Soviet Diplomats in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in the 1930s: The Tragic End

This article concludes a series of original studies by the author on Soviet diplomatic engagement in the Hijaz and, later, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia during the 1920s and 1930s. It focuses on the final phase of Soviet engagement in the region – from Moscow’s recognition of the Kingdom’s independence to the closure of its diplomatic mission. Drawing on archival and published diplomatic correspondence, the study reconstructs the intensifying rivalry between the Soviet Union and Great Britain for influence in Arabia during the 1930s. It highlights how King Abdulaziz skilfully navigated between competing great powers, rejecting fabricated accusations – such as alleged Soviet arms shipments to Yemen – that aimed to disrupt Soviet-Saudi cooperation. Despite these efforts, relations between Moscow and Riyadh remained formally cordial, grounded in the Soviet leadership’s support for the King’s centralising and anti-colonial aims, and the Saudi government’s continuing interest in securing Soviet assistance. Nevertheless, as Soviet foreign policy increasingly reoriented towards Europe, the southern diplomatic theatre was gradually deprioritised. Trade initiatives pursued by Soviet envoys were repeatedly obstructed by the rigidities of the Soviet foreign trade apparatus, the internal upheavals of the Stalinist purges – which claimed the lives of both Soviet ambassadors to the Kingdom – and the discovery of major oil reserves in Saudi Arabia, which drew Western attention and reshaped the regional balance. The Soviet mission thus came to an abrupt and tragic end, caught between global strategic realignment and domestic repression.