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BILVEER SINGH
A thesis submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy
THE AUSTRALIAN NATIONAL UNIVERSITY •August 1986
This thesis is my own original work
This thesis e x a m i n e s S o v i e t - I n d o n e s i a n r e l a t i o n s from
1945 to 1 9 6 8 .Th e study is p l a c e d in the b r o a d e r c o n t e x t of
S o v i e t - T h i r d W o rl d r e l a t i o n s . l t anal y s e s the m a j o r issues
and c h a r t s the trends that dominated Soviet-Indonesian r e lat i ons
during the p e r i o d un d e r s u r v e y . I t b eg in s w i t h a b a c k g r o u n d
study of S o v i e t - I n d o n e s i a n r e l a t i o n s from 1917 to 1 9 4 5 . This
is f o l l o w e d by an e x a m i n a t i o n of S o v i e t p o l i c i e s t owards
In d o n e s i a u n d e r S t a l i n from A u g u s t 1945 to M a r c h 1953.
The n e x t two c h a p t e r s e x a m i n e r e l a t i o n s b e t w e e n the two
c o u n t r i e s u n d e r the l e a d e r s h i p of K h r u s h c h e v , t h e first t r a c i n g
the d e v e l o p m e n t s leading to the g r o w i n g w a r m t h and the s e c o n d
t o wards the g r o w i n g chill in r e l a t i o n s .The fifth c h a p t e r
e x a m i n e s r e l a t i o n s u n d e r the B r e z h n e v - K o s y g i n leadership.
The t h e s i s ends w it h a b r i ef s u mmary of S o v i e t - I n d o n e s i a n
r e l a t i o n s from 1945 to 1 9 6 8 , the e x a m i n a t i o n of S o v i e t g a i n s
and lo ss es and the e v a l u a t i o n of the S o v i e t e x p e r i e n c e in
I n d o n e s i a in the light of its Third W o rl d relations.
In the m a i n , t h e stu d y is issue-oriented, and p u r p o r t s
to e x p l a i n S o v i e t b e h a v i o u r to wards s p e c i f i c d e v e l o p m e n t s
in I n d o n e s i a . l t e x a mi n es S o v i e t policies t o w a rd s I n d o n e s i a
in the lig ht of its c o m p e t i n g global and r e gi on al n e e d s on
the on e hand, and the competing, often c o n f l i c t i n g , i d e o l o g i c a l
and n a t i o n a l inte r es t s priori t i e s ,on the o t h e r . T h e o b j e c t
is to s h o w that S o vi e t f o reign policy c a n n o t s imp l y be
d e s c r i b e d as being ideological or national i n t e r e s t - o r i e n t e d
or that its g o als are alwa y s viewed from the regional or
global perspective.
The s t u dy h i g h l i g h t s the s hi f t s in S o v i e t p o l i c i e s
towards In d o n e s i a in the c o n t e x t of the c h a n g i n g d om e s t i c
and intern a tio n al alignments, i n te re st s and environment.
This in turn d e m o n s t r a t e s how So v iet leaders have v i s u a l i s e d
d e v e l o p m e n t s in Indonesia and h o w c h a n g i n g priorities,
poli cie s and interests have c a l l e d into q u e s t i o n stro n gly
held v i e w s . I t a l s o a n a l y s e s the i nterplay of g r e a t power
ri v a l r i e s on a regional s c e n e ,on the one hand and the
c o n f l i c t i n g n e ed s and p o l i c i e s of regional p o w e r s on the
other and how these have been br o u g h t to b e a r on S o v i e t
foreign po l i c y as far as Indone s i a is concerned.
The s t udy also a n a l y s e s the place of Indonesia
in the c o n t e x t of the c o n s t a n t r e a s s e s m e n t and re vi s i o n
of S o v i e t a t t i t u d e s toward the Third W o r l d . W h e n it be ca me
clear to S o v i e t policy m a ke r s that the policy of isolation
was u n s u c c e s s f u l ,how did they r e l at e with Indo n esi a ? When
it b e c a m e e v i d e n t that n e u t r a l i s m and n o n - a l i g n m e n t we re
the bases of the fo reign r e l a t i o n s of many of the new states,
how did these hav e a b e a r i ng on S o v i e t - I n d o n e s i a n r e l a t i o n s ?
When the w e a k n e s s of the p r o l e t a r i a t and local comm un is t
p a r t i e s was r e c o g n i s e d and the S ov iet Union introduced
the d o c t r i n e s of national and r e v o l u t i o n a r y d e m o c r a c i e s , w h e r e
did I n d o n e s i a stand in S o v i e t ideological t h i n ki ng ? Under
B r e z h n e v and Kosygin, the goal of s c i e n t i f i c s oc i a l i s m
and workers' sta t es was push e d into the future and the
i m m e di at e task stated as the increase of S o v i e t i n f l u en ce
in the Third W o r l d . H o w was this real is ed as far as Sov i
I n d o n e s i a n r e l a t i o n s c o n f o r m e d with the e x i s t i n g pattern
or ’l i n e ’ is d e t a i l e d in this study.
Contents
Page
Preface (vii)
Introduction 1
Chapter 1 : Background: Soviet Foreign policy and Indonesia 41
1917-1945
Chapter 2 : Soviet-Indonesian Relations Under Stalin, August 82
1945-March 1953
Chapter 3 : Soviet-Indonesian Relations Under Khrushchev, 155
March 1953-August 1962
Chapter 4 : Soviet-Indonesian Relations Under Khrushchev, 205
August 1962-October 1964
Chapter 5 : Soviet-Indonesian Relations Under Brezhnev, 228
October 1964-October 1968
Conclusion 277
Bibliography 299
Abstract ( i i i )
The ph ras e s 'Soviet p e r c e p t i o n s ' , ' S o v i e t perspectives' and 'Soviet a t t i t u d e s ',p r e s e n t m e t h o d o l o g i c a l p ro bl em s that must be at least br iefly d i s c u s s e d here. A s a c losed society, which c o nt r o l s all forms of c o m m u n i c a t i o n including publishing,
the Sov i et Union produ c es a vast am o u n t of p r o p a g a n d a for external as well as internal p u r p o s e s . I n a w a y , s i n c e e v e r y thing pub l i s h e d must pass the c e n s o r , e x c e p t for the illegal samizdat (ind epe n d en t p r e s s ) , t h e foreign o b s e r v e r can be sure that the outpu t r e p r e s e n t s what the l e ad er sh ip wan ts the public (domestic or foreign) to k n o w .A s Sergei Yakobson, Chief of the S lavic and C e ntral E uropean D i v i s i o n of the Library of Congress, has argued:
in a to ta lita ria n regim e,such a s p re v a ils in the S o v ie t U nion,neither the title of a publication nor its con te nts,po int o f em phasis,choice o f audience, and fo c u s o f a tte n tio n are le ft to chance.By itse lf, a s p e c ific item may sometimes look small and in sig n ific a n t,b u t in c o n te x t o f a com prehensive b ib liograp hy o f So v ie t lite ra tu re the mere fa c t o f its release p ro v id e s a clue a s to the intent of the p a rty and governm ent and g iv e s b e tte r u n d e rsta n d in g of the m anipulation o f mass media in Communist socie ty.
An ana l y s i s of S o v i e t b i b l i o g r a p h i c a l listings p r o v i d e s not only i n f o r m a t i o n as to w h a t has been p u b l i s h e d in the S o v i e t Union but a l s o data for s t u d y as to why a p a r t i c u l a r body
2 of material was c h osen for p u b l i c a t i o n by the Sov i e t rulership.
It does not mean that the p ub l i s h e d m at e r i a l r e p r e s e n t s the true p e r c e p t i o n s of the d e c i s i o n m a k e r s . I n fa ct , S o v i e t
dec is i on m a k e r s very o f ten c onceal their vi ews to c o n f u s e their o p p o n e n t s and gain a d v a n t a g e by surprise.
Th u s , g r e a t c a u t i o n m u s t be ex e r c i s e d in as s e s s i n g the si gn als that e m a n a t e from d o s e d soci e t i e s . The first s t e p , t h e n , i s to d e v e l op a c l a s s i f i c a t i o n sch e m e and a r a t i n g scale for the v a ri o u s kinds of signals. Some si gn al s o r i g i n a t e at the h i g h e s t level, that is, from the P o l i t b u r o and, mos t
often, from the General S e c r e t a r y .The o c c a s i o n s differ, but one sho u ld look at the g u i n qu e n n i a l c o n g r e s s e s of the C o m m u n i s t
1.Cited in P eter B e rto n ,"So v ie t P e rc e p tio n s of the Republic of K o re a and its Relations With the United S ta te s and Japan1’,presented a t a Symposium on Changing U S -S o v ie t Relations And the Emerging New O rder in A sia :C o n tin u ity or C h a n g e ?,C e n tre For American A n d So v ie t Stu die s,D an kook U nive rsity,Se o u l, Korea,21-7U A u g u st,1985.
2.See the d isc u ssio n of m ethodological problems in dealing with Communist
document,ation:UJilliam DeB. h ills."C o n te n t A n a ly sis of Communist Docum enta- tion,Stu d ie s in Com parative C o m m u n i s m ,Vol.XV111,No.1 .(Spring 1985).pp.81 -92.
Party of the S ovi e t Uni o n ( CP S U) as well as at speeches,
i n t e r v i e w s , s t a t e m e n t s , j o i n t c o m m u n i q u e s and the l i k e . E d i t o r i a l s and o th er a u t h o r i t a t i v e s t a t e m e n t s in P r a v d a , I z v e s t i a ,
bro a d c a s t s from Radio M o s c o w , a n d T A S S (T e l e g r a f n o e A g e n t s t v o S o v e t s k o g o Soyuza) r e l e a s e s , a l l signify the official
im p r i m a t u r . Pravda (Truth), the official Party daily, has r e m a i n e d by far the mo s t a u t h o r i t a t i v e and i nf lu ential organ of the
CPSU. I z v e s t i a ( N e w s ) , the official g o v e r n m e n t newspaper, has been d e s c r i b e d as "the P a r t y ' s faithful a s s i s t a n t in the
s t r e n g t h e n i n g of Party ties w it h the masses in the d e v e l o p m e n t o
of s o c i a l i s t d e m o c r a c y ”. The s e two organs ha ve been e x t e n s i v e l y ut i l i s e d in the p r e s en t study.
An e n t i r e l y d i f f e r e n t function is s erved by the Sovi et p r o p a g a n d a m a c h i n e , w h e t h e r for d o m e s t i c political pu rp o s e s or for m o u l d i n g w o r l d public opinio n. He re , we find mass c i r c u l a t i o n daily n e w s p a p e r s , w e e k l y and mo n t h l y
p e r i o d i c a l s , p a m p h l e t s o p e n l y marked v p o m o s h c h 1 p r o p a g a n d i s t "to aid the propagandist", and general in terest boo ks
for the lay public, issued in tens or even hundr e ds of
tho u s and s of c o p i e s . I n this c a t e g o r y , f o u r p u b l i c a t i o n s have been use d in this study w h e n e v e r r e l e v a n t : t h e national o r gan of the Youn g C o m m u n i s t League, K o m s o m o l 's k ay a P r a v d a (Young C o m m u n i s t L ea g u e T r u t h ) , t h e national o r ga n of the trade u n i o n s , T r u d ( L a b o u r ) ,the m i l i t a r y n e w s p a p e r , K r a s n a y a Zv ez da
(Red Star) and L i t e r a t u r n a y a G a z e t a (L i t e r a r y G a z e t t e ) , t h e organ of the literary organizations.
In a d d i t i o n to radio br o a d c a s t s and such il l u s t r a t e d m a g a z i n e s as S o v i e t Life and Soviet W o m a n ,the foreign p u b l i c is p r o v i d e d w i t h f o r e i g n - l a n g u a g e e d i t i o n s of several S o v i e t j o u r n a l s . T h e m os t fre q ue n t l y p u b lished is the p o pu la r N ovoe v r e m i a - New T i m e s : A Soviet W e e k l y of W o r l d A f f a i r s -
wh i c h is als o p u b l i s h e d in E n g l i s h , F r e n c h , G e r m a n , I t a l i a n , S p a n i s h , P o r t u g u e s e , P o l i s h and Czech e d i t i o n s .Next in
f r e q u e n c y of p u b l i c a t i o n is M e z h d u n a r o d n a i a zhizn - I n t e r nat io na l A f f a i r s : A M o n t h l y Journal of Po li ti ca l An al y s i s
issued by the A l l - U n i o n 'Znanie' (Knowledge) S o c ie ty in R u s s i a n , E n g l i s h and French, and the m o n t h l y Azii a i A f r i k a se g o d n i a in its b i m o n th l y foreign e d i t i o n , Asia and Afr i c a
3.Speech by N.V.Podgorny,reported in Iz v e stia .U M arch 1967.
of Ori e n t a l S t u d i e s and the I n s t itute of A f r i c a of the US SR A c a d e m y of S c i e n c e s , p u b l i s h e d in E n g l i s h and F r e n c h . A l s o of interest to us is the mo r e r e c e n t (since the ear ly 1970s) q u a r t e r l y , P r o b l e m y D a l 'n e g o V o s t o k a - Far Ea s t e r n Affairs:
A Q u a r t e r l y of Social S c i e n c e and P o l itical A n a l y s i s -
p u b l i s h e d by the Insti t u t e of Far E a s t e r n S t u d i e s in English, S p a n i s h and J a p a n e s e . T h e r e are also o t h e r offi ci al Sov i e t E n g l i s h - l a n g u a g e journals such as S o v i e t M i l i t a r y T h o u g h t . There are no c o p y r i g h t r e s t r i c t i o n s w h a t s o e v e r on this type of S o v i e t m a t e r i a l d esigned for a f o r ei gn a u d i e n c e , a s e v e r y p u b l i c a t i o n includes the s t a t e m e n t "Any a r t i c l e s and o t her m a t e r i a l s in the journal m a y be r e p r o d u c e d w i t h due a c k n o w l edgement" .
It sh ou l d be n o t e d , h o w e v e r , t h a t the f o r e i g n - l a n g u a g e e d i t i o n s of S o v i e t p u b l i c a t i o n s do not c o n t a i n all the
mat eri al a p p e a r i n g in the R u s s i a n - l a n g u a g e v e r s i o n . S o m e of the o m i s s i o n s , o f t e n in the b o o k r e v i e w s e c t i o n , m a y be due s i mpl y to s p a c e 1 i m i t a t i o n s .At o t her t i m e s , t h e r e ma y be
po litic al c o n s i d e r a t i o n s , s u c h as the o m i s s i o n of a c o m m e n t a r y on the r e s u l t s of P r e m i e r Zha o Z iy an g ' s v i s i t to the U n i t e d St at e s . ^ This cl e a r l y d e m o n s t r a t e s the in ad e q u a c y of r e s e a r c h on the S o v i e t Unio n w h ic h is b a s ed onl y on E n g l i s h - l a n g u a g e s o u r c e s .
S o m e w h a t less p r o p a g a n d i s t s are s c h o l a r l y So v i e t m o n o g r a p h s and book r e v ie w s in s c h o l a r l y j o u r n a l s .Outright, b l a t a n t a n t i - A m e r i c a n p r o p a g a n d a s e l d o m o c c u r s , a l t h o u g h it
is d.e r i g u e u r to sta r t a s c h o l a r l y a r t i c l e or m o n o gr ap h w i t h an a p p r o p r i a t e q u o t a t i o n from L e nin's C o l l e c t e d W o r k s ,
fo llowed by a q u o t a t i o n from a r ecent p r o n o u n c e m e n t on the s u b j e c t by the c u r r e n t General S e c r e t a r y of the CPSU.
W h i l e S ovi e t mass p r o p a g a n d a journals, such as N e w Times or A s i a and A f r i c a T o d a y ,do not, as a r u l e , p r o v i d e an a p p a r a t u s of b i b l i o g r a p h i c a l c i t a t i o n s , a r t i c l e s in the more s c h o l a r l y journals , do d o c u m e n t many of the s t a t e m e n t s
A.I.A.Il'in and F.l .L ik in ,'V a sh in g to n -P rk in :n o v yi etap so tru d n ic h e stv a ",Problemy D a l'n e go V o s t o k a ,No. 1,198**,pp. 131 -136.
and s t a t i s t i c a l data. Here, one has to be careful, as a
very s k illful ga m e is p l a ye d wi t h q u o t a t i o n s .To be s u r e , m a n y sources are q u i t e l e g i t i m a t e , s u c h as the use of p r imary
d o c u m e n t a t i o n for sp e e c h e s and s t a t e m e n t s of S ov ie t leaders and some of t h e i r a l l i e s . T h e qu o t i n g of their a n t a g o n i s t s
is very s e l e c t i v e and is d o n e to suit the p u r p o s e s of the Soviet w r i t e r , s o m e t i m e s q u o t i n g a p r i m a r y Chinese,I nd ia n, Indonesian or A m e r i c a n s o u r c e , b u t o f t e n c i t i n g a S ov i e t or a W e s t e r n n e w s p a p e r .G iv e n the d i v e r s i t y of the Western, In di an ,
Indonesian and J a p a n e s e p r e s s , i t is not s u r p r i s i n g that they are p r o m i n e n t l y cit ed to b u t t r e s s a p o i n t m a d e by the S o v i e t a utho r . T h e S o v i e t a r t i c l e s will often cite a W e s t e r n p u b l i c a tion, w i t h o u t i d e n t i f yi n g it as su c h , t h u s g i v i n g c r e d e n c e to the S o v i e t p o s i t i o n , a s t ho u g h it was s u p p o r t e d by a non- Soviet new sp ap er . At times a s t a t e m e n t in q u o t a t i o n m a r k s a u t h o r i t a t i v e l y c l a i m i n g / for example, that the Ch i n e s e lea de rs
"in their a s s e s s m e n t of the s i t u a t i o n in the w o r l d put an e qu atio n m a r k b e t w e en the i m p e r i a l i s t , m i l i t a r i s t i c po li c y of the U n i t e d St a tes and the p e a c e l o v i n g , e s s e n t i a l l y a n t i war p o l i c y of the c o u n t r i e s of the s o c i a l i s t commun i ty"
5
turns out to be from Izvestia or Pravda.
T h u s , S o v i e t s o u r ce s s ho u l d not be c i t e d i n d i s c r i m i n a tely w i t h o u t a s s e s s i n g s o u r c e s , t h e i r p o t e ntial a u d i e n c e , t h e i r p r o p a g a n d a m i s s i o n , a n d their likely m e a n i n g . T h i s is oft en a c c o m p l i s h e d by r e a din g b e t w e e n the 1 i n e s , l o o k i n g for wh a t the S o v i e t s o u r c e s do not m e n t i o n . O n the w h o l e , W e s t e r n s t u d i e s of S o v i e t f o r e i g n r e l a t i o n s have r e l i e d too m u c h on a n a l y s i n g d e c l a r a t o r y policy, and less on e x a m i n i n g S o v i e t actions.
There is a d e f i n i t e limit on w h a t can be m a d e of So vi et p r o n o u n c e m e n t s , w h e t h e r offic i a l s t a t e m e n t s or unoffi ci al w r iti n g s . I t h e r e f o r e a p p r o a c h my task of t rying to d e s c r i b e
"Soviet r e l a t i o n s with Indonesia" wi t h a g r e a t deal of t r e p i d a tion. E ve n if we leave a s id e the p r o p a g a n d i s t s and self-
serving s t a t e m e n t s , w h a t are we to ma ke of se ri ou s S o vie t
s c h o l a r l y a n a l y s e s ? D o these w r i t i n g s reach the d e ci si on makers,
5.D.Petrov, Ja p a n e se -C h in e se RelationsiProblem s and Trends ,Far E a ste rn A f f a ir s ,No.1,1985,p.27.
answers to these q u e s t i o n s .Nonetheless, it is im po rt an t to find out w ha t the input is and h o w it has c h a n g e d over time as
far as S o v i e t - I n d o n e s i a n r e l a t i o n s are c o n c e r n e d .Nevertheless, it should c o n s t a n t l y be b o r n e in mind that e ve ry o p p o r t u n i t y is taken by S o v i e t w r i t i n g s and p u b l i c a t i o n s to push f orward the exi st in g ' l i n e ’ of the t ime . T h e 'line' her e being i n t e r preted as the p o s it i on a d o p t e d and pushed forward by the Soviet leader s hip or its p r o p a g a n d i s t s at any one time on a spe cif i c issue or d e v e l o p m e n t .This is a c h i e v e d by the various control m e c h a n i s m s . U l t i m a t e l y , t h e P o l i t b u r o of the Central C o m m i t t e e of the C P S U has the last w o r d on any issue. O f f i c i a l l y , h o w e v e r , t h e S t a t e C o m m i t t e e on the Press of the Council of Mi n i s t e r s is the g o v e r n i n g bod y for all p u b l i s h i n g ma t ters in the S ov i e t Union, and this body is c o n s t a n t l y
subject to P a rty d i r e c t i o n . D e s p i t e this, t h e princi pa l n e w s paper c e n s o r s h i p a ge n c y is the Main A d m i n i s t r a t i o n for the Pr e s e r v a t i o n of State S e c r e t s in the P r e s s . T h i s a ge n c y is formally a t t a c h e d to the S t a t e C o m m i t t e e on the Press and the Council of M i n i s t e r s , b u t a c t u a l l y w orks d i r e c t l y u n d er
the g u i d a n c e of the Central C o m m i t t e e ’s P r o p a g a n d a D e p a r t m e n t Press S e c t o r . ^
In r e c o g n i t i o n of this control m e c h a n i s m , i t is a p p a r ent that all p u b l i c a t i o n s are c l o s e l y c o n t r o l l e d and d i r e cte d and hence we can e x p e c t to read the e x ist i ng
'line' at any one time.It i s , t h e r e f o r e , h i g h l y u n l i k e l y that d if f e r ent p u b l i c a t i o n s in the S o v i e t U ni on w o u l d thrust
forward c o n f l i c t i n g v i e w s , e v e n though there may be d i f f e r e n c e s in e m p h a s i s , a s with Pr a vd a b e ing more c o n c e r n e d with i d e o l o gical and part y affairs, Izve st ia wit h s t a t e - t o - s t a t e r e l a t i o n s and K r a s n a y a zvezda w i t h m i l i t a r y m a t t e r s . A s and when such
d i f f e r e n c e in emph a se s are d i s c o v e r e d , they will be h i g h lighted in the s t u d y .O t h e r w i s e , S o v i e t works on In donesia will be r ef e r r e d to largely to indicate the e x is t i n g ’l i n e ’ on S o v i e t - I n d o n e s i a n r e l a t i o n s and the K re m l i n ' s p o s i t i o n and poli cy on v a r i o us d e v e l o p m e n t s in Indon es ia and ot hers
6.For details,see Gayle Durham H ollander,So v ie t P o litica l In d o c trin a tio n : Developm ents in M ass Media and P ropaga nda Sin ce S t a lin ,New Y o rk :P ra e ge r Publishers, 1973),pp.29-9*4.
r e la te d to it.At the same t i m e , a t t e n t i o n w o u l d be f oc u s s e d on not just w h a t is said but wh a t is d o n e . I n the final analysis, S o v i e t r e l a t i on s w i t h I ndonesia w o u l d be judged on the b a sis of the K r e m l i n ’s w o r ds and deeds.
Since 1 9 4 5 , f lu c tu a t i ng r e l a t i o n s b e tw e en the S o v i e t
Union and Indo n esi a have been one of the m o s t d y n a m ic a s p e c t s
of the foreign p ol i c ie s of these two c o u n t r i e s .The f r i e n d s h i p
between them has ma n i f e s t e d itself in n u m e r o u s forms of
coo p e r a t i o n in the political, economic, c u l t ura l and m i l i t a r y
fields. The r e l a t i o n s h i p has, however, bee n p l a g u e d wi t h
problems, c a u s e d largely by the c la sh of n ati o n a l interests.
We s t e rn study of S o vi e t i n t e rn ational and d o m e s t i c b e h a v i o u r
has c a r r i ed the bias of these s o c i e t i e s tow a rd the S o v i e t
Union, p r o bin g S ovi e t d e p o r t m e n t w it h a v i e w to d i s c o v e r i n g
the m o t i v e s for the s p re a d of C o m m u n i s m and its p o w e r . I t
is not s u g g e s t e d that the S o v i e t Union does not p u r s u e its
foreign p ol i c y with these o b j e c t i v e s in m i n d , but that such
a point of v i e w is i n a d eq u at e for u n d e r s t a n d i n g the c ou r s e
of S o v i e t - I n d o n e s i a n r elationship, as the t r a n s a c t i o n s are
more likely to have s e r v ed the n at io na l in t e r e s t s of both
c o u n t r ies r a t h e r than that of the S o v i e t Un i o n ' s alone.
Like any other s t a t e , t h e Sovi e t U n i o n ' s foreign
poli c y is sha p e d by its le a d e r s h i p ' s vi e w of the w o r l d , i t s
national interests and the i n t ernational b a l a n c e of p ow er
at any g i ven time. I t has to r e s p o n d to u n e x p e c t e d problems,
threats and o p p o r t u n i t i e s t h r o w n up by the c ou r s e of d e v e l o p
ments in the int e r national s y s t e m . T h e S o v i e t Unio n e m e r g e d
from the Se c ond Wor ld War as one of the s t r o n g e s t m i l i t a r y
powers, but, u nli k e the U n ited States, r e m a i n e d for ma ny
years a c o nt i n ent a l and not a global p o w e r . S o v i e t fo reign
the l e a de rs hip of N ikita Khrushchev, M o s c o w e x p a n d e d its
political, e c o n o m i c and c u l t u r a l ties wi t h the new ly i n d e p e n
dent states of Asia and A f r i c a . I n the c o n t e x t of the changed
Soviet f o reign p o li c y o rientation, this thesis e x a m i n e s the
e v o l ut io n of S o v i e t - I n d o n e s i a n r e l a t i o n s from 1945 to 1968,
in the v o r t e x of i n te r a c t i n g d e c i s i o n s of both countries,
as well as those of the U n i t e d States, the N e t h e r l a n d s and
the P e o p l e ’s R e p u b l i c of C h i n a (PRC) in so fa r as these a f f e c t e d
S o v i e t - I n d o n e s i a n relations.
It is also useful to h i g h l i g h t that since 1975, and
more so sin c e 1978, it has b e c o m e rat h e r com m o n to speak
of the 'Soviet o f f e n s i v e in S o u t h e a s t A s i a ’.^ This r e fer s
b a s ic al ly to the gro w in g S o v i e t inv o l v e m e n t in In dochina
and of the all i a n c e r e l a t i o n s h i p with Vietnam, including
the So v i e t m i l i t a r y p r e s e n c e at Cam Ranh Bay and Danang.
Added to this, there is also a vi s i b l e e x p a n s i o n of S ovi e t
'diplomatic offensive' in the A s s o c i a t i o n of S o u t h e a s t A s i a n
N a tions (ASEAN) region, with m or e re g u l a r v i s i t s by v a r i o u s
2
Soviet delegations. Whil e the ex p a n d i n g S o v i e t inv o lve m ent
in the r e g i o n at pr e s en t is undeniable, it is, however,
1.Robert C. H o rn ,V lo sco w 's S o u th e a st A sia n O ffe n siv e ”,A sia n A ffa irs:A n
Am erican Review ,Vol.2,No.*«,March/April 1975,pp.217-240;Douglas Pike,"The USSR and Vietnam ",in Robert H. Donaldson,(edn.),The S o v ie t Union in the Third UJorld:Successes and F a ilu re s,(Boulder.Colorado:liJestview P re ss,1982),pp.251 - 266;Thomas L.liJilborn,"The So vie t Union and A SEA N ",in Ib id ,pp.267-293;K.S.Nathan, D etente and So v ie t Policy in S o u th e a st A s ia ,(Kuala Lumpur:Gateway Pub. House, 1984); and Likhit D hirave gin ,A SEA N And The Major Powers:Today and
Tomorrow,(Bangkok:Research C e n te r,F a c u lty of P o litica l Science,Tham m asat U niversity),M onograph Se rie s No.7,May 1984,pp.5-26.
3
e r r o n e o u s to v i e w this as s o m e t h i n g n o v e l . l t is e q u al ly m i s t a k e n
to m a i n t a i n that the S o v i e t Un i o n is a new a c to r in the region.
In many ways, S o v i e t i n te r e s ts in S o u t h e a s t Asia are l o n g
s t anding and its i n v o l v e m e n t p r e d a t e s 1 9 7 5 . This is mo st
viv i dl y d e m o n s t r a t e d by S o v i e t Union's r e l a t i o n s with
Indonesia from 1945 to 1 9 6 8 , the focal period for
this study.
The S t u dy
This thes i s e x a m i n e s S o v i e t - I n d o n e s i a n re l a t i o n s
from 1945 to 1 9 6 8 . It will a n a l y s e M o s c o w ' s r e l a t i o n s wit h
Jak a r t a and p l o t the c o u r s e of bilateral r e l a t i o n s in the
c o n t e x t of d o m e s t i c , r e g i o n a l and global d e v e l o p m e n t s .The
study will c o n c e n t r a t e m a i n l y on s t a t e - t o - s t a t e relations.
However, w h e r e p a r t y - t o - p a r t y r e l a t i o n s do interv e ne in the
a f fairs b e t w e e n the two c o u n t r i e s , t h e y will be a cco u nte d
for, but s t a t e - t o - s t a t e r e l a t i o n s will still c o n s t i t u t e the
main c o m p o n e n t of this t h e s i s . T h e r a t i o n a l e for this stud y
will be best u n d e r s t o o d a f t e r a r e v i e w of the exi st in g l i t e r a
ture on S o v i e t - I n d o n e s i a n r e l a t i o n s has been undertaken.
Re v i e w of the L i t e r a t u r e
A r e v i e w of the l i t e r a t u r e on S o v i e t - I n d o n e s i a n
r e l a t i o n s d u r i n g the p e r io d u n d e r study indicates that work
has so far bee n c o n f i n e d to three b ro ad areas: the d e v e l o p m e n t
of In d o n e s i a n Communism, the I n d o n e s i a n R e v o l u t i o n and
re l a t i o n s in the c o n t e x t of s p e c i f i c crises faced by the
In d o ne s ian G o v e r n m e n t .The t h ree main crise s cov er ed here
are the W e s t Irian dispute, the M a l a y s i a n C o n f r o n t a t i o n and
The Indones i a n C o m m u n i s t Party (Partai Komunis
I n d o n e s i a , P K I ) and its r e l a t i o n s wi th the C o m m u n i s t P ar ty
of the S o viet Unio n (CPSU) and the Third Int er na ti on al
(Comintern) have been the focus of many s t u d i e s for o b v i o u s
r e a s o n s . N o t on l y was it the l argest c o m m u n i s t party o u t s i d e
the S i n o - S o v i e t b l oc , b u t als o the most powerful political
par t y in the c o u n t r y . l t was als o the first c o m m u n i s t par t y
in Asia. Ruth M c V e y 's study of the PKI's d e v e l o p m e n t "from
its birth in 1914 to its t e m p o r a r y e c l i p s e in 1927 a ft e r 3
a d i s a s t r o u s r e v o l t a t t e m p t ” - was a m a j o r c o n t r i b u t i o n to
our u n d e r s t a n d i n g of the C P S U / C o m i n t e r n links wi th the PKI.
She e x ami n e d the factors le a di ng to the b i r t h and g ro wt h
of the PKI, its c o o p e r a t i o n and c o n f l i c t w i t h the o t h e r
po litical parties, e s p e c i a l l y the S a r e k a t I slam (SI), its
c o o p e r a t i o n and later d e f i a n c e of the Comintern, leading
finally to the 1926/1927 u p r i s i n g s - which n e a r l y o b l i t e r a t e d
the party.
Her nex t work, c o - a u t h o r e d w i t h H a r r y Benda, d el ve s
into the P K I ’s 1 9 26/1927 revolts, w h i c h w e r e seen as ”a
s i g n i f i c a n t e v ent w h ic h had a c o n s i d e r a b l y g r e a t e r impact
on Ind one s ia' s su b s e q u e n t p o l it ic al d e v e l o p m e n t than the
actual s t re n g th m a r s h a l l e d by the c o m m u n i s t s migh t s u g g e s t " . ^
This wor k e l a b o r a t e s on the r e b e l l i o n as well as on the b a c k
g round factors that led to it.The w r i t e r s concluded, in
d i s s e n s i o n w i t h the Dut c h G o v e r n o r - G e n e r a l 's R e p o r t s , ^
3.Ruth T. McVey.The Rise of Indonesian Communism,(Ithaca,New YorkrCornell University Press,1965),p.xi.
U.Harry J.Benda and Ruth T. McVey.The Communist Uprisings of 1926-1927 in
Indonesia:Key Documents,(Ithaca,New YorkrModern Indonesian Project,Southeast Asian Program,Department of Far Eastern Studies,Cornell University,1960),p.i. 5.The Governor General’s Reports blamed the Comintern for inciting the
that these r e v o l t s we r e " p r i marily Indonesian, internal
upris in gs in w h i c h i n t e rn a ti o nal C o m m u n i s m and its s p o k e s m e n
in the col o n y playe d tangential, rather than o r i g i n a t i n g
or causal, r o l e s " . ^
7
Ch arles McLane, th o ugh in g r e a t e r bre vi ty and w i t h o u t
the same d o c u m e n t a r y s t r e n g t h as McVey, c o v e r e d the same
ground, e x p l a i n i n g the b i r th of the PKI, its love-h a te r e l a t i o n s
with the C o m i n t e r n a n d y finally, its e c l i p s e a f te r the 1926/
1927 uprisings. McLane, however, goes a st e p further in
e xa m ini n g the fate of the PKI a fter the 1926 / 192 7 d i s a s t e r
and traces the p a r t y ’s a c t i v i t i e s th ro ug h to the 1930s.
During this phase, the PKI w as decla r e d illegal and its m e m b e r s
kept al ive the p a r t y ’s flame by joining po l i t i c a l par ti es
that had legal e x i s t e n c e and w h i c h be c a m e the ce ntres of
the c o n t i n u i n g e f f o rt s to o v e r t h r o w Dutch r u l e . M c L a n e m a i n t a i n e d
that "had M o s c o w ’s t actics in In donesia b ee n mor e flexible,
ex - c o m m u n i s t s m i g h t ha v e b e e n used to b ri n g the n a t i o n a l i s t s
greater into c l os e r h a r m o n y w i t h S ov i e t o b j e c t i v e s . A s it
wa s , c o m m u n i s t s gain e d p r o m i n e n c e with the n a t i o n a l i s t m o v e
ment only in P e r h i m p u n a n I n d o n e s i a , t h e o r g a n i z a t i o n of
Indonesian St u d e n t s in H o l l a n d , a n o r g a n i z a t i o n w h ose v o ice g
in a f f airs at home was b e c o m i n g limited". M cL a n e is again
alone in exa m i n i n g S o v i e t p e r s p e c t i v e s on Indon es ia d uring
the Se c o n d W o r l d War. Even t hough the Indo n e s i a n C o m m u n i s t s
were r e s t r i c t e d by S o v i e t ’a n t i - f a s c i s t ’ p o l i c i e s du ring
6.1bid,p.xix.
7.Charles B. McLane,So vie t S tr a t e g ie s in So u th e a st A sia:A n Exp lora tio n of Easte rn Policy Under Lenin and S t a lin ,(Princeton,New Je rse y:P rin ce to n U n iv e rsity P re ss,1966),pp.80-101.
on the whole, the PKI was a s e c o n d a r y force in I n d o n esi a n
politics at this p h a s e . I t was thus not s u r p r i s i n g that
"Soviet w a r t i m e c o ve r a g e on In donesia was c o n f i n e d to su r v e y s
of the p r e - w a r period, st u d i e s on local g e o g r a p h y and at
9 rare intervals, d e s c r i p t i o n of naval b a t t l e s in the vicinity".
The I n d o n es i an Revolution, fol l o w i n g on the he els
of the J a p a n e s e s ur r e n d e r in A u g u s t 1945, is c o ver e d by
both M c V e y and M c L a n e . T h e f o r m e r e l u c i d a t e s the S ovi e t a t t i t u d e
towards the Indo n e si a n r e v o l t aga in st Netherlands' ru le and
in the p r o c e s s e x a m i n e d the d i l e m m a c o n f r o n t e d by M o s c o w
which it has g e n e r a l l y faced in its A s i a n dealings: "Whet he r
to s a c r i f i c e local c o m m u n i s t interests in an a t t e m p t to gain
the f r i e n d s h i p of the n a t i o n a l i s t movement, or to push
c om m u n i s t e f f o r t s to gain p o w e r at the risk of a l i e n a t i n g
Asia n n a t i o na l ism " ^ This d i l e m m a was v i v i d l y d e m o n s t r a t e d
during the va r i o u s p hases of the I n d onesian r e v o l u t i o n a r y
war and e s p e c i a l l y du r i n g the P K I ’s 1948 M a d i u n revolt.
In a n o th er work, M c Ve y m a i n t a i n e d that "w ha te ve r may have
been the role of later S o v i e t m a c h i n a t i o n s in the Republic,
there is little reas on to s u s p e c t that the Ca l c u t t a m e e t i n g
fomented the ins u rr e c t i o n of 1948". M c L a n e also all ud ed
to the S ovi e t di l em m a in I n d o nesia du ring the Revolution:
"The K r e ml in w as faced with two a l t e r n a t i v e s :should it
9.Ibid,pp.280-281.
10.Ruth T.McVey,The So vie t View o f the Indonesian R e v o lu tio n ,(Ithaca,New York:M odern Indonesian R e p o rts.So u th e a st A sian Program ,Dept, o f Far Ea ste rn Stu dies,C orn ell U n iv e rsity ,1957),p.1.
c o n t i n u e to a c c e p t the I n d o n e s i a n R e p u b l i c as constituted,
not only u nder S j a r i f f u d i n but e q u a l l y u n d e r S u k a r n o , H a t t a
and o the r d e c i d e d l y n o n - c o m m u n i s t n a t i o n a l i s t leaders? Or
should M o s c o w turn a g a i n s t the n a t i o n a l i s t leadership...
in favour of a mo r e v i g o r o u s e f f o r t by c o m m u n i s t s to seize
power in the i r own r i g h t ? ”12 On Madiun, M c L a n e m a i n t a i n e d
that "Moscow p e r h a p s bore som e general r e s p o n s i b i l i t y for
the P K I ’s s t r a t e g i e s thr ou g h its mor e t r u c u l e n t po s t u r e in
world af f a i r s s i n c e Z h d a n o v ’s s p e e c h in P o l a n d a year
e a r l i e r " . ^
The l i t e r a t u r e on S o v i e t - I n d o n e s i a n r e l a t i o n s af t e r
the Dutc h c o l o n y g a in e d i n d e p e n d e n c e f o c u s s e d on two aspects:
the rise and fall of the PKI and the r e l a t i o n s be t w e e n the
two c o u n t r i e s in the c o n t e x t of the v a r i o u s c r i s e s . M c V e y
e xa m i ne d P K I ’s r e l a t i o n s w i t h bot h the S o v i e t Union and the
PRC until 1954 in the b r o a d e r c o n t e x t of s t r a i n e d r e l a t i o n s
with the two c o m m u n i s t g i a n t s . S h e shows that by 1953 the
PKI was v e e r i n g m o r e c l o s e l y t o wa rd s the Chinese, due in
14 part to the lack of S o vi e t inte r e s t in I n d o n esi a as a whole.
McL a n e c o n f i r m e d this by a r g u i n g that " Chinese co m m u n i s t
influ en ce w i t h i n the PKI, it is be li e v e d r e p l a c e d Russian,
early in the 1 9 5 0 s " . ^
Af t e r 1 95 4 ,the l i t e r a t u r e on S o v i e t - I n d o n e s i a n
12.McLane,Op cit,p.401. 13.Ibid,p.405:
14.Ruth T. McVey.The Development of the Indonesian Communist Party and Its Relations UJith The Soviet Union and the Chinese Peoples Republic, (Cambridge,Massachusetts:Center for International Studies,Massachusetts Institute of Technology,1954),pp.68-70.
15.McLane,Op cit,p.415.
r elations focussed i n c r e a s i n g l y on s t a t e - t o - s t a t e a s p e c t s
and even though r e la t i o ns w i t h the PKI we r e examined, these
were m ai nl y to d e m o n s t r a t e the g r o w i n g d i s t a n c e from Moscow,
es pe c i a l l y in the b r o a d er c o n t e x t of the e m e r g i n g r i f t in
the co m m u n i s t camp be t we e n the S o v i e t U n ion and the PRC.
The PKI's rol e at the T w e n t y - S e c o n d CPSU C o n g r e s s w o u l d
indicate, acc o r d i n g to D on a l d H i n d l e y , ^ an a t t e m p t to take
a mi ddle path in the S i n o - S o v i e t c o n f 1 i c t .T hi s was a c h i e v e d
by siding w i t h M o s c o w on som e issues and w i t h P e k i n g on others,
and p r e f e r r i n g to rema i n ’n o n - i n v o l v e d ’ in o t h e r c o n t r o v e r s i e s .
By the early sixties, l i t e r a t u r e on S o v i e t - I n d o n e s i a n
r e l a t ion s f o c u s s e d on the g r o w i n g c l o s e n e s s of the two c o u n t r i e s
in the c o n t e x t of the v a r i o u s p r o b l e m s faced by the S u k a r n o
G o v e r n m e n t .The o v e r r i d i n g problem, w h i c h w a s a legacy of
the 1949 I n d e p end e nc e Agreem e nt , w as the W e s t Irian dispute.
Guy P a uker a r g u e d that the g r o w i n g c o m m o n a l i t y of i n t e r e s t s
be tw e en the two go v e r n m e n t s and the large s c a l e S o v i e t
e co n o mic and m i l i t a r y aid to I n d o nesia was p o l i t i c a l l y
m o t i v a t e d . H e m a i n t a i n e d that "the S o v i e t U n i o n is p r e p a r i n g
a m a j o r p olitical ’c o u p ’ by t ry i n g to win o v e r the last
sig n i f i c a n t a n t i - c o m m u n i s t f a c t o r in Indonesia, namely, the
Armed Forces". ^ In a n o t h er work, P a u k e r w a r n e d of ’’the S o v i e t
cha l l e n g e in Indonesia" and e x h o r t e d that the S o v i e t p r e s e n c e
is a force to be reck o ne d w i t h , in e very respect. He s a w the
Wes t Irian c ris i s as r e p r e s e n t i n g a m a j o r boo n for Moscow,
16.Donald Hindley,"The Indonesian Communists and the CPSU Tw enty-Second C o n g re ss",A sia n S u rv e y ,Vol.2,No.1,M arch 1962,pp.23-26.
providing it with an o p p o r t u n i t y to make inroads in w h a t
was b as i c a l l y a Western s p h e r e of i nf lu en ce and this was
to be a c h i e v e d in part by e n c o u r a g i n g the I n d o n e s i a n l e a d e r
ship to e mb ark on a ’m i l i t a r y solution' of the We st Irian
i i 18
problem.
Nadia Derkach e x a m i n e d the S o v i e t a t t i t u d e t o w a r d s
the West Irian and M a l a y s i a n d i s p u t e s . S h e ar g u e d that an
a nalysis of ’’actual So v ie t p o li c y shows that in fact the S o v i e t
Union has not viewed the s i t u a t i o n s as i d e n t i c a l .T h e s e
d i f f e r i n g a p p r a i s a l s are r e f l e c t e d in 1. the offici a l S o v i e t
s ta t e m e n t of s u pport in each case; 2. news m e d i a treatment;
3. S o v i et t r e a t m ent of M a l a y s i a as an ’e m e r g e n t s t a t e ’;
and 4. the h e sit a n t c h a r a c t e r of S o v i e t s u p p o r t for I n d o n e s i a n 19
claims in the M a l a y si a n d i s p u t e ”. S o e j a t i ’s work als o
e xa m i n e d the two dis p ut e s but with d i f f e r e n t emphasis: he
ev a l u a t e d the Soviet role in the two d i s p u t e s in terms of
the c o n c ep t of a third p a r t y . H e d e m o n s t r a t e d that the p o s i t i o n
of the S o v i e t Union d ur i ng I n d o nesia's c o n f r o n t a t i o n o v e r
Wes t Irian c o n s t i t u t e d a special and u n i q u e case of the use
and role of a third p a r t y . I t was a factor w h i c h in duced
m e d i a t i o n by the United States, a third pa rty in the c o n v e n
tional sense of the t e r m . T h e S oviet role, however, m a y be
refe r re d to as that of an indi rect third p ar ty or a f o u r t h
party. However, in its c o n f r o n t a t i o n a g a i n s t Malaysia,
I ndonesia f aile d to pr o m o t e a c o r r e s p o n d i n g S o v i e t role as a
18.Guv Pauker,"The So vie t Challenge in Indone sia",Fore ign A ffa irs ,V o l.40,No.A, July 1962,pp. 12-13.
Indonesia turned to the P R C , w h i c h led ine v ita b ly to a
20
d e t e r i o r a t i o n in S o v i e t - I n d o n e s i a n relations.
After 1965, the l i t e r a t u r e focussed p r i n c i p a l l y on
the d ra ma ti c events of O c t o b e r 1965, w hi ch s u b s e q u e n t l y led
to the near total o b l i t e r a t i o n of the PKI, the fall of
P r e si de nt S u k a r n o and the ri s e of the m i l i t a r y un d e r G e n e r a l
Su h a r t o . T h i s also u s h e r e d in the 'New O r d e r '.Ju stus M. van
der Kroe f e x a m i n e d the c h a n g e s in the S o v i e t v i e w of G e s t a p u
(the m o v e m e n t that o r i g i n a t e d the 1965 events) and c o n c l u d e d
that this can only be a p p r e c i a t e d in the c o n t e x t of the 21
'running S i n o - S o v i e t c o n f l i c t ’. Robe rt Horn, on the o t h e r
hand, exa m i n e d S o v i e t - I n d o n e s i a n r e l a t i o n s s i nce 1965 and
stated that M o s c o w ’s p o l i c i e s steered b e t w e e n the e x t r e m e
of b r ea k i n g r e l a t i o n s w i t h J a k a r t a ’s new r e g i m e as a r e s p o n s e
to the c r u s h i n g of the PKI and the c o u n t r y ' s swing to the
r i g h t , b o t h int ern a l ly and externally, and the ex t r e m e of
ignoring the h u nti n g down of c o m m u n i s t s and ba nn in g of the
PKI and seek i ng to e s t a b l i s h c lose and u n q u a l i f i e d r e l a t i o n s
22
with the new regime. E x a m i n i n g the same developments,
R o d o l fo S e v e r i n o , J r . ,c o n c l u d e d that for the S o v i e t s "the
o v e r r i d i n g o b j e c t i v e in I n d o n e s i a is to r e t a i n as m uc h as
they can of w h a t e v e r i nf l u e n c e they still h a v e in the c o u n t r y
20.J.Soejati,"An Analysis of the use and role of a third party in the settlement of international disputes with special reference to Indonesian-Soviet
relations".Unpublished PhD Thesis,London School of Economics and Political Science,University of London,1982.
21.Justus M. Van Der Kroef ."Indonesia's 'GESTAPU':The View From Moscow and Peking".The Australian Journal of Politics and History,Vol.14,No.2,August 1968,pp.163-176.
and to keep W e s t e r n influ e n c e down to the lowest p oss i b l e
level.And it is ob v i o u s that the way to do this is not by
a c l e a r - c u t a l i g n m e n t with the ineffectual and u n r e l i a b l e
Indonesian C o m m u n i s t s but by showing goodw il l toward the
regime in p o w e r , s u p p o r t i n g it a g a i n s t p r e s s u r e from the
’ultra-Right' and the i m p e r i a l i s t s and s t i f f e n i n g it in its 23
effort to r e m a i n n o n - a l i g n e d in foreign affairs".
Some O b s e r v a t i o n s On Past R e s e a r c h
A r e v i e w of the a b o v e r e s e a r c h h i g h l i g h t s a few
p o i n t s :Firstly, w h e t h e r the r e s e a r c h is on Ind o nes i an C o m m u n i s m
or on the v a r i o u s crises, it has been p r i n c i p a l l y
issue-oriented, o f t e n fo c u s s i n g on one or two issues. No a t t e m p t
has been m a d e to s tu d y S o v i e t - I n d o n e s i a n r e l a t i o n s c o h e r e n t l y
by e x a m i n i n g the full flow of r e l a t i o n s ove r a p a r t i c u l a r
time p e r i o d .S e condly, no a t t e m p t has been ma d e to u n d e r s t a n d
S ov ie t r e l a t i o n s w i t h I n d o n e s i a in the b r o a d e r c o n t ext of
S o v i e t - T h i r d W o r l d r e l a t i o n s and e s p e c i a l l y with r e f e r e n c e
to the c h a n g i n g S o v i e t p e r s p e c t i v e s on the Third World s i n c e
1945.T h i r d l y , t h e r e s e a r c h has not b e n e f i t t e d from the r e c e n t
litera tu re w h i c h has e m a n a t e d from the S o v i e t Union on
Indonesi a .In d eed , s ince 1978, the Soviet U n i o n has shown
great int ere s t in the study of I n d o n e s i a , n o t just on the
p re - 1 9 4 5 p e r i o d , but also the r e v o l u t i o n a r y p h as e and the
period of S u k a r n o rule,un t i l his ousting in 1 9 6 8 . Finally,
no a t t em pt has be e n ma d e to e x a m i n e S o v i e t - I n d o n e s i a n r e l a t i o n s
in the special c o n t e x t of S o v i e t - S o u t h e a s t A s i a n relations.
H e r e , i t sh ould be h i g h l i g h t e d that the pr e s e n t S ov ie t i nt e r e s t
23.Rodolfo S e v e rin o ,Jr.."So v ie t Policy Toward the New O rder in Indonesia", P a c ific Community,No.8,Autumn 1971,p.74.
its past re l a t i o n s with I nd o ne si a would testif y .As this
is the c a s e , n o at t e m p t has b e e n mad e to learn from the S o v i e t
exp e r i e n c e in Indonesia, in an e f f o r t to u n d e r s t a n d and
explain S o v i e t b e h a v i o u r in the r eg i o n at p r e s e n t .F l o w i n g
from this, no a t te m pt has bee n made to in quire w h e t h e r there
is any thi n g u n i q u e in the S o v i e t e x p e r i e n c e in I ndonesia
w it h i n the b r o a d e r c o n t e x t of M o s c o w ' s T hi rd World relations.
Purp o se of the Study
The pu r p o s e of the s t u d y is f o u r f o l d .F i r s t l y , i t aims
to ma ke a c o n t r i b u t i o n to an impr ov ed u n d e r s t a n d i n g of
S o v i e t - I n d o n e s i a n r e l a t i o n s from 1945 to 1968, that is,
to a n a l ys e ho w M o s c o w r e l a t e d wit h w h a t was b a s i c a l l y S u k a r n o ' s
I n d o n e s i a .S e c o n d l y , i t aims to e l u c i d a t e the p o s i t i o n of
Indon es ia in S o v i e t - T h i r d W o r l d r e l a t i o n s and e s p e c i a l l y ho w
Sovi e t theor i es and p r a c t i s e s in the T h ir d W o r l d as a whole,
wer e s p e c i f i c a l l y a p p l i e d to I n d o n e s i a .T h i r d l y , i t aims to
hi g h l i g h t r e c e n t S ov i e t w r i t i n g on I n d o ne si a for the p e r i o d
under study and e x a m in e how these c o n f or me d to and d i ffe r e d from
past S o v i e t w r i t i n g .Finally, it aims to h i g h l i g h t how the
S o v i et s v i e w e d I n donesia and thei r e x p e r i e n c e s and an a l y s e
w h e t h e r S o v i e t re l a t i o n s w i t h In donesia w e r e in any way
uniq u e in terms of overall S o v i e t - T h i r d W o r l d relations.
Scope and D e l i m i t a t i o n s
This s tudy will be c o n f i n e d to the bilateral
1 3
1945 to 1968. E x t r a n e o u s fa c t o r s will be br o u g h t in only
insofar as they he l p to e x p l a i n the c ou rs e of re l a t i o n s
between the S o v i e t U n i o n and I n d o n e s i a .The r e a s o n s for
limiting the t h esis fr om 1945 to 1968 a r c as f o l l o w s : I n A u g u s t
1945, S u ka rn o and H a tta d e c l a r e d the i n d e p e n d e n c e of I n d o n e s i a
from the Dutch and this m a r k e d the o ns et of the I n d o n e s i a n
R e vo l uti o n w h i c h lasted until D e c e m b e r 1 9 4 9 . It is useful
to begin the s t u dy in 1945 as this not only m a r k e d the p e r i o d
of ’i n d e p e n d e n t ’ Indonesia, bu t mor e i m p o r t a n t , t h e b e g i n n i n g
of the revolution, and in S o v i e t parlance, ’the na tional
liberation s t r u g g l e ’.A s t u d y of the S o v i e t a t t i t u d e d u r i n g
this phase is i m p o r t a n t as it will m a n i f e s t M o s c o w ’s p o l i c i e s
toward Thi rd W o r l d i n d e p e n d e n c e s t r u g g l e s in general and
in S o u t h e a s t A s i a in p a r t i c u l a r .Mor e pertinent, M o s c o w ’s
p olicies toward I n d o n e s i a a f t e r the formal t r a n s f e r of
indep end e nce w e r e l a r g e l y c o n d i t i o n e d by its p e r c e p t i o n of
de v e l o p m e n t s in I n d o n e s i a d u r i n g the r e v o l u t i o n a r y period.
While it is g e n e r a l l y a g r e e d that the turning p o i n t
in the hi s t o r y of i n d e p e n d e n t I n d o nesia o c c u r r e d in 1965
following the a b o r t i v e ’c o u p ’, 1968 has be en c ho se n as
the c u t - o ff p o i n t in the s t u d y for the f ol l o w i n g reasons:
First, the full impact of the a b o r t i v e ’c o u p ’ b ec am e a p p a r e n t
only by 1968,w h e n G e n e r a l S u h a r t o was p r o c l a i m e d President,
the s ur v i v i n g leaders of the P K I , N j o n o and S u d i s m a n ,e x e c u t e d
and S u k a r n o , b y then an o r d i n a r y citizen, was p la ce d u n d e r ho use
a r r e s t .S e c o n d , f o r the S o v i e t Union, 1968 was also a c r i t i c a l
turning point in its r e l a t i o n s with I n d o n e s i a , l a r g e l y c a u s e d
by S u h a r t o ’s d o m e s t i c and f o r e i g n p o l i c i e s , b y the c o m p l i c a
Pre s i d e nt J o h n s o n ' s d e c i s i o n to halt the bo m b i n g of N o r t h
Vi et n am and finally, the d e v e l o p m e n t s in C ze ch o s l o v a k i a .
The c o m b i n a t i o n of these d e v e l o p m e n t s forced a c h a n g e in
Mos c o w's p o lic y to w a r d s J a k a r t a w hich in the final a n a l y s i s
was its belat e d r e s p o n s e to the full impact of the a b o r t i v e
'coup* of 1965.
Desp i te the d e l i m i t a t i o n of the s c o p e from 1945 to
19 68 ,the thesis will a l s o i n c lude b ri ef b a c k g r o u n d n o t e s
in o rd er to i n t r o d u c e the s t a t e of r e l a t i o n s be f ore 1945,
insofar as these had i m p l i c a t i o n s for d e v e l o p m e n t s in the
p o s t- 19 45 p e r i o d . S i m i l a r l y , s o m e d e v e l o p m e n t s that o c c u r r e d
a f t e r 1968 will al s o be m entioned, e s p e c i a l l y those w i t h
be arings for the p e r i o d u n d e r survey.
The C o n t e x t of the S t u d y : S o v i e t V ie ws On the Third W o r l d from Lenin to B r e z h n e v
This s e c t i o n e x a m i n e s S o v i e t ( M a r x i s t -in s pir e d)
theories on h o w u n d e r d e v e l o p e d so c i e t i e s c h a n g e and of the
political t h eor i es of h ow the s t r u g g l e a g a i n s t f e u d a l i s m
and i mp e r i a l i s m is to be c o n d u c t e d ,with a v i e w to m o v i n g
str a i ght into the s o c i a l i s t p hase ,wi thout h a v i n g to s u f f e r
from a d e v e l o p e d c a p i t a l i s t p h a s e . S i n c e 1917, the S o v i e t
Union has p r o f e s s e d to c o n d u c t its d i p l o m a c y a c c o r d i n g to
24
the d i ctates of M a r x i s m - L e n i n i s m . Theory is an e s s e n t i a l
c o m p o ne n t of p ol i t i c a l a c t i o n from the M a r x i s t standpoint;
and of c o u r s e , p o l i t i c a l a c t i o n d e p en ds on the r e a l i t i e s of
the interna t ion a l s y s t e m . W h e n a new p ol i c y is a d o p t e d and
implemented for em p i r i c a l reasons, a new t he or et ic al
cation has to be found to e x p l a i n it and in this r e g a r d , i t
is i mportant to study the i n t e r p l a y of theory and action.
Marx did not d e v e l o p any s p e c i f i c t h eory of i mp er ialism.
He d e p end e d on C a p it a li s m s p r e a d i n g to c o u n t r i e s with p r e
ca p i t a l i s t modes of p r o d u c t i o n w h i c h / once developed, w o u l d
evolve into the next p r o g r e s s i v e phas e of S o c i a l i s m . l t w as
thus argued that,in vi ew of the b a c k w a r d p r e - c a p i t a l i s t m o d e
of p r o d u c t i o n in wh a t was lat er to be cal l e d the Third World,
c o l o n i a l i s m was indeed a ’p r o g r e s s i v e d e v e l o p m e n t ’.M a r x ’s
’p o s i t i v e ’ inte r pr e t a ti o n of c o l o n i a l i s m wa s a c c ept e d by
Eu ro p e a n social ist s righ t up to the b e g i n n i n g of the t w e n t i e t h
century, as shown by the S e c o n d I n t e r n a t i o n a l ' s approval of
wha t was regard e d as the d e v e l o p m e n t of b a c k w a r d areas by
the 'civilised w o r l d ’?
Lenin re vised this v i e w and formu l a t e d m o d e r n
M a r x i s t theory on the d e v e l o p m e n t of i m p e r ial i sm and a n t i
imp e r ia l ism as well as laying the theoretic al f ou n d a t i o n s
of M a r x i s t - C o m m u n i s t i n t e r e s t and i n v o l v e m e n t in the T hi rd
W o r l d . T h i s was sp e c i f i c a l l y s t a t e d in L e n i n's Imperial ism,
the Hig h est Stage of Capital i s m .26 The u n d e r d e v e l o p e d and
colonial areas of Asia, A f r i c a and Latin A m e r i c a were 27
c o l l e c t i v e l y r e ferred to as the 'East' by the S o v i e t s /
25.See C arol R. Sa ive tz and Sy lv ia Woodby,S o vie t-T h ird UJorld R e la tio n s,(Boulder, ColoradoiW estview Press, 1985),p.4;011e T o rg u ist,Dilemmas of Third UJorld
Communism:The D e stru c tio n of the PKI in Ind o ne sia ,(LondonrZed Books Ltd., 1984),PP-13-14;Harish Kapur,So v ie t R u ssia and A sia ,1917-1927,(Geneva:Michael Joseph Ltd.,1966),pp.19-21.
26.See Lenin,Imperialism,the H igh e st S ta g e of C apitalism ,seventeenth printing, (M oscow :Progress Pub.,1978),pp.83-92.
27.A c c o rd in g to Mikhail Pavlovich, "The E a st is the whole colonial w orld,the world of the oppressed peoples not only of Asia, but also of A fric a and South Am erica".Cited in McVey,The Rise of Indonesian Communism,p.1.
and Lenin s a w the r e g i o n as the 'weakest link' in the
' i m p e r i a l i s t - c o l o n i a l i s t system' and c r e d i t e d it w i t h 2 8
tremendous r e v o l u t i o n a r y p o tential. a l s o saw the 'national
liberation m ovements' in the 'East' as c o n s t i t u t i n g 'natural
allies' of the s o c i a l i s t s t a t e (s )* even if led ipso facto 29
by n o n - p r o l e t a r i a n b o u r g e o i s n a t i o n a l i s t elements. At the
Second C o m i n t e r n C o n g r e s s in July 1 9 2 0 , L e n i n urged all
com m u n i s t p a r t i e s to s u p p o r t the n a t i o n a l i s t 'l iberation
movements' in the 'East * . Th e theses a d o p t e d at the C o n g r e s s
call e d for a t w o - p r o n g e d a t t a c k w hich w o u l d u n i t e the for c e s
of c o m m u n i s t - l e d n a t i o n a l p r o l e t a r i a t of the c a p i t a l i s t
c o u n tr ie s w i t h the n a t i o n a l l iber a t i o n m o v e m e n t s in the
colonies, i n d i c a t i n g that M o s c o w was p r e p a r e d to u t i l i s e
b ou r g e ois d e m o c r a t i c n a t i o n a l i s t s and o t h e r n o n - c o m m u n i s t 30
e le m e n t s in the c a m p a i g n a g a i n s t Imperialism. Stalin, in
an a r t icl e e n t i t l e d "Our T a s k s in the Orient", p u b l i s h e d in
Mar ch 1 91 9 ,s p o k e of the n e e d for a "bridge b e t w e e n the
pro l e t a r i a t r e v o l u t i o n of the We s t and the a n t i - i m p e r i a l i s t
mov e m e n t s of the Orient, c r e a t i n g in this w ay an all e m b r a c i n g 31
ring a round the e x p i r i n g imperialism". This, however, only
28.See Roger E. Kanet,"The S o v ie t U nion and the C olonial Q uestion,1917-1953", in Roger Kanet,(edn.),The S o v ie t U nion and the D evelop ing N a tio n s,(Baltimore: The John H opkins U n iv e rsity P ress, 1974),pp. 1-7.
29.See A le xan de r R.A lexiev.The New S o v ie t S tra t e g y in the Third W orld,(Santa M onica,C alifornia:Rand P u b lica tion Series,June 1983),p.3.
30.Geoffey Ju ke s,The So vie t Union in A s ia ,(Sydney:Aungus and R o b e rtso n Pub., 1973),p.7;Kapur>Op c i t ,pp.21-30.
app li ed to the areas in the East: even t hough strong
n a t i o n a l i s t and a n ti - c o l o n i a l m o v e m e n t s e m e r g e d in Central
Asia and the C a u c a s u s ( i n the former T s a r i s t R u s s i a ) w i t h ma n y
de c l a r i n g th e ms e l v e s i n d e p e n d e n t and sovereign, the Red Arm y
bru t al l y s u p p r e s s e d and r e a n nexed these t er ri to ri es and 32
e x t i r p a t e d the national i n d e p e n d e n t movements.
W ith L e nin's d e ath in 1924 and S t a l i n ' s a c c e s s i o n
to power, the S ovi e t p o l i c y of a l l i a n c e w i t h n a t i o n a l i s t
m o v e m e n t s was further r e f i n e d .S t a l i n argued:
Of course this does not mean that the proletariat should support every national movement, always and everywhere in all separate concrete cases.Rather, this means that the proletariat should support national movements which are directed at the weakening or destruction of imperialism...33
This was m o s t c l e a r ly d e m o n s t r a t e d in S t a l i n ’s a t t em pt to
m e d i a t e b e t w e e n local c o m m u n i s t s and n a t i o n a l i s t s so as to
p re s e r v e the a n t i - c o l o n i a l a l l i a n c e as well as to p r o t e c t
the f or t une s of the local c o m m u n i s t s .The p r o b l e m in this
a p p r o a c h w a s m a n i f e s t e d in C h i n a where the So vie t s a t t e m p t e d
to s u ppo r t both the C o m m u n i s t s and the N a t i o n a l i s t s and
u rg e d them to forge a c o a l i ti on.This, however, failed and
the n a t i o n a l i s t s u n de r the l e a d e r s h i p of Ch ia n g Kai-shek,
o u t m a n o e u v r e d the C o m m u n i s t s in 1927 and a l m o s t a n n i h i l a t e d 34
them. This d e fea t forced S t a l i n to c h a n g e tactics, and the
C o m i n t e r n u r g e d local c o m m u n i s t s to fight the n a t io na li st -
bourgeois, leading in r e a l i t y to a ch an g e in strategy. 17
32.See Robert D. UJarth,So v ie t Russia in World P o litic s ,(London:Vision Press, 1963),C hapte r 3,pp.55-96;Alvin R u b inste in,The Foreign P olicy of So vie t U nion. (New Vork:Random House,1972),pp.376-377.
33.1. V.Stalin,"O b osn ovakh Leninizma'(1924),5 och in e n e iia ,Vol.6,(Moscow:Gospolit- izdat,l947),ppp.142-144;Saivetz and Woodby,Op c it ,p.6.
On the whole, S o v i e t i nterest in the c olonial worl d
prior to the S e cond W o rld W a r was c o n f i n e d to a few
countries, ma i nly on its borders, and bore little in the
way of r e s u l t s . B y the late 1920s, S o v i e t c o n c e r n for the
’E a s t ’ d e t e r i o r a t e d rapidly, as did the w o r l d - w i d e r e v o l u t i o n
ary a rd o ur p r e c i p i t a t e d by the B o l s h e v i k R e v o l u t i o n in 1917.
M o s c o w ’s interests in the co l on i a l w o r l d w e r e pu rs ue d by
the C o m i n t e r n and o t h e r i n s t r u m e n t a l i t i e s su ch as the Lea g u e
A g a i n s t Imperialism. By the m id-1930s, t h e s e a c t i v i t i e s
wer e largely te r m i n a t e d as a r e s u l t of the s hi f t in the
ba l a n c e of p o w e r in E u r o p e , c a u s e d by the e m e r g e n c e of Nazi
G e r m a n y . I n these c i r c u m s t a n c e s , M o s c o w sought to e n h a n c e its
sec u r i t y by a d v o c a t i n g ’c o l l e c t i v e security' wi th the m a j o r
We s t e r n powers, and to e n h a n c e its c r e d i b i l i t y w i t h the
w o u l d - b e allies, who also h a p p e n e d to be the c olo n i a l powers,
M o s c o w instruct e d the C o m i n t e r n and its c l i e n t p a rt i es to
de s i s t from e f f or t s to foment r e v o l u t i o n and national
liber ati o n m o v e m e n t in the colo ni al w o r l d . T h i s was e n d o r s e d
by the S e v en th C o n g r e s s of the Comintern, m e e t i n g in July
and A u g u s t 1935, w h i c h c a l l e d for a s t r a t e g y of 'united
o r
front' to c o n f r o n t 'Fascism'. Stalin favo u r e d the f o r m a t i o n
of national fronts at the e x p e n s e of the n ati o n a l l i b e ra ti on
s tru g g l e and this had the e f f e c t of s l a c k e n i n g So vi et i nt e res t
35.Alexiev,Op c it ,p.3;S.T.Possony,hThe Com intern a s an Instrum ent o f So vie t S tra te g y " i n M .M.Drachkovtich,(edn.),The R e vo lu tio n a ry In te rn a tio n a ls,1864- 1943,(Sta n d fo rd ,C a lif o rn ia :Sta n d fo rd U n iv e rsity Press, 1966),pp.203-224. 36.Georgi Dim itrov,the S e c re ta ry G eneral of the Comintern, inau gurate d the