Stalin also spent the time leading to the Molotov Ribbentrop pact desperately trying to get anyone else to sign a defensive agreement to resist Germany, he kept getting blown off by France and the UK. It was a decision made to delay German action to buy time for the Red Army to fight alone, since evidently nobody else was interested in dealing with Hitler.
I had always been taught that he was a scheming bastard who was betrayed, I was shocked to learn how much effort was put into attempting to preemptively check the Germans.
Stalin also spent the time leading to the Molotov Ribbentrop pact desperately trying to get anyone else to sign a defensive agreement to resist Germany, he kept getting blown off by France and the UK. It was a decision made to delay German action to buy time for the Red Army to fight alone, since evidently nobody else was interested in dealing with Hitler.
I had always been taught that he was a scheming bastard who was betrayed, I was shocked to learn how much effort was put into attempting to preemptively check the Germans.