title: USSR and the Red Army through the Eyes of the French Military Attaché E. Mendras (1933–1934)
metadata.name: dc.contributor.author
metadata.value: Vershinin, A. A.
metadata.lang: -
metadata.name: dc.date.accessioned
metadata.value: 2021-11-08T11:48:28Z
metadata.lang: -
metadata.name: dc.date.available
metadata.value: 2021-11-08T11:48:28Z
metadata.lang: -
metadata.name: dc.date.issued
metadata.value: 2021-09
metadata.lang: -
metadata.name: dc.identifier.citation
metadata.value: Vershinin A. A. ‘USSR and the Red Army through the Eyes of the French Military Attaché E. Mendras (1933–1934)’, Modern History of Russia, vol. 11, no. 3, 2021, pp. 686–704.
metadata.lang: en_GB
metadata.name: dc.identifier.other
metadata.value: https://doi.org/10.21638/11701/spbu24.2021.308
metadata.lang: -
metadata.name: dc.identifier.uri
metadata.value: http://hdl.handle.net/11701/33455
metadata.lang: -
metadata.name: dc.description.abstract
metadata.value: The article, largely based on new documents from Russian and French archives, examines an important
  aspect of Franco-Soviet relations on the eve of the Second World War: the interaction between the militaries of
  the two countries. The question of cooperation between the two armies was raised immediately after the signing
  of the Franco-Soviet non-aggression pact in 1932. The following year, the first French military attaché, E. Mendras, arrived in Moscow. A proponent of the revival of the Franco-Russian alliance, he explored Soviet reality
  to determine the real potential of the USSR as a possible ally. Despite a number of shortcomings of the Soviet
  socio-political system, Mendras came to the conclusion that the political regime in the country was quite stable,
  and its armed forces had the necessary resources to conduct a European war. At the same time, he questioned
  Moscow’s foreign policy goals and was critical of Soviet ideology as a factor in political decision-making. At first,
  the military attaché recommended that the French leadership enhance the alliance with the USSR. However, his
  attitude gradually changed against the background of a lack of complete mutual understanding with the Soviets
  and contradictions on the issue of rapprochement with Moscow, which cleaved the military-political leadership
  in Paris. In 1934, Mendras was skeptical about the prospects for cooperation with the USSR. This turn, in many
  ways, reflects a general change in the vector in Soviet-French relations in the mid-1930s, which led to their deterioration
  on the eve of the Second World War.
metadata.lang: en_GB
metadata.name: dc.description.sponsorship
metadata.value: The research was supported by the Russian Science Foundation (RSF), project no. 20-78-10014.
metadata.lang: en_GB
metadata.name: dc.language.iso
metadata.value: ru
metadata.lang: en_GB
metadata.name: dc.publisher
metadata.value: St Petersburg State University
metadata.lang: en_GB
metadata.name: dc.relation.ispartofseries
metadata.value: Modern History of Russia;Volume 11; Issue 3
metadata.lang: -
metadata.name: dc.subject
metadata.value: Second World War
metadata.lang: en_GB
metadata.name: dc.subject
metadata.value: Red army
metadata.lang: en_GB
metadata.name: dc.subject
metadata.value: French army
metadata.lang: en_GB
metadata.name: dc.subject
metadata.value: Edmond Mendras
metadata.lang: en_GB
metadata.name: dc.subject
metadata.value: non-aggression pact
metadata.lang: en_GB
metadata.name: dc.subject
metadata.value: treaty of mutual assistance
metadata.lang: en_GB
metadata.name: dc.subject
metadata.value: France
metadata.lang: en_GB
metadata.name: dc.subject
metadata.value: USSR
metadata.lang: en_GB
metadata.name: dc.title
metadata.value: USSR and the Red Army through the Eyes of the French Military Attaché E. Mendras (1933–1934)
metadata.lang: en_GB
metadata.name: dc.type
metadata.value: Article
metadata.lang: en_GB
resources.filename: 686-704.pdf
resources.url: https://dspace.spbu.ru/bitstream/11701/33455/1/686-704.pdf
resources.format: Adobe PDF
resources.size: 802,05 kB