Stalin- Speeches at a dinner in honor of E. Beneš

 March 28, 1945

The first speech of comrade. I.V. Stalin

Comrade Stalin said that he had heard many praises of the Red Army. Of course, one can admit, without boasting, that this is indeed a valiant, brave and glorious army, but it still has many shortcomings. This is a big army, it is waging a big war. Together with the people serving its immediate rear, it has approximately 12 million people. These 12 million people are different people. You should not think that they are all angels.

The Red Army has entered Czechoslovakia, and now the Czechoslovaks are getting to know her better, they are also getting to know her shortcomings. The Red Army is advancing, scoring great victories, but it still has many shortcomings. The Red Army fought a long way from Stalingrad to the gates of Berlin. Its fighters did not travel this path as tourists, they traveled this path under fire, and they defeated the Germans. They think they are heroes. Almost all Red Army soldiers think so, at any rate, the majority of Red Army soldiers. The less cultured people are, the more they think about it.

They consider themselves heroes and think they can afford excess. They believe that they will be forgiven for these excesses because they are heroes. They have traveled a long and difficult path under enemy fire, and each of them thinks that tomorrow he may be struck down by an enemy bullet. comrade Stalin said that these fighters often do outrageous things, rape girls. comrade Stalin said that he wanted the Czechoslovaks not to be too fascinated by the Red Army, so that they would not be too disappointed later. He, comrade Stalin wants the Czechoslovaks to understand psychology, to understand the soul of an ordinary soldier of the Red Army, so that they understand his feelings, that he, risking his life all the time, has traveled a long and difficult path. comrade Stalin said that he was raising a glass to the fact that the Czechoslovaks understood and excused the soldiers of the Red Army.

The second speech of comrade. I.V. Stalin

Comrade Stalin said that he raised his glass to new Slavophiles. He, comrade Stalin himself is a new Slavophile. There were old Slavophiles, one of whose leaders was the famous Russian publicist Aksakov. They spoke during the time of tsarism, and these Slavophiles were reactionaries. They advocated the unification of all Slavs in one state under the auspices of the Russian Tsar.

We, the new Slavophiles, stand for a union of independent Slavic states.

The First World War broke out on the backs of the Slavic peoples. We see that the Second World War is also taking place on the backs of the Slavic peoples. England and Germany are fighting, and the Slavic peoples are shedding their blood.

France did not fight, she let the Germans into her borders, and we can say that she was not occupied. Belgium and Holland did not fight - they dutifully lay down in front of the Germans and raised their paws up. England? England is on the islands, and her position is special. Who suffered from the German robbery, from the German occupation? Czechoslovakia, Poland, Yugoslavia, Soviet Union. Bulgaria tried to avoid this, tried to save itself, but not everything turned out well for her. In general, it turns out that "the pans are fighting, and the serfs' forelocks are shaking."

Comrade Stalin said he hated the Germans. But nevertheless, he, comrade. Stalin must admit that the Germans are a strong and capable people. They have good personnel, military, industrial and others. After the defeat that they will suffer in this war, they will try to be reborn within the next 15 years.

Comrade Kalinin exclaimed: "Revenge!"

Comrade Stalin said that yes, the Germans would try to take revenge. Comrade Stalin said that those who think that the Germans will not be able to do this will miscalculate. Some Englishmen again talk about the balance of power. If the British are half-friends of Germany, they will miscalculate and lose on this. We are now beating the Germans, we will beat them even then, if and when they take it into their heads to stir up and unleash a new war. But in order to prevent the Germans from rising up and starting a new war, an alliance of Slavic peoples is needed.

We, the new Slavophiles, are communists, if you will, Bolsheviks. They think of us that we want to establish the Soviet system everywhere. This is not true. When the Red Army came to Bulgaria, some people tried to establish Soviets there, but we said that this should not be done. We want every nation to have the system it deserves. We are not going to enter in Czechoslovakia Soviet system.

Addressing Benes, comrade. Stalin said that he, Benes, probably had doubts about this. comrade Stalin said that this was Beneš's right. But he, comrade. Stalin wants the Czechoslovaks to understand that he speaks sincerely and that he says what he thinks.

At the end of his speech, comrade Stalin raised his glass to the alliance and friendship of the independent Slavic peoples, large and small.

AP RF. F. 45. Op. 1. D. 393. L. 57–59.

Note

At the head of the Czechoslovak delegation, E. Benes was in Moscow from March 17 to March 31, 1945, on his way from London to his homeland. During this visit, a new Czechoslovak government was formed, a program of its actions was developed and adopted. On March 28, a dinner was given in the Catherine Hall of the Grand Kremlin Palace in honor of the President of the Czechoslovak Republic. On March 31, Benes, the government formed in Moscow and the Soviet ambassador to Czechoslovakia V.A. Zorin left for the liberated territory of Slovakia in the city of Kosice.

In addition to this entry made by Secretary V.M. Molotova B.D. Podtserob, there is another recording of the same speeches made by V.A. Malyshev:

"Comrade Stalin, after a series of toasts to the guests for the Red Army, said the following: “Everyone praises our Red Army. Yes, she deserved it. But I would like our guests, being fascinated by the Red Army, not to be disappointed later.

The fact is that now there are about 12 million people in the Red Army. These people are far from angels. These people became hardened during the war. Many of them traveled 2,000 kilometers in battle: from Stalingrad to the middle of Czechoslovakia. They saw on their way a lot of grief and atrocities. So don't be surprised if some of our people in your country don't behave properly. We know that some, unconscious soldiers pester and insult girls and women, act outrageously. Let our Czechoslovak friends know this now, so that the charm of our Red Army would not be replaced by disappointment.

The second speech of comrade. Stalin was about the Slavophiles.

Comrade Stalin said the following: “Now there is a lot of talk about Slavophilism and Slavophiles. We are often compared with the old Slavophiles of tsarist times. It is not right.

The old Slavophiles, such as Aksakov and others, demanded the unification of all Slavs under the Russian tsar. They did not understand that this was a harmful idea and impossible. Slavic peoples have different social and ethnographic ways, have different cultural levels and different socio-political structures. The geographical position of the Slavic peoples also prevents unification.

We, the new Slavophil-Leninists, Slavophil-Bolsheviks, Communists, are not for unification, but for the union of the Slavic peoples. We believe that regardless of the difference in political and social status, regardless of everyday and ethnographic differences, all Slavs should be in alliance with each other against our common enemy - the Germans.

The whole history of the life of the Slavs teaches that we need this alliance for protection Slavism.

Take at least the last two world wars? Why did they start? Because of the Slavs. The Germans wanted to enslave the Slavs. Who suffered the most from these wars? Both in the First and in the Second World War, the Slavic peoples suffered the most: Russia, Ukraine, Belarusians, Serbs, Czechs, Slovaks, Poles.

Isn't it the same in this war? Has France suffered more? No. The French opened the front to the Germans. The Germans slightly occupied the northern part of France, and did not even touch the southern part. And Belgium and Holland immediately raised their paws up and lay down in front of the Germans. England escaped with minor damage. And take how Ukraine, Belarus, Russia, Yugoslavia, and Czechoslovakia have been seriously affected. One Bulgaria, which wanted to evade and maneuver, and she got caught. This means that the Slavs suffered the most from the Germans. Now we are hitting the Germans hard, and it seems to many that the Germans will never be able to threaten us. No, it's not.

I hate Germans. But hatred should not prevent us from objectively assessing the Germans. The Germans are a great people. Very good technicians and organizers. Good, born brave soldiers. It is impossible to destroy the Germans, they will remain.

We are beating the Germans, and things are coming to an end. But we must bear in mind that the Allies will try to save the Germans and come to terms with them. We will be merciless to the Germans, and the Allies will try to treat them softly. Therefore, we Slavs must be prepared for the fact that the Germans can rise to their feet again and oppose the Slavs. That is why we, the new Slavophiles-Leninists, so insistently call for an alliance of the Slavic peoples.

There is talk that we want to impose the Soviet system on the Slavic peoples. This is empty talk. We do not want this, because we know that the Soviet system is not exported abroad at will, for this the appropriate conditions are required.

We could establish the Soviet system in Bulgaria, they wanted it there. But we didn't go for it. In the Slavic countries that are friendly to us, we want to have genuinely democratic governments.

By concluding an alliance, the Slavic peoples can provide economic and military assistance to each other. We can do it now with success.

Therefore, I drink for the union of the Slavic peoples ”( Source . 1997. No. 5. S. 127–128).

In general, it can be seen that the recording of Podtserob is more specific, closer to shorthand. Some points noted by Malyshev only in general are set out in detail in Podtserob's entry. In particular, the final parts of Podcerob's toasts look exactly like emotionally and semantic accentuated logical conclusions of the previous reasoning. At the same time, the passage reflected in Malyshev that “the Soviet system is not exported abroad”, which is absent in Podtserob’s note, is interesting.

Obviously, both recordings, made by the authors from memory, complement each other well. The current publication of the archival version, together with the long-known entry by Malyshev, gives an accurate idea of ​​the nature of the relationship between the countries of Eastern Europe liberated from the fascist yoke, which Stalin defended. His forecast of the development of the political situation in post-fascist Europe turned out to be more than far-sighted. The rapid unilateral rejection of the Potsdam agreements by the former Western allies, their deliberate delay in resolving the German question (the signing of a peace treaty and the reunification of the occupation zones within the framework of a new unified democratic states), the remilitarization of West Germany, which had already become a fact by 1950, confirmed Stalin's worst fears. These steps of the imperialist West, contrary to the wishes of the USSR, objectively pushed the social democratic and communist governments of the countries of Eastern Europe onto the path of accelerated Sovietization and transition to the construction of socialism. Meanwhile, as is clearly seen from the published document, Stalin was primarily a supporter of strengthening friendly political and economic ties between the Slavic countries, which, obviously, he considered as the main guarantee of a distant socialist perspective in these countries.