IS CHANGE IN SOVIET TACTICS FORESHADOWED?

Chronicle (Levin), 29 January 1949, Page 5

IS CHANGE IN SOVIET TACTICS FORESHADOWED?

(N.Z.PJL.

—Reuiet.

Sudden Withdrawal Of T ypical Diatribe

, covvright)

Received Saturday, 12.56 a.m. * ' LONDON, January 28. An apparent cliange of Soviet tactics — though not of uitimate policy — towards the AVest is detected by some observers iil th6 .sudden withdrawal of a speeeh which Colonel Tulpanov, head of ihe Soviet -Zone's information division, made at the opening of the ( '(iininiiiiisf-doininated Socialist United Party Conference^ in>Berlill uii January. 25. . The Times' Berlin eorrespondent says TulpanOv's speeeh was in tlie strain which Sovie;t propaganda has fnade inereasingly faniiliar in the past eighteen months — he bittehly attackfed AilgloAmerican policy and assnred the conferenee of the ''fu.ll support" of ihe Soviet peoples in their "honourable tight." The speeeh was issued by the Kussian-eontrolled newsageney and was broadeast 1 lirougho'ut* the day by the Russian-controlled radid. An instrnetion that the speeeh was to be witlidrawn eame when ihe edition of the Berliner Zeitung eontaining it-had gone to. press niid the edilion had to be stopped. No RUssian-controlled newsj)a per rel'errcd to the speeeh next da.y, not' was it even mentioned that Tulpanov was present at the confereiiee. The order for tlie snppression of tlie. Speeeh is understood to liave oome from the Minister Semenov, Who is Marsliall Sokolovsky's politieal adviser. after a telephone conversation with Moseow. Souieiiov is repnted to favour a less anti-AVestern policy at the tooiiient than Tulpanov swho, it is assumed, wilT now be foxmd a new post. There is no reason to suppose that what Tulpanov said was or is disap])roved by Stalin, Molotov, Sokolovsky, btit persons in 1 oueli with the Russian authorities have noted reeently a ehange of lemper. Not long ago the talk was about the coming war. That has now died down. Expectation is now eentred on the gesture of reeoiieil iat ion from President Truman which niight be facilitated by a moderat ion of anti-American propaganda. Whether or not the Tulpanov episode is part of a ehange of ladics should soon become evident.