The Poles and the Japanese in the struggle for the Soviet Far East in the 1930s
The Poles and the Japanese in the struggle for the Soviet Far East in the 1930s

Summary/Abstract: In the period between World War I and World War II, the Japanese sought intelligence co-operation with the Polish military intelligence service to obtain information about the military potential ofthe USSR. These efforts led to the exchange of intelligence between the two countries. In the discussedperiod, Prometheism, a political concept aimed at weakening the USSR through the separation of areasinhabited by non-Russian nations from Soviet territory, became an important instrument of Poland’s Eastern policy. These nations included the Ukrainians, the Crimean Tatars, as well as the peoples of theCaucasus, Central Asia, Finland, and Siberia. After the 1932 uprising, the Japanese created a puppetstate of Manchukuo to separate the conquered territories in Korea and future conquests from the USSRwhich posed a threat in the north. The Japanese also relied on the non-Russian nations inhabiting mainlythe Russian Far East to weaken the Soviet Union. Ukrainians living in a region known as Zeleny Klynplayed a major role in Japan’s plans. The Japanese considered the possibility of creating a sovereignUkrainian state. In this respect, Polish and Japanese interests overlapped. However, in the early 1940s,Japan decided to direct its main military effort against the Western allies, and exploitation of non-Russiannations in Japan’s struggle against the USSR became a marginal issue.

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