records of conversations between the People's Commissar for Foreign Affairs of the USSR V.M. Molotov and the envoy of the Republic of Latvia to the USSR F. Kocins on June 16, 1940.
Conversation at 19.45
At 7 p.m. 45 min. The Latvian envoy Kocins came to me and said that he had already contacted Riga, conveyed to his government the statement of the Soviet government and received the following response:
1. The Latvian government expresses its readiness to ensure free passage of Soviet troops into Latvia, however, in connection with the big holiday today in Latvia, a large number of citizens have gathered in the Loncassi area, who will linger there until late at night, the Latvian government is afraid, as if, due to the large crowd of people , there were no undesirable incidents between the Soviet units that would enter Latvia and the participants in the celebration. Therefore, the Latvian government asks to delay the entry of troops into Latvia until the morning of June 17.
In addition, the Latvian government asks to show it the roads along which Soviet troops will advance across the territory of Latvia.
2. Due to the fact that not all members of the Latvian government are now in place and there is no quorum to make a decision on the resignation of the current government and the convening of a new government, the Latvian government requests that it be given the opportunity to announce that a quorum will be assembled by 8 o'clock. evenings.
In addition, the President of the Republic of Latvia asks to be informed with whom he should communicate on the issue of forming a new government.
3. The Latvian government requests that statements of the Soviet government not be published in the press, as the ultimatum may leave a bad impression. It is more beneficial for the relations of both countries not to publish this statement.
In his response, Comrade Molotov indicated that the entry of Soviet troops into Latvia could begin tomorrow - June 17, at 3-4 o'clock. morning, so the holiday will not interfere with this introduction.
Regarding the roads along which the Soviet troops would move, Comrade Molotov and Kocins agreed that commissioners would be appointed on both sides, who would communicate with each other on these issues. They agreed to exchange the names of the representatives in 1-2 hours.
Comrade Molotov told Kocins that the Soviet government would make a special appeal to the Latvian government to instruct local authorities and the population not to allow any misunderstandings during the entry of Soviet troops into Latvia.
Regarding the resignation of the government of Comrade. Molotov said that since the quorum would be present at 8 o'clock. evening, then Kocins will still have time to give an answer before the deadline.
As for the President's request to indicate a person with whom he could communicate on the issue of forming a new government, such a person will be notified.
Comrade Molotov refused Kocins' request not to publish statements of the Soviet government. Then Kocins began to ask Comrade Molotov to postpone this publication for a while. When asked by Comrade Molotov for how long the Latvian government wants to postpone the publication of the statement, Kocins did not give an answer, saying that he found it difficult to answer this question, since this period was not indicated to him.
Comrade Molotov promised the envoy his request not to publish statements and report to his government, however, for his part, he stated that he did not promise a positive solution to this issue, since this could not be kept secret.
Conversation at 22.40
Kocins came to me at 10 pm. 40 min. and, on instructions from his government, announced that the entire cabinet (6 people), with the exception of two cabinet members who had not yet returned to Riga, resigned. Thus, Kocins officially notifies Comrade Molotov that the Soviet Union’s demand for the government has been accepted.
Kocins confirms the decision of the Latvian government on the free passage of Soviet troops into Latvia. At the same time, Kocinsh reports that the assistant chief of staff, Colonel Udentynsh, is authorized from Latvia to communicate with the command of the Soviet troops.
Kocins asks to start crossing the border no earlier than 9 o'clock. morning, since it takes some time to prepare for the reception of Soviet troops.
Comrade Molotov states that he will inform Kocins additionally regarding the time of transition and the areas through which Soviet troops will cross the border of Latvia.
General Pavlov was appointed plenipotentiary on the Soviet side.
Comrade Molotov replies that he reported the envoy’s request to the Soviet government and the latter found it possible not to publish the ultimatum part of the statement.
Kocins asks for a communiqué that would simply say that, at the proposal of the Soviet government, the Latvian government agreed to increase the number of Soviet troops in Latvia.
Comrade Molotov asks, what about the government?
Kocins replies that the second point could be said that the Latvian government has resigned.
Comrade Molotov notes that it is impossible to ignore the facts that are mentioned in the statement, so the statement will be published, but the final one will be excluded from it, i.e. ultimate, part. At the end of this statement it will be said that the Latvian government accepted the conditions put forward in the statement of the Soviet government. It is impossible to accept the envoy’s proposal not to print this statement, since this would mean that we are hiding the essence of the issue from the public, and it will not be clear what the matter is, where this whole issue came from, etc. This is all the more undesirable because it can be interpreted differently, while the essence of the issue is completely clear - this is a military alliance. One wonders why it was needed, why it was necessary to drag Lithuania into it, etc.
Kocins is trying to prove again that the Latvian government treated the USSR favorably.
Comrade Molotov notes that there are, of course, people in Latvia who have a better attitude towards the USSR. You had General Balodis, Comrade Molotov continues, he treated the USSR better, but he was removed. Well, why all these secret conferences, trips of general staffs, the creation of a special body of the Baltic Entente, Lithuania was drawn into a military alliance, etc.?
Kocins, on behalf of the Latvian government, as he puts it, declares that Lithuania is not in the union.
Comrade Molotov remarks to the envoy that “You say what your government instructs you to do, but we do not trust this government. You are declaring what you are instructed to declare by your government. You have to do this, but you have to look at things with open eyes. The attitude of the Latvian government towards the USSR was not entirely honest, and we became convinced of this during conversations that took place recently in Moscow with Merkys, the Prime Minister of Lithuania.”
Kocins again returns to his previous statement, which he made to Comrade Molotov in the afternoon, that in conversations with Comrade Molotov and Comrade Dekanozov he always asked: are there any wishes on the issue of relations between both countries? And he never heard any complaints.
Comrade Molotov replies that these questions concerned mainly current affairs.
At the end of the conversation, it was agreed that Kocins would be called in additionally to report on the activities of the Soviet government related to the crossing of the Soviet troops across the Latvian border.
On September 1, 1939, Germany began military operations against Poland. In just 10 days, the resistance of the Polish army was broken along the entire length of the front. Commander-in-Chief Edward Rydz-Smigly gives the order for a general retreat, but it also fails to be carried out. Most of the troops are surrounded. The world will learn what "blitzkrieg" is.
On the morning of September 17, the Red Army crosses the Polish border. The day before, it was announced to the Polish Ambassador in Moscow that due to the fact that the Polish state had virtually ceased to exist, the USSR was taking under protection the population of Western Belarus and Western Ukraine. The "Liberation Campaign" begins. War is not even declared on a “non-existent” state. However, this state no longer has anything to fight with. And the Polish General Staff did not consider the option of waging a war on two fronts, as obviously hopeless. On the same day, the Polish government fled to Romania.
Soviet troops move forward practically without resistance and soon come into contact with the Wehrmacht. On September 22, the ceremonial transfer of the city took place in Brest. Although individual Polish units continue to resist until October 6, this occurs much further west.
Already on September 28, 1939, the Treaty of Friendship and Border between the USSR and Germany was signed in Moscow. The distribution of territories is somewhat different from. Germany retains the Lublin Voivodeship and the eastern districts of Warsaw (the same ones that were transferred from the Bialystok Voivodeship in 1938). Plus a protrusion between East Prussia and the southern part of Lithuania (the “Suwalki Protrusion”) In exchange, Lithuania goes into the “sphere of interests” of the USSR.
Moreover, Moscow took the initiative in this matter. Since the beginning of September, the Germans had been negotiating the transfer of Lithuania to German protectorate and intensified the assault on Warsaw, expecting the imminent (scheduled for October 3) exit of Soviet troops to the western bank of the Vistula. The Germans were not averse to it, in view of the need for Germany “first of all for timber and oil.” And therefore they agreed. They also asked to make concessions in the oil-bearing areas in the south in the upper reaches of the San River. But instead, they were offered up to half a million tons of oil in exchange for supplies of coal and steel pipes.
Since Lithuania was leaving the German "sphere of influence", Germany had claims to part of its lands. Which the USSR undertook to satisfy as soon as “special measures were taken on Lithuanian territory.”
However, in the end, in 1941 the Germans received not land, but $7.5 million in compensation.
PS. Document on topic.
Signing the contract
German-Soviet Treaty of Friendship and Border between the USSR and Germany dated September 28, 1939The government of the USSR and the German government, after the collapse of the former Polish state, consider it exclusively their task to restore peace and order in this territory and provide the people living there with a peaceful existence consistent with their national characteristics. To this end they agreed as follows:
Article I
The government of the USSR and the German government establish a line as the boundary between mutual state interests on the territory of the former Polish state, which is marked on the attached map and will be described in more detail in the additional protocol.
Article II
Both Parties recognize the boundary of mutual state interests established in Article I as final and will eliminate any interference by third powers in this decision.
Article III
The necessary state reorganization in the territory west of the line indicated in the article is carried out by the German government, in the territory east of this line - by the USSR Government.
Article IV
The government of the USSR and the German government consider the above restructuring as a reliable foundation for the further development of friendly relations between their peoples.
Article V
This treaty is subject to ratification. The exchange of instruments of ratification should take place as soon as possible in Berlin.
The agreement comes into force from the moment of its signing.
Compiled in two originals, in German and Russian.
Moscow, September 28, 1939.
V. Molotov
For the German Government
I. Ribbentrop
TRUST PROTOCOL TO THE “GERMAN-SOVIET TREATY OF FRIENDSHIP AND BORDER BETWEEN THE USSR AND GERMANY”
The government of the USSR will not prevent German citizens and other persons of German origin living in its areas of interest if they wish to move to Germany or in areas of German interest. It agrees that this resettlement will be carried out by authorized representatives of the German Government in agreement with the competent local authorities and that the property rights of the settlers will not be affected.
The German Government assumes a corresponding obligation regarding persons of Ukrainian or Belarusian origin living in its areas of interest.
By authority of the Government of the USSR
V. Molotov
I. Ribbentrop
The undersigned Plenipotentiaries, when concluding the Soviet-German Border and Friendship Treaty, stated their agreement as follows:
Both Parties will not allow any Polish propaganda on their territories that affects the territory of another country. They will eliminate the germs of such agitation in their territories and will inform each other about appropriate measures for this purpose.
Moscow, September 28, 1939
By authority of the Government of the USSR
V. Molotov
For the German Government
I. Ribbentrop
SECRET ADDITIONAL PROTOCOL
The undersigned Plenipotentiaries, when concluding the Soviet-German Border and Friendship Treaty, state the agreement of the German Government and the USSR Government as follows:
The secret additional protocol signed on August 23, 1939 is amended in paragraph I in such a way that the territory of the Lithuanian state is included in the sphere of interests of the USSR, since on the other hand the Lublin Voivodeship and parts of the Warsaw Voivodeship are included in the sphere of interests of Germany (see map to the agreement signed today about friendship and the border between the USSR and Germany). As soon as the Government of the USSR takes special measures on Lithuanian territory to protect its interests, then, for the purpose of a simple and natural drawing of the border, the present German-Lithuanian border is corrected so that the Lithuanian territory, which lies southwest of the line indicated on the map, goes to Germany.
It is further stated that the economic agreements in force between Germany and Lithuania should not be violated by the above measures of the Soviet Union.
Moscow, September 28, 1939
By authority of the Government of the USSR
V. Molotov
For the German Government
I. Ribbentrop
Quoted from: Foreign Policy Documents, 1939, vol. 22, book 2 - M.: International Relations, 1992 pp. 134 - 136 Tags:
On September 28, 1939, as a result of negotiations between the People's Commissar for Foreign Affairs of the USSR V. M. Molotov and the German Foreign Minister J. von Ribbentrop, an agreement on friendship and the border between the USSR and Germany was signed, around which political battles continue to this day. This agreement put an end to the diplomatic struggle that unfolded on the eve of World War II.
In the context of growing international tension throughout 1939, the Soviet Union tried to reach an agreement to ensure joint resistance to German aggression with England, France and other European countries. The evasive position of the leaders of Western democracies, who sought to pit the USSR and Germany against each other for their own benefit, forced the Soviet leadership to look for other ways to delay the war. On August 23, 1939, the USSR and Germany signed the famous Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact, which guaranteed non-aggression by the parties against each other if one of them was involved in hostilities.
The pact and the secret protocols signed with it freed the hands of Germany, which invaded Poland on September 1, 1939 and quickly occupied its western regions without hindrance. On September 17, Soviet troops were introduced into the territories of Western Ukraine and Western Belarus that were part of Poland. Thus, the division of spheres of influence between Germany and the USSR, provided for by secret protocols, was carried out. The agreement of September 28, 1939 and the secret protocols to it recorded the fact of the division of Poland and established the western border of the USSR.
On December 24, 1989, the Congress of People's Deputies of the USSR gave a political and legal assessment of the treaties of August 23 and September 28, 1939. The congress recognized that the agreements were concluded in a critical international situation and were aimed at diverting the threat of impending war from the USSR. However, the secret protocols were signed in violation of legal norms, since they encroached on the sovereignty and independence of third countries, so the Congress declared them legally untenable and invalid from the moment of their signing.
Most modern scientists and politicians also critically evaluate the peace and border treaty of September 28, considering it a political mistake by the Soviet leadership, the consequences of which still negatively affect the country’s foreign policy.
Lit.: Documents of foreign policy. 1939 T. 22. Book. 2. M., 1992. P. 134-136 (German-Soviet Treaty of Friendship and Border between the USSR and Germany); The same [Electronic resource]. URL: http://militera.lib.ru/docs/da/dvp/22(2)/index.html ; Meltyukhov M.I. Stalin’s missed chance. The Soviet Union and the struggle for Europe: 1939–1941. M., 2000; The same [Electronic resource]. URL:http://militera.lib.ru/research/meltyukhov/03.html; On the political and legal assessment of the Soviet-German non-aggression treaty of 1939 // Gazette of the Council of People's Deputies and the Supreme Soviet of the USSR. 1989. No. 29. Art. 579.
September 28, 1939 - after 20 days of resistance, the act of surrender of Warsaw was signed, on the same day, as a result of negotiations between the USSR People's Commissar for Foreign Affairs V. M. Molotov and the German Foreign Minister I. von Ribbentrop, the “Treaty of Friendship and Border” was signed between the USSR and Germany." Secret additional protocols to which recorded a new division of the spheres of influence of the Soviet Union and the Third Reich: Lithuania transferred to the Soviet “zone”, and the western lands of Poland were turned into the German General Government, and also coordinated the prevention of “Polish agitation” in the territory of occupied Poland.
Description
Three secret protocols were attached to the agreement - one confidential and two secret. The confidential protocol determined the procedure for the exchange of Soviet and German citizens between both parts of divided Poland, and the secret ones adjusted the zones of Eastern European “spheres of interest” in connection with the division of Poland and the upcoming “special measures on Lithuanian territory to protect the interests of the Soviet side,” and also established the obligations of the parties suppress any “Polish agitation” affecting the interests of the parties.During the invasion of Poland, the Germans occupied the Lublin Voivodeship and the eastern part of the Warsaw Voivodeship, the territories of which, in accordance with the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact, were in the sphere of interests of the Soviet Union. In order to compensate the Soviet Union for these losses, a secret protocol was drawn up to this agreement, according to which Lithuania, with the exception of a small territory of the Suwalki region, passed into the sphere of influence of the USSR. This exchange ensured the Soviet Union non-interference by Germany in relations with Lithuania, which resulted in the establishment of the Lithuanian SSR on June 15, 1940.
Treaty of Friendship and Border between the USSR and Germany
The Government of the USSR and the German Government, after the collapse of the former Polish state, consider it exclusively their task to restore peace and order in this territory and provide the people living there with a peaceful existence consistent with their national characteristics. To this end they agreed as follows: - The Government of the USSR and the German Government establish a line as the boundary between mutual state interests on the territory of the former Polish state, which is marked on the attached map and will be described in more detail in the additional protocol.
- Both Parties recognize the border of mutual state interests established in Article 1 as final, and eliminate any interference of third powers in this decision.
- The necessary state reorganization in the territory west of the line indicated in the article is carried out by the German Government, in the territory east of this line - by the Government of the USSR.
- The Government of the USSR and the German Government consider the above restructuring as a reliable foundation for the further development of friendly relations between their peoples.
- This treaty is subject to ratification. The exchange of instruments of ratification should take place as soon as possible in Berlin. The agreement comes into force from the moment of its signing. Compiled in two originals, in German and Russian.
Secret additional protocol
The undersigned plenipotentiaries declare the agreement of the Government of Germany and the Government of the USSR as follows:The secret additional protocol signed on August 23, 1939 should be amended in paragraph 1 to reflect the fact that the territory of the Lithuanian state came into the sphere of influence of the USSR, while, on the other hand, the Lublin Voivodeship and part of the Warsaw Voivodeship came into the sphere of influence Germany (see map attached to the Treaty of Friendship and Borders signed today).
As soon as the Government of the USSR takes special measures on Lithuanian territory to protect its interests, the present German-Lithuanian border, with a view to establishing a natural and simple border description, should be corrected so that the Lithuanian territory located southwest of the line marked on attached map, went to Germany.
The undersigned authorized representatives, upon conclusion of the Treaty of Friendship and Borders, declare their agreement as follows:
Both Parties will not allow any Polish agitation on their territories that affects the territory of the other Party. They will suppress all sources of such agitation in their territories and inform each other about measures taken for this purpose.
Results
As a result of these events, a territory of 196 thousand km² with a population of about 13 million people came under the control of the USSR.After Germany attacked the Soviet Union on June 22, 1941, the treaty, like all other Soviet-German treaties, lost force. When concluding the Sikorski-Maiski Agreement on July 30, 1941, the Soviet government recognized the Soviet-German treaties of 1939 as no longer in force in terms of territorial changes in Poland.