Trade, Politics, and Struggle for Power

The article is dedicated to exploring a most critical phase in the relationships between the USSR and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, on the basis of documents available with the RF Foreign Policy Archive and British archives. The period under scrutiny covers the late 1920-s until early 1930-s, when the relationships between the USSR and the KSA were undergoing an active development phase due to Moscow’s growing prestige on the international arena. Many of the archival materials are introduced into the science domain for the first time by the author. The article highlights a personal agency factor in the work of the Soviet diplomacy along the Saudi Arabia track, including a contribution made by Soviet Plenipotentiaries to the KSA Karim Hakimov and Nazir Tyuryakulov into the promotion of bilateral contacts and the success achieved by them. Certain circumstances underlying the crisis experienced by Georgy Chicherin, the People’s Commissar of Foreign Affairs of the USSR, during the last years of his office tenure, and his disagreement with the heads of other agencies are revealed. The specific aspects of work of the Soviet diplomats under harsh local environment are analyzed, also the information communicated by them to the Center from Jeddah, which adequately portrayed the situation in the Kingdom, is disclosed. The importance of their ideas to facilitate commercial ties with the KSA and allow the Soviet products to access the Saudi market is underlined, likewise the expediency of transforming the Soviet Diplomatic agency and General Consulate into a Permanent Diplomatic Representation, its head becoming the Doyen of the diplomatic corps during that period

Ancient history · Diplomacy · Economic history · Economics · Political economy · Political science · Politics · Colonial History and Postcolonial Studies · Engineering · History · Islamic Studies and History · Law · Middle East and Rwanda Conflicts