Stalin's foreign policy before World War II involved the Soviet Union's isolation and strategic alliances with Germany, the League of Nations, and involvement in the Spanish Civil War. The pivotal Nazi-Soviet Pact of 1939 led to territorial divisions and ultimately contributed to the outbreak of World War II.

Exploring the Soviet Union's international operations pre-World War II, focusing on the lead-up to the Great Patriotic War in 1941, including relationships with the League of Nations and the Nazi-Soviet Pact. Lenin's unsuccessful foreign policy goals contrasted with Stalin's belief in Western opposition to the USSR.

Stalin responded to the growing rise of fascism in Germany by pursuing non-aggression pacts with other European countries to build an alliance against Germany, while also maintaining a relationship with Germany through trade and military agreements.

The USSR joined the League of Nations in September 1934 as a means of establishing peaceful arrangements with European countries and forming collective security against fascist regimes. The League of Nations, akin to a precursor to the United Nations, operated with a general assembly and a court that shared the same location as the current International Court of Justice in the Netherlands.

The Spanish Civil War, starting in July 1936, saw the USSR supporting the Republican coalition in response to the nationalist rebellion, while fascist Italy and Nazi Germany backed the nationalist movement. This conflict became a battleground for the ideological divisions between socialism and fascism.

The Nazi-Soviet Pact, signed in August 1939, was a pivotal event that led to the outbreak of World War II. It involved an agreement between Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union to divide up territories and paved the way for Hitler's invasion of Poland.