The Press THURSDAY, MARCH 12, 1953. Russia’s New Leaders Speak

Press, Volume LXXXIX, Issue 26987, 12 March 1953, Page 8

The Press THURSDAY, MARCH 12, 1953. Russia’s New Leaders Speak

Since their public addresses are virtually the only indications to the world of Russian leaders’ thinking, they are always closely studied. The first speeches of the leaders of the new regime have naturally aroused deep interest among political observers. Some have pointed out that not a word was said about “ Anglo-American “ aggressors ” or “ warmongers ” in | the orations delivered at Mr Stalin’s funeral by the three principals in the new regime, Messrs Malenkov, 1 Beria, and Molotov. With Mr j Malenkov’s repeated emphasis on peace, the addresses are regarded las the most conciliatory uttered in ! Moscow for a long time. But though i everyone in the outside world will ■ hope for a lessening of world tension as a result of the policies of the new regime, it would be unwise to read too much into these [speeches which seem favourable to a better international outlook. It is by no means certain that the new leaders’ references to world affairs were meant primarily for external notice; they may have been meant only to create certain impressions • in the minds of Russians and the peoples of the satellite countries. It is difficult in the outside world to appreciate the great void that Stalin’s passing must leave in Russia. His picture was everywhere; schoolchildren sang hymns to him; almost unbelievable adulation followed when he made a new pronouncement on any subject, even about science, painting, or literature. In the popular mind, Stalin replaced the “Little White “Father” of the Tsarist epoch. It may well be, therefore, that the new regime feels it expedient at the moment to assure the Russian people that things will not be worse without Stalin, and particularly that they will not be rushed into war.

None better than the men in the Kremlin understand the difficulties the new regime faces in Russia itself and in the task of holding the satellite empire together. Indeed, the funeral orations were notable for nothing so much as their expression of nervousness and doubt; the many appeals for a unity that everyone outside Russia takes for granted certainly provoke thought. The emphasis both Mr Malenkov and Mr Molotov put on the theory of the possibility of the “ co-existence ” of the capitalist and socialist systems may well be primarily for the benefit of Russia and the satellites. It is interesting to recall that the disagreement on external policy between Mr Malenkov and his then rival, Mr Zhdanov, shown at the foundation meeting of the Cominform in September, 1947, was on this very point. Zhdanov spoke at great length on the theme that the world was finally divided into two warring blocs—the socialist bloc headed by Russia and the “ imperialist ” bloc headed by the United States. But he also argued that the socialist camp was already the stronger of the two and suggested the time was ripe for final victory over capitalism. Malenkov’s argument was essentially the opposite of Zhdanov’s. He said: “We start from the fact of the in- “ evitability of the co-existence for “ a prolonged period of the two ’ “ systems—capitalism and socialism

“ —and adhere to a policy of main- “ taining loyal good-neighbour “ relations with all those States “which show a desire for friendly “ co-operation while observing the “ principles of mutuality and the “fulfilment of obligations assumed “by them”. Many changes have taken place since those speeches were made; but Malenkov’s cautious thesis of “prolonged co-existence” was often confirmed and approved by Stalin. Will “ co-existence ” with Mr Malenkov at Russia’s helm mean anything different from “co-exist- “ ence ” under Mr Stalin? Will the new regime have something better to offer than a seemingly interminable process of hopes for co-opera-tion raised and as regularly shattered? The free world will wait for events to demonstrate whether words that can be interpreted as fair words will be followed by corresponding actions.