STALIN'S REPLY TO QUESTIONNAIRE

Rotorua Morning Post, Issue 5304, 17 January 1947, Page 2

STALIN'S REPLY TO QUESTIONNAIRE

RUSSIA AND THE WEST ANSWERS REVIEWED BY NOTED CORRESPONDENT In the answers Generalissimo Stalin sent me in reply to the jseries of questions I put to hhn, he coyered much wider ground than in any of his previous letters to eorrespondents, and dwelt on a number of fundamental points of Soviet policy, said Mr. Alexander Werth over the B.B.C. Stalin's statement was obviously addressed both to the publie at home and to the world. It is clear that in Stalin's view certain xnoods and developments had gone rather too far. He must have felt that there was far too much irresponsible talk everywhere in the. world about a new war, which, in some places, was really developing into- a kind of psychosis. In recent weeks, the Soviet press has been reporting an alarming number of what are called "warmongerish speeches," made by various people abroad, and all this created an unquestionable feeling of uneasiness in the country. * Stalin's statement that he did not believe in the real danger of a new war has certainly had an immensely reassuring effect in Russia, for when Stalin* makes a statement on so fundamental a subject, it naturally carries great weight there. The day the statement appeared, people in the streets were talking of nothing else. Closely connected with the first answer was the second one. To the auestion: "Do you believe that Great Britain and the United States are consciously creatinga capitalist encirclement of the Soviet Union?" Stalin's answer showed his eagerness to put the brake on certain tendencies, notably a tendency to take too rigid and doctrinaire a view of the international situation.

No Fear of Encirclement Stalin's reply that he did not think Britain and the United States could effect such a capitalist encirclement — to which he added, even if they wanted to, and he could not assert that they did — knocks on the head the all too rigid attitude expressed by some Soviet writers, suggesting, in fact, a sort of inevitable forced isolation of Russia from the xest of the world. Anyone who has studied Stalin's policy over the period of the last 15 or 20 years knows that he has always called a halt, or put on the brakes, when he thought certain tendencies were being overdone. Stalinism is. indeed, a highly praetical and flexible political philosophy, and one of Stalin's strong points has been never to allow policy to be the slave of doctrine, and this is the theme running through many of his writing? and speeches. In the last six months, there has been, largely under the impression of so-called capitalist encirclement, ? marked ideological drive for greater "socialist consciousness" and "com-. munist consciousness," the tigbteninr of discipline in all fields of life, nol least in literature and the cinema. whose functions as media for educating and inspiring the people were more emphatically stated than cvei before. Cultural Bonds with Britain Zhdanov, speaking recently at ? meeting of writers in Leningrad — where two were pilloried as antiSoviet and subsequently -expellee from the Writers' Union — said: "Oui Soviet order is a hundred times higher and a hundred times bettei than any other order." And Jk called 011 writers to exalt this order For example, there was tendency towards treating with, hostility, or aany rate with the utmost distrust, al" modern Western culture as beinf ideologically alien to Soviet civilisation.

Now, Stalin says there should be r strengtheriing of cultural bonds witl Britain. This means that it is im portant not to lump all Western culture" together as unworthy of stud by Soviet. people. In other words, i is important to distinguish hetweei: th-ings in Western culture that arc good, from the Soviet standpoint, am' those that are had.

One idea runs through practicalb the whole Stalin statement: that Rus sia must not he treated as somethindistinct from the rest of the world Russia has got a different ideology from the West, but Stalin stresscthat there is no reason why then should not be that "friendly compe tition" between the two systems of which Henry Wallace spoke. Further the outside world must stop assum ing Russia wants to force her sys tem on it. Taking a long view of it, Stali >• says communism in one country b possible. Therefore, he say>s b effect, let us stop interfering with each other, and see which of us can do better. Communism as a praetical doctrine would mean, in this context, a primarily internal and eeonomic matter. Transition to Communism Some Russian theorists have estimated that in 20 or 30 years- the present transition from socialism tc communism in Russia will be completed. The difference will be chiefly in the substitution of the present prinfiple of payment by results by the prineiple of payment according to heeds. People will he taught to work in virtue of their duty to the State, with money no Ipnger the incentive, or at any rate, the main ihcentive. Political theorists deny that there will be complete equality even in a communist society. Nor will it he a sort of Utopian country without army | or State maehjnery. All these will /remain until such time in the dim* future when they will no longer be necessary. t It does not, of course, follow from Stalin's enunciation of the possibility of communism in one country that that will -be the ideal and permanently solution. No one: even.slightly familiar with Maxist theory would

e so naive as to .imagine it. But /bo can loolc 100 years or 200 years head nowadays? And as a prin--ple of slightly less long-term policy •; is of the utmost interest. One thought which clearly runs hrough the whole of Stalin's stateuent is that the Soviet Union needs ieace for reconstruction and further 'evelopment. And to the question of /hether she would do this rather in a tate of isolation or while co-operat-ng with the outside world, he said, 'Co-ope-"ating with the outside vorld." Anglo-Soviet Trade What does that mean? In the case f Britain, Stalin was specific. Itrengthen political bonds, commer■ial bonds, trade bonds,.. First, political bonds: clearly what ie means is that Britain and Russia tre two of the most important counries in Europe, and they have many •pecifically Eurooean interests in •ommon which do not, or should not, oncern the United States so directly. "t also means that Socialist Britain ■hould not put all her eggs in the ■apitalist American basket. The mention of commercial rela.ions is interesting in that there has ately been a tendency on both sides ';o suggest that there must not he iny exaggerated hopes of Anglo^oviet trade in' present circumitances. Despite the recent conclulion of an Anglo-Soviet trade agreenent (which, however, aims chiefly it winding up old contracts), and ■-,he visit to Moscow of Sir George Nelson, head of the English Electric Ciompany, and a number of British mgineers, there was little prospect of Russia being- able to export much to Britain in the foreseeable future; or 'ittle prospect that of the large quantities of machinery Russia intends im'jcrting from abroad much. would :ome from Britain. Perhaps Stalin's statement foreihadows an improvement in these prospects — though it is hard to be fcoo precise about it at the moment. I must say, the tone of the Russian press since the Stalin statement has, where activities of those who are now called "warmongering scouts" are concerned, remained about as critical as before.