Chapter 1642 The Soviet Union's "Alliance with the United States against the East" Strategy!
When a country becomes too powerful, it becomes vulnerable to being targeted by a coalition of other nations. Germany and the Soviet Union were examples of this, as were Spain, France, and the Holy Roman Empire in the past.
The United States and East Africa are exceptions because of their unique geographical locations.
The United States is in a class of its own in North America and East Africa is in a class of its own in Africa. It is no exaggeration to say that they are the "leaders of their respective continents". They have few neighboring countries and their countries are also small in size, so the countries around them can basically lie low.
For countries outside of North America and Africa, it is difficult for them to cross the sea and unite against countries like the United States and East Africa. On the other hand, precisely because the two countries are isolated overseas, they do not have much psychological pressure on the United States and East Africa.
This can be seen in the case of Lithuania in the previous life, which was able to hide in the heart of the European continent and, with the favoritism and protection of the European Union and NATO, wantonly provoke the Far Eastern empire.
Similarly, if the vassal states around Germany were to be disrespectful to East Africa, East Africa would not be able to do anything to those countries in the short term.
In conclusion, superpowers like the United States and East Africa enjoy significantly enhanced security due to their geographical location, but this also limits their interactions with other countries and their deterrent power.
The situation is quite different on the European continent. Germany's strength would cause unease in Western, Northern and Eastern Europe, and even within Germany's own sphere of influence, there would be concerns about Germany. For example, in Poland, there is a possibility that Germany might completely devour Poland.
If Europe were to be ruled by Germany, it would cause unease in East Africa and the United States, because a Germany that rules Europe could very well further integrate the entire Eurasian continent.
In Asia, Germany might not be able to manage on its own, but it had two relatively strong regional allies, Japan and the Ottoman Empire. If Germany defeated the Soviet Union, more Asian countries would likely side with Germany.
Joseph confidently stated, "The United States' attitude may waver, but how could East Africa tolerate the emergence of a power that controls Eurasia?"
"It can be seen from the map that if Eurasia is integrated by an unprecedentedly powerful country, then East Africa will have no advantage in confronting this power by relying solely on the African continent."
"Once this power emerges, East Africa will completely lose its interests in Eurasia and may threaten its interests and security in North Africa and the Indian Ocean region."
The Soviet leadership agreed with Joseph's words to some extent, but some raised questions.
"Comrade Joseph, but how can we ensure that East Africa and the United States are on our side? Although from the perspective of practical interests, we do have a basis for cooperation with both countries."
"However, since the founding of the Soviet Union, our relations with capitalist countries have been quite tense and have been in a state of confrontation for a long time."
"Getting East Africa and imperialist countries like the United States to set aside their prejudices and cooperate with us is difficult..."
He didn't finish his sentence, but the Soviet leadership understood his meaning. The relationship between the Soviet Union and capitalist countries was, in a sense, openly one of "calling for war."
Therefore, the Soviet Union's desire to cooperate with other imperialist countries faced an insurmountable chasm.
Instead of giving a direct answer, Joseph asked Soviet Foreign Minister Livinov, "Comrade Livinov, you are a professional in the field of diplomacy. Do you think there is a possibility of cooperation between us and countries like East Africa and the United States?"
Livinov is the current Soviet Foreign Minister, which is equivalent to the Soviet Union's Foreign Minister.
He had extensive work experience, a high seniority within the Soviet Labour Party, spoke fluent English, and had an English wife. Therefore, Livinov's background and views made him an ideal candidate for dealing with Western countries.
It's also interesting to talk about Livinov's ideas. Livinov was the main advocate and implementer of the Soviet Union's "collective security" policy.
The core of this policy was an attempt to establish an anti-fascist alliance with Western democracies such as Britain and France in order to jointly contain the expansion of extreme nationalist Germany and Italy.
This is no different from Livinov's claims in his previous life, but Livinov's circumstances in his previous life were completely different from those in this timeline.
However, it's understandable upon reflection. During this period in the Soviet Union, the internal political environment was far from peaceful. Joseph was filled with distrust of the Soviet Labour Party, and Livinov's British wife was clearly not a plus in this context.
The political environment in the Soviet Union in the previous life severely affected the Soviet diplomatic department. Many diplomats were recalled and executed, and a large number of Livinov's deputies and subordinates were arrested and killed.
In other words, Livinov's qualifications were sufficient to withstand the test; otherwise, his fate would likely not have been good.
At the same time, Livinov's "collective security" in his previous life was also hampered by the international environment. Although Livinov actively called for a united front against aggression in the League of Nations and other occasions, the "appeasement policy" of Western countries made his efforts very ineffective.
The West harbored doubts about an alliance with the Soviet Union and hoped to divert Germany's influence eastward and start a war with the Soviet Union.
Later, the Spanish Civil War and Japan's invasion of the Far Eastern empires further exposed the fragility of the existing international order, and Livinov's concept of collective security faced enormous challenges in practice.
As hopes of an alliance with the West dwindled, Joseph began to consider another option: direct negotiations with Germany.
Ultimately, the signing of the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact officially marked the failure of Livinov's policy.
In conclusion, Livinov's career in his previous life was not ideal.
However, in this timeline, Livinov could have an easier time because of the real threat posed by Germany. Therefore, the Soviet Union attached great importance to establishing cooperation with European countries, or at least preventing them from completely siding with Germany.
Livinov was highly valued by Joseph and frequently handled diplomatic affairs with other major powers, especially Western countries such as Britain and France.
Therefore, when Joseph asked Livinov, he appeared quite relaxed and not nervous.
"Comrade Joseph, I believe that the diplomatic direction of befriending the United States in East Africa is not only feasible, but also very promising."
"Just like the collective security policy I have always advocated, Germany is now not only a threat to our Soviet Union, but also a major disruptor of European security and the world's peaceful environment."
"Therefore, dealing with Germany as an unstable factor, especially the evil and powerful political group of extreme nationalist countries represented by Germany that is conquering and expanding in Europe, is not only the responsibility of the Soviet Union, but also the responsibility of East Africa, the United States, Britain, France and other countries."
"Admittedly, there are contradictions between our Soviet Union and these imperialist powers, but when it comes to the common enemy of Germany, our interests are aligned."
"Even if those countries were unwilling to acknowledge or trust the Soviet Union, they were well aware that the threat from Germany was far greater than that from us."
"Britain and France, when facing Germany, faced a question of national survival."
"If Germany were to dominate Europe, the threat it would pose to the United States and East Africa would be far greater than that of any other country."
The "general countries" that Livinov refers to here actually include the Soviet Union, although from his perspective, he certainly couldn't say it that way directly.
Livinov continued, "After all, if Germany succeeds in its expansion, it will have complete control over the eastern Atlantic coast and the Mediterranean, and through its allies, it can also project military power into the Pacific and Indian Oceans."
"This would directly threaten the political and economic interests of the United States and East African countries that focus on maritime power. This is certainly not a situation that the United States and East Africa want to see."
Although the Soviet Union was also very powerful, it was difficult for it to threaten East Africa and the United States at sea. The Soviet Union could only access the three major sea areas of the Atlantic, the Mediterranean and the Pacific, but all of these were greatly limited.
On the Atlantic side, the Soviet port of Murmansk, although an ice-free port, was actually quite poor in terms of conditions, being geographically remote and constrained by other Nordic countries.
St. Petersburg, confined to the Baltic Sea, faced considerable risks even to leave the Gulf of Finland. In the Mediterranean, the Soviet Union couldn't even break through the Ottoman blockade, remaining confined to the Black Sea.
In the Pacific direction, only Vladivostok could be utilized, but the Soviet Union's focus was in Europe, so its role was very limited, and it would also be subject to Japan's attention.
From this perspective, it would be difficult for the Soviet Union to achieve any success in the maritime arena and threaten the interests of maritime powers such as East Africa, the United States, and the United Kingdom. Even if the Soviet Union were to gain a local advantage, other countries could find ways to suppress the Soviet navy.
Germany is completely different. If the German navy breaks through the encirclement, it will be very difficult to push the German navy back.
Therefore, Livinov concluded: "From a geopolitical perspective, Germany poses a far greater threat to East Africa and the United States than we do, not to mention that Germany has many allies, while our Soviet Union can almost only rely on itself."
It's not that Livinov is trying to boost the morale of others while diminishing his own; it's an indisputable fact that the Soviet Union was weaker than Germany, especially the entire German bloc. If you circled it on a map, any country in the world would feel threatened.
Moreover, German ideology was extremely dangerous. Adolf's Aryan superiority theory almost blatantly told the world that Germany's future ambition was to enslave all non-Aryan countries and races.
This dangerous ideology alone would cause Germany to provoke resentment from many countries in the international community. Furthermore, Germany's social system runs counter to that of mainstream "democratic" countries.
The United States and the United Kingdom, in particular, find it very difficult to accept the spread of these dangerous ideas and political systems from Germany.
Joseph agreed with Livinov's analysis: "You are right. Germany has become a common enemy of the whole world, which is the ideological basis for our cooperation with other non-extreme nationalist countries."
"However, the key point is how we can cooperate with countries like those in East Africa and the United States. Comrade Livinov, what suggestions do you have?"
Livinov said, "Comrade Joseph, in fact, the possibility of cooperation between us and East Africa, and between the United States and Britain, is far greater than that between Britain and France."
"Britain and France are now essentially adopting an ostrich mentality when facing Germany, and both countries have too much hostility towards the Soviet Union. This is not only due to our ideological differences with them, but also stems from the historical fear that Western countries have of us!"
Undoubtedly, the Western countries' fear of the Soviet Union was not entirely due to the Soviet Union itself, but rather to the fear of the entire Slavic population on Soviet soil.
This fear can be traced back to the Tsarist era, especially after Tsarist Russia defeated France and became the gendarme of Europe, when Europeans realized the threat this country posed to the whole of Western society.
First, there is the huge population base. The Soviet Union's population doesn't seem particularly outstanding now, since Germany alone is about the same size as the Soviet Union. However, the Slavs are not just limited to the Soviet Union.
Poland, the Balkan countries, western Ukraine, Yugoslavia, and even Germany have a large number of Slavs, such as the former Czechoslovakia and the present-day East Prussia in eastern Germany.
These Slavs could all become tools for a powerful European nation with a predominantly Slavic population.
Secondly, in terms of religion and culture, the Soviet Union (Russia) was also out of step with Europe, so Western European countries were worried that Slavic culture would destroy their own religion, culture and traditions.
This can be seen in the attitudes of the people of the Far Eastern Empire towards foreign cultures and lifestyles during the era of foreign rule and the Far Eastern Empire's unwillingness to actively integrate.
Even if the foreign races temporarily subdue the Far Eastern Empire through force, the Far Eastern Empire will not genuinely accept those "backward civilizations".
This so-called "backward civilization" is very abstract, but there is no doubt that in the eyes of Western countries, Slavs belong to the "backward civilization" group. Even if this group achieves success in some areas, Western countries will never truly accept them as members of "Western civilization".
Therefore, Livinov said: "Britain and France do not identify with the Slavic group at their core, so it is difficult for us to cooperate with them. East Africa is different from the United States. They are actually part of the cultural despise of European countries."
"Therefore, it will be much easier for us to cooperate with East Africa and the United States than with prejudiced and decadent European countries like Britain and France."
"This can also be seen from the attitudes of East Africa and the United States towards us."
Compared to Britain and France, the United States and East Africa did have a better attitude towards the Soviet Union. Of course, this mainly refers to the fact that the two countries did not have the same deep-rooted prejudices against the Soviet Union in terms of culture and tradition as Britain and France.
The differences between East Africa and the United States and the Soviet Union were mainly in political systems and ideologies. As for culture and tradition, unfortunately, East Africa and the United States had virtually none, after all, East Africa has been a nation for less than a hundred years, while the United States has been around for less than two hundred years.
Livinov continued, "At the same time, I believe that in our diplomatic work with these two countries, we should choose an appropriate 'ally with the US against the East' strategy."
"Compared to the United States, East Africa's overall national strength is clearly somewhat excessive. Therefore, we can take advantage of the United States' concerns about East Africa and turn it into our ally."
"This cooperative relationship can even be maintained after the problem of Germany is solved, since East Africa is still too powerful compared to us and the United States."
Joseph's idea of allying with the US against the East African threat was a brilliant idea, because he knew very well that if the Soviet Union brought up the "East African threat theory," the US would inevitably soften its stance towards the Soviet Union and even actively seek cooperation.
The Soviet Union's current priority is dealing with the real threat posed by Germany. However, once Germany is dealt with, the United States and the Soviet Union will face a new problem: how to keep up with the competition in East Africa. This would obviously allow the relationship between the United States and the Soviet Union to continue.
(End of this chapter)
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