Wilson's presence remains necessary to create the League, but a victorious imperial Russia joins alongside Britain, France, Italy, and Japan rather than waiting until 1934 as the Soviet Union did. Even a weak League creates recurring diplomatic contacts and frameworks that shape many of the 1920s and 1930s crises and later inform the United Nations. American politicians may find it harder to remain outside if the tsar can claim leadership of the world's principal diplomatic forum. Russia's role also changes the international response to unrest in Finland, Poland, and the Baltic territories.
Chapter · 40:31-43:42
Russia changes the League of Nations from the start
A founding Russian member could make the League more consequential and pressure an isolationist United States to participate.