home Windows The Big Three in Crimea. Purpose and tasks of the Yalta conference. Declaration on Liberated Europe

The Big Three in Crimea. Purpose and tasks of the Yalta conference. Declaration on Liberated Europe

The Crimean (Yalta) Conference of the Allied Powers (February 4 - 11, 1945) is one of the meetings of the leaders of the countries of the anti-Hitler coalition - the USSR, the USA and Great Britain, dedicated to the establishment of a post-war world order. The conference was held at the Livadia Palace in Yalta, Crimea.

Livadia Palace

In 1943, in Tehran, Franklin Roosevelt, Joseph Stalin, and Winston Churchill discussed mainly the problem of achieving victory over the Third Reich; between the winning countries.

By that time, the collapse of Nazism was no longer in doubt, and victory over Germany was only a matter of time - as a result of powerful offensive strikes by the Soviet troops, hostilities were transferred to German territory, and the war entered its final stage. The fate of Japan also did not raise any special questions, since the United States already controlled almost the entire Pacific Ocean. The Allies understood that they had a unique chance to manage the history of Europe in their own way, since for the first time in history, almost all of Europe was in the hands of only three states.

All decisions of Yalta, in general, concerned two problems. Firstly, it was required to draw new state borders on the territory that had recently been occupied by the Third Reich. At the same time, it was necessary to establish unofficial, but generally recognized by all parties, demarcation lines between the spheres of influence of the allies - a matter that had already begun in Tehran.

Secondly, the allies were well aware that after the disappearance of a common enemy, the forced unification of the West and the USSR would lose all meaning, and therefore it was necessary to create procedures to guarantee the immutability of the dividing lines drawn on the world map.

In February 1945, the Crimean (Yalta) conference of the leaders of the USSR, the USA and Great Britain took place, which considered the issues of the post-war structure of the world and the participation of the USSR in the war with Japan. On February 11, 1945, an agreement was signed at the conference, which provided for the entry of the USSR into the war against Japan on the side of the allies two to three months after the surrender of Germany on certain conditions.

Choosing a venue for the Crimean (Yalta) conference in 1945

The first message about the meeting, read by the Crimeans: “US President, Prime Minister Soviet Union and the Prime Minister of Great Britain, accompanied by their chiefs of staff, as well as three foreign ministers and other advisers, are now conferring in the Black Sea region. The fact that the “Black Sea region” is the South Coast is known only to a few of those who ensure the meeting. Crimea has been cleared of fascists for almost a year, but it continues to be in the zone of operation of German aviation based in Northern Italy, and it is not customary to talk about the places of such meetings in advance. The world started talking about Yalta after February 15, when the last planes of high-ranking guests left the peninsula.

However, initially there was no talk of a meeting in Crimea. The US President proposed Northern Scotland, Cyprus, Athens or Malta, the British Prime Minister - Alexandria or Jerusalem. But the leader of the USSR was adamant: "On the Soviet Black Sea coast." Stalin had the right to insist: after the Vistula-Oder operation, the Soviet troops were sixty kilometers from Berlin, the allies, who had barely recovered from the fascist counterattack in the Ardennes (Belgium), were five hundred kilometers away. On the other hand, Stalin agreed with Churchill's proposal that the conference be codenamed Argonaut. The Briton wrote to the American: "We are the direct descendants of the Argonauts, who, according to Greek mythology, sailed to the Black Sea for the Golden Fleece."

Medea and Jason with the Golden Fleece on the "Argo"

The “Golden Fleece” was the USSR, according to the Americans: “We need to have the support of the Soviet Union to defeat Germany. We desperately need the Soviet Union for a war with Japan after the end of the war in Europe."

The USSR had two months to prepare the conference, and a lot had to be done: the peninsula was badly damaged by the Nazis, the southern coast palaces - Livadia, Vorontsovsky (Alupka) and Yusupovsky (Koreiz), where the delegations were supposed to be located, were plundered. Equipment, furniture, products were brought to the Crimea from all over the country, specialists from construction organizations and the service sector arrived (for Churchill's fireplace in the Vorontsov Palace, birch firewood was specially prepared from the Crimean trees now listed in the Red Book). In Livadia, Koreiz and Alupka, several power plants were installed, metro builders made bomb shelters. The protection was provided by the Soviet Union: aviation and artillery special groups, "covered" from the sea - the Voroshilov cruiser, destroyers, submarines, entered the Black Sea and several Allied warships.

cruiser "Voroshilov" in the South Bay of Sevastopol

In the parks, palaces of the southern coast of Crimea and other places where the delegations even stopped for a short time, they brought shine, but they did not manage to remove the traces of the war along the entire path of the motorcades. Yes, and there was no need to “mask” them: destroyed houses, crumpled military equipment, which the US president saw from the windows of the representative ZIS-101 (there is a photo where the American president in the Crimea is captured not on ZiS, but on an open army "Willis" ) and the Prime Minister of Britain, made the "right" impression.

Roosevelt, for example, "was horrified by the extent of the destruction caused by the Germans in the Crimea." But otherwise, the guests were satisfied with the reception. Everything was chosen to their taste, even the curtains on the windows in the American president's apartment were his favorite blue color, and the English prime minister was settled in a palace designed by an English architect. Franklin Roosevelt said that when he was no longer president, he would like to ask Livadia to be sold to him in order to plant many trees near it. Winston Churchill asked Joseph Stalin what his feelings would be if an international organization came forward with a proposal to transfer Crimea as an international resort, and Stalin replied that he would gladly provide Crimea for conferences of the three powers. But the February 1945 conference remained the only one held in the Crimea.

It began on February 4 at 5 pm with a meeting in the Great Hall of the Livadia Palace. But the peninsula began to meet the participants earlier: on February 1, Stalin arrived at the Simferopol railway station by train from Moscow. Koreiz (an urban-type settlement in the Crimea) was already waiting for him, where the Soviet delegation was housed in the Yusupov Palace.

Yusupov Palace in Koreiz

“Among the historical places of the conference is the building on Lenin Street, 20, in Alushta, this is the former dacha of General Golubov,” says the author of the book “The Crimean Conference of 1945. Memorable places" Vladimir Gurkovich. - The dacha was one of two road houses prepared for the rest of the delegations - Stalin stopped here. The leader of the USSR stayed in Alushta for about an hour, then left for Koreiz, from where he informed Churchill "personally and strictly secretly" that he was already at the meeting place. But the Soviet leader did not go to the airfield to meet, as well as to see off the guests, instructing Foreign Minister Molotov to do this.

The heads of the allied countries flew to the Saki military airfield (the current airfield in Novofedorovka), where there was a runway convenient for their aircraft, built in the 30s. Churchill's plane landed first, followed an hour later by Roosevelt's.

The guard of honor, the orchestra performs the anthems of three countries, and the president especially thanked for the excellent performance of the American anthem, a small "snack" in military tents set up at the airfield and "a long journey from Sak to Yalta."

“The Americans covered the distance from the airfield to Livadia (where their residence was) in six hours,” continues Gurkovich, “and it took the British eight, although from Livadia to Alupka (where the British residence was) then the car went thirty minutes.

Vorontsov Palace in Alupka

Official meetings of the members of the delegations and unofficial dinners of the heads of state were held in all three palaces of the South Coast. In Yusupov, for example, Stalin and Churchill discussed the transfer of people released from fascist camps. Foreign Ministers Molotov, Stettinius (USA) and Eden (Great Britain) met in the Vorontsov Palace. But the main meetings still took place in the Livadia Palace - the residence of the American delegation. Under diplomatic protocol, this was not supposed to, but Roosevelt could not move without assistance. Official meetings of the "Big Three" took place here eight times (from 4 to 11 February). It was in Livadia that the "Communique on the Crimean Conference" was signed.

signing hall “Communique on the Crimean Conference”

Then Roosevelt and Churchill went to Sevastopol, Stalin left the Simferopol station in the evening for Moscow. The American president, having spent the night on board a US ship stationed in the Sevastopol Bay, on February 12 left for the Saki airfield, from where he flew to Egypt. Churchill stayed in the Crimea for another two days: he visited Sapun Mountain, Balaklava, where the British fought in 1854-55, visited the Voroshilov cruiser, and only on February 14 flew from the Saki airfield to Greece. Roosevelt from the plane sent Stalin thanks for his hospitality, Churchill said at the farewell ceremony: “Leaving the resurrected Crimea, cleansed of the Huns thanks to Russian valor, leaving Soviet territory, I express my gratitude and admiration to all the valiant people and their army.”

“Probably,” Vladimir Gurkovich argues, “the main lesson of the Crimean Conference is that in a difficult moment in the face of a common enemy, people of different political views, sometimes even hostile to each other, can and should unite for the sake of saving their peoples and civilization.”

In the year of the 60th anniversary of the conference, they were going to erect a monument to the Big Three, created by Zurab Tsereteli, near the Livadia Palace. But the idea caused a stormy protest from a number of nationalist organizations in Crimea. Now the monument is waiting in the wings in the sculptor's art gallery in Moscow. Volgograd and Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk expressed their willingness to erect a monument at home.

Redistribution of borders

Exactly 70 years ago, from February 4 to 11, 1945, Crimea was at the epicenter of an event of international significance - these days a conference of the heads of powers - allies of the anti-Hitler coalition in World War II - the chairman of the government of the USSRRI.V. Stalin, US President F.D. Roosevelt and British Prime Minister W. Churchill.

The meeting room of the commissions in the Livadia Palace

By the time the Yalta Conference was held, the war had already entered its final stage - as a result of the offensive of the Red Army and the landing of allied troops in Normandy, hostilities were transferred to German territory. And it was precisely this circumstance - the already obvious defeat of Nazism - that dictated the issues discussed at the meeting of the leaders of states.

Behind the external respectability of the leaders of the "Big Three" countries, proclaiming the destruction of German militarism and Nazism as their adamant goal, there was practically no hiding the tough and pragmatic approaches of the parties in solving two main problems.

Firstly, it was required to draw new state borders between countries that had recently been occupied by the Third Reich. At the same time, it was necessary to establish unofficial, but generally recognized by all parties, demarcation lines between the spheres of influence of the allies - a matter that had already begun in Tehran.

In this regard, Roosevelt, Churchill and Stalin managed to find mutual language.

Poland

The situation with Poland was very difficult. Its outlines changed dramatically after the Second World War. Poland, which before the war had been the largest country in Central Europe, was drastically reduced and moved to the west and north. Until 1939, its eastern border was practically under Kyiv and Minsk, and besides, the Poles owned the Vilna region, which is now part of Lithuania. The western border with Germany was located east of the Oder, while most Baltic coast also belonged to Germany. In the east of the pre-war territory, the Poles were a national minority among Ukrainians and Belarusians, while part of the territories in the west and north inhabited by Poles were under German jurisdiction.

The USSR received the western border with Poland along the so-called "Curzon Line", established back in 1920, with a retreat from it in some areas from 5 to 8 km in favor of Poland. In fact, the border returned to the position at the time of the partition of Poland between Germany and the USSR in 1939 under a secret additional protocol on the division of spheres of interest to the Non-Aggression Treaty between Germany and the Soviet Union, the main difference from which was the transfer of the Bialystok region to Poland.

Although Poland by that time had already been under the rule of Germany for the sixth year, there was a provisional government of this country in exile in London, which was recognized by the USSR and therefore could well claim power in its country after the end of the war. However, in the Crimea, Stalin managed to get the allies to agree to the creation of a new government in Poland itself "with the inclusion of democratic figures from Poland itself and Poles from abroad." This decision, implemented in the presence of Soviet troops, allowed the USSR to later without much difficulty form a political regime that suits it in Warsaw.

Germany

A fundamental decision was made on the occupation and division of Germany into occupation zones (one of the zones was allocated to France). It was decided that France should be given a zone in Germany to be occupied by French troops. This zone will be formed from the British and American zones, and its dimensions will be fixed by the British and Americans in consultation with the French Provisional Government.

It was also decided that the French Provisional Government should be invited to enter as a member of the Control Council for Germany.

Actually, the settlement of the issue regarding the zones of occupation of Germany was reached even before the Yalta Conference, in September 1944, in the “Protocol of Agreement between the governments of the USSR, the USA and the United Kingdom on the zones of occupation of Germany and on the management of Greater Berlin”.

This decision predetermined the split of the country for many decades. On May 23, 1949, the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Germany, previously signed by representatives of the three Western powers, was put into effect. On September 7, 1949, the first session of the West German parliament proclaimed the creation of a new state. In response, on October 7, 1949, the German Democratic Republic was formed on the territory of the Soviet occupation zone.

There was also talk of the separation of East Prussia (later, after Potsdam, the current Kaliningrad region was created on 1/3 of this territory).

The participants in the Yalta Conference declared that their adamant goal was to destroy German militarism and Nazism and to create guarantees that "Germany will never again be in a position to disturb the peace", "disarm and disband all German armed forces and permanently destroy the German General Staff", " seize or destroy all German military equipment, liquidate or take control of all German industry that could be used for war production; subject all war criminals to just and speedy punishment; wipe out the Nazi Party, Nazi laws, organizations and institutions; eliminate all Nazi and militaristic influence from public institutions, from the cultural and economic life of the German people." At the same time, the conference communiqué emphasized that after the eradication of Nazism and militarism, the German people would be able to take their rightful place in the community of nations.

Nuremberg trials of Nazi criminals in 1946

Upcoming Moscow Trial 201

Balkans

The eternal Balkan issue was also discussed - in particular, the situation in Yugoslavia and Greece. It is believed that Stalin allowed Great Britain to decide the fate of the Greeks, as a result of which clashes between the communist and pro-Western formations in this country were later decided in favor of the latter. On the other hand, it was actually recognized that the NOAU (People's Liberation Army of Yugoslavia) Josip Broz Tito would receive power in Yugoslavia, who, however, was recommended to take "democrats" into the government.

Josip Broz Tito

... It was then that Churchill touched on the topic that interested him most. "Let's settle our affairs in the Balkans," he said. - Your armies are in Romania and Bulgaria. We have interests there, our missions and agents. Let's avoid clashes over petty matters. Since we are talking about England and Russia, what do you think if you had 90% influence in Romania, and we, say, 90% influence in Greece? And 50% to 50% in Yugoslavia? While his words were being translated into Russian, Churchill jotted down these percentages on a sheet of paper and pushed the sheet across the table to Stalin. He glanced at it briefly and handed it back to Churchill. There was a pause. The sheet was on the table. Churchill did not touch him. Finally, he said, "Wouldn't it be considered too cynical that we should so easily resolve issues that affect millions of people?" Let's burn this paper better ... - No, keep it with you, - said Stalin. Churchill folded the paper in half and put it in his pocket.

Far East

A separate document fundamentally decided the fate of the Far East. In exchange for the participation of Soviet troops in the war against Japan, Stalin received significant concessions from the United States and Great Britain. Firstly, the USSR received the Kuril Islands and South Sakhalin, lost in the Russo-Japanese War. In addition, Mongolia was recognized as an independent state. The Soviet side was also promised Port Arthur and the Chinese Eastern Railway (CER).

The leaders of the Three Great Powers - the Soviet Union, the United States of America and Great Britain - agreed that two to three months after the surrender of Germany and the end of the war in Europe, the Soviet Union would enter the war against Japan on the side of the Allies, on the condition that:

1. Maintaining the status quo of Outer Mongolia (Mongolian People's Republic);

2. Restoration of the rights belonging to Russia, violated by the perfidious attack of Japan in 1904, namely:

a) the return to the Soviet Union of the southern part of about. Sakhalin and all adjacent islands;

b) the internationalization of the commercial port of Dairen with the provision of the predominant interests of the Soviet Union in this port and the restoration of the lease on Port Arthur as a naval base of the USSR;

c) joint operation of the Chinese Eastern Railway and the South Manchurian Railway, which gives access to Dairen, on the basis of organizing a mixed Soviet-Chinese Society with the provision of the predominant interests of the Soviet Union, while it is understood that China retains full sovereignty in Manchuria.

3. Transfer to the Soviet Union of the Kuril Islands.

The Heads of the Governments of the Three Great Powers agreed that these claims of the Soviet Union should be unconditionally satisfied after the victory over Japan.

For its part, the Soviet Union expressed its readiness to conclude a pact of friendship and alliance between the USSR and China with the National Chinese Government to assist it with its armed forces in order to liberate China from the Japanese yoke.

Declaration of a Liberated Europe

In Yalta, the Declaration on Liberated Europe was also signed, which determined the principles of the policy of the victors in the territories recaptured from the enemy. It assumed, in particular, the restoration of the sovereign rights of the peoples of these territories, as well as the right of the allies to jointly "help" these peoples "improve conditions" for the exercise of these very rights. The declaration stated: "The establishment of order in Europe and the reorganization of national economic life must be achieved in such a way that will allow the liberated peoples to destroy the last traces of Nazism and fascism and create democratic institutions of their own choice."

The idea of joint assistance, as expected, did not become a reality later: each victorious power had power only in those territories where its troops were stationed. As a result, each of the former allies in the war began to diligently support their own ideological allies at the end of the war. Europe in a few years was divided into the socialist camp and Western Europe, where Washington, London and Paris tried to resist the communist mood.

Major war criminals

The Conference decided that the question of the chief war criminals should, after the close of the Conference, be considered by the three Foreign Ministers for a report at the appropriate time.

At the Crimean Conference, negotiations took place between the British, American and Soviet delegations to conclude a comprehensive agreement on arrangements for the protection, maintenance and repatriation (repatriation) of prisoners of war and civilians of Great Britain, the Soviet Union and the United States of America liberated by the Allied armed forces entering Germany. The texts of the Agreements signed on February 11 between the USSR and Great Britain and between the USSR and the United States of America are identical. The agreement between the Soviet Union and Great Britain was signed by V.M. Molotov and Eden. The agreement between the Soviet Union and the United States of America was signed by Lieutenant General Gryzlov and General Dean.

In accordance with these Agreements, until vehicles are made available for the repatriation of Allied citizens, each Ally will provide food, clothing, medical care and other needs for citizens of other Allies. Soviet officers will assist the British and American authorities in their task of serving Soviet citizens liberated by the British and American armed forces during the period of time they are on the continent of Europe or in the United Kingdom, waiting for transport to take them home.

British and American officers will assist the Soviet Government in serving British subjects and American citizens.

Since an agreement has now been reached, the three Governments undertake to provide all assistance consistent with the requirements of the conduct of military operations in order to ensure the prompt repatriation of all these prisoners of war and civilians.

The results of the Crimean Conference of 1945, in principle, are quite well covered in historiography. But it raised a question that for a long time actually not known to the general public.

On February 10, 1945, in Koreiz, in the Yusupov Palace, where Stalin's residence was located, he met with British Prime Minister Churchill and Foreign Minister Eden, who accompanied him.

The meeting was about the repatriation of Soviet citizens who ended up outside the USSR as a result of the war (prisoners of war, Ostarbeiters (from German Ostarbeiter - a worker from the East) - a definition adopted in the Third Reich to refer to people taken out of Eastern Europe for the purpose of use in as a free or low-paid workforce, soldiers of the volunteer formations of the Wehrmacht). According to the Yalta agreements, all of them, regardless of their desire, were subject to extradition to the USSR, a significant part of them subsequently ended up in camps and were shot.

Consideration of the issue of reparations

Once again the question of reparations was raised. However, the Allies were never able to finally determine the amount of compensation. It was only decided that the United States and Great Britain would give Moscow 50 percent of all reparations.

The following protocol was signed: Protocol on negotiations between the heads of the three governments at the Crimean Conference on the question of reparations in kind from Germany.

The heads of the three governments agreed on the following:

1. Germany is obliged to compensate in kind the damage caused by her in the course of the war to the allied nations.

Reparations should be received in the first place by those countries that bore the brunt of the war, suffered the greatest losses and organized victory over the enemy.

2. Reparations are to be levied on Germany in three forms:

a) one-time withdrawals within two years after the surrender of Germany or the cessation of organized resistance from the national wealth of Germany, located both on the territory of Germany itself and outside it (equipment, machine tools, ships, rolling stock, German investments abroad, shares of industrial, transport , shipping and other enterprises of Germany, etc.), and these withdrawals should be carried out mainly with the aim of destroying the military potential of Germany;

b) annual commodity deliveries from current production during the period, the duration of which is to be established;

c) the use of German labor.

3. In order to work out, on the basis of the above principles, a detailed reparation plan, an inter-Allied reparations commission is established in Moscow, consisting of representatives from the USSR, the USA and Great Britain.

4. With regard to determining the total amount of reparations, as well as its distribution among the countries that suffered after the German aggression, the Soviet and American delegations agreed on the following: “The Moscow Commission for Reparations in the initial stage of its work will accept as a basis for discussion the proposal of the Soviet government that the total amount of reparations in accordance with points "a" and "b" of paragraph 2 should be 20 billion dollars and that 50% of this amount goes to the Soviet Union. The British delegation considered that, pending consideration of the question of reparations by the Moscow Reparations Commission, no figures for reparations could be given.

2.5 Questions concerning the international security organization

In Yalta, it was decided to hold a founding conference of the United Nations in the United States in April 1945. The Soviet proposal for the membership of the Soviet republics in the future UN was accepted, but their number was limited to two - Ukraine and Belarus. At the Yalta Conference, an agreement was concluded on the entry of the USSR into the war against Japan two or three months after the end of the war in Europe. During separate negotiations between Stalin, Roosevelt and Churchill, agreements were reached on strengthening the positions of the USSR in the Far East. The main burden of military efforts against Japan fell on the United States, they were interested in the speedy entry of the USSR into the war in the Far East.

In Yalta, the idea of a new League of Nations was launched. The Allies needed an interstate organization capable of preventing attempts to change the established boundaries of spheres of influence. It was at the winners' conferences in Tehran and Yalta and at the interim talks in Dumbarton Oaks that the ideology of the United Nations was formed.

It was decided:

1) that a United Nations conference on the subject of a proposed world organization should be convened on Wednesday, April 25, 1945, and be held in the United States of America;

2) that the following States should be invited to this conference:

b) those of the acceded nations that declared war on the common enemy by March 1, 1945 (In this case, the acceded nations mean the eight acceded nations and Turkey). When the world organization conference takes place, the delegates of the United Kingdom and the United States of America will support the proposal for admission to initial membership of the two Soviet Socialist Republics, namely the Ukraine and Belarus;

3) that the Government of the United States, on behalf of the three Powers, will consult with the Government of China and with the French Provisional Government on the decisions taken at this conference, concerning the supposed world organization;

4) that the text of the invitations to be sent to all States participating in the conference should be as follows:

Invitation

“The Government of the United States of America, in its own name and on behalf of the Governments of the United Kingdom, the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics and the Republic of China, and on behalf of the Provisional Government of the French Republic, invites the Government of ……… representatives to the United Nations Conference to be held on April 25, 1945, or shortly after that date in San Francisco, in the United States of America, to prepare the charter of a universal international organization for the maintenance of international peace and security.

The above-named Governments propose that the Conference consider as the basis for such a constitution the proposals for the establishment of a general international organization, which were published last October as a result of the Dumbarton Oaks conference and which were supplemented by the following conditions for Section C of Chapter VI:

1. Each member of the Security Council shall have one vote.

2. Decisions of the Security Council on questions of procedure are taken by a majority of seven votes of the members.

3. Decisions of the Security Council in all other matters shall be taken by a majority of seven votes of the members, including the concurring votes of the permanent members, with the party to the dispute abstaining from voting in decisions under section A of chapter VIII and under the second sentence of paragraph I of section C of chapter VIII ".

Further information on relevant events will be communicated in the future.

In the event that the government ……… wishes to express opinions and comments regarding the proposals in advance of the conference, the Government of the United States of America will be happy to convey such opinions and comments to other participating governments.”

Territorial guardianship

It was decided that the five states that would have permanent seats on the Security Council should consult among themselves prior to a United Nations conference on the issue of territorial trust.

This recommendation was accepted on the condition that the territorial tutelage would only apply: a) to existing mandates of the League of Nations; b) to territories taken away from enemy states as a result of this war; c) to any other territory that may be voluntarily placed under trusteeship, and d) no discussion of specific territories at the upcoming United Nations conference or during preliminary consultations is expected, and a decision on which territories that fall into the above categories will be placed under guardianship, will be the subject of a later agreement.

It was agreed that the principle of the unanimity of the great powers - permanent members of the Security Council with the right of veto - would be the basis for the UN's activities in resolving cardinal issues of ensuring peace.

Stalin obtained the consent of his partners so that not only the USSR, but also the Ukrainian SSR and the Byelorussian SSR were among the founders and members of the UN. And it was in the Yalta documents that the date “April 25, 1945” appeared - the date of the start of the San Francisco Conference, which was intended to develop the UN Charter.

The UN has become a symbol and formal guarantor of the post-war world order, an authoritative and sometimes even quite effective organization in resolving interstate problems. At the same time, the victorious countries continued to prefer to resolve really serious issues of their relations through bilateral negotiations, and not within the framework of the UN. The UN has also failed to prevent the wars that both the US and the USSR have waged over the past decades.

Conclusion

The Crimean Conference of the leaders of the USA, USSR and Great Britain was of great historical significance. It was one of the largest international wartime conferences, an important milestone in the cooperation of the powers of the anti-Hitler coalition in waging war against a common enemy. The adoption at the conference of agreed decisions on important issues once again showed the possibility of international cooperation between states with different social systems.

The bipolar world created in Yalta and the rigid division of Europe into east and west survived for half a century, until the 1990s, which speaks of the stability of this system.

The Yalta system collapsed only with the fall of one of the centers that ensured the balance of power. Literally in two or three years at the turn of the 1980s and 1990s, the “Vostok”, which personified the USSR, disappeared from the world map. Since then, the boundaries of spheres of influence in Europe have been determined only by the current alignment of forces. At the same time, most of Central and Eastern Europe survived the disappearance of the former demarcation lines quite calmly, and Poland, the Czech Republic, Hungary and the Baltic countries were even able to integrate into the new picture of the world in Europe.

The conference, which was attended by I. Stalin (USSR), F. Roosevelt (USA), W. Churchill (Great Britain), began its work at a time when, thanks to the powerful blows of the Red Army on the Eastern Front and the active actions of the Anglo-American troops in Western Europe, World War II entered its final stage. This also explained the agenda of the conference - the post-war structure of Germany and other states that took part in the war, the creation of an international system of collective security that would exclude the emergence of world military conflicts in the future.

The conference adopted a number of documents that determined the development of international relations for many years to come.

It was stated, in particular, that the aim of the conference participants was “to disarm and disband all German armed forces and destroy the German General Staff forever; seize or destroy all German military equipment, liquidate or take control of all German industry that could be used for military production; subject all war criminals to just and speedy punishment; wipe out the Nazi Party, Nazi laws, organizations and institutions; eliminate all Nazi and militaristic influence from public institutions, from the cultural and economic life of the German people”, i.e. destroy German militarism and Nazism so that Germany will never again be able to disturb the peace.

It was decided to create the United Nations as a system of collective security, and the basic principles of its charter were defined.

In addition, in order to end the Second World War as soon as possible, an agreement was reached on the Far East, which provided for the entry of the USSR into the war with Japan. The fact is that Japan - one of the three main states that unleashed World War II (Germany, Italy, Japan) - has been at war with the United States and England since 1941, and the allies turned to the USSR with a request to help them eliminate this last hotbed of war.

The communiqué of the conference recorded the desire of the allied powers "to preserve and strengthen in the coming period of peace that unity of purpose and action which has made victory possible and undeniable for the United Nations in modern warfare."

Unfortunately, the unity of goals and actions of the allied powers in the post-war period was not achieved: the world entered the era of the Cold War.

Yalta conference 1945 for almost half a century predetermined the structure of the world, dividing it into East and West. This bipolar world lasted until the early 1990s and collapsed along with the USSR, thus confirming the fragility of the world order based on the right of the victors over the vanquished.

Yalta (Crimean) Conference of the Allied Powers(February 4 - 11, 1945) - one of the meetings of the leaders of the countries of the anti-Hitler coalition - the USSR, the USA and Great Britain, dedicated to the establishment of the post-war world order. The conference was held at the Livadia Palace in Yalta, Crimea.

Meaning

In 1943, in Tehran, Franklin Roosevelt, Joseph Stalin, and Winston Churchill discussed mainly the problem of achieving victory over the Third Reich; between the winning countries.

All decisions of Yalta, in general, concerned two problems.

Firstly, it was required to draw new state borders on the territory that had recently been occupied by the Third Reich. At the same time, it was necessary to establish unofficial, but generally recognized by all parties, demarcation lines between the spheres of influence of the allies - a matter that had already begun in Tehran.

Redistribution of borders

In this regard, Roosevelt, Churchill and Stalin managed to find a common language on almost all issues.

Poland

Its outlines changed dramatically after the Second World War. Poland, which before the war had been the largest country in Central Europe, was drastically reduced and moved to the west and north. Until 1939, its eastern border was practically under Kyiv and Minsk, and besides, the Poles owned the Vilna region, which is now part of Lithuania. The western border with Germany was located east of the Oder, while most of the Baltic coast also belonged to Germany. In the east of the pre-war territory, the Poles were a national minority among Ukrainians and Belarusians, while part of the territories in the west and north inhabited by Poles were under German jurisdiction.

Germany

A fundamental decision was made on the occupation and division of Germany into occupation zones and on the allocation of France to its own zone.

A concrete settlement of the issue regarding the zones of occupation of Germany was reached even before the Crimean conference and was fixed in "Protocol of the Agreement between the governments of the USSR, the USA and the United Kingdom on the zones of occupation of Germany and on the management of Greater Berlin" dated September 12, 1944.

The participants in the Yalta Conference declared that their inexorable goal was to destroy German militarism and Nazism and to create guarantees that "Germany will never again be able to disturb the peace", "disarm and disband all German armed forces and permanently destroy the German General Staff", "seizure or destroy all German military equipment, eliminate or take control of all German industry that could be used for war production; subject all war criminals to just and speedy punishment; wipe out the Nazi Party, Nazi laws, organizations and institutions; eliminate all Nazi and militaristic influence from public institutions, from the cultural and economic life of the German people." At the same time, the conference communiqué emphasized that after the eradication of Nazism and militarism, the German people would be able to take their rightful place in the community of nations.

Balkans

The eternal Balkan issue was also discussed - in particular, the situation in Yugoslavia and Greece. It is believed that Stalin allowed Great Britain to decide the fate of the Greeks, as a result of which clashes between the communist and pro-Western formations in this country were later decided in favor of the latter. On the other hand, it was actually recognized that Josip Broz Tito would receive power in Yugoslavia, although he was recommended to take "democrats" into the government.

... It was then that Churchill touched on the topic that interested him most.

Let's settle our affairs in the Balkans, he said. - Your armies are in Romania and Bulgaria. We have interests there, our missions and agents. Let's avoid clashes over petty matters. Since we are talking about England and Russia, what do you think if you had 90% influence in Romania, and we, say, 90% influence in Greece? And 50% to 50% in Yugoslavia?

While his words were being translated into Russian, Churchill jotted down these percentages on a sheet of paper and pushed the sheet across the table to Stalin. He glanced at it briefly and handed it back to Churchill. There was a pause. The sheet was on the table. Churchill did not touch him. Finally he said:

Wouldn't it be considered too cynical that we so easily resolved issues that affect millions of people? Let's burn this paper...

No, keep it with you, - said Stalin.

Churchill folded the paper in half and put it in his pocket.

- Berezhkov V. M. Difficulties in inter-allied relations. A strange proposal // Pages of diplomatic history - 4th ed. - M.: International relations, 1987. - S. 478. - 616 p. - 130.000 copies.

Declaration of a Liberated Europe

In Yalta, the Declaration on Liberated Europe was also signed, which determined the principles of the policy of the victors in the territories recaptured from the enemy. It assumed, in particular, the restoration of the sovereign rights of the peoples of these territories, as well as the right of the allies to jointly "help" these peoples "improve conditions" for the exercise of these very rights. The declaration stated: "The establishment of order in Europe and the reorganization of national economic life must be achieved in such a way that will enable the liberated peoples to destroy the last traces of Nazism and fascism and establish democratic institutions of their own choice."

The idea of joint assistance, as expected, later did not become a reality: each victorious power had power only in those territories where its troops were stationed. As a result, each of the former allies in the war began to diligently support their own ideological allies at the end of the war. Europe in a few years was divided into the socialist camp and Western Europe, where Washington, London and Paris tried to resist the communist mood.

Reparations

Far East

UN

In Yalta, the idea of a new League of Nations was launched. The Allies needed an interstate organization capable of preventing attempts to change the established boundaries of spheres of influence. It was at the conferences of the winners in Tehran and Yalta and at the intermediate talks in Dumbarton Oaks that the ideology of the United Nations was formed.

Stalin obtained the consent of his partners so that not only the USSR, but also the Ukrainian SSR and the Byelorussian SSR were among the founders and members of the UN. And it was in the Yalta documents that the date "April 25, 1945" appeared - the date of the start of the San Francisco Conference, which was intended to develop the UN Charter.

Yalta heritage

The bipolar world created in Yalta and the rigid division of Europe into east and west survived for just over 40 years, until the end of the 1980s, which indicates the instability of such a system.

The Yalta system collapsed literally in two or three years at the turn of the 1980s and 1990s, when the "East", which personified the USSR, disappeared from the world map. Since then, the boundaries of spheres of influence in Europe have been determined only by the current alignment of forces. At the same time, most of Central and Eastern Europe survived the disappearance of the former demarcation lines quite calmly, and Poland, the Czech Republic, Hungary and the Baltic countries were even able to integrate into the new picture of the world in Europe.

Agreement on Displaced Persons

During the conference, another agreement was concluded, which was very important for the Soviet side, namely the agreement on the repatriation of military and civilians, i.e. displaced persons - persons liberated (captured) in the territories captured by the allies.

Subsequently, fulfilling this agreement, the British handed over to the Soviet side not only Soviet citizens, but also former Russians who had long had foreign citizenship. Including the extradition of the Cossacks was carried out, of which the senior officers (generals) were executed, and the rest were repressed by the Soviet authorities.

According to some estimates, this agreement has affected more than 2.5 million people.

Shortly before the end of World War II, the second meeting of the heads of state of the anti-Hitler coalition took place: I. V. Stalin (USSR), W. Churchill (Great Britain) and F. Roosevelt (USA). It took place in the period from 4 to 1945 and, according to the place of its holding, was called the Yalta Conference. This was the last international meeting at which representatives of the "big three" met on the eve of the onset of the nuclear age.

Post-war partition of Europe

If during the previous meeting of high parties, held in 1943 in Tehran, the issues related to achieving a joint victory over fascism were discussed, the essence of the Yalta Conference was the post-war division of world influence spheres between the victorious countries. Since by that time the offensive of the Soviet troops was already developing on German territory, and the collapse of Nazism was beyond doubt, one could safely say that the future picture of the world was determined in the Livadia (White) Palace of Yalta, where representatives of the three great powers gathered.

In addition, the defeat of Japan was quite obvious, since almost the entire Pacific Ocean was under the control of the Americans. For the first time in world history, a situation arose in which the fate of the whole of Europe was in the hands of the three victorious states. Realizing the uniqueness of this opportunity, each of the delegations made every effort to make the most beneficial decisions for them.

Main agenda items

The entire range of issues considered at the Yalta Conference boiled down to two main problems. First, in the vast territories previously under the occupation of the Third Reich, it was necessary to establish the official borders of states. In addition, on the territory of Germany itself, it was necessary to clearly define the spheres of influence of the allies and delimit them with demarcation lines. This division of the defeated state was unofficial, but nevertheless had to be recognized by each of the interested parties.

Secondly, all participants in the Crimean (Yalta) conference were well aware that the temporary unification of the forces of the countries of the West and the Soviet Union after the end of the war loses its meaning and will inevitably turn into a political confrontation. In this regard, it was extremely necessary to develop measures to guarantee the invariability of previously established boundaries.

Discussing issues related to the redistribution of the borders of European states, Stalin, Churchill and Roosevelt showed restraint, and, agreeing to mutual concessions, managed to reach an agreement on all points. Thanks to this, the decisions of the Yalta Conference significantly changed political map world, changing the outlines of most states.

Decisions related to the borders of Poland

However, the general agreement was reached as a result of hard work, during which the so-called Polish question turned out to be one of the most difficult and controversial. The problem was that before the outbreak of World War II, Poland was the largest state in Central Europe in terms of its territory, but in the year of the Yalta Conference it was only an insignificant territory shifted to the northwest of its former borders.

Suffice it to say that until 1939, when the infamous Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact was signed, which included the division of Poland between the USSR and Germany, its eastern borders were located near Minsk and Kyiv. In addition, the Vilna region, which was ceded to Lithuania, belonged to the Poles, and the western border passed east of the Oder. The state also included a significant part of the Baltic coast. After the defeat of Germany, the treaty on the partition of Poland was no longer valid, and a new decision had to be worked out concerning its territorial borders.

Confrontation of ideologies

In addition, there was another problem that was acute for the participants in the Yalta Conference. Briefly, it can be defined as follows. The fact is that, thanks to the offensive of the Red Army, since February 1945, power in Poland belonged to a provisional government formed from pro-Soviet members of the Polish Committee of National Liberation (PKNO). This authority was recognized only by the governments of the USSR and Czechoslovakia.

At the same time, the Polish government-in-exile, headed by the ardent anti-communist Tomasz Archiszewski, was in London. Under his leadership, an appeal was drawn up to the armed formations of the Polish underground with a call to prevent the entry of Soviet troops into the country and the establishment of a communist regime by all means.

Formation of the Polish government

Thus, one of the issues of the Yalta Conference was the development joint decision concerning the formation of the Polish government. It should be noted that there was no particular disagreement on this issue. It was decided that since Poland was liberated from the Nazis exclusively by the forces of the Red Army, it would be quite fair to allow the Soviet leadership to take control of the formation of government bodies on its territory. As a result, the “Provisional Government of National Unity” was created, which included Polish politicians loyal to the Stalinist regime.

Decisions taken on the "German question"

The decisions of the Yalta Conference also touched upon another equally important issue - the occupation of Germany and its division into territories controlled by each of the victorious states. By common agreement, France was also included among them, which also received its occupation zone. Although this problem was one of the key, the agreement on it did not cause heated discussions. The principal decisions were taken by the leaders of the Soviet Union, the USA and Great Britain as early as September 1944 and were fixed at the signing of the joint treaty. As a result, at the Yalta Conference, the heads of state only confirmed their previous decisions.

Contrary to expectations, the signing of the minutes of the conference served as an impetus for subsequent processes, the result of which was the split of Germany, which stretched out for many decades. The first of these was the creation in September 1949 of a new pro-Western state - the Federal Republic of Germany, the Constitution of which was signed three months earlier by representatives of the United States, Great Britain and France. In response to this step, exactly one month later, the Soviet occupation zone was transformed into the German Democratic Republic, whose entire life was under the vigilant control of Moscow. There were also attempts to secession of East Prussia.

joint statement

The communiqué, signed by the meeting participants, stated that the decisions taken at the Yalta Conference should serve as a guarantee that Germany would never be able to start a war in the future. To this end, its entire military-industrial complex must be destroyed, the remaining army units disarmed and disbanded, and the Nazi Party "wiped off the face of the earth." Only then can the German people again take their rightful place in the community of nations.

The situation in the Balkans

The age-old "Balkan issue" was also included in the agenda of the Yalta Conference. One of its aspects was the situation in Yugoslavia and Greece. There is reason to believe that even at a meeting held in October 1944, Stalin gave Britain the opportunity to determine the future fate of the Greeks. It is for this reason that the clashes that followed in this country a year later between communist supporters and pro-Western formations ended in victory for the latter.

However, at the same time, Stalin managed to insist that power in Yugoslavia remained in the hands of representatives of the National Liberation Army, led by Josip Broz Tito, who at that time adhered to Marxist views. He was recommended to include in it the largest possible number of democratically minded politicians when forming the government.

Final Declaration

One of the most important final documents of the Yalta Conference was called the Declaration on the Liberation of Europe. It determined the specific principles of the policy that the victorious states intended to pursue in the territories conquered from the Nazis. In particular, the restoration of the sovereign rights of the peoples living on them was envisaged.

Moreover, the conference participants assumed the obligation to jointly assist the population of these countries in the realization of their legal rights. The document specifically emphasized that the order established in post-war Europe should contribute to the elimination of the consequences of the German occupation and ensure the creation of a wide range of democratic institutions.

Unfortunately, the idea of joint action for the benefit of the liberated peoples has not received real implementation. The reason was that each victorious power had legal authority only on the territory where its troops were stationed, and pursued its own ideological line on it. As a result, an impetus was given to the division of Europe into two camps - socialist and capitalist.

The fate of the Far East and the question of reparations

The participants in the Yalta Conference during the meetings also touched upon such an important topic as the amount of compensation (reparations), which, according to international laws, Germany was obliged to pay to the victorious countries for the damage caused to them. It was not possible to determine the final amount at that time, but an agreement was reached that the USSR would receive 50% of it, since it suffered the greatest losses during the war.

Regarding the events that took place at that time in the Far East, it was decided that two or three months after the surrender of Germany, the Soviet Union was obliged to enter the war with Japan. For this, according to the signed agreement, the Kuril Islands were transferred to him, as well as South Sakhalin, lost by Russia as a result of the Russo-Japanese War. In addition, the Soviet side received the Chinese Eastern Railway and Port Arthur on a long-term lease.

Preparing for the creation of the UN

The meeting of the heads of state of the Big Three, held in February 1954, went down in history also because it launched the idea of a new League of Nations. The impetus for this was the need to create an international organization whose task would be to prevent any attempts to forcibly change the legal borders of states. This authorized legal body subsequently became the ideology of which was developed during the Yalta Conference.

The date of the next (San Francisco) conference, at which the delegations of 50 founding countries developed and approved its Charter, was also officially announced by the participants of the Yalta meeting. This significant day was April 25, 1945. Created by the joint efforts of representatives of many states, the UN assumed the functions of a guarantor of the stability of the post-war world. Thanks to its authority and prompt action, it has repeatedly managed to find effective solutions to the most complex international problems.

- a conference of the heads of government of the three allied powers of the anti-Hitler coalition in World War II of the USSR, the USA and Great Britain, convened in order to agree on plans for the final defeat of fascist Germany and its allies, to develop the basic principles of a common policy regarding the post-war world order.

The conference communiqué formulated a unified policy of the USSR, the USA and Great Britain in relation to the post-war statute of Germany. It was decided that the armed forces of the three powers, after a complete defeat, would occupy Germany and occupy certain parts of it (zones).

It was also envisaged the creation of an allied administration, the exercise of control over the situation in the country through a specially created body, which would be headed by the commanders-in-chief of the three powers, with a seat in Berlin. At the same time, it was supposed to invite France as the fourth member of this control body to take over one of the zones of occupation.

In order to destroy German militarism and Nazism and turn Germany into a peace-loving state, the Crimean Conference outlined a program for its military, economic and political disarmament.

The conference adopted a decision on the reparations question. She recognized it necessary to oblige Germany to compensate the allied countries for the damage she had caused to the "maximum extent possible" by means of in-kind deliveries. Determination of the amount of reparations and methods of their collection was entrusted to a special commission for damages, which was supposed to work in Moscow.

The conference participants adopted the "Declaration on a Liberated Europe", in which the Allied Powers declared their desire to coordinate their actions in solving the political and economic problems of a liberated Europe.

One of the most difficult issues at the conference was the Polish question. The heads of the three powers reached an agreement on the reorganization of the current Provisional Government on a broader basis, with the inclusion of democratic figures from Poland itself and Poles from abroad. With regard to the Polish borders, it was decided that "the eastern border of Poland should run along the Curzon Line, retreating from it in some areas from five to eight kilometers in favor of Poland." It was also envisaged that Poland "should receive substantial increases in territory in the North and West."

On the question of Yugoslavia, the conference adopted a number of recommendations regarding the formation of a Provisional United Government from representatives of the National Committee for the Liberation of Yugoslavia and the royal government in exile in London, as well as the creation of a Provisional Parliament on the basis of the Anti-Fascist Council for the People's Liberation of Yugoslavia.

Of major importance was the decision of the Crimean Conference to establish a universal international organization for the maintenance of peace and security - the United Nations (UN) and a permanent body under it - the Security Council.

The situation in the Asia-Pacific theater of operations was not officially discussed by the participants of the Yalta Conference, since the USSR was connected with Japan by a treaty of neutrality. The agreement was reached in secret negotiations between the heads of government and signed on 11 February.

The Agreement of the Three Great Powers on the Far East, adopted at the Crimean Conference, provided for the entry of the Soviet Union into the war against Japan two to three months after the surrender of Germany and the end of the war in Europe. In exchange for the participation of Soviet troops in the war against Japan, the United States and Great Britain granted Stalin substantial concessions. The Kuriles and South Sakhalin, lost in the Russo-Japanese war of 1904-1905, were transferred to the USSR. Mongolia received the status of an independent state.

The Soviet side was also promised the restoration of the lease of Port Arthur as a naval base of the USSR, and the joint operation of the Chinese Eastern and South Manchurian railways with China.

Bilateral agreements were also signed at the conference, which determined the procedure for the treatment of prisoners of war and civilians of the states parties to the agreements in the event of their release by the troops of the allied countries, as well as the conditions for their repatriation.

An agreement was reached to set up a permanent mechanism for consultation between the Foreign Ministers of the three Great Powers.

At the Crimean Conference in 1945, the foundations of the post-war world order that existed for almost the entire second half of the 20th century were laid, and some of its elements, such as the UN, still exist.

The material was prepared on the basis of information from open sources

Preparations for the Yalta Conference, which lasted from February 4 to February 11, 1945, began at the end of 1944. It (preparation) involved not only the leaders of the anti-Hitler "big three", but also their closest advisers, assistants, foreign ministers. Among the main participants on our side, one can naturally name Stalin himself, Molotov, as well as Vyshinsky, Maisky, Gromyko, Berezhkov. The latter, by the way, left very interesting memoirs that came out during his lifetime and were republished after his death.

Thus, by the time all three members of the anti-Hitler coalition gathered in Yalta, the agenda had already been agreed and some positions had been clarified. That is, Stalin, Churchill and Roosevelt arrived in Crimea with an understanding of what issues their positions more or less coincide with, and on which they still have to argue.

The venue for the conference was not chosen immediately. Initially it was proposed to hold the meeting in Malta. Even such an expression appeared: “from Malta to Yalta”. But in the end, Stalin, referring to the need to be in the country, insisted on Yalta. Hand on heart, we must admit that the "father of nations" was afraid to fly. History has not preserved a single flight of Stalin on an airplane.

Among the issues to be discussed in Yalta, three were the main ones. Although, no doubt, a much wider range of problems was touched upon at the conference, and agreements were reached on many positions. But the main ones, of course, were: the UN, Poland and Germany. These three questions robbed the Big Three leaders of most of their time. And on them, in principle, agreements were reached, although, to be honest, with great difficulty (especially on Poland).

Diplomats during the Yalta Conference. (pinterest.com)

With regard to Greece, we had no objections - the influence remained with Great Britain, but Stalin rested against Poland: he did not want to give it away, referring to the fact that the country borders on the USSR and it was through it that the war came to us (and not for the first time, By the way, in history we were threatened from there). Therefore, Stalin had a very firm position. However, despite Churchill's categorical resistance and unwillingness to meet halfway, the Soviet leader got his way.

What other options for Poland did the allies have? In those days there (in Poland) there were two governments: Lublin and Mikolajczyk in London. On the latter, of course, Churchill insisted and tried to win Roosevelt over to his side. But the American president made it very clear to the British prime minister that he did not intend to spoil relations with Stalin on this issue. Why? The explanation was simple: there was still a war with Japan, which was not of particular interest to Churchill, and Roosevelt did not want to bicker with the Soviet leader in anticipation of a future alliance to defeat Japan.

As already mentioned, preparations for the conference began at the end of 1944, almost immediately after the opening of the Second Front. The war was drawing to a close, it was clear to everyone that Nazi Germany would not last long. Consequently, it was necessary to decide, firstly, the question of the future and, secondly, to divide Germany. Of course, after Yalta there was also Potsdam, but it was in Crimea that the idea (it belonged to Stalin) appeared to give the zone to France (for which, we note, de Gaulle was always grateful to the USSR).

Also in Livadia, a decision was made to grant UN membership to Belarus and Ukraine. At first, the conversation was about all the republics of the USSR, Stalin gently insisted on this for some time. Then he abandoned this idea and named only three republics: Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania (subsequently very easily abandoning the latter). Thus, two republics remained. To smooth the impression and soften his persistence, the leader of the Soviet state suggested that the Americans also include two or three states in the UN. Roosevelt did not go into this business, foreseeing, most likely, complications in Congress. Moreover, it is interesting that Stalin had a rather convincing reference: India, Australia, New Zealand - all this is the British Empire, that is, the UK will have plenty of votes in the UN - it is necessary to equalize the chances. Therefore, the idea of additional votes of the USSR arose.

Stalin in negotiations with Roosevelt. (pinterest.com)

Compared to Poland, the discussion German question' didn't take long. They talked about reparations, in particular, about the use of the labor of German prisoners of war to pay off all the damage caused by the German army during the occupation of Soviet territory. Other issues were also discussed, but there were no objections from our allies, Britain or the United States. Apparently, all the energy was focused on discussing the future of Poland.

An interesting detail: when the participants (in this case we are talking about Great Britain and the USSR) were distributing zones of influence in Europe, when Stalin agreed to leave Greece to Great Britain, but did not agree to Poland in any way, our troops were already in Hungary and Bulgaria. Churchill sketched a distribution on a piece of paper: 90% of Soviet influence in Poland, 90% of British influence in Greece, Hungary or Romania (one of these countries) and Yugoslavia - 50% each. Having written this on a piece of paper, the British Prime Minister pushed the note to Stalin. He looked, and, according to the memoirs of Berezhkov, Stalin's personal translator, "flicked it back to Churchill." Say, there are no objections. According to Churchill himself, Stalin ticked the document, right in the middle, and pushed it back to Churchill. He asked: "Shall we burn the paper?" Stalin: "As you wish. You can keep it." Churchill folded this note, put it in his pocket and then showed it. True, the British minister did not fail to remark: "How quickly and not very decently we decide the future of the countries of Europe."

The "Iranian issue" was also touched upon at the Yalta Conference. In particular, he was associated with Iranian Azerbaijan. We were going to create another republic, but the allies, the United States and Great Britain, simply reared up and forced us to abandon this idea.

The leaders of the big three at the negotiating table. (pinterest.com)

Now let's talk about the main participants of the conference. Let's start with Franklin Delano Roosevelt. Prior to the meeting in Yalta, the personal physician of the American president, Dr. Howard Bruen, examined Roosevelt to understand his physical condition: whether he would endure the flight, and indeed the conference itself. The president's heart and lungs were found to be fine. True, things were worse with pressure - 211 to 113, which, probably, should have alerted. But Roosevelt had an enviable character trait: he knew how to get ready. And the president gathered himself, showing extraordinary energy, joking, ironic, quickly reacting to all the questions that arose, and thereby somewhat reassured his relatives and advisers that everything was in order. But pallor, yellowness, blue lips - all this attracted attention and gave Roosevelt's critics reason to assert that, in fact, the physical condition of the American president explains all his inexplicable concessions to Stalin.

Roosevelt's closest advisers, who nevertheless were by his side and bore a certain degree of responsibility for the agreements that were reached, argued that the president was in complete control of himself, was aware of everything he spoke about, agreed to and went to. “I have succeeded in everything I could succeed in,” Roosevelt said after Yalta in Washington. But this by no means removed the charges from him.

When Franklin Delano Roosevelt returned home, he spent all his time at the Warm Springs residence. And on April 12, almost exactly two months after the end of the Yalta meeting, Roosevelt, signing government documents, while the artist Elizaveta Shumatova, invited by a friend of the president, Ms. Lucy Rutherfurd, was painting his portrait, suddenly raised her hand to the back of her head and said: "I have a terrible headache." These were the last words in the life of Franklin Roosevelt.

It is worth noting that on the eve of April 12, the American president sent his last telegram to Stalin. The fact is that the Soviet leader received information about the meetings of Allen Dulles, OSS resident in Bern, with General Wolf. Stalin, having learned about this, did not fail to turn to Roosevelt with such, one might say, not quite an ordinary letter, expressing protest, even amazement, surprise. How so? We are such friends, we are frank all the time in a relationship, but here you let me down? Roosevelt reacted. Firstly, he said that he was not conducting any negotiations, that this was a continuation of what had already been started with Stalin's consent. But after all, the USSR was not invited to these negotiations, which is why the Soviet leader was indignant. And Roosevelt wrote to Stalin that he really did not want such an insignificant event to spoil their relationship. And he sent this telegram to Harriman, the US ambassador to the USSR.

Harriman, on his own initiative, delayed the transmission of the letter to Stalin and sent an urgent coded telegram to Roosevelt stating that it was not worth saying that this was a "minor misunderstanding" - this was a very serious situation. And Roosevelt replied: "I am not inclined to consider this a serious event and continue to consider it just a misunderstanding." Thus, the telegram was handed over to Stalin. And when he received it, the next day Roosevelt was gone.

Russian Postage Stamp 1995. (pinterest.com)

Returning to the Yalta Conference, it is worth saying that Stalin, in principle, was pleased with its results. Nowhere and never did he express any dissatisfaction with the fact that he had failed in something (this was not in the spirit of the Soviet leader). The meeting in Crimea received an exceptionally positive, positive assessment: "achieved", "preserved", "provided", "advanced".

And finally, a few words about the security of the Yalta Conference. The protection of representatives of states during the meeting was, of course, the responsibility of the USSR, on whose territory it was held. It is worth noting that all possible forces were connected to the protection and escort of the leaders of the "Big Three". Interesting fact: on the way to Livadia, from the windows of cars, Churchill and Roosevelt observed not only the signs of the just subsided war, but also a large number of women in military uniform.

The article is based on the material of the program "The Price of Victory" of the radio station "Echo of Moscow". The guest of the program is Eduard Ivanyan, Doctor of Historical Sciences, guest of the program “The Price of Victory” of the Ekho Moskvy radio station, the hosts are Dmitry Zakharov and Vitaly Dymarsky. You can read and listen to the original interview in full here.

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The Big Three in Crimea. Purpose and tasks of the Yalta conference. Declaration on Liberated Europe

Meaning

Redistribution of borders

Poland

Germany

Balkans

Declaration of a Liberated Europe

Reparations

Far East

UN

Yalta heritage

Agreement on Displaced Persons

Post-war partition of Europe

Main agenda items

Decisions related to the borders of Poland

Confrontation of ideologies

Formation of the Polish government

Decisions taken on the "German question"

joint statement

The situation in the Balkans

Final Declaration

The fate of the Far East and the question of reparations

Preparing for the creation of the UN