Conversation with A.M. Lavrov, 12 June 1941

Conversation with A.M. Lavrov, 12 June 1941
Source: Tom 18

Source: marxists.org, Volume 15

Lavrov (Colonel-General. Was in charge of personal intelligence and counterintelligence under Stalin. -- Ed.): The concentration of Hitler's troops and their allies on our western borders has essentially been completed, Comrade Stalin. Starting from the end of July 1940, by the present time the German General Staff has managed to concentrate on our western borders an enormous invasion army -- 190 divisions (including 45 tank and motorized divisions). Of these, 152 divisions are German (out of the 224 divisions Germany has by the summer of 1941), 18 Finnish, 18 Romanian, and 2 Hungarian. The total strength is approximately 5.5 million men.

In Japan, internal political and economic difficulties are mounting, which they will most likely attempt to resolve by organizing new military adventures. What especially irritates the most belligerent among them is that the Japanese armed forces have still failed to capture China and suffered a humiliating defeat in the undeclared war against the Soviet Union in the Lake Khasan area and at Khalkhin-Gol.

In the ruling circles of Japan, two factions are now struggling against each other. While the political figures behind whom stand the Japanese zaibatsu concerns of Mitsui, Mitsubishi, and Sumitomo advocate a more or less realistic, cautious course in foreign policy, influential Japanese politicians relying on military-fascist circles, behind whom stand the Japanese concerns of Ayukawa, Kuhara, and others, criticize the Japanese government for a "sluggish," inactive foreign policy and demand that the struggle for world domination begin. The main dispute is over the question of who should be attacked first: whether to attack the Soviet Union or the USA and England (defeated France is no longer taken into consideration), in order to seize their colonies in the region of the warm seas. The bellicose samurai, convinced that Hitler's ideas are worthy of emulation, declare: let us carry out the behest of the mythical founder of the Japanese nation, Yamato -- cover the world with a single roof and make it our home. The first step in this direction will be the construction of a new East Asia. They propose, exploiting the ongoing Second World War, to carry out great-power plans and create a mighty Japanese East Asian empire.

The Hitlerites hope that after their attack on us this summer, they will succeed in dragging Japan into the war against the Soviet Union and that Japan will strike at our rear, thereby substantially assisting their offensive deep into Russia.

In trying to push Japan toward war with the USSR, the Hitlerites assure the samurai that the Soviet Far East will be an exceptionally easy prize for them, since all our main armed forces will be engaged on the Soviet-German front. The Hitlerites assure the Japanese that from the territory of the USSR they need only the European part and the Transcaucasus. Everything east of the Urals should belong to Japan. The Hitlerites are greatly encouraged in this regard by the statement of Matsuoka, which he made on September 16, 1940, at a session of the Research Committee of Japan's Privy Council. At that time Matsuoka said that in the event of a Soviet-German war, despite the non-aggression pact concluded with the USSR, Japan should fight on Germany's side. And if a Russo-Japanese war begins, Germany in turn will render assistance to Japan.

However, most likely, Japan's expansion will be directed toward the region of the Southern Seas, by which is meant all territories east of Burma. The main target of attack will be Indochina, which occupies an important strategic position in Southeast Asia. After its occupation, they plan to seize Hong Kong, Burma, Thailand, the Philippines, Cambodia, Indonesia, New Guinea, British Borneo, Singapore, and Malaya, seizing the deposits of gold, oil, tin, tungsten, copper, rubber, iron ore, chromium, and manganese that Japan so badly lacks.

The Japanese, in the coming struggle for world domination, hope to use Germany and Italy in their interests. At a secret meeting on July 12, 1940, of representatives of the army, navy, and Ministry of Foreign Affairs, at which a preliminary plan entitled "Strengthening Harmony between Japan, Germany, and Italy" was considered, the following decision was adopted:

"Japan will not enter the war at this time, even if Germany demands it."

By and large, Japan's ruling circles, who received a good lesson in the Lake Khasan and Khalkhin-Gol areas, have a far more sober assessment of the might of the Soviet Union and the Red Army and Navy than do their German allies under the Tripartite Pact, concluded between Germany, Italy, and Japan on September 27, 1940.

Interesting in this regard is the statement of the former War Minister of Japan, Hata, who, speaking in parliament, declared: "The losses suffered are truly a tremendous lesson for our army ... The blood shed on the fields of Nomonhan [Khalkhin-Gol] will by no means remain blood spilled in vain."

At the end of September 1940, there was a session of Japan's Privy Council, at which the emperor presided. Speaking at this meeting, the Foreign Minister of Japan, Matsuoka -- who, as I have already reported to you, upon returning from Moscow to Tokyo told his deputy Osaki regarding the neutrality pact concluded with the Soviet Union: "The axis of Japanese diplomacy is the Three-Power Pact. All other agreements retain their validity only insofar as they do not contradict it. Consequently, if war begins between Germany and the USSR, Japan will not be bound by the Japanese-Soviet neutrality pact" -- at this meeting insistently proposed supporting Germany in the event of its attack on the Soviet Union and entering the war on its side.

Stalin: Does it not seem to you that Matsuoka makes a rather strange impression? For some reason, when assuring an interlocutor of something, he ceaselessly slaps himself on the stomach.

Lavrov: Matsuoka is completely normal, Comrade Stalin, and if he suffers from anything, it is only tuberculosis. His indeed strange, to us, stomach-slapping is caused by the fact that while according to Russian belief the soul resides in the chest, near the heart, according to Japanese belief the soul resides in the stomach. Therefore, while we, when assuring someone of what we have said, place our hand on our chest, the samurai in such cases slap themselves on the stomach.

Stalin: So when a samurai commits hara-kiri, slicing open his stomach, he releases his sinful soul to freedom! Continue.

Lavrov: As for Matsuoka's rabidly anti-Soviet position, there is no secret in his behavior: this ideologist of Japanese expansion, through his past activities in Manchuria, is closely connected with the so-called new, "young" Japanese concerns, which demand that an offensive against the Soviet Union be organized.

It should be noted that the majority of members of Japan's Privy Council do not share this view. They do not trust Hitler. During the discussion of Matsuoka's proposal, the Vice-Chairman of the Research Committee at Japan's Privy Council (strategic intelligence), the principal reporter at this meeting, Suzuki, said: "Not a single state has ever derived benefit from an alliance with Germany or its predecessor, Prussia. And not only that: there are countries which, because of their alliance with Germany, not only suffered unforeseen calamities but ultimately lost even their national independence. Chancellor Bismarck once said that in an international alliance one must be the rider and the other the donkey, and that Germany must always be the rider. Hitler takes account of all manner of treaties even less than Bismarck did, and without hesitation tears up any agreement that becomes disadvantageous for him. Hitler's true intentions cannot be determined, for it was none other than he who expressed in the circle of his associates the thought that Japan must not be allowed to become strong. We can in no way believe that Nazi Germany, led by Hitler, can remain a devoted friend of Japan for any length of time. One must constantly bear in mind that Germany is by its nature such as to suck the blood of others, and we must pay serious attention to ensuring that Germany does not become the sole rider."

Suzuki was supported by the head of Japanese intelligence. He informed those present that, according to agent reports from Germany, at one of Hitler's daily mealtime conversations, in response to the outraged and bewildered question of the Hitler Youth leader Baldur von Schirach: "What, my Fuhrer, you are giving the entire Far East in the event of our victory over Russia to those subhumans, those Japanese monkeys?" -- Hitler replied: "You are always in a hurry, Baldur; wait, let us deal with Russia first, and the monkeys' turn will come too."

The head of the Naval Staff, Prince Fushimi, who was distinguished by enviable wit, had already on August 10, 1940, advised the emperor not to rush into entering the war since Japan was not yet ready for it. After this statement by the head of Japanese intelligence, amid general laughter of those present, he said with biting sarcasm: "We received our elementary education at Khasan, our secondary education at Khalkhin-Gol; as Asiatic people, we can wait to receive our higher education -- let Hitler get it."

Japanese intelligence knows that Hitler in his turn dreams of Germany seizing the principal regions of Southeast Asia and the Southern Seas area.

Stalin: So our hopes regarding inter-imperialist contradictions are being justified. Continue.

Lavrov: After the head of Japanese intelligence expressed the conviction that the clearly brewing war between Hitler and the USSR would be neither a blitzkrieg nor an easy one for Germany, the Chief of the General Staff, Sugiyama, explained that the leadership of the Japanese armed forces, by a "favorable moment," means a reduction of Soviet forces in the Far East by at least half. Only then, having waited for Hitler to take Moscow, would Japan enter the war and advance at least to Irkutsk, though the main goal ideally is to reach the Urals.

Thus, the Japanese samurai, in their military plans, hope that while Germany is fighting against the Soviet Union -- and this war, in their conviction, will be neither a blitzkrieg nor easy -- they will have time in the meantime to advance successfully into the southern part of Indochina and use its territory as a springboard for seizing the Southern Seas area, then seize all of Asia and fight their way to Indian oil. Having seized the world's raw material resources and strengthened their armed forces to the necessary dimensions after that, they would dictate their will to the world, including their ally under the Tripartite Pact, fascist Germany, which, even if it does achieve victory over us, it would be a Pyrrhic victory, as a result of which Hitlerite Germany would be on its last legs. It is no accident that as early as July 19, 1940, the German ambassador to Japan, General Ott, reported to Berlin that he did not trust the Japanese Premier Yonai.

On June 3 and 4, 1941, at Hitler's residence, there was a conversation between the Japanese ambassador to Germany, Oshima, and Hitler and Ribbentrop. They informed the Japanese ambassador, for transmission to the government of Imperial Japan, that Germany's war against the Soviet Union was inevitable and that this was a settled matter.

In his report to Tokyo about this meeting, Oshima wrote: "As for the timing of the beginning of the German-Soviet war, neither of them [Hitler and Ribbentrop] made any statement on this matter; however, judging by Hitler's actions in the past, one may assume that it will come in the very near future."

In Japan, a plan for attacking the Soviet Union has been developed, code-named "Kan-To-Ku-En" (Special Maneuvers of the Kwantung Army). Mobilization in Japan has been fully completed. Vessels with a total tonnage of 800,000 tons have also been mobilized. Japanese vessels loaded with troops, weapons, and equipment are arriving at the ports of Korea, Manchuria, and the Kuril Islands, which they plan to use as bridgeheads for an attack on our Far East.

Many Japanese ships with soldiers are arriving at the Kuril Islands. Apparently it was not for nothing that in 1905, taking advantage of the weakness of the tsarist government, the Japanese seized these islands from Russia.

Stalin: Their own lands, you say? Where did you get the idea that the Kuril Islands are historical Japanese territory? No, these are historical Russian lands, discovered and described by Russian seafarers and explorers as early as the seventeenth century. The Kuril Islands were first discovered and described in 1679 by the well-known Russian explorer of the Far East, Atlasov, and this work was completed by the Russian seafarers and explorers Antsiferov and Kozyrevsky in 1711, Luzhin in 1721, Golovin in 1811, and Kruzenshtern in 1805. It is not by accident that in 1745 the Kuril Islands were placed under Russian names on the "General Map of the Russian Empire" and designated in the "Academic Atlas" also under Russian names. You should know the history of your Motherland, dear General.

The Kuril Islands are a very important bridgehead for the Japanese, should they contemplate attacking us again. Moreover, encircling the Soviet Far East with a powerful chain, in the event of a military conflict with Japan, they reliably block our access to the Pacific Ocean. What else do you consider it necessary to report to me about the Japanese?

Lavrov: At our Far Eastern borders, Japan maintains in full combat readiness the numerous Kwantung Army -- Japan's best strike force, which awaited only the order to move. The commander of the Kwantung Army, General Umezu, the most fervent advocate among the samurai of a Japanese attack on the USSR, on April 26, 1941, held a meeting with his subordinate commanders.

The report was delivered by the Chief of Staff of the Kwantung Army, General Kimura Heitaro. Having informed those present that the troops of fascist Germany were concentrating on the Soviet-German border, he warned that, despite the conclusion of the neutrality pact, "our army must not permit the slightest weakening in its preparations for military operations. No changes are being introduced into the army's previous directives."

The Japanese are preparing, in the event of an attack on the Soviet Union, to employ bacteriological weapons: to spread epidemics of plague, cholera, and other infectious and extremely dangerous diseases in our country.

In Manchuria, in the Harbin area, two secret Japanese units -- No. 100 and No. 731 -- are operating, which are in reality experimental laboratories for the production and testing of bacteriological weapons.

At their disposal are testing grounds, airfields, and aircraft from which, using special devices, plague-infected fleas are dispersed over enemy territory.

During the experiments, the effect of the bacteria is studied on humans, mainly on Chinese partisans captured by the Japanese occupiers and held in the prison at Unit 731.

Seventy kilograms of typhoid bacteria and 50 kilograms of cholera bacteria have already been delivered by the Japanese to Central China.

Personnel of Unit 731, commanded by Japanese General Ishii Shiro, in the area of the Chinese city of Ningbo, applied Japanese bacteriological weapons in practice. After plague-infected fleas were dispersed from an aircraft, a plague epidemic broke out in this area, costing the lives of tens of thousands of people.

A film about the use of bacteriological weapons in the Ningbo area has been shown to the highest Japanese command.

Stalin: What specifically does the Kwantung Army consist of now?

Lavrov: Its ranks number about 1,100,000 men, which constitutes 35% of the entire Japanese army, about half of its air forces, and two-thirds of its tanks. In addition, in China there are 28 Japanese infantry divisions, 15 infantry brigades, 2 cavalry brigades, 4 artillery brigades, 3 artillery regiments, 4 mountain artillery regiments, 2 anti-aircraft regiments, 1 anti-aircraft detachment, 1 mortar regiment, 6 tank regiments, 4 tank battalions, 5 railroad regiments, 1 motorized-mechanized brigade, 8 machine-gun battalions, and 6 independent battalions. These forces total 1,015,000 men. They have in their armament 3,262 artillery pieces, 942 tanks and armored vehicles, and 1,080 aircraft. In the event of a Japanese attack on us, these units could easily be transferred to assist the Kwantung Army.

Stalin: Hardly. Japan is deeply bogged down in China, and as far as I know, it has no intention of giving up the conquest. Although the possibility of reinforcing the Kwantung Army at the expense of Japanese troops in China should be taken into account. What is your general opinion of the Japanese as soldiers?

Lavrov: The Japanese have a very good noncommissioned officer corps. The middle and senior command staff are considerably weaker. Japanese officers and generals are seriously hampered by excessive self-confidence. The so-called "samurai spirit" has cultivated in them, as in the Germans, a belief in their own exceptionalism -- hence a very dangerous underestimation of the enemy, which, as is well known, always leads to defeat in battle and to destruction.

Many Japanese officers and generals seriously believe that they, like the Japanese people in general, are of "divine" origin. That the Japanese, as a people chosen by God, are destined to conquer the entire world and to rule all other peoples, who stand "far below" them in their development.

Stalin: Fairy tales about subhumans again?

Lavrov: There is also a factor that we cannot underestimate. From childhood, the Japanese are instilled with a cult of war. They are convinced that the main purpose of a Japanese man is service in the imperial army and, if necessary, a heroic death on the battlefield for the "divine" Japanese emperor. A great role in this kind of upbringing is played by the Japanese religion -- Shintoism. According to this religious teaching, a soldier who falls in battle for Japan immediately enters paradise and becomes a guardian angel of the empire. In the largest temple in Tokyo, all those killed in combat are inscribed on special "sacred" tablets, after which they are canonized. The main tenet in the training of Japanese soldiers: "Military duty is a mountain; death is lighter than a feather." Flight from the battlefield and surrender are regarded as the very greatest shame and betrayal.

Stalin: And despite all this, judging by the battles at Khasan and Khalkhin-Gol, when they encountered a worthy adversary on the battlefield, the Japanese preferred flight or surrender to death.

Lavrov: That is true, but the Japanese, like the Germans, are incomparably stronger as warriors than the English and Americans, who generally do not know how to die, and who flee from the battlefield far more briskly than the Japanese and Germans.

Stalin: Tradesmen were never distinguished by bravery, for dead men have no need of money. And the English and Americans have no other ideals. When the profit motive dominates everything, it is hard to die, because there is nothing to die for. So they save their skins. In periods of revolutionary events, however -- for example, during Cromwell's time, during the war between the South and the North in the USA -- the English and Americans fought in an entirely different manner. Japan, practically devoid of natural resources and above all oil, is not prepared for a serious prolonged war. Moreover, a campaign against Russia cannot quickly provide it with the oil and raw materials so essential for the struggle for world domination. Japan can obtain them most easily in the Southern Seas area. This is the main thing in our relations with Japan. Furthermore, Japan is indeed bogged down in the war in China, and its capital, in the event of war with the USSR, is easily within reach of our air forces. However, adventurists are adventurists. There is no guarantee that the adventurist course will not prevail in Japan's relations with the Soviet Union.

And so, the main conclusion is this: judging by everything, in the event of a German attack on us, even if there is no open Japanese attack against us, we shall have a second front in the east. Of our 40 divisions, raised in harsh natural conditions and with good combat experience fighting the Japanese, we shall not be able to take a single one for the defense of our western borders. Your main task is to do everything possible and impossible to ensure that in the event of a German attack, Japan does not openly attack us in the east. Intensify the activities of your agents in this direction. Spare no expense. Funds have been prepared for this. But remember that this is the people's property; spend it economically. What about Turkey?

Lavrov: It is not excluded that Turkey is preparing to attack us together with Germany. The Turkish government has officially permitted the publication in the country of pan-Turkist, pro-fascist journals: "Bozkurt" (Grey Wolf) and "Chinar Alti" (Under the Plane Tree). These journals, as well as certain Turkish newspapers, openly and persistently call for war with the Soviet Union, declaring that Turkey's border should run far beyond the Caucasus Mountains, beyond the Caspian Sea. That the Volga is a river in which Turks have watered their horses for centuries. Maps of "Greater Turkey" are openly distributed in Turkey, which include our Transcaucasus and the Central Asian Soviet republics. The Prime Minister of the Turkish government, Saracoglu, in conversations with German diplomats openly declares: "As a Turk, I passionately desire the destruction of Russia. The Russian problem can be solved by Germany only if at least half of all Russians living in Russia are killed."

The Turkish offensive against the Soviet Union is planned to begin through the Iranian Plateau in the direction of Baku.

Stalin: So you are certain that the Turks will come out on Hitler's side?

Lavrov: Anything is possible, but most likely they will not venture an open attack. In Turkey's ruling circles, Hitler is feared no less than in Japan. Moreover, the pro-English influence is very strong in that country, and Germany, as is known, is at war with England. It will not be easy for Saracoglu to carry out his plans to render open assistance to Germany, should it nevertheless decide to attack us. Most likely the Turks will keep us in a state of tension on the Soviet-Turkish border.

Stalin: So we need another forty divisions, now on the southern front -- that makes three fronts already. Frankly speaking, that is rather a lot ... What about Romania and Finland?

Lavrov: The Hitlerites hope to use Finland and Romania to cover the flanks of their troops in the event of war against the USSR. Hitler has already agreed with Antonescu on a joint attack; Antonescu has promised to come out on Germany's side as soon as German troops invade the Soviet Union. Boastfully declaring that for 400 years Romania had been the forward bastion of Europe, supposedly containing the onslaught of the Slavs and Turks, he promised Hitler to fully subordinate Romania to the frenzied Fuhrer for the sake of a successful war against the USSR. The main interest in Romania for Germany lies not so much in its armed forces as in the oil fields in that country. As for the ruling circles of Finland, their defeat in the Soviet-Finnish War did not serve as a lesson. They regard the peace treaty concluded with us on March 12, 1940, as a temporary "armistice" and are only waiting for a convenient opportunity to, as they say, settle scores with the Soviet Union.

On August 22, 1940, the Chief of the General Staff of Germany's ground forces, Halder, recorded in his diary: "Change in the Fuhrer's attitude toward Finland. Support with armament and military equipment."

Also in August 1940, Goering's deputy Veltjens visited Finland and obtained permission for the passage through its territory of German troops assembling to occupy Norway. In December 1940, Finnish General Talvela visited Berlin, and then, at the end of January 1941, the Chief of Staff of the Finnish Army, General Heinrichs. A joint German-Finnish plan for an attack on the Soviet Union was being worked out.

Heinrichs informed Halder that in the event of war against Russia, the Finnish side would carry out an offensive along the following axes: along the western shore of Lake Ladoga -- with five divisions; along the eastern shore -- with three divisions; against the Soviet military base on the Hanko Peninsula -- with two divisions. The main task of Finnish troops: to block our forces in the Ladoga area.

In April of this year, Hitler's special envoy, one Schnurre, visited Finland, advising the Finns not to fulfill their obligations under the peace treaty concluded with us. On behalf of Hitler, Schnurre promised the Finnish leaders his help in revising the Soviet-Finnish peace treaty. The Hitlerites are supplying Finland with armaments for its future war against us through the Danish firm "Madsen." Finland's entry into the war against us is planned for 14 days after Plan "Barbarossa" goes into effect.

As of today, there are 40,600 German soldiers in Finland. Hitler promises to satisfy all of Finland's territorial claims against us in the event of his victory.

Stalin: So, a fourth front. Is that all?

Lavrov (handing Stalin a typed text. -- Ed.): Yesterday I received these reports, which once again confirm that Hitler will definitely attack us this summer.

The situation is indeed very alarming. By June 1941, in 208 divisions and units of Germany there are more than 8,500,000 soldiers and officers. We have only 5 million.

Stalin: Well, that is hardly surprising. Germany is a belligerent country in which general mobilization has taken place. Our armed forces are on a peacetime footing.

Lavrov: Then what prevents us from carrying out a general mobilization as a precautionary measure and bringing the number of our troops at least to a level equal to Germany's?

Stalin: Declare mobilization, you say? But that would be tantamount to a declaration of war against Germany on our part. That is precisely what the Anglo-American imperialists dream of -- they are doing everything to push the Soviet Union into a collision with Germany. I think that Churchill's warning in April about German aggression against us pursues the same goal: to force us, in connection with the threat of a German invasion, to carry out a general mobilization and thus become embroiled in a war with Germany. All the more so since there has already been such a precedent in history. In 1914, Russia did not declare war on Germany; it merely declared a general mobilization.

In connection with the concentration of German troops in Poland, I sent a personal letter to Hitler in which I directly pointed out that an impression was being created of his intentions to make war against the USSR. In the reply I received, written in a grandiloquent style, Hitler assures me that he, pledging his honor as a head of state, intends to strictly observe the non-aggression pact concluded with us. As for the redeployment of German troops to Poland, to the east, this, he claims, is necessitated by the fact that the territory of western and central Germany, being clearly visible from the air, is subjected to fierce English bombardment. What a cunning fellow! And do you know, Alexander, in some ways Hitler is amazingly naive. Can he really seriously think that we can be caught by such a primitive ruse? However, this naivete of the Hitlerites is very dangerous. People with such a mentality, underestimating their adversaries, see what they want to see and are capable of any adventurist actions. They do not foresee the consequences, fatal for themselves, of their reckless actions.

What is the latest about the Americans?

Lavrov: As before, they are dreaming of dragging us into a war with Japan while remaining on the sidelines themselves. In Washington, the rise to power in Tokyo of the gendarme general Tojo -- a rabid anti-Soviet figure and fascist -- is directly linked to preparations for an imminent Japanese attack on us. This conviction is fully shared by the American armed forces command: General Marshall, Admiral Stark, Generals Bryden, Arnold, Gerow, Admirals Ingersoll and Towers, Commander of the American Pacific Fleet Admiral Kimmel, and Chief of American Military Intelligence General Miles. Hence the remarkable complacency regarding a possible surprise Japanese attack on the USA. More than astonishing is the fact that, having received information about a Japanese attack being prepared against Pearl Harbor, the persons on whom the defense of the USA depends treat this information with more than indifference, considering it yet another piece of disinformation.

The leaders of American intelligence even assert that this kind of information is inspired by the Soviet Union, which has an interest in the USA entering a war with Russia's age-old enemy -- Japan.

Stalin: Truly, each person sees what he wants to see. And do the Americans not suppose that the Japanese, before attacking us, might attack the USA? And do you know, in the event of an attack on us by Germany and Japan, the Americans and English will become our allies against their will. We should be prepared for such a turn of events. They simply have no other option. Therefore they will certainly try to deal with Germany and Japan using our hands. Otherwise they will not survive.

Lavrov: But should we pull chestnuts out of the fire for them, saving the USA and England? Would it not be better to let Germany and Japan deal with them -- there would be two fewer of the world's worst enemies for us?

Stalin: Let them be dealt with, you say? Unfortunately, this cannot be permitted, although it would be a fitting retribution for all their intrigues against us. If Hitler and the Japanese seize the resources of such economically powerful countries as the USA and the British Empire, things will go badly for us. All the more so since fascist Germany and imperialist Japan will sooner or later inevitably attack us. Therefore it is better if this happens at a moment when objective inter-imperialist contradictions do not allow world imperialism to unite and march against us in a single front, as was the case during the intervention years in the 1920s. And the fact that the English and American governments hate Russia has been known for a long time. They are interested only in themselves, in their own fate, in their own well-being.

But these master intriguers will not succeed in making cannon fodder out of us for their interests. As for England and the USA being an unreliable ally for us, you are of course right. But then, we are no fools either. I hope you do not think that these self-assured and self-infatuated politicians could deceive people like you and me? All the more so since we know practically about their every step. You brought the memorandum I asked you for? ...

Information about the plans of the American and English governments must continue to reach us regularly. One of the most important current tasks of our strategic intelligence in England and the USA is to create a favorable atmosphere toward our country in the ruling circles of those countries. Despite their hostility toward our country, England and the USA will help us in this war. For if Hitler and the Japanese defeat us, they too will be in serious trouble.

(From the book: Zhukhrai V. Stalin: Truth and Lies. Pp. 77-104.)