Evening star., 1948-06-01
Satellites to Be Swallowed?

Ever Since tne emu Ol IIe war LleIe nave
been rumors of a long-range Kremlin plan
to absorb the satellite countries-including
Germany's Red occupation zone-into the
Soviet Union. Such development, car
ried out in piecemeal fashion over period
of years, is entirely conceivable, and cur
rent reports suggest that Romania may
be the first to be subjected to the
swallowing process
At any rate, according to the reports,
top Russian officials are exerting secret
and strong pressure on the Communist
government at Bucharest to take appro-
pirate action to merge the country with
the U. S. s. R. The action, II decided
upon, probably would be a formal appeal
for union backed up by a tremendous
propaganda barrage and "plebiscite" in
which fraud and terror would be employed
to make sure that the Romanian people
voted overwhelmingly in favor Of becom-
ing an integral part of the Sovets, physi-
cally, politically, economically and other
wise.
The reports of course, are unofflcial and
undocumented, and they must therefore
be read with caution. Nevertheless, they
are plausible, and there is little reason to
suppose that Romahia's Communists will
do anything but offer 100 per cent support
If the Kremlin is really insisting upon a
merger Nor Is there any reason to sup
pose that the same does not hold true
for the regimes in power in Yugoslavia,
Poland, Bulgaria and the other countries
behind the Iron Curtain. After all, they
are willing puppets and willing puppets
never refuse to obey their masters orders.
In this connection, it is interesting, If
not Significant, that the East European
Communists have stopped talking about
organizing a federation of their own. A
few months ago-led by Premier Dimitrov
of Bulgaria-they were openly discussing
plans for step-by-step measures designed
to join their separate countries into
single political and economic union. Last
January, however, speaking through the
editors of Pravda, the Kremlin Sternly
criticized the idea and no more has been
said about it since. 5
At the time 1t was made, the Kremlins
criticism was variously interpreted, but
was that it was based on the following
line of reasoning: On. That an East Euro
pean federation, even though Communist
dominated at the start, could become non-
Communist and merge eventually with the
west, and ~ that, therefore, from the
standpoint of promoting Moscows. domi
nance OF the continent the best course to
follow was to keep the satellites separated
for eventual assimilation-one at time
into an ever-expandng Union of Soviet
Socialist Republics.
Considered against this background, the
reports about Moscows new pressure on
Romania are not lacking in plausibility,
no matter how much they may be lacking
in proof. Indeed, in view of all the evil
dence of the Kremlins desire to dominate
the whole of Europe, there is more than
little reason to pay serious attention not
merely to the Romanian possibility, but
also to the possibility that the Soviet
Union actually does have 4 long-range
plan to make a meal of its entire satellite
empire, including large part Of Germany.
To be sure, popular resistance in coun-
tries like Poland and Czechoslovakia could
greatly complicate such a program. But
with persistence and terroristic pressures
the Kremlin might be able to do the job
If the rest of the world looked on with
indifference. In that case Russia would
occupy a strategic position of the most
menacing kind. The prospect even If
remote, adds up to another reason why
the free nations must lose no time in