Rouble Nationalization – the Way to Russia’s Freedom. Nikolay Starikov
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from another country or 'world peace'? There can be only one honest answer: the head of state is obliged to use all possibilities to avoid aggression against their country. And this is a duty of every head of state.
So, what country should have Joseph Stalin thought of and cared for: the USSR, Poland or another country?
It was the USSR, and the USSR alone, that Stalin had to protect against aggression. The fate of Poland, which was an overtly anti-Russian state and before April 1939 was even planning to join Germany in a war against Russia, was not his concern. This country had its own government to worry about its fate. And this government believed the promises of England and France and did everything it could to make the war between Germany and Poland happen.[100]
The non-aggression pact between Germany and the USSR was a brilliant manoeuvre performed by Russian diplomats who thus managed to ruin the game of the Anglo-Saxons completely and avoid an offensive operation against the Soviet Union. The fact that Hitler did later attack Russia is not due to an error or a mistake made by the Soviet government but an irrational, unpredictable and fundamentally stupid act on the part of the Fuhrer.[101] A war pursued by our country on two fronts against Japan and Germany, as was planned in London, never happened at all. Stalin managed to change the future scenario drawn up by the Anglo-Saxons and not become the first to fight and, consequently, to bleed. This is the main reason why the treaty signed by Molotov and Ribbentrop became the most hated diplomatic document in Western historiography.
Since we are on the subject, let us dispel a couple of the nastiest myths about this treaty.
Myth One: signing a treaty with Hitler's Germany was something out of the ordinary. This is not true. Pacts, or treaties with Hitier, by August 1939 had been executed by England, France, Estonia and Latvia. The list can be continued. And the first country to do it was, in fact, Poland. In 1934 she signed a non-aggression treaty with the German Chancellor, Adolf Hitler. So, while Poland was the first to sign such a treaty, the USSR is the last one on the list. Therefore, there was nothing special in signing a treaty with Germany. In 1939 it was a nation recognised by the global community and at its head was one of its leading politicians. By conclusion,the USSR had the full moral and judicial right to sign a non-aggression treaty with Germany.
Myth Two: there were 'secret protocols' to the treaty signed between Moscow and Berlin. Firstly, having secret articles or secret treaties is a common diplomatic practice of any era. They have been signed by lawful monarchs and presidents and not only by villains and dictators. For example, the treaty between Russia and France of 1894 signed by Emperor Alexander III and the French president was completely secret. Russian tsars and French presidents knew its contents but the French Parliament was not familiar with its articles. The agreement of 1905 between the USA and Japan was just as secret. The two countries divided spheres of influence in Asia based on the results of the Russo-Japanese war. Japan abandoned its aggressive intentions concerning the Philippines, while the States recognised the right of the Japanese to append Korea.[102]
Secondly, it was not only Russia and Germany but also other countries that had secret protocols within their treaties in 1939. For example, the guarantees given to Poland by Britain in April that year were also accompanied by a secret protocol.[103] German treaties with Estonia and Lithuania also contained a secret article. According to this article, the Baltic states were 'to take all military security measures against Soviet Russia as agreed with Germany and in compliance with its advice'.[104]
Thirdly, there is still no convincing evidence that the secret protocols within the non-aggression pact with Germany existed at all. The USSR recognised that they had existed at the Second Congress of People's Deputies[105] after a report made by a commission headed by the foreman of perestroika, Alexander Yakovlev. The thing is that neither in Russian archives nor anywhere abroad can one find the originals of these notorious secret protocols;[106] only copies of copies' were presented. But Gorbachev and his subordinates had already taken a firm tack in the direction of destroying the country. Destroying the country's history blackening and rigging its past are major elements of destroying a country. Therefore, it is hardly surprising that despite lacking the originals, the commission found it 'possible to admit that the secret protocol of 23rd August, 1939 had existed'.[107]
The conclusion is that the very existence of the protocols has not been proved. But even if they had indeed been signed, this was a regular political and diplomatic phenomenon.
The Soviet Union is not to blame for starting the Second World War. If we wanted to blame someone, that would be the Government of Germany, as well as the British and US governments that had been investing enormous amounts of money in German industry for six years. Here we should make a little remark. Adolf Hitler was put in charge of Germany by London and Washington: in other words, by the owners of the 'printing machine'.[108] His task was to start a war against the USSR and to conquer vast territories and vast treasuries full of natural resources as well as to eliminate a dangerous alternative plan of economic development. For this Germany was promised to be made an equal partner of the Anglo-Saxons at the global table. To enable Hitler to fulfil this task, enormous amounts of money were invested in Germany and she was supplied with the latest industrial equipment. The West was afraid and did not notice the militarisation of Germany, which in just six years (1933-1939) created an army from scratch and equipped it with latest systems. Austria and the Czech Republic were surrendered to Hitler to create a big army, and these two countries would provide millions of conscripts and the huge Czech Skoda military plant.[109] Even Poland was Hitler's loyal ally and was preparing a joint attack against Russia.
And when the time had come to realise the plans, Hitler started his game. Instead of building up a conflict with the USSR around the Ukraine, he resolved it.[110] The situation was as follows: having acquired everything he could have possibly acquired from the West, Hitler deviated from the prepared scenario, according to which a war was bound to begin in 1939. It was not without reason that the American magazine Time called Hitler 'Man of the Year' in 1938.
Then London decided to alter the strategy slightly. The English knew perfectly well that Hitler was going to attack Poland. And they were not trying to prevent this attack. The idea was different: having defeated the Polish, the German army would have turned up at the Soviet borders. The tensions between the two countries and the mutual propaganda between the communists and the Nazis were to guarantee that a war between the USSR and Germany would definitely break out. To make it work out it was necessary to:
● promise support to Poland, so that it becomes uncompromising, and never provide any;
● promise Hitler that there would be no support for Poland and he would be 'granted a pardon if he starts a war against the Russians;
● play games with the Russians and linger with negotiations until Germany attacks Poland.
These are the three points on which English diplomacy placed emphasis throughout spring and summer 1939. There was also a fourth task: to keep an eye on the Russians and Germans to prevent them from making any deals. Therefore, each time Berlin and Moscow resumed their relations, the British immediately became more active…
And now let us move on to the story of the signing of the non-aggression pact itself between Germany and the USSR. There are some fascinating details that do not get spoken about aloud very often, if at all. These tiny details can tell us much more about that period and its tensions than numerous thick books. To begin with, I will give you an irrefutable historical fact: it was not Stalin but Hitler who initiated the warm-up of German-Soviet relations. As early as 22nd December, 1938 the trade mission of the USSR in Berlin received a proposition to draw up an agreement. After some probing and 'exchange of opinions', contact ceased.
Not only were the Polish not preparing to protect themselves against Hitler but they were actually planning an attack themselves. But all their fortifications were on the Russian border, not German. For more information on what the Polish government did to ruin their own country see:
In my next book, if I have enough time and am in sufficient health, I will write about the reasons for the tragedy that happened on 22nd June, 1941.
Ibid. P. 212.
Ibid. P. 91.
The Second Congress of People's Deputies of the USSR was held on 12-24 December, 1989.
Ibid. P. 115.
I dedicated another book, 'Who Forced Hitler to Attack Stalin?' (St. Petersburg: Piter, 2010), to detailed demonstration of this statement. It is impossible to give all arguments within this book. Therefore, we will confine ourselves to a brief listing.
According to Churchill, they produced as many weapons as the whole British Empire altogether.
The war between Russia and Germany was to break out on the grounds of Transcarpathian Ukraine. This region was once a part of Austria-Hungary, then Czechoslovakia and then Slovakia. Hitler was going to annexe it as a part of the Reich, and that would have served as an excuse for a war. Both the USSR and Germany had parts of the Ukraine. Instead, the Führer gave the Transcarpathian region to the Hungarians in March 1939. And immediately the West decided to punish him, and Poland forgot about its friendship with the Reich. Within literally 24 hours.