Советский фактор политики Великобритании в польско-литовском конфликте после Первой мировой войны

ENThe article is devoted to the analysis of the policy of one of the leading powers of the Entente - the United Kingdom - in relation to the Polish-Lithuanian conflict. It shows the influence of the Soviet factor on the policy of this state in relation to the conflict between Poland and Lithuania after the First World War. It is shown that in the first half of 1919 the need to resist the advance of Soviet Russia's troops to the West stimulated the UK to establish temporary military cooperation between Poland and Lithuania without a final decision on the status of these States and relations between them. At the end of 1919–1920 in the conditions of aggravation of the Polish-Soviet relations, on the one hand, and normalization of the Lithuanian-Soviet relations, on the other hand, Great Britain in the Polish-Lithuanian conflict took the Pro-Lithuanian position, proceeding from own interest consisting in adjustment of the Anglo-Soviet economic relations. At the same time, in the face of the danger of advancing the Red Army to the West, it was desirable to achieve the normalization of Lithuanian-Polish relations, or at least the neutrality of Lithuania in the Soviet-Polish conflict. With the normalization of Polish-Soviet relations in early 1921 the idea of the profitability of the Polish-Lithuanian Federation began to assert in the UK. In relation to the subsequent events of late 1921 - early 1922, until the promulgation of the unification act of Central Lithuania and Poland, the British foreign office showed a wait-and-see attitude, still supporting the idea of the Polish-Lithuanian Federation.The details of the further resolution of the territorial dispute between Poland and Lithuania were no longer of fundamental importance for the UK, which was reflected in the decision on the Eastern borders of Poland international recognition in March 1923. Thus, it is revealed that in its policy towards the Lithuanian-Polish confrontation after the First World War, the UK proceeded mainly from the needs of its own relations with Soviet Russia. Key words: Great Britain, Poland, Lithuania, Soviet Russia, World War I, international relations. [From the publication]