153. Ken, Moskva i pakt, 44–6; Khlevniuk et al., Stalin i Kaganovich, 71–3 (RGASPI, f. 81, op. 3, d. 99, l. 12–4: Aug. 30, 1931), 88–9 (l. 21–3: Sept. 7). To ensure timely exchange of information and control over decision making, Stalin created a standing politburo commission for foreign affairs (Nov. 22, 1931) consisting of himself, Molotov, and Kaganovich (Orjonikidze would be added a month later). Litvinov helped initiate the establishment (Nov. 26) of a lesser, separate commission just for Poland. Khlevniuk, Politbiuro, 84–5; Watson, “The Politburo and Foreign Policy,” 134–67 (RGASPI, f. 17, op. 162, d. 11, l. 68, 98, 99, 111); Ken and Rupasov, Zapadnoe prigranich’e, 589–90 (l. 73; AVP RF, f. 010, op. 4, pap. 21, d. 63, l. 635–6).
154. It was not just Stalin who voiced this view. Chicherin, speaking to the Afghan king Amanullah Khan in May 1928, had noted “whether England is preparing a war for us, we shall see later. England is always striving to push others instead of itself into military actions against us. She could push Poland against us.” DVP SSSR, XI: 301–7 (at 303). Stalin also knew that Piłsudski had offered his services to the Japanese as early as 1905, promising to lead an uprising in Russian Poland.
155. Kaganovich exploded at the foreign affairs commissariat to Stalin, writing that “they have no serious materials” in support of their opposition. To Kaganovich’s mind, Litvinov showed himself given to Germanophilia, seeking to build Soviet security one-sidedly on the relationship with Germany while dismissing Poland; Kaganovich also complained of Litvinov’s self-satisfied smugness. But the entire foreign affairs commissariat was united in opposition to a Soviet pact with Poland, even Litvinov’s enemy Karakhan, suspecting that Warsaw’s probes with Moscow were mere ploys to frighten Berlin into deals with Poland and France. Khlevniuk et al., Stalin i Kaganovich, 76–7 (RGASPI, f. 558, op. 11, d. 739, l. 65–7: Sept. 3, 1931), 105–8 (l. 14–22: Sept. 16), 114n1 (f. 17, op. 162, d. 10, l. 177–8; op. 162, d. 11, l. 1, 9); Dokumenty i materialy po istorii sovetsko-pol’skikh otnoshenii, V: 490–2 (Karakhan, Aug. 4, 1931); DVP SSSR, XIV: 488–9 (Aug. 6, 1931); Izvestiia, Aug. 30, 1931, Jan. 26, 1932; Tisminets, Vneshniaia politika SSSR, III: 517–9, III: 519–20, 556–8; Dyck, Weimar Germany, 240; Adibekov et al., Politbiuro Tsk RKP (b)—VKP (b) i Evropa, 259 (RGASPI, f. 17, op. 162, d. 11, l. 9: Sept. 20, 1931), 261–2 (l. 17: Sept. 30, 1931); Haslam, Soviet Foreign Policy, 69. On Nov. 22, 1931, TASS published a communiqué on the resumption of Polish-Soviet negotiations. DVP SSSR, XIV: 647–50, 675; RGASPI, f. 17, op. 162, d. 11, l. 64. See also Budurowycz, Polish-Soviet Relations, 8–9.
156. Dyck, Weimar Germany, 242–9 (citing 9187/H249372–8: Dirksen memo, Nov. 10, 1931); RGASPI, f. 558, op. 11, d. 76, l. 75–75ob. German ambassador Herbert von Dirksen wrote in a report on a meeting with Voroshilov (Dec. 12, 1931)—which was intercepted by Soviet intelligence and passed to Voroshilov (Dec. 21)—that “Voroshilov said that, of course, under no circumstances can one speak about any guarantees of the Polish western border; the Soviet government is a principled opponent of the Versailles Treaty; it will never undertake anything that would somehow contribute to strengthening the Danzig corridor or Memel border.” Duraczyński and Sakharov, Sovetsko-Pol’skie otnosheniia, 64 (RGVA, f. 33987, op. 3, d. 70, l. 264–5); Zeidler, Reichswehr and Rote Armee, 262; D’iakov and Bushueva, Fashistskii mech kovalsia v SSSR, 128–9 (RGVA, f. 33987, op. 3, d. 70, l. 253–8).
157. A declaration by Litvinov, after he had met with Kōki Hirota, was published in the Soviet press: the USSR “affords great significance to the maintenance and strengthening of existing relations with Japan. The Soviet government observes a policy of strict noninterference in the conflicts among various countries.” DVP SSSR, XIV: 668–72; Izvestiia, Nov. 21, 1931. On Nov. 23 the two countries signed a long-completed convention on postal exchange. DVP SSSR, XIV: 675–6. On Nov. 26, Karakhan in Tokyo began negotiations with Hirota on a fisheries agreement. DVP SSSR, XIV: 680–3.
