Question by Alex: Why stalin joined the allies in defeating of japan?
I know he didn’t have interest in defeating japan, so why did he join them?
Answers and Views:
Answer by joel_vannatta
By joining the war against Japan, he got control over part of the former Japanese empire. Specifically, the USSR occupied northern Korea where the set up the communist state of North Korea.
Stalin waited to join the war against Japan too late for Soviet troop to see any action against Japan.
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Pat Smith says
Japan was fighting a lost war. Back in the early years of the war, Japan had a fighting chance to beat him (like it beat Russia in the 1904-5 Russo-Japanese War). Stalin had assured victory.
Originally, Japan was also to be divided the same was as Germany was. By joining the war against Japan, Stalin was guaranteed a share of Japanese land after the war. In the end, however, the USA decided against this, and the Allies gave way to its wishes (perhaps due to its increased power after the detonation of the atomic bombs).
Stalin not only gained the northern Kuril Islands, which Russia still possesses today, but also northern Korea (today North Korea). Also, his actions gave the Communists in China an upper hand. Being part of the Allies, Stalin would have a say in how China would be "aided" in the future, since it had been torn apart by the war. Not to mention the fact that the USSR effectively controlled Manchuria/Manchukuo. And, Japan did know that the USSR would declare war on it. It had been trying to persuade it not to. They knew because of the Potsdam ultimatum.
Stalin had no idea that the USA had such a weapon until the Potsdam Conference, so he was confident that Soviet troops would be able to gain substantial land before the USA and British (Commonwealth) forces took Tokyo. It would have been a long and bloody war.
Many south Asian countries became Communist after World War II. Stalin could have set up a Soviet sphere of influence in south east Asia like he did in eastern Europe.
Beau says
Stalin joined the Allies in defeating Japan because at the Tehran Conference in 1943 and Yalta Conference 1945 the USA requested that the USSR help them in the Pacific War.
Stalin rejected the Americans request for support against Japan, stating that the USSR was too busy with Nazi Germany. But he eventually made a promise to President Roosevelt that the USSR would enter the war against Japan "no more than 90 days after the defeat of Nazi Germany"
When Nazi Germany was defeated in 7 May 1945, it meant that if Stalin kept his promise, the USSR was expected to declare war on Japan no later than 9 August 1945.
As so it happens, the Soviets declared war on Japan and invaded Manchuria at exactly 12:00am August 9, 1945. This caught the Japanese by surprise and arguably forced Japan to end the war, realizing the futility of taking the war to another front against the USSR.
MKultra says
Stalin was initially concerned with increasing Russia – he was allied with Nazi Germany in its invasion of Eastern Europe but probably always knew Germany would betray him .
Stalin joined the Axis for the above reasons – Russia is so vast that actually they practically border Japan.
When Germany utterly predictably invaded Russia, Stalin joined the allies.
Stalin was a tyrant almost the equivalent of Hitler who condemned millions of citizens to death and murdered every one of his most effective military commanders for absolutely no reason other than he could…
Britain declared war on Germany due to the invasion of Poland. Russia invaded Poland with Germany and massacred a VAST amount of Polish people.They've never really owned up to this as Britain wanted to keep Russia on side and Russia were lying about deliberately killing thousands of Poles.
Stalin joined the AXIS when his ally Germany turned on him.
Japanese warfare made an SS defence look like child's play – other than very evil and inhumane medical experiments and ideas the Japanese and Nazi's had nothing in common – but were allied 'globally'.
Stalin had China and Japan at his borders though not a real threat.
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Naz F says
He probably joined against Japan in revenge for the losses in the Russo-Japanese war, in 1905, and to regain land lost during that war. He did this, I think, about the same time the a-bombs were dropped on Japan.
Many believe the key factor in Japan's surrender was not the a-bomb, but Russia's entry into the war.
Because Russia's entry into the war meant if she did not surrender quickly to the US, she would face being directly invaded by a large, very nasty nation.