Versailles-Washington system of international relations through the eyes of Russian historians

The goal which is presented in the article is to retrace the evolution of Russian historiography on the study of the Versailles-Washington system of international relations and its other components. The mentioned system was the shortest one of all the systems of international relations ever. The system was reflected collisions of old basics and qualitatively new phenomena in the global politics after the First World War. The confrontation of “old” and “new” tendencies had predetermined the controversial, argumentative character of the system and its general inability of effective and supple response to challenges of the rapidly changing time and making of regional subsystems pretending to the global character of VWS of IR. The presented article shows the approaches of Russian historians on the issues of unity formed on the basis of the First World War system, the “Russian” and “German” issues, the principle of the right of nations to self-determination and the problems of borders, the mandate system and the League of Nations. A wide range of works of domestic scientists was attracted as materials for the study - publications in monographs, periodicals, collections of works, textbooks - the choice of which was explained by the tasks and the general logic of the article. The authors, having worked out the specified list of sources, show that the evaluation of the system created during the Soviet period was influenced by factors of ideological and geopolitical properties that made it difficult to conduct a systemic objective analysis of the system, changing in time and space and potentially capable of stabilization and strengthening. In the post-Soviet period, historians were able to subject the VWS of IR to a more comprehensive and impartial analysis, based on new materials, research approaches and already accumulated knowledge in the field of history and theory of international relations. Sum up the result, the authors of the article conclude that the growth of modern publications related to the ongoing reflection of the experience of the VWS of IR, the reasons for its fragility and collapse is due to the unresolved key issues that came out on the agenda just after the First World War. The geopolitical changes observed at the present stage, the increase in the level of conflict in the world, the appearing of new strong players, the lack of clear rules of the game among the world's leading actors make it necessary to draw parallels with the start of modern time. It was during this period that an unsuccessful attempt was made, but it testifying to profound changes in public consciousness and the balance of forces in the world, to establish a world order on qualitatively new grounds within the framework of the VWS of IR.

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