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Why did the Soviet Union join the League of Nations in 1934?

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Delegates in formal attire seated closely together at an international League of Nations conference, circa 1930. — League of Nations Delegates attending a League of Nations meeting, c. 1930.

The Soviet Union joined the League of Nations in September 1934 primarily as a strategic response to the rise of Adolf Hitler and the growing threat of Nazi Germany.12

Following Hitler’s accession to power, Joseph Stalin recognized that his previous policy of collaboration with Germany had failed and that the Nazi regime posed a significant danger to the Soviet Union. Consequently, Soviet foreign policy shifted toward seeking collective security by aligning with Western "bourgeois" democracies to create a counterweight against German expansionism.12

By joining the League, the Soviet Union aimed to position itself as an opponent of Fascist revisionism, with Maksim Litvinov becoming a prominent advocate for this new diplomatic stance. This move was part of a broader effort to keep capitalist powers divided and ensure the security of the U.S.S.R. while it underwent internal industrialization and military buildup.1