title: How the Soviet Empire Relied on Diversity
abstract: ‘How far is Russia going to go?’ asked Walter Bedell, the new American ambassador while presenting his credentials to Molotov on 4 April 1946. 1 At that time, the westward expansion of the USSR’s territory was considerable. During the post-war conferences, in Tehran and Potsdam for instance, and later in the peace treaties with former satellites of Hitler’s Germany, the Allies – who had little scope for choice – endorsed the new border delineations. Years before, these had been planned ahead by 