China
War
Throughout the 1920s, China was amongst an on-going war between the Nationalist party (GMC) and Chinese Communist party (CCP).
Stalin chose to back the GMC due to the want for stability to a key strategic area for Russia and suspicion of their interpretation of Marxist ideology. He saw the GMC as the strongest force.
A major reason for why Stalin chose this was because they were adjacent to Russia’s East border and therefore posed a much larger risk to Russia.
He pressured the Comintern to accept the GMC as a member.
War Actions
Actions within the war explained a clear reason for why the Stalin was concerned about stability.
- March 1926 - GMD massacred striking workers in Canton, established military dictatorship
- April 1927 - GMD suppressed a communist-led workers’ revolt in Shanghai, killed thousands of workers
- Throughout 1927 - GMD massacred striking workers in Wuhan, ~30,000 workers killed throughout
Party Reaction
Members within the party saw Stalin as betraying the CCP…