Why did the Soviet Union sign the Molotov-Ribbentrop pact?
On 23 August 1939 the German foreign minister von Ribbentrop arrived in Moscow, where he met the Soviet leader Stalin and foreign minister Molotov. They agreed on a treaty of non-aggression, which had a secret protocol defining the spheres of interest of the parties in Eastern Europe. The Molotov-Ribbentrop pact was signed late at night on August 23. The purpose of this essay is to explain the most important reasons for concluding this treaty from the Soviet perspective. I shall argue that the fundamental reason for signing the pact was that Stalin wanted to avoid a war on two fronts. He also needed time, as the Soviet Union was not prepared for war, and a treaty with Germany could probably guarantee this better than one with Great Britain and France. Germany could also give Stalin a free hand concerning certain territories. I shall conclude by assessing how well the Molotov-Ribbentrop pact achieved the foreign policy aims of the Soviet Union, arguing that the pact was an inferior opti
