8 ANDREI ZHDANOV

“Soviet Policy and World Politics”

The end of World War II brought with it big metropolitan countries can no longer govern the
changes in the world situation. The military colonies on the old lines….
defeat of the bloc of fascist states, the character Of all the capitalist powers, only one—the
of the war of liberation from fascism, and the United States—emerged from the war not only
decisive role played by the Soviet Union in the unweakened, but even considerably stronger
vanquishing of the fascist aggressors sharply economically and militarily. The war greatly
altered the alignment of forces between the two enriched the American capitalists…. But the end
systems—the socialist and the capitalist—in favor of the war confronted the United States with a
of socialism. number of new problems. The capitalist
What is the essential nature of these changes? monopolies were anxious to maintain their
The principal outcome of World War II was profits at the former high level, and accordingly
the military defeat of Germany and Japan—the pressed hard to prevent a reduction of the
two most militaristic and aggressive of the wartime volume of deliveries. But this meant that
capitalist countries…. the USA must retain the foreign markets which
[Second], the war immensely enhanced the had absorbed American products during the war,
international significance and prestige of the and moreover, acquire new markets, inasmuch
USSR…. as the war had substantially lowered the
[Third], the capitalist world has also purchasing power of most of the countries [to
undergone a substantial change. Of the six do this]…the United States proclaimed a new
so-called great imperialist powers (Germany, frankly predatory and expansionist course. The
Japan, Great Britain, the USA, France, and purpose of this new, frankly expansionist course
Italy), three have been eliminated by military is to establish the world supremacy of American
defeat. France has also been weakened and imperialism….
has lost its significance as a great power. As The fundamental changes caused by the war
a result, only two great imperialist world on the international scene and in the position of
powers remain—the United States and Great individual countries have entirely changed the
Britain. But the position of one of them, political landscape of the world. A new alignment
Great Britain, has been undermined. The of political forces has arisen. The more the war
war revealed that militarily and politically recedes into the past, the more distinct become
British imperialism was not so strong as it two major trends in postwar international policy,
had been…. corresponding to the division of the political
[Fourth], World War II aggravated the crisis forces operating on the international arena into
of the colonial system, as expressed in the rise of two major camps; the imperialist and anti-
a powerful movement for national liberation in democratic camp, on the one hand, and the anti-
the colonies and dependencies. This has placed imperialist and democratic camp, on the other.
the rear of the capitalist system in jeopardy. The The principal driving force of the imperialist
peoples of the colonies no longer wish to live in camp is the USA. Allied with it are Great Britain
the old way. The ruling classes of the and France…. The cardinal purpose of the

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imperialist camp is to strengthen imperialism, to Europe into bondage to American capital. The
hatch a new imperialist war, to combat socialism more drastic the economic situation of a country
and democracy, and to support reactionary and is, the harsher are the terms which the American
anti-democratic profascist regimes and monopolies endeavor to dictate to it….
movements everywhere. Lastly, the aspiration to world supremacy and
The anti-fascist forces comprise the second the anti-democratic policy of the United States
camp. This camp is based on the USSR and the involve an ideological struggle. The principal
new democracies. It also includes countries that purpose of the ideological part of the American
have broken with imperialism and have firmly strategical plan is to deceive public opinion by
set foot on the path of democratic development, slanderously accusing the Soviet Union and the
such as Rumania, Hungary, and Finland…. new democracies of aggressive intentions, and
Soviet foreign policy proceeds from the fact thus representing the Anglo-Saxon bloc in a
of the coexistence for a long period of the two defensive role, and absolving it of responsibility
systems—capitalism and socialism. From this it for preparing a new war….
follows that cooperation between the USSR and The unfavorable reception which the Truman
countries with other systems is possible, provided doctrine was met with accounts for the necessity
that the principle of reciprocity is observed and of the appearance of the Marshall Plan which is
that obligations once assumed are honored. a more carefully veiled attempt to carry through
Everyone knows that the USSR has always the same expansionist policy. The vague and
honored the obligations it has assumed. Britain deliberately guarded formulations of the
and America are pursing the very opposite policy Marshall Plan amount in essence to a scheme to
in the United Nations. They are doing everything create a bloc of states bound by obligations to
they can to renounce their commitments and to the United States, and to grant American credits
secure a free hand for the prosecution of a new to European countries as recompense for their
policy, a policy which envisages not cooperation renunciation of economic, and then of political,
among the nations, but the hounding of one independence.
against the other, violation of the rights and The dissolution of the Comintern, which
interests of democratic nations, and the isolation conformed to the demands of the development
of the USSR…. of the labor movement in the new historical
The strategical plans of the United States situation, played a positive role. The dissolution
envisage the creation in peacetime of numerous of the Comintern once and for all disposed of
bases and vantage grounds situated at great the slanderous allegation of the enemies of
distances from the American continent and Communism and the labor movement that
designed to be used for aggressive purposes Moscow was interfering in the internal affairs of
against the USSR and the countries of the new other states, and that the Communist Parties in
democracy…. the various countries were acting not in the
Economic expansion is an important interests of their nations, but on orders from
supplement to the realization of America’s outside….
strategical plan. American imperialism is In the course of the four years that have
endeavoring like a usurer to take advantage of elapsed since the dissolution of the Comintern
the postwar difficulties of the European (1943), the Communist Parties have grown
countries, in particular of the shortage of raw considerably in strength and influence in nearly
materials, fuel, and food in the Allied countries all the countries of Europe and Asia…. But the
that suffered most from the war, to dictate to present position of the Communist Parties has
them extortionate terms for any assistance its shortcomings. Some comrades understood
rendered. With an eye to the impending economic the dissolution of the Comintern to imply the
crisis, the United States is in a hurry to find new elimination of all ties, of all contact, between
monopoly spheres of capital investment and the fraternal Communist Parties. But experience
markets for its goods. American economic has shown that such mutual isolation of the
“assistance” pursues the broad aim of bringing Communist Parties is wrong, harmful and, in
68 ANDREI ZHDANOV

point of fact, unnatural. The Communist be no doubt that if the situation were to continue
movement develops within national it would be fraught with most serious
frameworks, but there are tasks and interests consequences to the development of the work
common to the parties of various countries. We of the fraternal parties. The need for mutual
get a rather curious state of affairs…the consultation and voluntary coordination of
Communists even refrained from meeting one action between individual parties has become
another, let alone consulting with one another particularly urgent at the present junction when
on questions of mutual interest to them, from continued isolation may lead to a slackening of
fear of the slanderous talk of their enemies mutual understanding, and at times, even to
regarding the “hand of Moscow.”… There can serious blunders….