Ethiopia and Soviet Power

Ethiopia has been a scene of conflicts in which, on numerous occasions, the world’s great powers have participated. The involvement of superpowers, which at times even switched sides during the height of the struggle, exacerbated Ethiopia’s attempts to counter many ethnic separatist movements and somehow assure its survival. The Soviet Union’s massive and unanticipated intrusion on the side of Ethiopia drew the entire area into the new violent vortex. This research explores Ethiopian-Soviet relations. It begins with a brief background concerning history of Ethiopia and pre-revolutionary Ethiopian-Soviet relations. It traces the progress of Ethiopian revolution, which overthrew imperial government and resumed a conflict in the region. Having identified the main factors that have determined the Ethiopia-Soviet relations, the book investigates subsequent developments in Ethiopia’s politics, namely the government’s patterns of activities dictated by geopolitical considerations and a strategic alliance with the Soviet Union, from which consequences would arise and persist for many decades to come for all nations located on the Horn of Africa.