Evening star., 1946-01-27
Russians Pushing Ahead
In Expansionist Program
Loss in British Strength and Demobilization and
Industrial Unrest in u. S. Bring Increase
in Red Diplomatic Offensive.
By Constantine Bro,cn

shown by the American and British For
eign Secretaries at the Moscow meeting
and by the fear which the vast Russian
Armies are inspiring in the smaller ma
tions, the Soviet government appear.
determined to fulfill this year the max.
imum objectives it set out to accomplish
after the defeat of the Axis.
These objectives can be summed ur
as follows: The gradual domination o1
Europe through the organization oi
sympathetic governments west of the
Oder River. the joining of the Danubiar
and Balkan states into a federation un-
der the guidance of the Moscow govern
ment, the establishment of Russia &
domination over Iran and Turkey and
finally, a preponderant political and
economic position in the Far East, par
ticularly Manchuria and Northern
China.
After the London Conference last
September the Russians doubted that
they could attain all these objectives
in the near future. The attitude of the
United States and Britain gave the
impression that they had decided to call
a halt to the expansionist policy of the
U. S. S. r. and they appeared to have
the means with which to do it.
The armed forces of America and
Britain were intact. The Eastern Euro
pean countries which had been provided
with governments handpicked by Mos
COW were seething with unrest. There
was discomfort among the Russian
armies of occupation which led to a
number of wholesale desertions. The
puppet rulers also reported that they
we're experiencing greater difficulty in
forcing the millions of people under
their regime to obey them.
Picture Changes at Moscow.
The refusal of the American and
British Foreign Ministers in London to
yield to the demands of the Soviet For
eign Commissar had transformed the
passive resistance of the satellite nations
IN several instances into open defiance.
This picture changed rapidly after
the Moscow Conference, where Secre-
taries Byrnes and Bevin decided that
further opposition to Moscow would
result in the wrecking of the UNO, and
they yielded to Commissar Molotov.
In the meantime, the military and
domestic situation of the United States
became precarious.
Because of the huSh-hush policy
adopted by the Government, the Amer
ican soldiers did not see why they
had to remain in military servitude
and demanded their release. The vocif-
erous claims of the enlisted men-whose
indoctrination by the War Department
during the fighting days was theological
rather than political-were interpreted
by the foreign propaganda, particularly
from Moscow, as an indication that
Americas fighting power had come to
an end and that its forces were rapidly
disintegrating.
The Russian observers in this coun-
try who claim to have their finger on
the pulse of the Nation reported that
whatever may happen in other lands
and however much the Soviet govern
ment may disregard the objectives for
which America went into the war, there
will be no opposition to RussiaS ex-
pansionist plans from the people of
this country.
Doubt Britain Could Resist.
These reports gave Russia the as
surance that henceforth nothing will
keep her from doing whatever she
desires in the zones which she has
earmarked for domination. The British,
who feel that their empire might be
jeopardized by Russia's expansionist
policy, are regarded by Moscow as in
capable of offering physical resistance.
Thus the Soviet leaders who felt at
the end of the war that there were
two great military powers left in the
world-the United States and herself
have now come to the conclusion that.
because of the avowed reluctance of
the American soldiers to remain under
arms and because of the strikes which
threaten to cripple Americas indus
trial power, she is the worlds supreme
military power
Based on this premise, the Russian
diplomats have proceeded with full
offensive on all fronts.
To show how lightly they regard the
UNO, neither Commissar Molotov nor
his substitute, Deputy Commissar vi
shinsky, appeared at the first meetings
of the organization. Mr.. Molotov
pleaded fatigue" and Mr.. Vishinsky
made a belated appearance.
Because Moscow believed that some
of the great powers had encouraged
little Iran to protest against its loss
of sovereignty, the Russian government
raised such questions as the presence
of British troops in Greece and Indo-
nesia. In private, the deputy chief of
Russia's UNO delegation, Ambassador
Andrei Gromyko, informed his colleagues
that any attempt to interfere with
Russia's aims in any part of the world
at the Security Council would be re-
garded as an offense to that great
power and would be fatal to the UNO.
French Tending Leftward.
The effect of this determined attitude
was felt Immediately in France, where
under the pressure of the Communist
members of the Chamber of Deputies,
Gen. Charles de Gaulle was compelled
to resign. Although on the surface it
appears that domestic issues caused the
defeat of the French leader, the truth
is that Gen. de Gaulle was toying with
the idea of making France, with
Britains support, the spearhead of a
Western European bloc to check Russia S
expansion at least at the Rhine
Frances military Importance is still
insignificant But her prestige in West
ern Europe is still great and all the