Russia Does Not Want War, Is Sure Of Her Might, Says Deputy-Premier

Wanganui Chronicle, 8 November 1949, Page 5

Russia Does Not Want War, Is Sure Of Her Might, Says Deputy-Premier

MOSCOW, Nov. 6.—“ The Soviet Union stands firmly for the peace and friendship of nations. It does not want war, and will do everything to prevent war,’’ the Soviet Deputy-Premier, Mr. Georgiy Malenkov, said today. He described the basis of the Marshall Plan, however, as “preparation for war,” and said that the aim behind it was to transform the whole world into a colony of American Imperialists. “The Soviet people do not fear peaceful competition with the capitalist world, but are sure of their might and know very well that any war adventure will end in disaster for the imperialists,” he said. Mr. Malenkov was addressing the Moscow Soviet at its traditional meeting to mark the thirty-second anniversary of the Soviet revolution. “Atomic energy in the hands of Imperialists is a source of production of death-dealing weapons, whereas in the hands of the Soviet it must and will serve as a mighty weapon of unprecedented technical progress and further speedy growth of the productive forces of our country,” Mr. Malenkov said. The Soviet policy included the curtailment of armaments and an unconditional ban on atomic weapons. “W ORLD AMERICAN EMPIRE” One of the main aims of the Marshall Plan, he declared, was the forcible militarisation of European countries, leading directly to a new world war. The .so-called atomic diplomacy was based on the assumption that the United States had an absolute monopoly of the atomic weapon. The Soviet had never concealed its own possession of that weapon. “The programme of the enemies of peace Is becoming clearer,” said Mr. Malenkov. “It presupposes the creation of a world American empire by means of new wars. The scale on which this empire is to be built must exceed that of any known empiremaking process. It is a question of transforming the whole world into a colony of American imperialists and bringing sovereign peoples to the status of slaves.” The congresses of partisans of peace held In Prague and Paris, he continued had found a great response in all countries. If Imperialism unleashed a third world war the result would mean the grave of capitalism as a whole. History showed that the First World War, “started by Imperialists,” led to the Russian Revolution. The last war, "also begun by imperialists,” led to strengthening of the popular democratic regimes in Europe, and “the victory of democratic China.” "The American people know very well.” he said, “that in the event of war, suffering will visit the American Continent too. If there is a new blood-bath, there will be weeping mothers also in America.” Mr. Malenkov said that the Western Powers were “criminally undermining the peoples’ democracies,” using for that purpose in the first i ■ stance "the espionage band of Tito.’ It spoke of the importance of “uniti ig the democratic forces of the German people.” European peace could not be assured if the German problem was not solved. USE OF CHINA Dealing with China, Mr. Malenkov cuoted Lenin as saying that the outcome of the world struggle between Capitalism and Communism depended, in its final balance on the fact that Russia, India and China represented a gigantic majority of the world. The American imperialists counted on using China as their main base for

Asian domination and as one of thn decisive links in the encirclement of the Soviet.

Comparing the “people’s democracies” with the United States, Mr. Malenkov said that in the United States signs were mounting of an approaching economic crisis. Since last autumn American production had declined steadily. Last July it represented only 60 per cent, of the wartime production. The American industrail output decreased by 11 per cent, in October. Industrial shares were fluctuating and falling. American exports were deceasing, and stocks of commodities increasing The number of totally unemployed had doubled this year. SOVIET PRODUCTION

Russia’s pre-war level of production and economic development had been reached, and surpassed, he said. In 10 months compared with last year Soviet production had risen 20 per cent, This year’s Soviet harvest exceeded the pre-war levels. In 1950 Soviet production would rise to a general level 50 per cent, higher than before 1940. “Whereas Soviet production had grown in the last 20 years by nine times, European production has remained at the same level.’’ Mr. Malenkov said that in the “capitalist world'’ there were about 40,000,000 unemployed or partly employed people. “Devaluation of various currencies may serve as a clear example of aggressive American policy which cannot but end in disaster,” he declared. After devaluation, America planned to seize whole branches of the industry of western Euroean countries and also the colonies of European Powers. Never in its history had Russia had such equitable and well disposed frontiers. Frontier injustice had been rectified for Byelo-Russia and Moldavia. There was no longer a hostile East Prussia. The defence of Leningrad was assured. In the Far East the Kurile Islands and Sakhalin helped frontier defence. “Poland is strong, and Czechosolvakia united and strong and the Soviet has loyal friends in the peoples of Hungary,. Rumania and Bulgaria,” he said. ADHERENCE TO POTSDAM Mr Malenkov said that Russia’s programme provided for “precise execution of the Potsdam Agreement regarding the German problem, peaceful settlement with Japan, and the development of trade and economic relations with other countries.” Of Germany, he said that the problem there could not be solved unless Germany took its fate into its own hands and deprived the “Prussian magnates of their political and economic foundations,” and unless radical democratic reforms were carried out CALL TO SERVICEMEN Russia’s Minister of the Armed Forces, Marshal of the Soviet Union Alexander Vasilevsky, in an order of the day issued to mark the 32nd anniversary of the Revolution, called on all Soviet servicemen to improve their prowess in the forthcoming winter season of military training . He said that in the summer training Soviet soldiers “increased their military and political knowledge and heightened their combat steadfastness and endurance.”

Messages of greetings and congratulations were sent to Mr Stalin on the anniversary of the Soviet Revolution from Yugoslavia, East Germany, Czechoslovakia, Poland, Hungary, Bulgaria, Rumania and Israel. Czechoslovakia’s greeting was carried across the whole country by relay runners, and handed at the frontier to Soviet officials.