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Stalinists Act Independently
of Foreign Reds to Consolidate
Russia's Position
FEAR OF WAR DIMINISHED
Bolsheviki See Other Powers
Unable to Unite on Boycott,
Much Less Intervention
AMERICA IS "WRITTEN OFF"
Soviet Leaders Consider United
States Too Much Absorbed to
Take Interest in Europe
This is the fourth of a series of
articles on Russia today by The
New York Times Moscow corres-
pondent, who is at present its Paris
By WALTER DURANTY
Special Cable to THE NEW YORK TIMES
PARIS, June 15. - When Lenin founded the Communist International in the
early Spring of 1919 it was a good deal of a question as to whether his
basic purpose was an orthodox Marxist gesture or an act of Soviet defense.
As it happened, the Comintern harmonized with both purposes, but Lenin had a
lot of practical opportunism as the New Economic Policy showed, and he was
not blind to the immediate advantage of forming an international organism to
direct and coordinate the forces in capitalist countries that would work for
the Soviet Stale and help counteract the forces working against it.
The evolution of Stalinism toward "Soviet Socialist sufficiency" at first
made it important to retain such sources of support abroad as the foreign
Communist parties offered, and there was a period when the foreign Communist
parties were severely disciplined by Moscow to tune them exactly to the
Kremlins note. America is a case in point, as Messrs. Lovestone and Pepper
will bear witness.
Disunity of Capitalists Seen
More recently it has become apparent, first, that the five-year plan-which,
as previously stated, is a practical expression of Stalinism-is more
successful than had been originally expected ("five years in four" is now
the most popular slogan in the Soviet Union), and, second, that the rest of
the world is unable or unwilling to unite against Soviet Russia even for
economic boycott, much less active intervention.
Reluctant as the Bolsheviki are to abandon the bogy of intervention or
boycott-partly because of its solidifying and energizing effect on the
masses and partly because the Bolsheviki have come to believe in it
themselves by sheer dint of repetition-their growing strength as a result of
the progress of industrial construction and rural collectivization has had
the effect of substituting consciousness of the Union of Socialist Soviet
Republics as a world power for the somewhat panicky feeling of a proletarian
pariah in a capitalist world.
The world economic depression doubtless has had much influence in developing
this new outlook, but that belongs more properly to a later article about
Soviet foreign trade. At any rate, It is a fact-and apparently one of the
salient facts in modern history-that during the past eighteen months the
Soviet Union has concluded something in the nature of an economic alliance
with Germany and Italy has given China a sharp lesson in the Chinese Eastern
Railway affair, has called Japan brusquely to order in the matter of the
Bank of Korea branch at Vladivostok, has been rudely curt to Secretary
Stimson and is now engaged In far- reaching economic negotiations with
France and Great Britain.
In the present juncture it is the latter phase that is politically the most
interesting. Three months ago it seemed that the Soviet Union was bent on
building up or at least supporting a bloc of nations opposed to the
Versailles treaty and French hegemony in Europe. France and her allies,
Poland and the Little Entente, still loomed large as a bogy in Soviet eyes.
England, it seemed to Moscow, was important or disinterested in European
affairs, with a minority Labor Government that might fall tomorrow.
Suddenly, almost overnight, came the Labor Government's pact with Lloyd
George and a spurt of British diplomatic activity to which Moscow reacted
immediately. The anti-Versailles bloc that looked good against France and
her allies became a chimera when England took a hand to influence Italy and
Germany.
For Stalinism requires peace for success of its five-year plan, and if Great
Britain who still remains the arbiter of the European continent, had decided
to work hard for peace. It was silly for the Soviet Union to play a game of
hostile blocs, the effect of which would be to bring war nearer even though
making it less dangerous for the Soviet Union. Hence Foreign Commissar
Litvinoff's surprising speech at Geneva and the negotiations now proceeding
with France, which both France and the Soviet Union are trying to
depreciate, disguise and almost disavow.
That Germany looks at them askance and that Italy is not pleased do not
affect to Bolsheviki, who play world politics according to Bismarck's rules
and know that an ace and king of trumps beat a queen or jack. In this flow
big game the Communist parties of France, England or Germany are an
annoyance and hindrance, not a help, but the Bolsheviki rationalize that
into a little deuce of trumps, whose fear-effect on their opponents may
possibly take a useful trick.
Meanwhile the Soviet Union goes steadily ahead with its economic penetration
of Chinese Turkestan, Mongolia and Manchuria, to say nothing of Turkey,
Persia and Afghanistan, and without expenditure of effort or money the
Soviet Union watches Chinese misrule sow new seeds of communism in the
once Celestial empire.
Toward the United States the Soviet Union is now indifferent-or, as a
prominent official said to the writer, "For the time being we have written
off America-because it thinks America is too absorbed in her own affairs to
take an active or intelligent interest in Europe.
It thinks the American State Department more silly than malicious, and its
animosity against Representative Fish and fellow "Red hunters" scarcely
extends beyond newspaper cartoons.
By Walter Duranty, The New York Times, NY, NY, Friday, June
19, 1931, page one.. This is article number four of the thirteen
articles submitted for the 1932 Pulitzer Prize which was awarded to
Walter Duranty.
FOR PERSONAL AND ACADEMIC USE ONLY
WALTER DURANTY'S 13 ARTICLES WRITTEN IN 1931
WHICH WERE SUBMITTED FOR THE 1932 PULITZER PRIZE
Eleven-part series in The New York Times:
Duranty 1: 6/14/1931
"Red Russia of Today Ruled by Stalinism, Not Communism"
Duranty 2: 6/16/1931
"Socialism First Aim in Soviet's Program; Trade Gains Second"
Duranty 3: 6/18/1931
"Stalinism Shelves World Revolt Idea; To Win Russia First"
Duranty 4: 6/19/1931
"Industrial Success Emboldens Soviet in New World Policy"
Duranty 5: 6/20/1931
"Trade Equilibrium is New Soviet Goal"
Duranty 6: 6/22/1931
"Soviet Fixes Opinion by Widest Control"
Duranty 7: 6/23/1931
"Soviet Censorship Hurts Russia Most"
Duranty 8: 6/24/1931
"Stalinism Smashes Foes in Marx's Name"
Duranty 9: 6/25/1931
"Red Army is Held No Menace to Peace"
Duranty 10: 6/26/1931
"Stalinism Solving Minorities Problem"
Duranty 11: 6/27/1931
"Stalinism's Mark is Party Discipline"
Two articles in The New York Times magazine:
Duranty 12: 3/29/1931
"The Russian Looks at the World"
Duranty 13: 12/20/1931
"Stalin's Russia Is An Echo of Iron Ivan's"
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