Quarterly report on the Soviet Union from British Ambassador to the Soviet Union, W. Hayter, to Foreign Secretary, A. Eden, 19 October 1953 CONFIDENTIAL […] SOVIET UNION: QUARTERLY REPORT July September 1953 – Though there have been events of note in the international sphere, the main interest of the period lies in the internal developments, including the fall of Beriya, and it is, therefore, on these that the report concentrates. Throughout the period the Soviet foreign policy can be styled basically defensive, due perhaps Government’s to a considerable degree to the shock administered to their position by the East German outbreaks in June last. That this might be the effect of the outbreaks was suggested in the report for the June quarter. At the same time Malenkov asserted his claim to be heard in foreign as well as internal policy. His speech before the Supreme Soviet on August 8 included a noteworthy section on foreign affairs, and his speeches to the East German delegation and to the North Korean delegation contained an effective presentation of the Soviet attitude towards the German and the Far Eastern questions. It is worth noting that he is a distinctly capable speaker, able to give a broad survey on occasions and breathe at least fictitious life into the dry bones of Soviet policy and ideology. […] 8. Internal developments were linked to international affairs by Malenkov’s claim in his speech of August 8 that the United States did not possess the monopoly of the hydrogen bomb; this assertion being reinforced by communiqués published
Quarterly report on the Soviet Union from British Ambassador to the Soviet Union, W. Hayter, to Foreign Secretary, A. Eden, 19 October 1953 CONFIDENTIAL […] SOVIET UNION: QUARTERLY REPORT July – September 1953 Though there have been events of note in the international sphere, the main interest of the period lies in the internal developments, including the fall of Beriya, and it is, therefore, on these that the report concentrates. Throughout the period the Soviet Government’s foreign policy can be styled basically defensive, due perhaps to a considerable degree to the shock administered to their position by the East German outbreaks in June last. That this might be the effect of the outbreaks was suggested in the report for the June quarter. At the same time Malenkov asserted his claim to be heard in foreign as well as internal policy. His speech before the Supreme Soviet on August 8 included a noteworthy section on foreign affairs, and his speeches to the East German delegation and to the North Korean delegation contained an effective presentation of the Soviet attitude towards the German and the Far Eastern questions. It is worth noting that he is a distinctly capable speaker, able to give a broad survey on occasions and breathe at least fictitious life into the dry bones of Soviet policy and ideology. […] 8. Internal developments were linked to international affairs by Malenkov’s claim in his speech of August 8 that the United States did not possess the monopoly of the hydrogen bomb; this assertion being reinforced by communiqués published
1953-10-19-Hayter-quarterly-report-Eden.docx