Treaty of Berlin (27 August 1918)

German-Russian supplementary treaty to the peace treaty between Germany, Austria-Hungary, Bulgaria and Turkey on the one hand and Russia on the other
German: Deutsch-Russischer Ergänzungsvertrag zu dem Friedensvertrage zwischen Deutschland, Österreich-Ungarn, Bulgarien und der Türkei einerseits und Rußland anderseits
Russian: Германско-русскiй добавочный договоръ къ мирному договору между германiей, австро-венгрiей, болгарiей и турцiей съ одной стороны и россiей съ другой
Scan from the Reichsgesetzblatt of Germany, 1918, containing a copy of the first page of the Treaty of Berlin of 27 August 1918.
Typesupplementary peace treaty
ContextWorld War I
Signed27 August 1918
Ratified6 September 1918
Effective6 September 1918
Conditionexchange of instruments of ratification
Parties
LanguagesGerman, Russian
Full text
:de:Deutsch-Russischer Ergänzungsvertrag zu dem Friedensvertrage zwischen Deutschland, Österreich-Ungarn, Bulgarien und der Türkei einerseits und Rußland anderseits at Wikisource

The Treaty of Berlin of 27 August 1918 was an agreement signed after several months of negotiations between representatives of the early Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic (RSFSR, colloquially known as 'Bolshevik Russia') and the German Empire (or 'Reich'). This treaty completed and clarified several political and economic clauses of the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk (3 March 1918), which had been left out of the winter 1917–1918 negotiations. The latter were aimed at ending the war between the Central Powers and Soviet Russia and clarifying the extent of Russia's territorial losses, but left unresolved the question of war indemnities due to the German Empire and its allies, primarily Austria-Hungary and their new mutual vassal, the Ukrainian People's Republic. Similarly, the nature of the new economic relations between the Central Powers and Bolshevik Russia was not discussed in depth at Brest-Litovsk.

Consequently, in accordance with the terms of the peace treaty signed in March 1918, negotiations aimed to regulate future economic relations between the Central Powers and Bolshevik Russia, and lead to the conclusion of an agreement between the Reich and its allies, on the one hand, and Bolshevik Russia, on the other. However, due to the rapid development of the conflict during September and October 1918, the provisions contained in the text of this treaty never de facto came into force. Nevertheless, this agreement laid the foundations for the Treaty of Rapallo between the Reich and Bolshevik Russia, which came into force in 1922.