Bilateral Relations Between Spain and the USSR During the Civil War Under Pressure From the International Brigades

Abstract

The political line established by the VII Congress of the Communist International had a profound impact on the bilateral relations between the Spanish Republic and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics during the Spanish Civil War. In this case, the monographic example of the International Brigades is eloquent, being a sign of the transformation of the defensive logic of the VII Congress of the Communist International into an offensive logic. The context of the start of the Spanish Civil War meant a change of scenery for the logic of the VII Congress of the Communist International, whose most emblematic response from a symbolic point of view was the creation and management of the International Brigades. The directive authorities of the Communist International, as well as the Spanish republican authorities, had to face a complex network of balances to maintain bilateral relations between the Spanish Republic and the USSR so that the presence of the International Brigades was not perceived as an element of interference of the USSR in the political and military evolution of the Spanish Republic.