What did the USSR do to ensure the victory of communism worldwide?

"If the rebellious peoples of Europe do not crush imperialism, we will be crushed, that is certain. Either the Russian Revolution will unleash a whirlwind of struggle in the West or the capitalists of all countries will strangle our revolution," Leon Trotsky asserted in 1917.

"Flames" in Europe

The Bolsheviks began fanning the “flames of world revolution” almost immediately after seizing power in the country. The situation was ripe for this: World War I had triggered a severe crisis; along with the empires, the seemingly unshakable order was crumbling; and the labor movement, inspired by the events in Russia, was rising up everywhere.

In 1919, on Lenin's initiative, the ‘Communist International’ (Comintern) was established, uniting communist parties from various countries. Generously sponsored by Soviet Russia, the organization fought for the victory of communism worldwide through both legal and illegal means.

The Civil War was raging in Russia, but the Bolsheviks were closely monitoring developments in Europe. They proclaimed the emergence of Soviet republics in Hungary, Slovakia and Bavaria in 1919 as the beginning of an "era of world proletarian communist revolution". However, Moscow was unable to provide significant assistance to these regimes and they were crushed within months.

When they failed to initiate a "world revolution" in Europe from within, the Bolsheviks attempted to bring it there from outside, specifically during the Soviet-Polish War of 1919-1921. Military commander Mikhail Tukhachevsky stated bluntly at the time: "The path to a global conflagration lies over the corpse of White Poland. On the tips of our bayonets, we will bring happiness to the working people! To the West!" However, the defeat near Warsaw also put an end to these plans.

"Flames" in Asia

In Asia, Moscow placed its bets not so much on socialist movements as on nationalist, anti-colonialist and anti-Western movements. Despite its own problems, it provided significant assistance to the Turkish government of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk and the Kuomintang party of Chiang Kai-shek in China.

In 1919, the idea of ​​a military campaign in India arose. "There is no doubt that on the Asian stage of world politics, our Red Army is an incomparably greater force than on the European stage," Trotsky asserted. "The road to India may prove shorter for us at the moment than the road to Soviet Hungary." However, due to the White offensive in the fall of that year, this idea was abandoned.

The idea of ​​a "Buddhist-communist revolution" in Tibet also failed, but Moscow succeeded in Sovietizing Mongolia and bringing it firmly within its sphere of influence. The People's Republic became a staunch ally of the USSR right up until the collapse of the Soviet system.

A change of course

By the mid-1920s, it became clear to the Soviet leadership that they would not succeed in sparking "revolutionary flames" abroad. So, the Party set a course for building "socialism in a single country" and establishing relations with capitalist powers.

In its foreign policy, Moscow began to be guided more often by pragmatic, rather than ideological, considerations. For example, in 1929, during the civil war in Afghanistan, it supported Afghan King Amanullah Khan, who was friendly to the Soviet Union, rather than the rebelling masses.

Subsequently, the 1936 constitution no longer mentioned the "unification of the workers of all countries into a World Socialist Soviet Republic". And, in 1943, Stalin dissolved the ‘Comintern’ altogether, which he had always referred to as a “gathering of freeloaders living off our backs”.

Nevertheless, the USSR never ruled out the possibility of spreading communism whenever the geopolitical situation permitted. After World War II, socialist regimes were established in Eastern Europe and, afterward, Moscow and Washington began a struggle for the redivision of Asia and Africa.

The Soviet Union actively supported anti-colonial and revolutionary movements around the world. Friendly countries received financial and military-technical assistance. Soviet diplomats consistently defended their interests at the UN. However, most socialist regimes relied entirely on the support of the Soviet Union and, after its collapse, they themselves rapidly collapsed.