On November 6, 1947, Mr. Molotov, speaking in Moscow, declared that the
secret of the atomic bomb had “ceased to exist.” This statement received
wide publicity in this country and abroad, and many appeared to draw from it
the inference that the Soviet Union was now producing the bomb. It has been
followed by “bomb scare” stories about experiments in the Soviet Union.
Molotov’s statement is very similar to previous remarks by him and other
Soviet spokesmen (see attached summary) and, by itself, gives no grounds for
such a conclusion. For that matter it is absolutely the same thing that
American leaders, scientists and publicists, have been saying for a long
time, and the latter may be grateful to Molotov for securing a wider public
for their message than they have been able to do.
The most important Soviet statements in the field seem to be (1) “Russia does
not have the bomb” (Stalin4
to Hugh Baillie, October 28, 1946); (2) “Russia will have the bomb and much
else,” November 7, 1945, Molotov. Besides this they have consistently
repeated that any monopoly of the weapon can be only temporary, a statement
with which we agree, and of which the latest statement seems to be only a
variant.
The wide notice given to the statement is probably due to the absence of
atomic news in the press lately, and the general situation in the UN.
[Annex]
Soviet Statements on the Atomic Bomb
1. “Russia will have the atomic bomb and much else besides”—Molotov,
November 7, 1945.
2. Stalin to Werth,5
September 5, 1946
Question: Do you believe that the actual
monopoly possession of the atomic bomb is one of the principal threats
to Peace?
Answer: I do not believe the atomic bomb would
be as serious a force as certain politicians are inclined to regard it.
Atomic bombs are intended for intimidating weak nerves, but they cannot
decide the outcome of war, since atomic bombs are by no means sufficient
for this purpose. Certainly monopolist possession of the secret of the
atomic bomb does create a threat, but at least two remedies exist
against it. (a) Monopolist possession of the
atomic bomb cannot last long, and (b) use of the
atomic bomb will be prohibited.
3. Stalin to Hugh Baillie, President of the UP, October 29, 1946.
Question #26: Has Russia yet developed its own
atomic bomb or any similar weapon.
Answer: No.
Question #27: What is your opinion of the
atomic bomb or similar weapon as an instrument of warfare.
Answer: (Stalin refers to his earlier reply to
Werth on that.)
4. Interview between Stalin and Stassen,6
May 3, 1947. (This interview did not touch upon
the question of secrets or monopolies.)
Question: Do you feel there is a reasonable
prospect for working out control for this?
Answer: There are big differences of views
among us but in the long run I hope that we shall come to an
understanding. International control and inspection will be established
in my view and it will be of great importance … As for the use of atomic
energy for war purposes, this in all probability will be prohibited. The
desire and conscience of peoples will require it.
5. Molotov speaking in General Assembly, October 29,
1946. (not completely official translation)
“In this connection it is necessary to dwell on the question of the
atomic bomb which now plays such an important part in political
calculations of certain circles.”
(Later on—talking about the Baruch plan)—
“This plan moreover is afflicted by certain illusions. Even in the field
of atomic energy one cannot possibly count on the monopolistic position
[Page 863]
of any single country.
Science and scientists cannot be put in a box and kept under lock and
key. It is high time that illusions on this score were dispelled.”
… “It is beyond any doubt that the position of monopoly for one country
in this field is of a temporary character. I think everyone is in
agreement on this point. It is impossible to stop the advance of science
not only in the United States but in other countries as well.”
6. The President of the Soviet Academy of Sciences, Vavilov, stated on
November 2, 1946 that Soviet scientists were devoting great attention to
problems of nuclear energy.
7. Vavilov was also reported in Pravda for
November 25 to have stated that the Soviet scientist Lukirsky had
recently discovered a new way to disintegrate the atom.
8. On December 2, 1946 Caffery7 reported from Paris a
conversation alleged to have been held by Molotov with Odinetz, editor
of the Communist Russian language newspaper The Soviet
Patriot, at the Soviet Embassy. Molotov reportedly stated that
Russia did not have the atomic bomb but that by April or May 1947 it
would have its new cosmic weapon for use, and from that time forward it
would not need to make further concessions to the United States.
9. “New Times” article in issue dated September 3,
1947. Article called “Once More on the Atomic Energy Commission” by
M. Rubenstein.
“American diplomats, however, fail to take two important factors into
account. In the first place they are inclined to forget that the United
States atomic monopoly cannot last for any great length of time.”
10. The Embassy at Moscow reported the following statement by
Zhdanov8 made at the Cominform meeting in Poland and
published in Pravda, which the Embassy believed
to be the closest approximation to an official confirmation of the
generally held belief that the Soviet Union did not yet possess the
atomic bomb.
“On the heels of Churchill, the most venomous imperialist politicians who
had lost their sense of balance, began to propose plans for the quest
realization of a preventative war against the USSR, and openly called
for the utilization of the temporary American monopoly of the atomic
bomb against Soviet people.”
