Joseph Stalin did not like to write with ink, preferring colored or graphite pencil. The Ministry presented the exposition of historical-documentary exhibition “Stalin, Churchill, Roosevelt: in the common fight against Nazism.” Pandemic coronavirus prevented the timely opening of the exhibition, scheduled for 23 April 2020, however, the Fund “Eras” using the grant of the President of the Russian Federation, provided by the presidential grants, prepared for publication the richly illustrated 400-page catalogue that gives a comprehensive view of the 230 unique exhibits.
the Exhibits were provided and participants were:
so, although Stalin himself did not like to write with ink, he realized that not enough victorious conclusion to a bloody war, you should be able to use its results: to sign profitable for the winner of a peace Treaty. The victory won by the soldiers on the battlefield should not be played by the diplomats at the negotiating table. And long before the end of the great Patriotic war, Stalin began to prepare the cannon and gunpowder, which was going to sprinkle signatures under the future peace Treaty. “A good foreign policy sometimes weighs more than two or three armies at the front”2, – said Stalin.
the Consummate art of the Stalin-diplomat, not allowing the allies to use Soviet Union as a “cannon fodder” in the fight against Hitler, and is dedicated to the exhibition organized by the Federal archival Agency, the State archive of the Russian Federation, historico-documentary Department of the Ministry of foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation and the Russian historical society.
“Stalin once said – remember Molotov – that Russia wins wars but does not know how to use the fruits of victory. Russian war fine, but do not know how to make peace around them, to give less”. In conversations with foreign interlocutors in the war, Stalin repeated the same idea.
“Everyone thinks Russian laborers, – he spoke to the U.S. Ambassador Averell Harriman. Russians need to liberate Poland, but the poles want to obtain the lions. All believe that Russian fools.” At this time, Stalin, according to Molotov, was determined not to get fooled during the war, and the division of the fruits of victory3.
And he was forced to reckon with their allies – the US President Roosevelt and Prime Minister Churchill. Very soon both Roosevelt and Churchill were convinced of the unsurpassed ability of Stalin to lead a constructive dialogue with them. Once in conversation with a trusted British diplomat Roosevelt said half-jokingly that “if only all the world’s things were given to him, the Prime Minister and Uncle Joe without any worries about Congreveesse and the Parliament, then everything would be much better,”4.
Stalin had a hard time. Behind the veneer of ostentatious politeness allies were hiding their confidence in their right to speak with Stalin from the height of their own greatness. “Roosevelt and Churchill were United by a complex of Anglo-American exceptionalism and superiority, belief in the civilizing mission of the English-speaking peoples against the rest of the world, including the “semi-barbaric” Russia. In Stalin they have seen outstanding let them, but still barbaric leader “Attila” or “the Bear”, as called for the eyes of some British officials, including the Churchill and Eden”5.
President Roosevelt is very quickly learned and edifying wrote to Churchill: “Stalin hates the arrogance of Your senior leaders”6. The President wrote these words with a deep understanding of the situation. In August of 1942 in Moscow was very difficult negotiations between Stalin and Churchill to open a second front in Europe.
During the conversation, 12 August 1942, Stalin threw the Englishman in the face of the insulting “don’t be afraid of the Germans.” Proud descendant of the Duke of Marlborough took it as an accusation of cowardice, and would have to go before the target date. “Whether he understands who is talking? With the representative of the mightiest Empire ever seen the world!” – he was indignant in conversation with the Ambassador, A. K., Kerr, offended by the bullying from the “a peasant”7.
less than three years old. 6 February 1945 troops of the red army were on the outskirts of Koenigsberg, crossed the river Oder, near Breslau and fought fierce battles in Budapest. Was 1326-day war. At the Livadia Palace in Crimea held a historic Yalta (Crimean) conference of the “Big three”. During another discussion on a very difficult Polish problems British Prime Minister, rejecting the old arrogance, recognized the Soviet Union an unconditional right to defend their own state interests:
“Churchill publicly stated in Parliament and elsewhere about the intention of the British government to accept the Curzon line8 in the form as it was interpreted by the Soviet government, that is, leaving Lviv in the Soviet Union. Of him, Churchill, and Eden was much criticized for it both in Parliament and in the conservative party, but he always believed that after the tragedy, which moved Russia defending itself from German aggression, and after the efforts that Russia has made to the liberation of Poland, claims the Russian in Lviv and on the Curzon line is not based on force but on right. Churchill continues to adhere to this point of view,”9.
In the end, the allies supported Stalin during the solution of the Polish question.
“Roosevelt said, the Polish question during the five centuries caused the world a headache.
Churchill said that we must try to Polish the issue has caused headaches to mankind”10.
the Red army during the war, destroyed and disabled 626 divisions of the “axis” (of which 508 German), causing the armed forces of Germany, over 60% of all casualties (7,181 million irrecoverable losses of Germany and 1,468 million losses in its European satellites).
the share of the USSR accounted for about 75% of all military efforts of the anti-Hitler coalition.
Military expenditures in percent of GDP in the USSR was 76% in the U.S. – 47% UK – 57%.
Mobilization of manpower – armed forces plus employed in military industry in percentage of working – age population is reached in the USSR 54% in the US and 35.4% in the UK – 45.3% of.
1 million population in the USSR had 27.1 million soldato-days compared to 4.7 million in the US and the UK.
In total military and civilian losses of the Soviet Union has lost nearly a seventh of its inhabitants, Britain – one of 127, and the United States – one of 32011.
“We had to consolidate what won,” recalled Molotov, and Stalin, according to him, was determined not to miss this historical chance and to not “get fooled”, as it often happened with Russia in the previous wars.12.
Stalin thought himself a gatherer of the Russian lands, at different times and for different reasons have fallen away from the Russian state. “In the West and the East had returned all previously taken away, and all previously given, and in addition had been resolved and the task of many centuries…”13. These words shortly before his death wrote to Konstantin Simonov, during the life of the leader six times laureate of the Stalin prize. Simon never questioned the Communist ideology, what can be said about the graph Ignatyev. The author of the famous book “Fifty years in the ranks” count Alexei Ignatiev began his service in the officer ranks as cornet the cavalry regiment and finished it as a Lieutenant General of the red army. However, his arguments at the end of life did not differ from the arguments of Simon. Ignatieff always faithfully served Russia and his service said: “I did not serve kings!” And then added: “Never did I become a Communist! But I have to admit that ever the Russian Empire was not as great as with them. From the Elbe to the Pacific ocean!”14.
November 28, 1974, the writer F. Chuyev recorded expressive words of Molotov: “My job as foreign Minister I saw that as much as possible to expand the borders of our Fatherland. And I think we with Stalin coped with this task”.
…I Remember the story of A. I. Mgeladze (First Secretary of Central Committee KP of Georgia in the last years of Stalin), additionalstandard Molotov, about how after the war to Stalin’s dacha brought the map of the USSR, the new borders is a small, like for a school textbook. Stalin nailed it with the buttons on the wall: “Look what we’ve got… In the North we have everything in order, fine. Finland we have a very naughty and we moved the border from Leningrad. The Baltic States – is a native Russian land! – again, our Belarusians we now all live together, the Ukrainians – together, Moldavians together. The West is fine.” And immediately moved to the Eastern border. “What have we here?.. The Kuril Islands are ours now, Sakhalin is completely ours, look as well! And Port Arthur our, and our far – Stalin held a pipe in China, our CER. China, Mongolia – everything is in order… here me our border is not like that!” – Stalin said, and showed the South Caucasus”15.
1. Encyclopedia of thoughts / Comp. N. I. Horobin. M.: Russkaya kniga, 1994. P. 109.
2. Nevezhin V. “For the Russian people!” Reception in the Kremlin in honor of the commanders of the red army may 24, 1945 // Science and life. 2005. N 5 // https://www.nkj.ru/archive/articles/527/.
3. Stalin, Churchill, Roosevelt: the Joint fight against Nazism: a directory of historical-documentary exhibition /comp. S. P. Balan, G. A. Kuznetsova, N. M. Piskareva; introd. St. Vladimir O. Pechatnov, A. N. Artizov; translation into English. yaz. D. Dunina. Moscow: Kuchkovo pole Museon, 2020. P. 26 [text Paral. eng., eng.]
4. Ibid. P. 25.
5. Ibid. P. 25-26.
6. Ibid. P. 56.
7. Ibid. P. 31.
8. Curzon line demarcation line between Poland and the RSFSR, as proposed by the Minister of foreign Affairs of great Britain Lord Curzon in 1920. Was recommended by the Supreme Council of the Entente as the Eastern border of Poland. Line generally corresponds to the ethnographic principle: to the West of it were for the most part of the earth with a predominance of the Polish population to the East – an area dominated Lithuanian, Belarusian, Ukrainian population.
9. The Soviet Union at international conferences during the great Patriotic war of 1941-1945: Collection of documents. T. IV. Crimean conference of the three allied powers – USSR, USA and great Britain (4-11 February 1945), Moscow: Politizdat, 1979. P. 98.
10. Ibid. P. 103.
11. Stalin, Churchill, Roosevelt: the Joint fight against Nazism: a directory of historical-documentary exhibition. P. 48-49.
12. Pechatnov V. His Empire // homeland. 2003. N 2. P. 21.
13. Simonov K. M. the eyes of a person of my generation. Reflections on I. V. Stalin. M.: Publishing house of the press Agency ][news][, 1989. P. 186.
14. Garadi R. “race in My lifetime alone”: the Soviet experience (1953-1968) // Rodina. 1990. N 11. P. 66.
15. Chuev F. I. one Hundred and forty conversations with Molotov // http://thelib.ru/books/chuev_feliks_ivanovich/sto_sorok_besed_s_molotovym-read.html.
