The Soviet East European Policy in the Arabic Press on the Eve of the World War II (August — December 1939)

Abstract

This paper analyzes Arabic newspaper and magazine publications devoted to the assessment of the USSR foreign policy towards the East European countries after the signing of the Soviet-German non-aggression treaty of August 23, 1939. The article presents the opinions of Arab journalists and writers about the prerequisites and consequences of the signing of the so-called «Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact», the peculiarities of relations between Moscow and Berlin in the end of 1939, the reasons for the invasion of the Red Army in Poland, as well as the motives that prompted the Soviet leadership to strengthen its presence in the Baltic region. It is concluded that many authoritative Arabic newspapers and magazines, despite a dependence on the Western European information agenda, sought to independently comprehend the actions of the Soviet government in different parts of Europe, sometimes even emphasizing the forced nature of an aggressive and ultimatum policy. At the same time, it is impossible to talk about the existence of a dominant position on this problem. Arab authors frequently criticized the military and political actions of the Soviet government in the autumn-winter of 1939. It should be added that the volume and number of articles published in the press testify to the true interest of the Middle Eastern publics in the state of affairs in the distant Soviet Union.