"Fulton Speech"
The Fulton Speech, a speech delivered on March 5, 1946 by Winston Churchill at Westminster College in Fulton, Missouri, USA, is considered to be the impetus for the start of the Cold War. At the time of his speech, Churchill was not, contrary to popular belief, the Prime Minister of Great Britain (after the defeat of the Conservative Party in the elections on July 5, 1945, he was the leader of the opposition) and was not in the United States on an official visit, but as a private citizen, as a vacationer.
At the beginning of the Fulton speech, Churchill stated that from now on “the United States is at the pinnacle of world power,” and the second part was devoted to an analysis of the situation in Europe and Asia. He openly named the Soviet Union as the cause of "international difficulties." The danger of communism, Churchill declared, was growing everywhere “except in the British Commonwealth and the United States, where communism is still in its infancy.” He expressed the idea that “in a large number of countries far from the borders of Russia, communist “fifth columns” have been created throughout the world, which work in complete unity and absolute obedience in carrying out the directives received from the communist center.”
During his speech, written and read with Churchill’s characteristic brilliance, he actively used memorable images and pithy expressions - “the iron curtain” and its “shadow falling on the continent”, “fifth columns” and “police states”, “total obedience” and “unconditional expansion of power”, etc. It is interesting that the former (and future) Prime Minister of Great Britain used the words “Britain” and “Great Britain” only once each. But “British Commonwealth and Empire” - six times, “English-speaking peoples” - six times, “related” - eight times, which was emphasized, since the question in the Fulton speech was raised not about the national interests of England, but about the interests of the entire English-speaking world.
Excerpts from the speech:
"A shadow has fallen on the picture of the world, so recently illuminated by the victory of the Allies. No one knows what Soviet Russia and its international communist organization intend to do in the near future and what are the limits, if any, to their expansionist and religious tendencies. I deeply admire and honor the valiant Russian people and my wartime comrade Marshal Stalin. In England - I have no doubt here too - there is deep sympathy and good will for all the peoples of Russia and a determination to overcome numerous differences and breakdowns in the name of establishing lasting friendship. We understand, that Russia needs to ensure the security of its western borders from a possible renewal of German aggression. We are glad to see it in its rightful place among the leading world powers. We salute its flag on the seas. And above all, we welcome the constant, frequent and strengthening ties between the Russian and our peoples on both sides of the Atlantic. However, I consider it my duty to lay before you some facts—I am sure you would like me to tell you the facts as they appear to me—about the present situation in Europe."
"...Almost all of these countries are run by police governments, and to this day, with the exception of Czechoslovakia, there is no true democracy in them. Turkey and Persia are deeply worried and concerned about the claims made against them and the pressure to which they are subjected by the Moscow government. In Berlin, the Russians are attempting to create a quasi-communist party in their zone of occupied Germany by granting special privileges to groups of left-wing German leaders."
“If the Soviet government now tries to create a pro-communist Germany in its zone by separate actions, this will cause new serious difficulties in the British and American zones and will give the defeated Germans the opportunity to bargain between the Soviets and Western democracies. Whatever conclusions can be drawn from these facts, that’s all These are the facts - this will clearly not be the liberated Europe for which we fought. And not a Europe that has the necessary prerequisites for creating a lasting peace."
"Cold War"
The Cold War is a global geopolitical, military, economic and ideological confrontation between the USSR and its allies, on the one hand, and the United States and its allies, on the other. This confrontation was not a war in the international legal sense. One of the main components of the confrontation was the ideological struggle - as a consequence of the contradiction between the capitalist and what was called socialist models in the USSR.
The internal logic of the confrontation required the parties to participate in conflicts and interfere in the development of events in any part of the world. The efforts of the USA and the USSR were aimed primarily at dominance in the political sphere. The USA and the USSR created their spheres of influence, securing them with military-political blocs - NATO and the Warsaw Department. Although the United States and the USSR did not officially enter into direct military conflict, their competition for influence led to the outbreak of local armed conflicts in various parts of the Third World, usually proceeding as proxy wars between the two superpowers.
The Cold War was accompanied by a conventional and nuclear arms race that at times threatened to lead to a third world war. The most famous of such cases when the world found itself on the brink of disaster was the Cuban Missile Crisis of 1962.
The policy of perestroika announced by Mikhail Gorbachev, who came to power in the USSR in 1985, led to the loss of the leading role of the CPSU. The USSR, burdened by an economic crisis, as well as social and interethnic problems, collapsed in December 1991, which put an end to the Cold War.
In Eastern Europe, communist governments, having lost Soviet support, were removed even earlier, in 1989-1990. The Warsaw Pact officially ended on July 1, 1991, and the Allied authorities lost power as a result of the events of August 19-21, 1991.
“Today” two, as it seems to me, fateful events took place in the life of my Motherland.
On March 5, 1946, at Westminster College in Fulton, Missouri, Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill gave his famous speech, which he called the most important of his entire career, on the Iron Curtain, which effectively marked the beginning of the Cold War. I will not go into detail about the fact that by that time the 33rd US President Harry Truman’s plan “Boiler” (an attack on 22 largest cities of the USSR using nuclear weapons) was already ready, nor about the fact that Stalin still had to abandon territorial claims against Turkey.
1. The United States is at the pinnacle of world power. This is a solemn moment for American democracy.
2. We cannot close our eyes to the fact that the freedoms that citizens have in the USA, in the British Empire, do not exist in a significant number of countries, some of which are very powerful. In these countries, control over the common people is imposed from above through various kinds of police governments to such an extent that it is contrary to all principles of democracy. The only instrument capable at this historical moment of preventing war and resisting tyranny is the “fraternal association of English-speaking peoples. This means a special relationship between the British Commonwealth and Empire and the United States of America."
3. Before we can free ourselves from the need for national armaments for self-preservation, we must be sure that our temple is not built on quicksand or quagmire, but on a solid rocky foundation... Here I have a practical proposal for action. Courts cannot function without sheriffs and constables. The United Nations must immediately begin equipping an international military force.
Doesn't it remind you of anything from today's history?
4. However, it would be wrong and imprudent to entrust the secret information and experience of creating an atomic bomb, currently possessed by the United States, Great Britain and Canada, to a World Organization still in its infancy.
5. A shadow has fallen on the picture of the world, so recently illuminated by the victory of the Allies. No one knows what Soviet Russia and its international communist organization intend to do in the near future and what the limits, if any, are to their expansionist and religious tendencies.
6. From Stettin on the Baltic to Trieste on the Adriatic, an iron curtain descended on the continent. On the other side of the curtain are all the capitals of the ancient states of Central and Eastern Europe - Warsaw, Berlin, Prague, Vienna, Budapest, Belgrade, Bucharest, Sofia. All of these famous cities and the populations in their areas fell within what I call the Soviet sphere, all of them in one form or another subject not only to Soviet influence, but also to the significant and increasing control of Moscow. Only Athens, with its immortal glory, can freely determine its future in elections with the participation of British, American and French observers. The Polish government, under Russian domination, is encouraged to make enormous and unjust encroachments on Germany, leading to the mass expulsion of millions of Germans on a deplorable and unprecedented scale. The Communist parties, which were very small in all these states of Eastern Europe, have achieved exceptional power, far exceeding their numbers, and are everywhere seeking to establish totalitarian control. Almost all of these countries are run by police governments, and to this day, with the exception of Czechoslovakia, they have no true democracy. Turkey and Persia are deeply concerned and concerned about the claims being made against them and the pressure they are being subjected to from the Moscow government. In Berlin, the Russians are attempting to create a quasi-communist party in their zone of occupied Germany by granting special privileges to groups of left-wing German leaders.
7. After the fighting last June, the American and British armies, in accordance with an earlier agreement, withdrew to the West along a front of nearly 400 miles, to a depth in some cases of 150 miles, so that our Russian allies would occupy this vast territory, which Western democracies conquered. If the Soviet Government now tries by separate action to create a pro-Communist Germany in its zone, this will cause new serious difficulties in the British and American zones and will give the defeated Germans the opportunity to bargain between the Soviets and the Western democracies. Whatever conclusions can be drawn from these facts - and these are all facts - this will clearly not be the liberated Europe for which we fought.
I wonder: for the freedom of which Europe did they fight from September '39 to June '44? But that’s not what we’re talking about now.
In general: all around, except for the “stronghold” of the United States and, of course, the United Kingdom, the darkness of communism reigns. And there is no longer any confidence that the war will not happen again: “ From what I saw in our Russian friends and comrades during the war, I conclude that there is nothing they admire more than strength, and nothing they respect less than weakness, especially military weakness. Therefore, the old doctrine of the balance of power is now unfounded».
Stalin, naturally, could not leave this message unanswered - on March 14, his speech was published in the Pravda newspaper:
“It should be noted that Mr. Churchill and his friends are strikingly reminiscent in this respect of Hitler and his friends. Hitler began the work of starting a war by proclaiming a racial theory, declaring that only people who speak the German language represent a full-fledged nation. Mr. Churchill begins the work of starting a war also with a racial theory, arguing that only nations that speak English are full-fledged nations called upon to decide the destinies of the whole world. German racial theory led Hitler and his friends to the conclusion that the Germans, as the only complete nation, should dominate other nations. The English racial theory leads Mr. Churchill and his friends to the conclusion that the nations speaking the English language, as the only full ones, should dominate the rest of the nations of the world.”
But nevertheless, Churchill's speech became fundamental to the nature and structure of international relations around the world for the next 40 years.
History, as we know, tends to repeat itself. Let us not miss the moment now to decide which side of the new curtain we will find ourselves on.
The second event that needs to be mentioned happened in 1953. On March 5 at 21:50 Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin died. 
The significance of this historical figure is difficult to assess. But for those who start raising the next bullshit, I’ll point out one point - atomic bombs did not fall on 22 cities of the Soviet Union...
Exactly 70 years ago, on March 5, 1946, Winston Churchill delivered his famous Fulton speech. The speech of the former British prime minister served as a signal for the beginning of the Cold War, finally dividing the world into the social bloc and Western democracies.
The main theses of the Fulton speech were the need to contain the “Red threat” and create a unified armed forces. “MIR 24” recalled the key images and phrases of the Fulton speech, which for many years became the basis of the language of confrontation between the Soviet Union and Western countries.
IRON CURTAIN
“From Stettin on the Baltic to Trieste on the Adriatic, an iron curtain has descended across the continent. On the other side of the curtain are all the capitals of the ancient states of Central and Eastern Europe - Warsaw, Berlin, Prague, Vienna, Budapest, Belgrade, Bucharest, Sofia. All of these famous cities and the populations in their areas fell within what I call the Soviet sphere, all of them in one form or another subject not only to Soviet influence, but also to the significant and increasing control of Moscow."
With this phrase, Churchill introduced into widespread use the expression “Iron Curtain,” meaning the Soviet policy of isolation. The author of this expression is the Russian philosopher Vasily Rozanov, who wrote in “Apocalypse of Our Days”:
“With a clang, a creaking, a squeal, the iron curtain falls over Russian History.
- The show is over.
The audience stood up.
- It's time to put on fur coats and return home.
We looked around.
But there were no fur coats or houses.”
This is how the outstanding thinker described the Bolsheviks’ rise to power. The theatrical metaphor is not at all accidental. In the old days, stages were equipped with sheets of iron, which were lowered in case of fire, forming a kind of curtain that protected the audience from fire.
Churchill most likely picked up this expression from the French Prime Minister Georges Clemenceau. The head of government, shortly after the First World War, spoke about the need for collective defense of European countries from the threat of Bolshevism.
The phrase “iron curtain” became a common ideological cliché after the Fulton speech. It was used in both the Western and Soviet press to accuse the policy of isolation.
TEMPLE OF PEACE
Another striking detail of the Fulton speech was the expression “Temple of Peace,” which, according to Churchill, was to become the United Nations. In this part of the speech, the politician went as far as biblical quotations that are understandable to every Christian.
“We are obliged to ensure the success of this activity, so that it is real and not fictitious, so that this organization is a force capable of action and not just shaking the air, and so that it becomes a genuine Temple of Peace, in which the battle shields of many can be hung countries, and not just chopping down the world Tower of Babel. Before we can free ourselves from the necessity of national armaments for self-preservation, we must be sure that our temple is not built on quicksand or mire, but on a solid rocky foundation.”
The image of a house built on sand goes back to the famous parable from the Gospel of Matthew. “Everyone who hears these words of Mine and does not do them will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand; and the rain fell, and the rivers overflowed, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and he fell, and his fall was great.” And further: “The Lord is my rock and my refuge, my Savior, my God is my rock.”
A master speaker, Churchill gracefully contrasted the New Testament house with the Old Testament Tower of Babel. The image of home and family appears repeatedly throughout the speech. With this metaphor, Churchill conveys to his listeners that the Soviet Union threatens not just the political system, but the private life of all citizens.
FIFTH COLUMN
As you know, the term “fifth column” arose during the Spanish Civil War. During the war, this was the name given to intelligence officers who collaborated with the Nazi regime.
Churchill also resorted to it in his Fulton speech, essentially equating the Bolshevik regime with the dictatorship of Adolf Hitler.
“In many countries around the world, far from the borders of Russia, communist fifth columns have been created, which act in complete unity and absolute submission to the directives they receive from the communist center. With the exception of the British Commonwealth and the United States, where communism is in its infancy, the communist parties, or fifth columns, represent an ever-increasing challenge and danger to Christian civilization."
During the Cold War, the expression “fifth column” became popular among journalists and became an ideological cliché. In recent years it has regained its foothold in the press.
POSITION OF SMALL ADVANCE
“From what I observed in the behavior of our Russian friends and allies during the war, I came to the conclusion that they respect nothing more than strength, and have no less respect for anything than military weakness. For this reason the old doctrine of the balance of power is no longer applicable. We cannot allow ourselves - as far as it is in our power - to act from a position of small advantage, which leads to the temptation to try our strength.
This is how Churchill characterized the position of the West in a bipolar world. This was one of the main points of the Fulton speech, which directly called on the capitalist English-speaking countries to unite military power.
The former British prime minister came up with the idea of creating UN troops that would participate in resolving armed conflicts. Churchill can also be called indirectly involved in the creation of the North Atlantic Alliance and the European Union.
This part of the speech was particularly harshly criticized in the Soviet Union. The call for the unification of the English-speaking world in Moscow was called racism, and the idea of creating an international army was called a manifestation of militarism.
In addition, during his speech, Churchill especially emphasized the term “Western democracies,” strongly contrasting them with the “totalitarian East.”
THE SHADOW FALLED OVER THE WORLD
“A shadow has fallen on the picture of the world, so recently illuminated by the victory of the Allies. No one knows what Soviet Russia and its international communist organization intend to do in the near future and what the limits, if any, are to their expansionist and religious tendencies."
Churchill predicted the expansion of the socialist camp, but softened his speech with a tribute to Soviet soldiers. This did not help - a few days later a response signed by Joseph Stalin was published in Pravda.
The Soviet leader called Churchill a “warmonger” who was no different from Hitler. Stalin also justified Soviet expansion on the grounds that Moscow had more rights to influence post-war Europe due to the numerous losses suffered in the fight against fascism.
After this, it became clear that war between the Soviet Union and the West could not be avoided. All that remained was to understand in what form it would be carried out.
Eduard Lukoyanov
On March 5, 1946, Winston Churchill (who was no longer Prime Minister of Great Britain) gave his famous speech in Fulton, which is commonly called the beginning of the Cold War. I decided to publish this speech again, cutting off only what he said at the beginning: references to the Americans, reflections on the role of the UN, etc. You can read the full textA shadow has fallen on the picture of the world, so recently illuminated by the victory of the Allies. No one knows what Soviet Russia and its international communist organization intend to do in the near future and what the limits, if any, are to their expansionist and religious tendencies. I deeply admire and honor the valiant Russian people and my wartime comrade, Marshal Stalin. In England - I have no doubt here too - there is deep sympathy and good will for all the peoples of Russia and a determination to overcome numerous differences and breakdowns in the name of establishing lasting friendship.
We understand that Russia needs to ensure the security of its western borders from a possible resumption of German aggression. We are glad to see it in its rightful place among the world's leading powers. We salute her flag on the seas. And above all, we welcome the constant, frequent and strengthening ties between the Russian and our peoples on both sides of the Atlantic. However, I consider it my duty to present to you some facts - I am sure that you wish me to state to you the facts as they appear to me - about the present situation in Europe.
From Stettin on the Baltic to Trieste on the Adriatic, an iron curtain fell across the continent. On the other side of the curtain are all the capitals of the ancient states of Central and Eastern Europe - Warsaw, Berlin, Prague, Vienna, Budapest, Belgrade, Bucharest, Sofia. All of these famous cities and the populations in their areas fell within what I call the Soviet sphere, all of them in one form or another subject not only to Soviet influence, but also to the significant and increasing control of Moscow. Only Athens, with its immortal glory, can freely determine its future in elections with the participation of British, American and French observers. The Polish government, under Russian domination, is encouraged to make enormous and unjust encroachments on Germany, leading to the mass expulsion of millions of Germans on a deplorable and unprecedented scale.
The Communist parties, which were very small in all these states of Eastern Europe, have achieved exceptional power, far exceeding their numbers, and are everywhere seeking to establish totalitarian control. Almost all of these countries are run by police governments, and to this day, with the exception of Czechoslovakia, they have no true democracy. Turkey and Persia are deeply concerned and concerned about the claims being made against them and the pressure they are being subjected to from the Moscow government. In Berlin, the Russians are attempting to create a quasi-communist party in their zone of occupied Germany by granting special privileges to groups of left-wing German leaders.
After the fighting last June, the American and British armies, in accordance with an earlier agreement, withdrew to the West along a front of almost 400 miles, to a depth in some cases reaching 150 miles, so that our Russian allies would occupy this vast territory that they had conquered Western democracies.
If the Soviet Government now tries by separate action to create a pro-Communist Germany in its zone, this will cause new serious difficulties in the British and American zones and will give the defeated Germans the opportunity to bargain between the Soviets and the Western democracies. Whatever conclusions can be drawn from these facts - and these are all facts - this will clearly not be the liberated Europe for which we fought. And not Europe, which has the necessary prerequisites for creating a lasting peace.
The security of the world requires a new unity in Europe, from which neither side should be alienated forever. The quarrels of these powerful indigenous races in Europe resulted in the world wars that we witnessed or that broke out in former times. Twice during our lifetime the United States, against its wishes and traditions and against arguments which cannot be misunderstood, has been drawn by irresistible forces into these wars in order to secure the victory of a just cause, but only after terrible carnage and devastation. Twice the United States was forced to send millions of its young men overseas to war. But at present, war can befall any country, no matter where it is between sunset and dawn. We must, of course, act with the conscious aim of the great pacification of Europe within the framework of the United Nations and in accordance with its Charter. This, in my opinion, is a policy of exceptional importance.
On the other side of the Iron Curtain that has descended across Europe, there are other reasons for concern. In Italy, the activities of the Communist Party were seriously constrained by the need to support the claims of the Communist-trained Marshal Tito to former Italian territory in the center of the Adriatic. However, the situation in Italy remains uncertain. Again, it is impossible to imagine a restored Europe without a strong France. All my life I have advocated for a strong France and never, even in the darkest times, have I lost faith in its future. And now I do not lose this faith. However, in many countries around the world, far from the borders of Russia, communist fifth columns have been created, which act in complete unity and absolute obedience to the directives they receive from the communist center.
With the exception of the British Commonwealth and the United States, where communism is in its infancy, the communist parties, or fifth columns, pose an ever-increasing challenge and danger to Christian civilization. All these are painful facts that have to be talked about immediately after the victory achieved by such a magnificent comradeship in arms in the name of peace and democracy. But it would be extremely unwise not to see them while there is still time. There are also concerns about prospects in the Far East, especially Manchuria. The agreement reached in Yalta, to which I was involved, was extremely favorable for Russia.
But it was concluded at a time when no one could say that the war would end in the summer or fall of 1945, and when the war with Japan was expected to continue within 18 months of the end of the war with Germany. In your country you are so well informed about the Far East and are such loyal friends of China that there is no need for me to dwell on the situation there.
I felt obliged to outline to you the shadow that, both in the West and in the East, falls over the whole world. At the time of the Treaty of Versailles I was a minister and intimate friend of Mr. Lloyd George, who headed the British delegation to Versailles. I did not agree with much of what was done there, but I have a very vivid impression of the situation at that time, and it pains me to compare it with the present. These were times of great expectation and boundless confidence that there would be no more wars and that the League of Nations would become all-powerful. Today I do not see or feel such confidence and such hope in our tormented world.
On the other hand, I drive away the idea that a new war is inevitable, especially in the very near future. And precisely because I am confident that our destinies are in our hands and we are able to save the future, I consider it my duty to speak out on this issue, since I have the opportunity and opportunity to do so. I don't believe that Russia wants war. What it wants is the fruits of war and the unlimited expansion of its power and doctrines. But what we must think about here today, while there is still time, is to prevent wars forever and create conditions for freedom and democracy as quickly as possible in all countries. Our difficulties and dangers will not disappear if we turn a blind eye to them or simply wait for something to happen or pursue a policy of appeasement.
We need to achieve a settlement, and the longer it takes, the more difficult it will be and the more formidable the dangers before us will become. From what I observed in the behavior of our Russian friends and allies during the war, I came to the conclusion that they respect nothing more than strength, and have no less respect for anything than military weakness. For this reason the old doctrine of the balance of power is no longer applicable. We cannot allow ourselves - as far as it is in our power - to act from a position of small advantage, which leads to the temptation to try our strength.
If the Western democracies stand together in their firm commitment to the principles of the Charter of the United Nations, their influence on the development of these principles will be enormous and it is unlikely that anyone will be able to shake them. If, however, they are disunited or unable to fulfill their duty, and if they miss these decisive years, then disaster will indeed befall us.
Last time, observing such a development of events, I cried out loudly to my compatriots and to the whole world, but no one wanted to listen.
Until 1933 or even until 1935, Germany could have been saved from the terrible fate that befell it, and we would have been spared the misfortunes that Hitler brought upon humanity. Never in history has there been a war that could have been more easily prevented by timely action than the one that has just devastated vast areas of the globe. It, I am convinced, could have been prevented without firing a shot, and today Germany would have been a powerful, prosperous and respected country; but then they didn’t want to listen to me, and one after another we found ourselves drawn into a terrible tornado. We must not allow this to happen again.
Now this can only be achieved by achieving today, in 1946, a good understanding with Russia on all issues under the general auspices of the United Nations, maintaining through this world instrument this good understanding for many years, drawing on the full power of the English-speaking world and all those who is associated with him. Let no one underestimate the formidable power of the British Empire and Commonwealth. Even though you see 46 million people on our island who are food insecure, and even though we are having difficulty rebuilding our industry and export trade after 6 years of selfless war effort, do not think that we cannot get through this dark period of deprivation like this the same as we went through the glorious years of suffering, or that in half a century there will not be 70 or 80 million of us living around the world and united in defending our traditions, our way of life and those universal values that we profess.
If the people of the British Commonwealth and the United States act together, for all that such cooperation means in the air, at sea, in science and economics, then that turbulent, unstable balance of power which would tempt ambition or adventurism will be eliminated. On the contrary, there will be complete confidence in safety. If we faithfully observe the Charter of the United Nations, and move forward with calm and sober strength, without laying claim to foreign lands and wealth, and without seeking to establish arbitrary control over the thoughts of men, if all the moral and material forces of Britain unite with yours in fraternal union, then broad paths to the future will open - not only for us, but for everyone, not only for our time, but also for the century ahead.
10:09 — REGNUM March 5 marks the 72nd anniversary of a major historical event - the Fulton speech Winston Churchill- perhaps the most influential prime minister in British history.
Churchill, who was not prime minister at that time, but was the leader of the losing Conservatives in the elections, gave his famous speech in the United States - at Westminster College (Fulton, Missouri). It is noteworthy that at that moment he was in the United States as a private citizen and came to the event in Fulton together with the President of the United States Harry Truman, who approved the text of his speech in advance.
The Americans greeted Churchill vigorously. In his speech, he described the United States as a country "at the pinnacle of global power" and said that, along with its superior power, it had accepted "an incredible responsibility to the future."
Churchill called on the English-speaking countries to show the same “persistence in achieving goals and great simplicity of decisions” in peacetime “as they did during the war.” He declared the two main disasters for civilians "war and tyranny."
“Our main task and responsibility is to protect the families of ordinary people from the horrors and misfortunes of another war.” , said Churchill.
The main hopes in Churchill's speech concerned the UN as an organization created to prevent war. Calling it a “true Temple of Peace,” the British politician proposed to build this temple not “on quicksand,” but to do this, “immediately begin to equip it with international armed forces.”
Churchill warned countries against the idea of handing over to the UN the “secret information and experience of building an atomic bomb” held by the United States, Great Britain and Canada, and not only because the United Nations was “in a state of infancy.”
“I don’t think we would be sleeping so peacefully now if the situation were reversed, and some communist or neo-fascist state monopolized this terrible remedy for some time. The mere fear of it would be enough for totalitarian systems to impose themselves on the free democratic world.” , said Churchill.
Having finished with "war", Churchill moved to "tyranny". He contrasted the “freedom” of British citizens with the “dictatorship” of a number of countries, including “very powerful ones,” while pointing out that the West should not “turn a blind eye to this.” But at the same time, he noted that the West cannot interfere in the internal affairs of these countries without war.
U.S. National Archives and Records Administration
Then, since a classic war with such countries is not a method, other methods are needed. We need a “fraternal alliance of English-speaking peoples” - the USA and Great Britain - with all its military power, and we also need vigilance.
“It is better to prevent a disease than to treat it” , said Churchill.
And finally, he got to the heart of his speech - the demarche against the USSR. Diplomatically paying tribute to the “valiant Russian people” and “wartime comrade Marshal Stalin,” Churchill declared:
“A shadow has fallen on the picture of the world, so recently illuminated by the victory of the Allies. No one knows what Soviet Russia and its international communist organization intend to do in the near future and what the limits, if any, are to their expansionist and religious tendencies."
Having made another nod to Moscow (“we are glad to see it in its rightful place among the leading world powers”), Churchill uttered a historic phrase:
“From Stettin on the Baltic to Trieste on the Adriatic, an iron curtain has descended across the continent.”
On one side of the Iron Curtain, in the Soviet sphere, were Central and Eastern Europe, on the other, the West. Warsaw, Berlin, Prague, Vienna, Budapest, Belgrade, Bucharest, Sofia “are subject not only to Soviet influence, but also to the significant and increasing control of Moscow,” and the Polish government is pursuing a pro-Moscow policy of “mass expulsion of millions of Germans on a deplorable and unprecedented scale.”
“The Communist parties, which were very small in all these states of Eastern Europe, have achieved exceptional power, far exceeding their numbers, and are everywhere seeking to establish totalitarian control - said Churchill. — Almost all of these countries are run by police governments, and to this day, with the exception of Czechoslovakia, they have no true democracy.”
Churchill said that if Moscow “attempts by separate actions to create a pro-communist Germany in its zone,” then Germany “will arrange a bargaining between the Soviets and Western democracies,” and this will “no longer be the liberated Europe for which we fought.”
He said that “communist fifth columns” are operating all over the world on orders from Moscow, which is “a danger to Christian civilization.” Churchill said that “a new war is inevitable,” and “while there is time,” we must figure out how to “prevent war forever” and “create conditions for freedom and democracy as quickly as possible in all countries.”
“I don’t believe that Russia wants war. What it wants is the fruits of war and the unlimited expansion of its power and doctrines,” he said.
In his opinion, “the doctrine of the balance of power is now unusable” because Moscow respects only force:
“From what I observed in the behavior of our Russian friends and allies during the war, I came to the conclusion that they respect nothing more than strength, and have no less respect for anything than military weakness.”
After this, Churchill stated that this had already happened in history - and recalled the formation of Nazi Germany.
“Last time, observing such a development of events, I cried out loudly to my compatriots and to the whole world, but no one wanted to listen. Until 1933 or even until 1935, Germany could have been saved from the terrible fate that befell it, and we would have been spared the misfortunes that Hitler brought upon humanity,” he said. “Then they didn’t want to listen to me, and one after another we found ourselves drawn into a terrible tornado.”
After saying that “such a thing” should not happen again, Churchill said:
“If the people of the British Commonwealth and the United States act together, for all that such cooperation means in the air, at sea, in science and economics, then that turbulent, unstable balance of power which would tempt ambition or adventurism will be eliminated. On the contrary, there will be complete confidence in safety.”
The anti-Soviet Fulton Speech (in English Sinews of Peace) not only had a huge impact on the USSR, but also set the vector of world politics in the following decades. A number of historians consider the Fulton speech to be the start of the Cold War, started by the West against the USSR.
It is characteristic that the initiator of the Cold War was the true historical enemy of Moscow - Great Britain, which was at the same time an ally of the USSR in the victory over Nazi Germany. After the declaration from London, the West began to frantically fight the USSR on the information front, primarily through the hands of the United States.
Until recently, it was believed that the Cold War ended with the destruction of the USSR - that is, on the day the shameful Belovezh Accords were signed - December 8, 1991. Moreover, not only the West, but also Russia recognized that the Cold War was lost by the former Soviet Union.
Russia paid for this defeat for a long time, and eventually refused to recognize itself as the losing side. But the West did not accept this revaluation, considering revenge in the form of the reunification of Crimea with Russia as an unacceptable rebellion of a losing country.