800.00B International Red Day/5–347: Telegram
The Chargé in the Soviet Union (Durbrow) to the Secretary of State
1640. Soviet press May 1 publishes Bulganin’s1 order of day as Minister Armed Forces and May 2 Budyenny’s2 speech on Red Square calling on armed forces to fulfill tasks laid upon them by Stalin. Ideological significance May Day is publicized this year with increased emphasis on necessity for national strength and vigilance in face capitalist menace.3 Soviet people were exhorted in numerous editorials strengthen national economy by further feats production and to make concern for Soviet armed forces their “sacred duty”.
Half page Pravda cartoon with verses by Marshak shows Churchill, De Gaulle, Uncle Sam, Hearst, Franco, Turk and Greek in provocative poses behind “optical illusions of democracy”: Churchill waving firebrand, De Gaulle supported by capitalists, Uncle Sam with pockets full of atom bombs strangling chained negro on whose back he rides, Hearst shooting ink gun, Franco standing armed on sack of pounds sterling and Turk and X–ite4 Greek with bomb kneeling on sacks of dollars. Uncle Sam’s verse reads in part: “He calls himself a Democrat (Democratom), but reader don’t forget, leave only ‘atom’ in the word, and cross out the rest!”.
Ilya Ehrenburg5 in half page Pravda article, “Law of Nature”, launches most virulent attack yet to appear in Soviet press on new American policy. Ehrenburg directly associates President’s speech with Churchill’s at Fulton,6 adding: “before Fulton and Washington there were Piazza Venezia balcony and Berlin Stadium”. He states that while Monroe Doctrine was formerly directed against European intervention in American affairs, President’s interpretation is no European intervention in European affairs. Likening Americans to hypocrites carrying “bomb in one pocket and Easter egg in other”, he cites [Page 558] Lippman on American hypocrisy which makes US hide strategic plans for campaign against USSR behind talk of defending democracy in Greece and Turkey.
Numerous editorials call upon country to gird itself for further exploits in field of production. Pravda editorial “forward to complete victory Communism in our country”, proclaims that “only people freed from chains of capitalist servitude” and “only Soviet Socialist system of economy free from incurable illnesses of capitalism” can carry out such productive feats as Soviet people. It concludes with Stalin’s familiar warning, likewise featured last year:7 “We must not for minute forget intrigues of international reaction, which is nurturing plans for new war. It is necessary remember instructions of Great Lenin that while turning to peaceful labor it is necessary constantly be on alert and guard like apple our eye armed forces, and defensive capacity our country.”
Department please repeat Paris as Moscow’s 188.
- Nikolay Alexandrovich Bulganin, Marshal of the Soviet Union, Minister of Armed Forces from March 1947.↩
- Semen Mikhailovich Budyenny, Marshal of the Soviet Union, member, of the Central Committee of the Communist Party, and Deputy Minister of Agriculture.↩
- In commenting upon the slogans which had been devised for May Day, Ambassador Smith stated in telegram 1565 from Moscow on April 26, 1 p. m., not printed, that this year’s slogans followed very closely those of the year before. Some “significant changes lie in more alarmist tone of new appeal for campaign against aggressive imperialism, ‘false democrats’ and inciters to new war, and in substitution of phrase ‘cooperation of peoples’ for that of ‘cooperation of peace-loving states’.” (800.00B International Red Day/4–2647)↩
- A royalist terrorist organization in Greece.↩
- Ilya Grigoryevich Ehrenburg was a prominent literary writer and journalist in the Soviet Union.↩
- Concerning the reaction to Mr. Churchill’s “iron curtain” speech delivered in Fulton, Missouri, on March 5, 1946, see telegrams 751 from Moscow on March 11, and 809 from Moscow on March 14, 1946, Foreign Relations, 1946, vol. vi, p. 712 and p. 716.↩
- For comments on Stalin’s Order of the Day for May 1, 1946, see telegram 1401 from Moscow on May 2, Foreign Relations, 1946, vol. vi, p. 750.↩