British Diplomacy, Soviet-Polish War, and the Treaty of Riga: Searching for Stabilization in Eastern Europe

Abstract

British diplomacy played an important role not only during the Soviet-Polish War of 1919-20 but also in the settlement of this armed con-ict, which ended with the signing of the Riga peace treaty on 18 March 1921. How effective was London? What political methods did the British government use to achieve the main strategic objective of stabilizing the Versailles order in Eastern Europe? And what were the short- and long-term consequences for Soviet Russia and Poland? The answers to these questions will be given in this article, based upon diplomatic correspondence as well as on diaries and memoirs penned by direct participants and contemporary observers.