Foreign Relations of the United States Diplomatic Papers, 1941, General, The Soviet Union, Volume I

861.00 Conferences All Union Communist Party/24: Telegram

The Ambassador in the Soviet Union (Steinhardt) to the Secretary of State

Moscow, February 21, 1941—11 p.m.
[Received February 22—7:20 a.m.]

338. My 337, February 21, 10 p.m.²⁴ The extensive punitive action taken yesterday by the Eighteenth Party Conference was not only of an unusual nature but far reaching insofar as concerns the number of important individuals affected.

In my opinion the demotion within the ranks of the party, and particularly the public rebuke administered to leaders in aviation, munitions, chemical, electrical and other industries constitute further admission of the poor functioning of those industries during the past year, particularly as many of the persons removed from their party offices had already been [deprived] of their executive positions in industry during the course of 1940.

It may be inferred that punishment by [means] of party office demotion or public rebuke has been substituted by the Kremlin for the time being for the former practice of execution or imprisonment of high officials guilty of alleged derelictions. It is also worthy of note that the vacancies in high party office resulting from the measures referred to above have been mainly filled by high ranking military and naval officers and industrial leaders whose party activities have heretofore not been outstanding. The action taken is an extension to the party organization of a tendency heretofore manifested in state administration of selecting for leadership men who have demonstrated their ability in executive, or practical, rather than in strictly political fields.

The conferring of high positions in the All Union Party organization upon the secretaries delegate to Communist parties of all of the occupied territories is of interest.

The terms of the resolution reemphasized the primary importance attached by the Kremlin to the acceleration of industrial production, particularly armaments, with party considerations insofar as concerns internal politics subordinated thereto.

The removal of Litvinov²⁵ from the Central Committee disposes of vague rumors which have been current from time to time that he was regaining the favor of the Kremlin. The promotion of de Kanosovo²⁶ to be a member of the Central Committee, and of Maiski²⁷ to be a candidate, are perhaps less to reward them for their achievements in the field of foreign affairs than to enhance their prestige in Berlin and London respectively, and to give public expression to Soviet neutrality.

The resolution as a whole gives every appearance of having been designed to further national defense in view of the critical international situation.

Steinhardt

24. Not printed.
25. Maxim Maximovich Litvinov, formerly People’s Commissar for Foreign Affairs of the Soviet Union, 1930 until May 3, 1939.
26. Intended is Vladimir Georgevich Dekanozov, Ambassador of the Soviet Union in Germany since November 1940.
27. Ivan Mikhailovich Maisky, Ambassador of the Soviet Union in the United Kingdom since November 1932.