Bretton-Woods Conference: the Soviets Perspective

This paper examines the reasons of the Soviet Union’s decision not to ratify the Bretton-Woods agreement. The Bretton-Woods Conference was a symbol of the Twentieth Century, which left a mark in the international financial history. The Conference gathered more than 730 delegates from 44 countries that wanted to avoid the financial catastrophe in the postwar period. The Soviet Union participated in the pre-conference meetings and was actively engaged in defending its national interests at the Bretton-Woods Conference. However, the Soviet Union refused to enter the newly founded IMF and IBRD, and reasons behind the refusal are merely mentioned in various sources. The most common information that could be found is that the Soviet Union never officially explained its decision. The result of the work shows that the Soviet officials studied and favored the Bretton-Woods agreements, explaining that the Soviet Union could derive a profit from it. Moreover, the Soviet economic technicians prepared a set of the recommendations which the Soviet government needed to apply before entering the Bretton-Woods institutions. Nevertheless, the Soviet Union never ratified the Bretton-Woods outcome. Although, there are no official reports or papers which might shed the light on the final decision of Stalin, who refused to become a part of the new financial order, this work still contributes to the common knowledge of Bretton-Woods and the role of the Soviet Union in the Bretton-Woods system and the postwar world.