861.00/1–346: Telegram
The Chargé in the Soviet Union (Kennan) to the Secretary of State
[Received January 4—11:38 a.m.]
27. ReEmbs 25, January 3.2 Although no warning of any sort had been given in press or other official publicity organ that this was to happen nomination of candidates for coming elections to Supreme Soviet began all over country yesterday evening. Again, as in 1937, nominations are being made by acclamation in ceremonial open meetings of various groups and organizations. These meetings, some of which number over 10,000 people, are being conducted in spirit of most elaborate adulation of Stalin3 and other members of Politburo4 and in atmosphere in which any individual objection to proposal of name of prominent candidate would be unthinkable. Although numerous press reports of individual meetings give no indication of this fact, today’s Pravda editorial makes it clear that nominations are regarded as being made by the “bloc of Communists and non-party people”. This is precisely same flimsy formula employed in 1937 and merely means that nominations are made by the party alone. Non-party masses have no form of organization which is not controlled by the party and no influence on party decisions.
Occasion of these meetings has been apparently exploited by party as opportunity for another tremendous demonstration of loyalty to Stalin and entire press is today replete with flowery resolutions designating him as nominee number one. Every one of other known members of Politburo was nominated in some district, and reports of respective meetings were prominently featured in press. (List of [Page 674] Politburo members as revealed by these press reports is same as in past, and indicates that the body now has, since Shcherbakov’s death,5 only the 13 known members and alternates. Names of Bulganin,6 Shkiryatov7 and others appear, but not as members of Politburo.)
Since real secret of Soviet electoral system lies in methods of nomination, I am inviting Dept’s attention especially to these first reports of nomination meetings which indicate that again, as in 1937, there can be no question of the nomination—or, consequently, of the election—of any candidate who is not the considered choice of the Communist Party. Once nominations have been carried out on this basis the party can safely permit the elections, which Soviet press describes daily as “the most democratic in the world”, to run their course in an atmosphere of scrupulous correctness and observance of good form. The party cannot lose.
- Not printed.↩
- Iosif Vissarionovich Stalin, Generalissimo, Chairman of the Council of People’s Commissars (after March 15, Chairman of the Council of Ministers) of the Soviet Union; Secretary General of the Communist Party.↩
- Political Bureau of the Central Committee of the All-Union Communist Party (Bolsheviks).↩
- Alexander Sergeyevich Shcherbakov, Colonel General, Chief of the Political Administration of the Red Army; alternate member of the Politburo; died on May 10, 1945.↩
- Nikolay Alexandrovich Bulganin, Army General, Assistant People’s Commissar for Defense (after March 15, Deputy Minister of Armed Forces) of the Soviet Union.↩
- Matvey Fedorovich Shkiryatov, Deputy Chairman of the Control Commission of the Communist Party.↩