Expansionistic Policy of the Soviet Union

(USSR 1998:  1)

    The United States view that the Soviet Union was expanding came from two main areas, the actual expansion that occurred during the years prior to World War II, and the communist doctrine.  As can be seen from the map above, Soviet expansion was not an imaginary thing to history, it had occurred since the  Bolshevik revolution.  The map shows how the revolution expanded up to the start of World War II.  In addition to the pre-war expansion, Stalin was also annexing land in post-war Europe with the idea that it was owed to him by the allies, for Russia's help in ending the war.  Stalin's idea was to create a Soviet sphere of influence where in case of another war in Europe, Russia would have a buffer zone in which to react.
    In addition, the communist doctrine states that once the revolution started that it would expand until the entire proletariat rose up.  In Lenin's own words:

"Unevenness of economic and political development is the inflexible law of capitalism.  It follows from this  that the victory of Socialism may come originally in a few capitalistic countries or even in a single capitalist country.  The victorious proletariat of that country, having expropriated the capitalists and having organized Socialist production at home, would rise against the remaining capitalist world, drawing to itself in the process the oppressed classes of other countries."    (Soviet Union 1915:  3)

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