Between the Wars - Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact

The Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact, named after the Soviet foreign minister Vyacheslav Molotov and the German foreign minister Joachim von Ribbentrop, officially the Treaty of Non-aggression between Germany and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, was a non-aggression pact signed between Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union in Moscow on 23 August 1939. It is also known as the Nazi-Soviet Pact. It also included secret clauses for the destruction and carving up of the Polish state. Recently Russian historiography has been inclined to describe the pact as a necessary measure. This includes books by Alexander Dyukov, and one edited by N.A. Narochnitskaya that carries an approving foreword by Russian foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov. Vladimir Putin has defended the pact as well.