in 1945, Yugoslavia did not become part of the USSR, but became a communist country under the leadership of the socialist dictator Marshal Josip Tito, leader of the guerrilla army during World War II. Yugoslavia remained a non-aligned authoritarian socialist republic until 1992, when internal conflicts and irreconcilable nationalism erupted into civil war. After that, the country split into six small states (Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia, Macedonia and Montenegro), becoming a clear example of what can happen if cultural, ethnic and religious assimilation goes wrong.

7. Austro-Hungarian Empire, 1867-1918

While all the countries that were on the losing side of the First World War found themselves in an unattractive economic and geographical position, none of them lost more than the Austro-Hungarian Empire, which was gnawed like a roast turkey in a homeless shelter. From the collapse of the once huge empire, such modern countries as Austria, Hungary, Czechoslovakia and Yugoslavia emerged, and part of the empire's lands went to Italy, Poland and Romania.

So why did she split up while her neighbor, Germany, remained intact? Yes, because it did not have a common language and self-determination, instead, various ethnic and religious groups lived in it, which, to put it mildly, did not get along with each other. Overall, the Austro-Hungarian Empire endured what Yugoslavia suffered, only on a much larger scale when it was torn apart by ethnic hatred. The only difference was that the Austro-Hungarian Empire was torn apart by the victors, and the disintegration of Yugoslavia was internal and spontaneous.

6.Tibet, 1913-1951

Although the territory known as Tibet existed for over a thousand years, it was not able to become an independent state until 1913. However, while under the peaceful tutelage of a number of Dalai Lamas, he eventually clashed with communist China in 1951 and was occupied by Mao's forces, thus ending his brief existence as a sovereign state. In the 1950s, China occupied Tibet, where more and more unrest grew, until Tibet finally rebelled in 1959. This led to China annexing the region and dissolving the Tibetan government. Thus, Tibet ceased to exist as a country and instead became a "region" instead of a country. Today, Tibet is a huge tourist attraction for the Chinese government, even though there are feuds between Beijing and Tibet over the fact that Tibet is again demanding the return of its independence.

5.South Vietnam, 1955-1975

South Vietnam was created by forcibly expelling the French from Indochina in 1954. Someone decided that dividing Vietnam in two around the 17th parallel would be a good idea, leaving Communist Vietnam in the north and pseudo-democratic Vietnam in the south. As with Korea, nothing good came of it. The situation led to a war between southern and northern Vietnam, which eventually involved the United States. This war has become one of the most devastating and expensive wars for the United States of America that America has ever fought. As a result, torn apart by internal divisions, America withdrew its troops from Vietnam and left it on its own in 1973. For two years, Vietnam, split in two, fought until North Vietnam, backed by the Soviet Union, seized power over the country, eliminating South Vietnam for good. The capital of the former South Vietnam, Saigon, was renamed Ho Chi Minh City. Since then, Vietnam has been a socialist utopia.

4. United Arab Republic, 1958-1971

This is another failed attempt to unite the Arab world. The Egyptian President, an ardent socialist, Gamel Abdel Nasser, believed that unification with Egypt's distant neighbor, Syria, would lead to the fact that their common enemy, Israel, would be surrounded on all sides, and that the united country would become super- the strength of the region. Thus, a short-lived United Arab Republic was created - an experiment that was doomed to failure from the outset. Separated by several hundred kilometers, creating a centralized government seemed an impossible task, plus Syria and Egypt could never agree on what national priorities were.

The problem would be solved if Syria and Egypt united and destroyed Israel. But their plans were thwarted by the misplaced 1967 Six-Day War, which ruined their plans for a joint border and turned the United Arab Republic into a biblical defeat. After that, the days of the union were numbered, and, in the end, the UAR broke up with the death of Nasser in 1970. Without a charismatic Egyptian president to support the fragile alliance, the UAR quickly disintegrated, rebuilding Egypt and Syria as separate states.

3. Ottoman Empire, 1299-1922

One of the greatest empires in the history of mankind, the Ottoman Empire collapsed in November 1922, after having existed for more than 600 years. It once stretched from Morocco to the Persian Gulf and from Sudan to Hungary. Its disintegration was the result of a long process of disintegration over many centuries; by the beginning of the 20th century, only a shadow of its former glory remained from it.

But even then, she remained an influential force in the Middle East and North Africa, and most likely would remain so today if she did not participate in the First World War on the side of the losers. After the First World War, it was disbanded, the largest part of it (Egypt, Sudan and Palestine) went to England. In 1922, it became useless and eventually disintegrated completely when the Turks won their war of independence in 1922 and intimidated the sultanate, creating modern Turkey in the process. Nevertheless, the Ottoman Empire deserves respect for its long existence no matter what.

2. Sikkim, 8th century AD-1975

Have you never heard of this country? Where have you been all this time? Well, seriously, how could you be unaware of a small landlocked Sikkim nestled securely in the Himalayas between India and Tibet ... that is, China. The size of a hot dog stand, it was one of those unknown, forgotten monarchies that managed to hold out until the 20th century, until its citizens realized that they had no particular reason to remain an independent state, and did not decided to unite with modern India in 1975.

What was remarkable about this small state? Yes, because, despite its incredibly small size, it had eleven official languages, which probably created chaos when signing road signs - if we assume that there were roads in Sikkim.

1. Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (Soviet Union), 1922-1991

It is difficult to imagine the history of the world without the participation of the Soviet Union. One of the most powerful countries on the planet, which collapsed in 1991, for seven decades it has been a symbol of friendship between peoples. It was formed after the collapse of the Russian Empire after the First World War and flourished for many decades. The Soviet Union defeated the Nazis when the efforts of all other countries were insufficient to stop Hitler. The Soviet Union almost started a war with the United States in 1962, this event was called the "Cuban Missile Crisis".

After the Soviet Union collapsed, following the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989, it split into fifteen sovereign states, thus creating the largest bloc since the collapse of the Austro-Hungarian Empire in 1918. Democratic Russia is now the main successor to the Soviet Union.

Having received huge territories by the decision of the USSR, these countries call us occupiers.

On the eve of the 70th anniversary of the Victory, "AiF" tried to imagine what the map of Europe would have become if the USSR had not given thousands of kilometers of territories to the very countries that now call us occupiers. And will they give up these lands?

Wroclaw is one of the most touristic cities in Poland. There are crowds of people with cameras everywhere, in expensive restaurants there is nowhere for an apple to fall, taxi drivers are breaking godless prices. At the entrance to the Market Square, a banner "Wroclaw - real Polish charm!" Sways. Everything would be fine, but back in May 1945, Wroclaw was called Breslau, and before that for 600 years (!) In a row it had not belonged to Poland. Victory Day, now referred to in Warsaw as "the beginning of communist tyranny," added German Silesia, Pomerania, and 80% of East Prussia to Poland. Now no one stutters about this: that is, tyranny is tyranny, and we will take the land for ourselves. The AIF observer decided to figure out what the map of Europe would look like now if our ex-brothers in the East were left without the help of the "occupiers"?

Cities as a gift

In 1945, Poland received the cities of Breslau, Gdansk, Zielona Gora, Legnica, Szczecin, says Maciej Wisniewski, a Polish freelance journalist. - The USSR also gave the territory of Bialystok, through the mediation of Stalin, we acquired the city of Klodzsko, disputed with Czechoslovakia.

Nevertheless, we believe that the partition of Poland according to the Molotov-Ribbentrop pact, when the USSR took Western Belarus and Western Ukraine, was unfair, but the transfer of Silesia and Pomerania to the Poles by Stalin was just, it cannot be disputed. It is fashionable now to say that the Russians did not free us, but captured us. However, an interesting occupation turns out if Poland received a quarter of Germany for free: moreover, hundreds of thousands of Soviet soldiers shed blood for this land. Even the GDR resisted, not wanting to give Szczecin to the Poles - the issue with the city was finally resolved only in 1956 under pressure from the USSR.
In addition to the Poles, the Baltic states are also strongly outraged by the "occupation". Well, it is worth remembering: the present capital - Vilnius - was also "presented" to Lithuania by the USSR; by the way, the Lithuanian population of Vilnius was at that time ... barely 1%, and the Polish - the majority. The USSR returned to the republic the city of Klaipeda - the Prussian Memel, which belonged to the Lithuanians in 1923-1939. and annexed by the Third Reich. Back in 1991, the Lithuanian leadership condemned the Molotov-Ribbentrop pact, but no one returned both Vilnius to Poland and Klaipeda to the FRG.

Ukraine, through the mouth of Prime Minister Yatsenyuk, declaring itself “a victim of Soviet aggression on a par with Germany”, is unlikely to give the Poles its western part with Lvov, Ivano-Frankovsk and Ternopil (these cities were included by the “aggressors” into the Ukrainian SSR in 1939), Romania - Chernivtsi region (ceded to the Ukrainian SSR on August 2, 1940), and Hungary or Slovakia - Transcarpathia, received on June 29, 1945 Romanian politicians do not stop discussions about the justice of the "annexation" of Moldova by the Soviet Union in 1940. Of course, a long time ago forgotten: after the war, it was thanks to the USSR that the Romanians got back the province of Transylvania, which Hitler took in favor of Hungary. Bulgaria, through the mediation of Stalin, retained Southern Dobrudja (formerly the possession of that very Romania), which was confirmed by the treaty of 1947. But now not a single word is said about this in the Romanian and Bulgarian newspapers.

Wroclaw, Lower Silesia, Poland.

Thank you don't say

Prague winter. How do Czechs feel about the upcoming 70th anniversary of Victory?
Residents of Prague enthusiastically welcome the Soviet tankers. “After 1991, the Czech Republic removed monuments to Soviet soldiers, and also announced that Victory Day marks the replacement of one dictatorship with another,” says Alexander Zeman, a Czech historian. - However, just at the insistence of the USSR, Czechoslovakia returned the Sudetenland with the cities of Karlovy Vary and Liberec, where 92% of the population were Germans. Recall that the Western powers at the Munich conference in 1938 supported the annexation of the Sudetenland by Germany - only the Soviet Union protested. At the same time, the Poles seized the Teshin region from Czechoslovakia and after the war did not want to give it away, insisting on a referendum. After the Soviet pressure on Poland and support of the Czechoslovak position, an agreement was signed - Teshin was returned to the Czechs, securing it with an agreement of 1958. Nobody says thank you for helping the Soviet Union - apparently, the Russians owe us only one fact of their existence.
In general, we have given away lands to everyone, we have not forgotten anyone - and now they spit in our faces for this. In addition, few people know about the pogrom that the new authorities carried out in the "returned territories" - 14 million Germans were expelled from Pomerania and the Sudetenland. If the inhabitants of Koenigsberg (which became Soviet Kaliningrad) moved to the GDR for 6 years (until 1951), then in Poland and Czechoslovakia - 2-3 months, and many Germans were given only 24 hours to get ready, allowing them to take only a suitcase of things, and hundreds of kilometers forced to go on foot. “You know, it’s not worth mentioning this,” they timidly notice to me in the city hall of Szczecin. "Things like that spoil our good relationship with Germany." Well, yes, they poke us with any trifle in the face, but it is a sin to offend the Germans.

How Europe was divided after 1945

Personally, I am interested in justice in this matter. It has already reached schizophrenia: when a person in Eastern Europe says that the victory of the USSR over Nazism is liberation, he is considered either a fool or a traitor. Guys, let's be honest. If the consequences of May 9, 1945 are so bad, illegal and terrible, then all other actions of the USSR during that period are no better. How can the decisions of those who brought tyranny to your land be good? Therefore, Poland should give Silesia, Pomerania and Prussia back to the Germans, Ukraine should return its western part to the Poles, Chernivtsi - to the Romanians, Transcarpathia - to the Hungarians, Lithuania to abandon Vilnius and Klaipeda, Romania - from Transylvania, the Czech Republic - from the Sudetenland and Teshin, Bulgaria - from Dobruja ... And then everything will be absolutely honest. But where there. We are covered for what the world is worth, accused of all mortal sins, however, they seized a stranglehold on Stalin's "gifts". Sometimes you just want to imagine: I wonder what would have happened if Hitler's USSR had been thrown exactly to its borders and did not look further into Europe? What would now remain of the territories of those countries that, before the 70th anniversary of Victory, call their liberation by Soviet troops "occupation"? The answer, however, is extremely simple - horns and legs.


Residents of the Polish Lublin and soldiers of the Soviet Army on one of the streets of the city. July 1944. The Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945. Photo: RIA Novosti / Alexander Kapustyansky

http://www.aif.ru/society/history/1479592

Read it if you're interested .... Six questions to the historian about the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact