The Soviet Blueprint for the Postwar Korean Provisional Government: A Case Study of the Politburo’s Decisions

Abstract

By analyzing the Soviet Politburo’s decrees, I seek to reconstruct the blueprint that the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (CPSU) devised for organizing the post-World War II Korean provisional government. The CPSU obstructed the antitrusteeship forces’ participation in the US-USSR Joint Commission, aiming to establish a government dominated by the left. Under the Soviet Union’s suggested arrangement, the provisional government could exercise legislative and administrative authority only under the Commission’s control. Despite believing that rule under a trusteeship would best secure Korea’s autonomy, the Soviets did not specify a process for Korea’s transition to complete independence.