561.00/7–1551: Telegram
The Ambassador in the Soviet Union (Kirk) to the Secretary of State
74. News referred to in Embtel 71, July 151 appeared at Hotel National newsstand July 14 without any announcement in Sov press. No mention made yet of its appearance. Magazine described as “fortnightly searchlight on world events.” Editor is M. Morozov. Newspaper Trud2 is publisher. Issue No. 1 has slick blue-green cover, 32 pages, price ten cents or six pence. Sold here for two rubles.
In spite of name this publication no more concerns itself with reporting news than do Sov newspapers. It deals with current events selected and interpreted in such way as to promote acceptance of certain basic Sov propaganda themes.
The themes are quite familiar. They include: Soviet peace policy and desire for peaceful coexistence; coincidence of this policy with basic interests of world peoples; war useful to and desired by only small number of millionaires and politicians; need for latter to recognize permanency of USSR and people’s democracies and settle differences with them through peaceful negotiation; mutual benefit possible in resumption of normal trade with stress on attractive nature of markets in Sov world; deterioration of economic position of non-Sov states due to mil expenditures and Amer econ domination; Anglo-Amer political and econ rivalry.
Magazine purportedly designed to promote peace and counteract “vicious war propaganda” disseminated in West. Its announced purpose is to give sober, balanced picture of international developments with particular attention devoted to Anglo-Saxon affairs. Substance of magazine indicates that “truth” it will publish about these events will be conveyed through statements of foreign visitors to Moscow, Sov visitors abroad and highly slanted commentaries on historical and current themes by well known Sov artists, scientists and intellectuals. It is significant that magazine is devoid of customary Marxist terminology and is obviously meant to reach the broad “peace” movement clientele, majority of whose members [Page 1614] may have no interest in class struggle of particular social and econ theories.
News may be partly destined as guide sheets for CP’s “peace” organizations and Commie front groups in effort to shake off ideological taint which may have inhibited progress in attracting broad layers of Anglo-Saxon populations. Thus magazine may eventually replace New Times3 which was clearly holdover from Comintern days even though its name was changed.
Magazine makes big play of Sov initiative in Korea armistice talks and in some way appears predicated on their success. It is certainly too early for any firm appraisal but tone of contents suggests Sovs may desire lessen emphasis on role of USSR as champion of revolutionary struggles abroad and place more stress on portraying it as well behaved national state threatening no one, willing to settle things peaceably and offering an attractive future of bustling, profitable trade.
Although appearance of magazine is significant event, Emb believes its launching should not be accorded gratuitous publicity by US Govt facilities. It is very possible it may never attract wide reading public in view of competition from numerous publications available to Amer readers. In Emb’s view, best course would be to await its launching in US and study public and press reaction before deciding on large scale counter campaign to demolish the substance of the material it contains.4
- Telegram 71 briefly reported that the first issue of the new English language magazine News became available on Moscow newsstands the previous day. (561.00/7–1551)↩
- The daily newspaper of the Central Council of Trade Unions (of the Soviet Union).↩
- New Times, a weekly magazine on foreign affairs, published in Russian, English, French, and German by Trud.↩
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Telegram 102 from Moscow, July 21, added some additional commentary upon some “unusual aspects” of articles appearing in the first issue of News.The telegram commented in part:
“A basic idea is to emphasize theme of ‘peaceful co-existence’ and attractive prospects offered by such a condition in form of mutually profitable commerce between two systems.”
The telegram also observed:
“Appearance this new publication, devoid of Marxist terminology, possibly reflects recent censure Commie parties abroad for not mastering technique of appealing to middle classes and abandoning such tactics as ill-timed polit strikes in favor of methods which wld advance the cause at a time ‘when battle is going on’.” (561.00/7–2151)
Secretary Acheson commented upon the appearance of News during his press and radio news conference on July 18. The paraphrase record of comments reads in part as follows:
“Mr. Acheson commented that this was obviously a part of the drive—this ‘peace-offensive’ drive—this Russian lullaby which we were having sung to us now for the purpose of getting us to relax our efforts to go forward with the whole program to build strength in the West. He added that he could not imagine a more stupid or a more dangerous thing that this country could do than to be lulled by that sort of thing.” (Department of State Bulletin, July 30, 1951, p. 171)
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