18th Congress of the All-Union Communist Party (b)

The 18th Congress of the RCP(b) was held during 10-21 March 1939 in Moscow.

Another exercise of slavish devotion to the Great Stalin, this is the first Congress to be dominated by the "purified" leadership of the Soviet Union after the great purge. This would be the last one held for over decade.In the report on the work of the Central Committee of the CPSU(B) Stalin outlined important aspects of the foreign policy of the USSR, particularly its disappointment with the western democracies and their failure to adopt the policy of collective security advocated by Soviet foreign minister Maxim Litvinov. Shortly after this, Stalin dismissed Litvinov and appointed Molotov, a move that would eventually lead to the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact and a temporary understanding with Nazi Germany.