The end of World War I did not mean the arrival of absolute peace in Europe. On the contrary, – one effect of the Great War was the economic instability seen in numerous countries. For the Entente countries, reparations paid by Germany and the return of loans taken out by Russia during the tsarist era offered a chance for overcoming such difficulties. However, both the Germans and the Russians were not so willing to pay off their debts. It was therefore decided to deal with these two urgent matters at an international economic conference, which was convened in the spring of 1922 in Genoa, Italy.

Big hopes, even bigger shock

The conference, held on the 10^th of April to the 19^th of May, was attended by representatives of 29 European countries and 5 British dominions. However, one of the key players, the United States, failed to appear in Italy. This was connected to their reluctance to recognise Soviet Russia, which was invited to participate in the event and as it turned out, played a key role. From the very beginning of the meeting, the people’s foreign commissioner of the Russian Federative Socialist Soviet Republic Gieorgrij Chicherin announced that neither Russia or any other Soviet republic would pay off the tsarist loans, because the losses suffered by Moscow as a result of the Allied intervention were twice as large as these obligations. Chicherin also proposed widespread disarmament, which, by reducing the cost of military spending, would improve the economic situation throughout Europe. It was clear that what they hoped to achieve through the Genoa meeting was in fact unattainable.

Victory for the losers

However, Chicherin knew that his most important role in Italy was not strictly connected to the main deliberations of the conference. What the Russians cared about above all was to reach a rapprochement with Germany. Both countries wanted to improve their position on the international stage. Isolated in Europe, Russia saw a potential partner in Berlin, one which was very limited by the provisions of the Versailles Treaty. Whilst en-route to Genoa, Chicherin “stopped by” the German capital. It was no coincidence that the two delegations sat next to each other in Rapallo. There, on Easter, April the 16th, 1922, an agreement was signed between the two sides. Under the treaty, diplomatic and consular relations were restored, and both sides renounced any financial claims for the war and the post-war years. In addition, the principle of equality in economic relations was established, for which intensive further development was promised.

Red Army and Reichswehr – shoulder to shoulder

The Rapallo deal was just the beginning. The following months saw an extension to the cooperation on the Berlin-Moscow axis. By August 1922, the Germans and Soviets had agreed on military cooperation. German troops, limited by the Treaty of Versailles, were presented with the opportunity to exercise on Russian training grounds and make use of weapons that Germany had no right to possess (aeronautics and armored forces). In return, improvement of the Russian arms industry was aided by German expertise. In addition, military theorists from both sides conducted lectures for each other’s military forces. This cooperation was brought to an end in 1933, when Adolf Hitler, the declared enemy of communism, came to power in Germany. However, after 6 years of hostilities, the Germans and the Soviets had come to an agreement again. August 1939, and above all the Molotov-Ribbentrop pact of the 23^rd of August, showed that even the greatest of mutual hatred might be fashioned into an alliance. It was enough for both sides  to find a common enemy that they equally hated, which happened to be Poland.