İnönü watches May 1st celebrations from the Red Square
The friendly relations between Turkey and the Soviet Union, which commenced during the War of Independence, continued in the ensuing years and political relations between the two nations took a similar turn. Soviet Minister of Foreign Affairs Litvinov’s visits to Ankara in December of 1929 and November of 1931, reciprocated by his Turkish counterpart Tevfik Rüştü Bey in September of 1930, attested to the strengthening of ties.
The financial difficulties caused by the global economic crisis of 1929 and the desire to solicit Soviet help for the establishment of industrial enterprises led Prime Minister İnönü to organize a wide-scope visit to the Soviet Union between April 25 and May 10, 1932. During İnönü’s visit, Russia agreed to give Turkey a loan of eight million U.S. Dollars. However, the visit also proved useful for preparing for the period of planned development. The Five Year Industrial Plan was designed in 1934 through the help of a technical team arriving from Soviet Russia.
