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(1923-25) led to violent reprisals which reduced it fora decade to a nullity.The Nazi seizure of power (1933) soon set in motiona change in Soviet policy towards the West and in themutual relations of the Soviet and the new Slav states.With Chechoslovakia, which had always been welldisposed towards the U.S.S.R., an alliance was concluded(1935), in dependence on the contemporaneousSoviet-French alliance, and the Munich tragedy strengthenedthe bonds between the two peoples. Bulgariachanged course and recognized the Soviet regime (1934);in the result Soviet influence grew so strong that itseems nearly to have brought about alliance againstGermany in the winter of 1940-41 and, despite Germandominance since then, the Bulgarian government hasnot dared to involve its people in actual war against thetoo popular Russians. Jugoslavia, when at the lastmoment (March 1941) she revolted against subservienceto the Nazis, at once turned to Moscow and found aready welcome. Poland, when the Nazi attack on theSoviet Union was launched, likewise made allianceagainst the common enemy. Among all the Slav peoplesonly some Slovak troops and a handful of Croats areto be found aiding the Germans against the Russians.Hostility against the common foe has drawn almostall the Slav peoples together as never before. The samebond, common hostility, against the Turk, against theMagyar, against the German, has always been thestrongest force linking the other Slavs to Russia. Forover a century before 1917 Russia, as the only powerfulSlav state, was the liberator magnet for the Slavs underTurkey, the Serbs, Montenegrins, and Bulgars, allOrthodox. For half a century before 1917 she hadsomething of the same attraction for the Slavs underAustria-Hungary, 1 part Orthodox, but mostly Catholic,and much divided.Russia had had important religious and cultural linkswith the Bulgars and the Serbs under the Byzantine1Except the Poles. To save weansome repetition I shall use theterm 'other Slavs' throughout the rest of this section in the sense of'the other Slavs except the Poles.'237