Changes

In the hope of improving relations, President Roosevelt dispatched businessman Joseph E. Daviesto Moscow as Bullitt’s replacement in 1936. While Davies managed to reestablish amicable relations with the Soviet leadership, his dismissive attitude concerning the purges alienated other American diplomats. Moreover, Davies faced unprecedented new challenges as a result of the worsening political situation in Europe. U.S.-Soviet relations reached their nadir in August 1939, when the Soviets signed the [[The Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact- Stalin’s greatest mistake?|Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact]] with Nazi Germany after the British and French rejected Soviet offers to establish a military alliance against Germany. Not until the German invasion of the Soviet Union began in June 1941 would the United States and the Soviet Union once again find a way to make common cause on any meaningful issue.