Imperial Russia is described as favoring closely dependent territories with limited autonomy, using Finland as the example. That arrangement is distinguished from the Soviet preference for buffer states. The distinction clarifies why the earlier peace-settlement argument treats the two Russian systems differently. In the Harding branch currently under discussion, the Bolshevik takeover has still occurred and the Soviet Union remains outside the proposed international grouping.
Notable Point · 1:44:28-1:45:19
Imperial Russian territories and Soviet buffer states
The discussion distinguishes Imperial Russia's dependent territories from the later Soviet approach to buffer states.