The influence of the "guarantee agreement" issue on the dynamics of Soviet-Estonian relations in the 1920s-1930s

The subject of the research is the characteristics of Soviet-Estonian relations in connection with the problem of ensuring the security of Northwestern Russia during the interwar period. Throughout the 1920s, the Soviet leadership regularly proposed to Estonia to discuss the issue of concluding a bilateral non-aggression pact (or "guarantee treaty," as this project was referred to until 1932), as well as ensuring mutual neutrality. The results of the Locarno Conference of 1925, which did not guarantee the borders of Germany's eastern neighbors, made this issue particularly important for the security of the northwestern borders of the Soviet state. On November 28, 1923, a draft of the relevant "guarantee" agreement was sent to the Estonian government through the Soviet envoy in Estonia, L.N. Stark. In May 1926, the Estonian government officially expressed its agreement with the USSR's proposal to conclude this treaty. However, due to pressure on Estonia from Poland, official negotiations only began in October 1926 and were accompanied by serious difficulties. As a result, in June 1927, the negotiations were interrupted. The Estonian side would only propose to resume them in December 1931, which took place on January 20, 1932. During the work, the author relied on a wide range of published and archival sources on the studied issue. The research employed the method of diachronic analysis and the historical-comparative method. The scientific novelty of the presented work lies in the systematic analysis of key aspects of Soviet-Estonian relations in the 1920s and 1930s, related to the issues of ensuring regional security in Northwestern Russia. The conclusion drawn is that the development of Soviet-Estonian relations occurred against the backdrop of increasing military-political tension in Europe, which directly affected the bilateral relations between the USSR and Estonia during the studied period. After the failure of the Eastern Pact idea, the danger of Nazi expansion to the east and northeast, including through the Baltic states, increased. In these conditions, taking into account the entire set of analyzed factors, the content of Soviet foreign policy towards Estonia changed.

foreign policy, collective security, diplomatic negotiations, Soviet-Estonian relations, neutrality, settlement, border strip, guarantee agreement, international convention, military-political tension