section_path: Consolidation of power/1932–1939: Major crises/Ideological and foreign affairs
section_name: Ideological and foreign affairs
paragraph_text: Ideological and foreign affairs
  
  In 1935–36, Stalin oversaw a new constitution with liberal features designed as propaganda. He declared that "socialism, the first phase of communism, has been achieved." In 1938, the History of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (Bolsheviks), was released, which biographer Robert Conquest called the "central text of Stalinism". Authorised Stalin biographies were also published, though Stalin preferred to be seen as the embodiment of the Communist Party, rather than have his life story explored. During the late 1930s, Stalin placed "a few limits on the worship of his own greatness". By 1938, Stalin's inner circle had gained a degree of stability.
  
  Seeking better international relations, in 1934 the Soviet Union joined the League of Nations, from which it had previously been excluded. Stalin initiated confidential communications with Hitler in October 1933, shortly after the latter came to power. Stalin admired Hitler, particularly his manoeuvres to remove rivals within the Nazi Party in the Night of the Long Knives. Stalin nevertheless recognised the threat posed by fascism and sought to establish better links with the liberal democracies of Western Europe; in May 1935, the Soviets signed a treaty of mutual assistance with France and Czechoslovakia. At the Communist International's 7th Congress, held in July–August 1935, the Soviet government encouraged Marxist-Leninists to unite with other leftists as part of a popular front against fascism.
  
  When the Spanish Civil War broke out in July 1936, the Soviets sent military aid to the Republican faction faction, including 648 aircraft and 407 tanks, along with 3,000 Soviet troops and 42,000 members of the International Brigades. Stalin took a personal involvement in the Spanish situation. Germany and Italy backed the Nationalist faction, which was ultimately victorious in March 1939. With the outbreak of the Second Sino-Japanese War in July 1937, the Soviet Union and China signed a non-aggression pact. Stalin aided the Chinese Communist Party as they had suspended their civil war with the Kuomintang (KMT) nationalists and formed the desired United Front against Japanese aggression.