The legal status of the institution of Soviet foreign missions for commercial and civil issues (1917-1940)

Introduction. After the Bolsheviks came to power in October 1917, the revolutionary policy of the Soviet state began to determine the foreign policy priorities of the Soviet state. This circumstance not only violated the stability of the entire international system, but also created significant difficulties for Soviet Russia. After the adoption of the Decree on Peace and the attempt to implement it during the separate peace negotiations with Germany, the Soviet state found itself in complete political and economic isolation. The conclusion of the Brest-Litovsk peace treaty led to the rupture of diplomatic relations between Russia and the former allies. In the conditions of the beginning of the civil war and foreign intervention, the Bolsheviks were forced to look for any possibilities of establishing international contacts and connections. The most important role in the revitalization of this type of activity during the first two decades of the Soviet government was played by the trade missions, which in a diplomatic vacuum performed certain functions of the official representative offices of the Soviet government abroad. The legal status of the Soviet trade missions from the moment of their formation until the beginning of the Second World War, their powers to protect the political, economic and legal interests of the state are explored in this article.

Materials and methods. The methodological basis of the study is the dialectical method of cognition of phenomena in their relationship and mutual conditionality, general and particular scientific methods of cognition, including the historical and legal method; the method of system structural analy­sis; the method of actualization; formal-logical and other methods.

Results. The author analyzed the legal aspects of the establishment, organizational structure and activities of trade missions. It was found that trade missions in foreign countries were established on the basis of the relevant regulatory acts of the So­viet government, and at the initial stage of their activities had a wide range of powers: the right to conclude civil transactions, the issuance of various guarantees to ensure their implementation, procedural functions relating to arbitration and judicial review of disputes, including the conclusion of settlement agreements, etc., which clearly demonstrates that trade missions performed diplomatic, trade and legal functions.

Discussion and Conclusions. The evolution of the legal nature of Soviet trade missions abroad up to the beginning of the Second World War is described. It is argued that the process of forming and developing the powers of trade missions to protect the interests of the Soviet state in the international arena in the economic and legal sphere was shaped by the political situation at the time. The formation and development of the powers of trade missions to protect the interests of the Soviet state in the international arena in the economic and legal sphere is researched. The role and importance of the history of trade missions for the development of the modern system of foreign missions of the Russian Federation, designed to carry out economic cooperation is shown.

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