Soviet Annexations in China

It was supposedly implied amongst the Allies that if the Soviets went against the Japanese they would be able to annex parts of China. Which parts? Those from their old sphere of influence in Manchuria? All of Manchuko? The Areas of influence by western Mongolia?
 
It was supposedly implied amongst the Allies that if the Soviets went against the Japanese they would be able to annex parts of China. Which parts? Those from their old sphere of influence in Manchuria? All of Manchuko? The Areas of influence by western Mongolia?

Annexing areas right away was not a modus operandi of Stalin. The only area that Soviet Union annexed which was not a part of the Russian Empire was the northern half of Eastern Prussia - and only after an "ethnic cleansing" of the area.

It may be that the Soviet Union will annex a few small but strategically relevant bits of Manchuria (like a security strip along the southern shore of Amur), but I doubt that Stalin will get away from his tried and true script of setting up puppet/buffer states. Xinjiang, Western Mongolia and Manchuria will be probably such - with a locally based "national government", local language as state language rather than Mandarin, and lots and lots of Soviet advisors.

Maybe he will allow Mongolia to gobble up a bit of land to the west.
 
Annexing areas right away was not a modus operandi of Stalin. The only area that Soviet Union annexed which was not a part of the Russian Empire was the northern half of Eastern Prussia - and only after an "ethnic cleansing" of the area.
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Didnt Stalin annex Northern Bukovina, Tannu Tuva, an island in the the Danube Delta in Romania, parts of the former Grand Duchy of Finland, the Kuriles, and Karafuto, not to mention the attempts in Northern Iran?
 
Stalin's territorial policy was a direct continuation of Tsarist territorial policy. All these areas have been either claimed by Russia prior to 1917 (even if the claim was not enforced), or were small but strategically highly important (Kuriles, the Danube delta islands).
And Sachalin/Karafuto was a part of Russian empire - except 1905 to 1952 ehm... 1918 :cool:. Then it wasn't part of the Soviet Union until 1952.

I am not able to find even weakly supported claims to Manchuria, Western Mongolia or Xinjiang. Interests, yes, which warranted installing friendly government
 
Those last three areas were within their sphere of influence. The size varies, though the maps most people show now of just a small area south of Altai and the northern third of Manchuria for the Tran-Siberian Railroad seem to be able to attractively smooth over edges. The Soviets had been ready for many decades to support the peoples of Xingiag with the support of Turks and their corelligiousts. Probably less out of wanting that barren land or old claims of influence with the Russo-British agreements as to annoying Mao though.
 
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