“Russia wants anything but war...”. On April 13, 1941, Stalin's April 13, 1941 farewell to the Japanese Foreign Minister Yo. Matsuoka on the eve of the Great Patriotic War

Document publication

doi 10.28995/2073-0101-2025-1-171-185

For citation

Poltorak, Sergey N., Zotova, Anastasia V. (2025). “Russia wants anything but war...”, On April 13, 1941, Stalin's April 13, 1941 farewell to the Japanese Foreign Minister Yo. Matsuoka on the eve of the Great Patriotic War, Herald of an Archivist. № 1, pp. 171-185, doi 10.28995/2073-0101-2025-1-171-185

Poltorak, Sergey N., Peter the Great St. Petersburg Polytechnic University, St. Petersburg, Russia

Zotova, Anastasia V., St. Petersburg State University, St. Petersburg, Russia

“Russia wants anything but war...”. On April 13, 1941, Stalin's April 13, 1941 farewell to the Japanese Foreign Minister Yo. Matsuoka on the eve of the Great Patriotic War

Abstract

On the threshold of the 80th anniversary of the Victory of the Soviet people in the Great Patriotic War, a number of scientific issues still remain poorly publicized. Among them is the history of international relations between the Soviet Union and Japan on the eve of the invasion of Hitler's Germany into the territory of the USSR. Researchers have not yet introduced into scientific circulation a number of documents that comprehensively reveal the process of development of relations between the Soviet Union and its eastern neighbor, which at that time was Hitler's main ally. The purpose of the publication is to highlight previously unknown aspects of the final stage of negotiations between the Soviet Union and Japan in April 1941, which resulted in the signing of the Neutrality Pact of April 13, 1941. One of the tasks of the publication is to introduce into scientific circulation a document from the funds of the Archives of the German Armed Forces in Freiburg, Milit?rarchiv (MArch), which contains a report from an employee of the German Embassy in Moscow, Colonel Hans Krebs to his superiors in Berlin. The document is unique in many respects, because it describes in detail the situation of the farewell of the General Secretary of the Central Committee of the All-Union Communist Party of Bolsheviks Stalin with the head of Japanese diplomacy Yo. Matsuoki. In the report of the German military diplomat described numerous interesting details that did not escape the careful eye of the observer: emphasized cordiality towards representatives of the German diplomatic corps, “cordial and clearly consistent with the cheerful nature of the farewell breakfast” greeting Stalin Japanese soldiers, his embrace with the German ambassador. The characterization of Joseph Vissarionovich is very contradictory and unusual: the Soviet leader seemed to the German diplomat visibly aged, and complexion - unhealthy. The “certain natural dignity” of the Soviet leader was emphasized. Extremely important is the main assessment of Hans Krebs the outcome of the Soviet-Japanese negotiations, which in his report he called “a truly dramatic finale”. The report also expressed the officer's surprise at the fact that Stalin noticeably neglected the guards and was quite accessible to a wide range of Muscovites and guests of the city, who were at the station. An extremely important detail did not escape the German officer's notice: the Soviet leader was at all times among the Axis members and their treaty partners, which unpleasantly impressed the representatives of the United States and Great Britain who were present at the send-off. Thus, the document reflects the success of Soviet diplomacy, which made it possible to sign an extremely important document for the Soviet side, which caused concern of both Germany, the United States and Great Britain.

Keywords

Non-aggression pact between the USSR and Japan, North Sakhalin, I.V. Stalin, Yo. Matsuoki, G. Krebs, Count Werner von der Schulenburg, German diplomacy, German military intelligence, Kremlin, Great Patriotic War 1941-1945.

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About authors

Poltorak Sergey N., Doctor of Historical Sciences, Professor, Peter the Great St. Petersburg Polytechnic University, Humanitarian Institute, Higher School of Social Sciences, Professor, St. Petersburg, Russia, A.S. Pushkin Leningrad State University, Pushkin, Russia, A. S. Pushkin Leningrad State University, Pushkin, Russia, +7-950-024-14-05, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Zotova Anastasia V., Doctor of Historical Sciences, Associate Professor, St. Petersburg State University, Faculty of International Relations, Department of International Relations in the Post-Soviet Space, Professor, St. Petersburg, Russia, +7-950-024-14-05, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

The article was received in the editorial office on 14.05.2024, recommended for publication on 20.12.2024