The Soviet Union in foreign-policy conception of Adenauer

This article is devoted to the analysis of the Soviet Union's role in foreign-policy conception of federal chancellor Konrad Adenauer, and his images of the USSR. For sources we used published private artistic legacy of Adenauer (his memoirs, speeches, interviews with journalists), and German archival records of Konrad Adenauer Foundation, such as the minutes of meetings with senior foreign politics. Western integration was main foreign policy priority of first federal chancellor of FRG, while the reunion of Germany was not his key and primary goal. At the same time, defensive and anticipating strategy was used towards the USSR. Post-war extending of the Soviet sphere of influence and the Soviet Union's turning into superpower Adenauer saw as the threat, and used permanent position of economically and politically strong West as opposition. Adenauer recognized the USSR politics as continuation of expansion policy of czarist regime, thus he always drew an analogy between foreign policy of the Russian Empire and the Soviet Union. Communism was seen as ideological ground for expansion that replaced Pan-Slavism. Chancellor perceived the USSR as non-European state, more like Asian dictatorship. In Adenauer's opinion, stages of easing of tension and De-Stalinization did not change the nature of Soviet foreign policy. Federal chancellor assumed that current Soviet policy did not carry the direct threat of war. Adenauer's conception of domestic economics was based on expectations of crises in the USSR. Adenauer believed that domestic economic situation and people's claims to improve their social standards of living, in long-term outlook, could put the pressure on Soviet arms programme, and as a result, Soviet politics would gladly cooperate with the West. As external factors, Adenauer underlined the inevitability of the USSR conflict with Red China that could ease Soviet pressure on the Europe. In Konrad Adenauer's persuasions towards the Soviet Union and its foreign policy, we can point on both clear-eyed, understanding assessments and affective prejudices. Easing of tension in the Cold war, to his opinion, could be obtained not by mutual concessions, but because of the Soviet Union's renunciation and refusal of expansion into the West. Konrad Adenauer believed that the background for curtailment of assertive Soviet policy lied in the need of finding solutions to inner problems (e.g. contradiction of military power and social standard of people's living, and the ballast of Arms race) and in growing tensions with China.

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