Foreign Relations of the United States, 1946, Eastern Europe, The Soviet Union, Volume VI

861.00/8–2246: Telegram

The Chargé in the Soviet Union (Durbrow) to the Secretary of State

confidential

Moscow, August 22, 1946—7 p.m.
[Received August 22—6:24 p.m.]

3284. Embassy’s telegram 3281, August 22.³¹ Follow-up of attack against Leningrad intellectuals is recantation of Leningrad party organization and writers for their “mistakes” and “defects” reported in Pravda August 22. Zhdanov,³² who is referred to as “Secretary of Central Committee” of party delivered reports “few days ago” to meeting of active groups of Leningrad party organization and Leningrad writers. Both groups adopted resolutions confessing their faults and giving assurances that they would eliminate them. Chief culprits Zoshchenko³³ and Akhmatova³⁴ were not given chance to recant but were further vilified. Writers recantation added such respected name as Olga Bergholz³⁵ and a dozen others to list of literary suspects, accusing them of “propagandizing” writings of Zoshchenko and Akhmatova.

Developments in this witch hunt revealed in today’s Pravda have significant aspects.

1. Assignment of Zhdanov one of top men of regime to humbling of Leningrad intelligentsia shows that this is matter of prime political importance. Its importance is emphasized by inclusion of party organization in recantation, and by publication in Pravda which insures it nationwide publicity.

2. Party’s Leningrad action is most crushing in series of blows recently delivered against Western influences among Soviet people. This influence always fairly strong in non-party circles, was intensified during and immediately after war by gratitude for Allied aid, particularly food, and by direct contacts of Soviet military and other people with Western life. Soviet leaders are now striving to mobilize weary and somewhat disillusioned Soviet masses for hard efforts of forthcoming plans. They need full cooperation of intelligentsia, particularly writers, whom Stalin once called “engineers of human souls”. Writers must zealously propagate faith in superior prospects of Soviet life. They must assist party to spur masses’ efforts to carry out military-economic program by instilling fear and hatred of “bourgeois” West. Zhdanov’s mission to Leningrad must smash any lingering hopes of Soviet intellectuals for return to wartime trend toward opening door to Western World.

3. Leningrad party organizations resolution referred to defects in party control not only in literature but in radio, cinema and theatre, thus broadening scope of campaign of cultural control. Party resolution promised to eliminate defects and to fulfil Central Committee’s instruction “in Bolshevik manner”.

In this connection it is significant that yesterday’s Pravda blast naming secretaries Kapustin and Shirikov of city party organization was first such attack on very high party officials since before war.

4. Leningrad intellectuals fate affords one more proof that under totalitarian state intellectuals must not merely not oppose authorities but must be enthusiastic instruments of dictators will. Leningrad writers promised to begin campaign of “self-criticism” which means that they must assist the party by cracking the whip over their own heads.

Writers resolution concluded on following abject note: “Meeting unanimously assures Central Committee and Comrade Stalin that Leningrad writers will be able in short time to overcome very great defects in their work and under leadership of Leningrad party organization will find within selves strength and capacity to create works worthy of great Stalinist epoch.”

Durbrow

31. Not printed.
32. Zhdanov had long been the leading official as Secretary of the Leningrad oblast (regional) Party Committee after the murder of Sergey Mironovich Kirov on December 1, 1934, until December 1945. He directed the campaign in 1946 against Western cultural influences among Leningrad writers and intellectuals.
33. Mikhail Mikhailovich Zoshchenko, satirist and writer of short stories. His story, “The Adventures of a Monkey,” which had portrayed a monkey’s life in a zoo cage as better than that of Soviet people outside, had particularly offended. Expelled from the Writers’ Union in 1946, he lived in obscurity until his death in 1958.
34. Anna Andreyevna Akhmatova, poetess, expelled from the Waiters’ Union in 1946, but later resumed activity after the death of Stalin in 1953.
35. Olga Fedorovna Bergholz (Berggolts), literary writer.