Chapter 271 – The Start of Negotiations

In 1932, Japan, the Soviet Union, the Provisional Government of Manchuria, and the largely nominal Republic of China government began the first negotiations for the sale of the Chinese Eastern Railway (also known as the North Manchurian Railway), whose interests the Soviets had inherited from Russia.

From a slight distance, Britain and the United States closely watched these developments.

This situation arose because, with full support from the Japanese military, the Provisional Government of Manchuria had come to govern all of Manchuria, greatly reducing the significance for the Soviet Union of continuing to hold the railway. From the Soviet perspective, when considering its defense as well, it had become more of a burden.

Additionally, a major shift in Soviet foreign policy in 1930 also played a role.

In the Soviet Union, as Stalin strengthened his dictatorship, he moved to realize his theory of