home Usage Who participated in the Yalta Conference in 1945. The purpose and objectives of the Yalta Conference. Decisions taken on the "German question"

Who participated in the Yalta Conference in 1945. The purpose and objectives of the Yalta Conference. Decisions taken on the "German question"

On February 4, 1945, the second meeting of the leaders of the countries of the anti-Hitler coalition began in Crimea - Soviet Union, Great Britain and the United States of America.

Operation Island

The Second World War was coming to an end, and the next meeting of the first persons of the states of the anti-Hitler coalition was ripe. Much controversy was caused by the place future conference. One option was Great Britain, which was a state equidistant from both the US and the Soviet Union. There were proposals to gather in Cairo, Athens or Rome, already liberated from the Nazis. But he insisted that the meeting be held on the territory of the USSR, so that the leaders of the allied states could personally see what damage Germany had inflicted on our country.

The head of the Soviet government I.V. Stalin and
British Prime Minister W. Churchill in the palace during the Yalta Conference

In secret correspondence between the heads of the USSR, the United States and Great Britain, the meeting in Crimea received the code name Argonaut.

In itself, the territory of the Crimea at the beginning of 1945 was risky for such a meeting. The peninsula was liberated from the Nazis only in May 1944, enemy agents could remain on its territory, and the front was not so far away, which made it possible to deliver a massive air strike on Yalta. The German threat was dealt with, and the conference itself was prepared to the utmost short time- in less than a month. The Soviet side provided exemplary safety and comfort for the participants.

Military advisers of the USSR at the Yalta Conference

The conference in the Crimea turned out to be attractive for the allies as well. Franklin Roosevelt became the first American president to visit the Soviet Union, and Winston Churchill planned to visit the battlefields of the British army in order to raise his rating on the eve of the parliamentary elections.

Controversy and debate

On February 4, 1945, the heads of the three allied powers gathered in the Livadia Palace, the former summer residence of Emperor Nicholas II. The attention of the conference participants was occupied with the problems of the end of the Second World War, it was about the conditions for the surrender of Germany, the zones of its occupation, repatriation, reparations. Large and bitter disputes arose around the future of Poland. With difficulty, it was possible to agree on the composition of its future government and western borders. Stalin's opinion turned out to be decisive, because quite recently, in January 1945, the Red Army liberated Warsaw. Of fundamental importance was the decision to create an international organization, the successor to the League of Nations that had gone down in history. The conference participants agreed to hold a conference in San Francisco in April 1945 to establish the United Nations (UN). Roosevelt looked very pleased: in Yalta, an extremely important secret agreement for the United States was signed, according to which the USSR undertook to join on the side of the Allies 2-3 months after the victory over Germany.

I.V. Stalin in negotiations with US President F. Roosevelt

The discussions lasted a week, after which the participants, in compliance with all security measures, went home. On February 11, Stalin and the Soviet delegation left Simferopol for Moscow. Roosevelt visited Sevastopol, after which he flew out of the Crimea. Churchill lingered the longest, who, when visiting Sevastopol and Sapun Mountain, paid tribute to the memory of British soldiers who fought in these places in the Crimean War.

During the work of the Crimean Conference, not a single serious incident was registered in the security department.

Yalta Conference 1945 Meeting of Foreign Ministers. Livadia Palace

Yalta heritage

The Yalta Conference was and still is of great historical significance. The adoption of coordinated decisions at it showed the whole world the possibility of cooperation between states with different social systems. The Yalta system of international relations lasted for more than 40 years, and only with the collapse of the Soviet Union did its basic provisions begin to collapse. But some of the mechanisms worked out then in the Crimea are still operating 74 years later. The United Nations also continues its activities, on the platform of which Russia, as a permanent member of the UN Security Council, consistently advocates the prevention of new armed conflicts in the world.

Signing of the protocol of the Yalta Conference

The Russian Military Historical Society has repeatedly addressed on the pages of its portal “History. RF" to the Yalta Conference and its results, and today you can find the information on.

Photo: https://aloban75.livejournal.com/

The Yusupov Palace is a palace of eclectic style, which was built in Koreiz by the Yalta architect Nikolai Krasnov for Prince Felix Yusupov (Count Sumarokov-Elston).

The first owner of a large estate in Koreiz was Princess Anna Sergeevna Golitsyna, nee Vsevolozhskaya. The daughter of a fabulously wealthy general, she became engaged to Prince Ivan Golitsyn when she was no longer young. Immediately after the wedding, Anna gave the prince a briefcase with a huge amount of money: “You have money, I have a title.” After that, they never saw each other again. Before the construction of the palace, there was a dacha "Pink House" in its place.
Subsequently, the estate was owned by the winemaker Morozov, and in 1880 it was acquired by Prince Felix Feliksovich Yusupov, the former Moscow governor-general. In 1909, the architect Nikolai Krasnov, the author of the Dulber Palace and the Livadia Palace, rebuilt the Pink House into a palace and gave it its modern look. The Yusupov princely family was one of the richest and most influential aristocratic families in the Russian Empire. In the autumn of 1912, the engagement of Felix Yusupov Jr. with the niece of Emperor Nicholas II of the princess of imperial blood, Irina Alexandrovna, took place in the palace.

In the 1920s, the palace was nationalized and came under the authority of the All-Union Extraordinary Commission as a rest home for its employees (state dacha No. 4). Felix Dzerzhinsky stayed here in 1925-1926. During the Great Patriotic War, the palace was not damaged. In 1945, during the Yalta Conference, the Yusupov Palace became the residence of the Soviet delegation headed by Joseph Stalin. Since those times, some elements of the interior, billiards and Stalin's desk have been preserved here.

In the post-war period, the palace became the dacha of the Central Committee of the CPSU, where many party and government officials of the Soviet Union and leaders of foreign communist parties rested.

Yalta conference

The meeting of the heads of the countries of the anti-Hitler coalition in 1945 is not called otherwise than Yalta. But the conference on the issues of the post-war world order could not have taken place in the Crimea. The Americans offered Northern Scotland, Cyprus, Athens, Malta. British - Alexandria or Jerusalem. “On the Soviet Black Sea coast. And that’s the point,” was Stalin’s answer.

The meeting was prepared for less than two months. It was decided to resettle the members of the delegations in the palaces: Livadia, Vorontsovsky and Yusupov. Furniture, cutlery, utensils were brought here from almost all over the country.

Of course, the delegates did not have a rider, like the current stars. But they did put forward some curious wishes. For Roosevelt, a fan of the sea and ships, it was important that the walls in the bathroom be the color of the waves of the Black Sea.

It turned out to be important for Churchill to stay in the mansions of Count Vorontsov, and that there must be a fireplace. It is now well known that Vorontsov was an English spy.

The Yusupov Palace for Stalin became an object of special importance, where they even specially built a bomb shelter.

During the conference, the tables were bursting with all sorts of delicacies. True, foreigners did not appreciate the Russian scope. One of the members of the British delegation wrote: “They give red caviar and vodka for breakfast… We have to explain to the Russians what breakfast should be like.” In general, the “foreign tourists” begged for oatmeal and scrambled eggs to be included in the diet.

In total, during the conference, the delegates ate half a ton of black caviar and washed it all down with ten thousand bottles of wine and vodka. And 2190 bottles of cognac were also drunk. One Churchill emptied at least two bottles a day.

After the conference, Stalin immediately left for Moscow. The dignitaries decided to stay. Churchill spent the longest time in the Crimea. In his memoirs, he wrote: “I went to Sevastopol with my daughter Sarah. I wanted to see the battlefield at Balaklava and on Sapun Mountain. We visited the grave of Lord Raglan and were very impressed by the care and attention with which the Russians looked after it.

Leaving the resurrected Crimea, cleansed of the Huns thanks to Russian valor, I express my gratitude and admiration to all the valiant people and their army.

Roosevelt had left the peninsula two days earlier. By the way, in a personal conversation, he asked Stalin to sell him Livadia - he liked Crimea so much ... Iosif Vissarionovich politely refused, referring to the fact that the Crimean land does not belong to him, but to the people ...

Joseph Stalin, stopping at the Yusupov Palace, clearly indicated to everyone that he was Elston and was the legitimate ruler by inheritance!

Stalin, Elston and parents: Nicholas 1st and his wife.

The Yalta Conference was held from 4 to 11 February 1945. They mostly met in the Livadia Palace. This was a necessary measure, since it was difficult for Roosevelt to move around in a wheelchair. They solved two global tasks: they determined new borders on the territory liberated from occupation and divided the spheres of influence of the allies in Germany. Then came the Declaration on Liberated Europe, the agreement on the division of Germany, the borders of Poland and Yugoslavia. And Stalin for the USSR achieved the return of South Sakhalin, the Kuril Islands in exchange for participation in the war with Japan.

Stalin's office.

A small palace, hidden in the park jungle, located far from the sea on a mountain terrace, Stalin really liked. Yes, even with a bunker. Therefore, it was he who was chosen by the Generalissimo as a residence at the beginning of 1945, during the Crimean (Yalta) Conference. The Minister of Foreign Affairs of the USSR Vyacheslav Molotov then lived in the chambers of the palace.

Stalin only worked in the palace, and he spent the night in a bunker. Either from great fear, or from the desire to feel like an ascetic. Stalin's office has been preserved, as well as the billiard room with a film projector (the dry-handed Stalin did not play billiards, but he liked to watch the game and watch films). Well preserved bathrooms and bedrooms, living rooms and dining room. It was in this dining room that a festive dinner was held in honor of Roosevelt and Churchill.

Now the palace is divided into three chambers - "Stalin", "Molotov" and "Yusupov". Until the 21st century, only the ruling elite of the USSR and Ukraine could see these chambers. Since 2002, the mysterious veil has been lifted somewhat - excursions were sometimes allowed into the palace. With one of them I was lucky to get into this Krasnovsky masterpiece. Although it still belongs to the SBU, and if “someone” is here, don’t even dream of an excursion. To get on the tour, go to the lobby of the medical building of the Miskhor sanatorium (this is in Miskhor near Alupkinskoye Highway) - there is a tour desk that organizes visits to the Yusupov Palace once a week. In Miskhor Park there are layouts of another travel agency, but the cost is higher there (there you will pay an additional 30 UAH for a bus that will take you some 700 m).

billiard room

The Yusupov Palace still houses a functioning state dacha, so free entry of tourists is prohibited there, you can get into the palace only as part of organized excursions. Excursions there are skipped not on strictly established days, but when they give permission to visit. For example, during the summer season, the palace was opened for tourists only 2 times. But in November, the palace for visiting tourists was open 2 times a week.

Geographically, the palace is located in Koreiz above the 1001 Nights hotel, but due to the large park and the relief features of the South Coast, the palace is not visible either from the lower or from the middle road. The Yusupov Palace does not make such a strong impression as the Livadia and Vorontsov Palaces. Apparently, this is due to the fact that until now the Yusupo Palace is a functioning state dacha with modern furniture, plumbing, and in the Livadia and Vorontsov palaces, the palace environment without modern furniture has been recreated as much as possible. Modern furniture, and consumer-grade furniture, looks wild in the Yusupov Palace, it does not fit into the palace interior at all.

In front of the main entrance to the palace there are 3 palm trees planted in honor of Churchill, Roosevelt and Stalin in 1944. At first glance, a large number of lions on the site in front of the main entrance is striking - 8 pieces, and the lions are made in different styles which causes some sense of dissonance. But, as they explained to us, initially only 4 lions were installed on this site, the four others were transferred after the revolution from the embankment, which before the revolution was also part of the Yusupovs' palace territory. The lions brought from the embankment are somewhat unusual - their manes look like after a pile.
The entire park was planted by the Yusupovs, the park is in good, but not in perfect condition.
Compared to Livadia, Vorontsovsky, Massandrovsky, Yusupovsky does not make such an impression.

The art of war is a science in which nothing succeeds except what has been calculated and thought out.
Napoleon

The Yalta (Crimean) conference was held on February 4-11, 1945 at the Livadia Palace in Yalta (Crimea). The leaders of 3 powers took part in the conference: the USSR (Stalin), the USA (Roosevelt), Great Britain (Churchill). Together with the leaders of the countries, the ministers of foreign affairs, chiefs of staff and advisers took part in the conference. The main question is the post-war structure of the world and the fate of Germany. By this moment it was absolutely clear that the war was won and the question of capitulation of fascist Germany was a matter of several months.

Choosing a conference venue

Planning for the conference began about six months in advance, and for the first time the leaders of the countries started talking about its need in May 1944. Churchill did not express any wishes or demands regarding the venue, but Roosevelt offered to hold the meeting in Rome, arguing that the US constitution does not allow him to leave the country for a long time, and he himself can only move around in a wheelchair. Stalin rejected this proposal and insisted on holding a conference in Yalta, although Roosevelt also offered Athens, Alexandria and Jerusalem. He talked about places with a warm climate.

Having held a conference in Yalta, in the Crimea, Stalin wanted to once again demonstrate the power of the Soviet army, which independently liberated this territory from the German invaders.

Operation Valley

“Valley” is the code name for the operation to ensure security and other issues of holding a conference in Crimea. On January 3, Stalin instructed Beria personally to carry out these events. First of all, we determined the locations of the delegates:

The Livadia Palace is the seat of the US delegation and the venue for the conference.
The Vorontsov Palace is the seat of the British delegation in Yalta.
The Yusupov Palace is the seat of the USSR delegation.

Around January 15, operational groups of the NKVD began to work in the Crimea. Counterintelligence was active. More than 67 thousand people were checked, 324 were detained, 197 were arrested. 267 rifles, 283 grenades, 1 machine gun, 43 submachine guns and 49 pistols were confiscated from verified persons. Such activity of counterintelligence and unprecedented security measures gave rise to a rumor among the population - preparing for war with Turkey. This myth was dispelled later, when the reasons for these actions became clear - holding international conference heads of 3 leading world powers in Yalta to discuss issues of further development of Europe and the world.

Issues discussed

War with Japan

At the Yalta Conference, the question of the USSR's entry into the war against Japan was discussed separately. Stalin stated that this was possible, but not earlier than 3 months after the complete surrender of Germany. At the same time, the Soviet leader named a number of conditions for the USSR to enter the war against Japan:

The results of the Russo-Japanese War of 1904-1905 are annulled, and the USSR returns all the territories lost by the tsarist government.
The USSR receives the Kuril Islands and South Sakhalin.

The issue of starting a war with Japan by the USSR did not raise big questions, since Stalin was interested in this. It was obvious that Japan would not be able to resist the allied army, and at the cost of little effort, it would be possible to win and return the previously lost lands.

All decisions of the Crimean Conference

The Yalta Conference on February 4-11, 1945 developed a document, the main points of which were as follows:

Creation of the United Nations. The first meeting, which was to develop the organization's charter, was held on April 25, 1945 in San Francisco (USA). All countries that at the time of February 8 were at war with Germany could enter the UN. It was decided to create a UN Security Council, which included the USSR (the successor to Russia), the USA, Great Britain, China and France. All 5 countries have the right to "veto": the imposition of a ban on any decision of the organization.
Declaration for the Liberation of Europe. The zones of influence over the countries that were subordinate to Germany were delimited.
The dismemberment of Germany. It was decided that the USSR, the USA and England would have complete power over Germany, taking all measures that they considered reasonable for the future security of the world. A commission was created by Eden, Winant and Gusev, who were in charge of these issues and had to decide whether France should be involved in the dismemberment process.
French occupation zone in Germany. Stalin sharply opposed this idea, stating that France did not fight, and therefore did not have the right to an occupation zone. But if the United States and England consider this acceptable, let them allocate such a zone to the French from their territories. And so it was decided.
Reparations. It was decided to create a commission that was supposed to determine the amount of reparations. The commission met in Moscow. The payment plan was as follows: one-time (after the defeat of Germany, reparations were withdrawn, which would deprive Germany of its military and economic potential), annually (the duration and volume of annual payments were to be established by the commission) and the use of German labor.
Polish question. The creation of the Provisional Polish Government was approved, the eastern border with the USSR along the Curzon line was approved, and the right to expand Poland to the West and North was also recognized. As a result, Poland expanded its territory and received a more democratic government.
Yugoslavia. It was decided later to solve the problems of the country and its borders.
Southeastern Europe. It was decided to create a commission that would solve 3 main problems: 1 - oil equipment in Romania, 2 - Greece's claims to Bulgaria, 3 - the creation of a commission on Bulgarian issues.

The Yalta conference basically did not contain complex issues, since there were agreements. The most pressing issue was reparations from Germany. The Soviet Union demanded reparations of 20 billion dollars, 10 of which were to be destined for the USSR, and the other 10 for other countries. Churchill was strongly opposed, but it was decided to create a separate commission to resolve this issue.

Or the meeting of the leaders of the USSR, USA and Great Britain Joseph Stalin, Franklin Roosevelt and Winston Churchill, all researchers and historians call historical. It was on it, in the period from February 4 to February 11, 1945, that a number of decisions were made that for decades to come determined the way of Europe and the world as a whole.

At the same time, the meeting of the "Big Three" was not limited to the adoption of geopolitical decisions. There were formal and informal receptions, informal meetings, stops along the way, many of which are still shrouded in mystery.

Not Malta, not Sicily, not Rome. To Yalta!

The first meeting between Stalin, Roosevelt and Churchill took place in November 1943 in Tehran. It determined the preliminary dates for the Allied landings in Europe in 1944.

Immediately after Tehran-43 and the landing of allied troops in France in June 1944, the heads of the three states in personal correspondence began to probe the ground for a meeting. According to historians, it was US President Franklin Roosevelt who first raised the topic of a new conference, or, as they say now, a summit. In one of his messages to Stalin, he writes: "A meeting should soon be arranged between you, the Prime Minister and myself. Mr. Churchill fully agrees with this idea."

The meeting was originally supposed to take place in Northern Scotland, Ireland, then on the island of Malta. Cairo, Athens, Rome, Sicily and Jerusalem were also mentioned as possible meeting places. However, the Soviet side, despite the objections of the Americans, insisted on holding the conference on its territory.

Churchill, like the Americans, did not want to go to the Crimea and noted in a letter to Roosevelt that "there is a terrible climate and conditions."

Nevertheless, the southern coast of Crimea and specifically Yalta, which was less destroyed after the occupation, was chosen as the meeting place.

"Eureka" and "Argonaut"

What Stalin allowed the British Prime Minister, who did not want to go to the Crimea so much, was to give the code name for the conference, which was mentioned in secret correspondence. Namely "Argonaut". Grumpy Churchill proposed this name, as if drawing a parallel between the ancient heroes of ancient Greek myths, who went to the Black Sea region for the Golden Fleece, and the participants in the Yalta Conference, who go to almost the same places, but the "Golden Fleece" for them will be the future of the world and the division of spheres of influence .

Greek mythology hung invisibly in the relationship of the "Big Three". It is no coincidence that the Tehran meeting of 1943 was held under the code name "Eureka". According to legend, it was with this legendary exclamation ("Found!") that Archimedes from Syracuse discovered the law that "on a body immersed in a liquid ...".

It is no coincidence that Tehran-43 showed the convergence of the positions of the heads of the three great powers, who really found mutual language and ways to full cooperation.

Planes, anti-aircraft guns, ships and armored trains: safety is paramount

Although the war was in its final stages in February 1945, increased attention was paid to the security issues of the participants in the Yalta Conference.

According to the Russian writer and historian Alexander Shirokorad, which he cites in his publication in Nezavisimaya Voyennoye Obozreniye, thousands of Soviet, American and British guards and security officers, ships and aircraft of the Black Sea Fleet and the US Navy, and Great Britain. On the part of the United States, units of the Marine Corps participated in the protection of the president.

The air defense of the Saki airfield, which only received delegations, consisted of more than 200 anti-aircraft guns. The batteries were designed for seven-layer fire at a height of up to 9000 m, aimed fire at a height of 4000 m and barrage fire at a distance of up to 5 km to the airfield. The sky above it covered over 150 Soviet fighters.

In Yalta, 76 anti-aircraft guns and almost 300 anti-aircraft guns and heavy machine guns were deployed. Any aircraft that appeared over the conference area was to be shot down immediately.

The protection of highways was provided by personnel of seven checkpoints consisting of more than 2 thousand people.

When motorcades of delegations participating in the conference passed along the entire route, all other traffic stopped, and residents were evicted from residential buildings and apartments overlooking the highway - their place was taken by state security officers. About five regiments of the NKVD and even several armored trains were additionally transferred to the Crimea to ensure security.

To protect Stalin, along with Soviet delegation in the Yusupov Palace in the village of Koreiz, 100 state security officers and a battalion of NKVD troops in the amount of 500 people were allocated. For foreign delegations who arrived with their own guards and security services, the Soviet side allocated external guards and commandants for the premises they occupied. Soviet automobile units were allocated to each foreign delegation.

There is no reliable evidence that Hitler intended to assassinate his opponents in the Crimea. And he was not up to it then, when the Soviet troops were already a hundred kilometers from the walls of Berlin.

Russian hospitality: caviar with cognac, but without bird's milk

The Saki airfield became the main airfield for receiving delegations arriving in the Crimea. The Sarabuz airfields near Simferopol, Gelendzhik and Odessa were considered as spares.

Stalin and the delegation of the Soviet government arrived in Simferopol by train on February 1, after which they went by car to Yalta.

The planes of Churchill and Roosevelt landed in Saki with an interval of about one hour. Here they were met by People's Commissar for Foreign Affairs Vyacheslav Molotov, other high-ranking officials of the USSR. In general, 700 people were brought to Crimea from Malta, where the meeting between the American president and the British prime minister was held the day before, who were part of the official delegations of the United States and Great Britain at meetings with Stalin.

According to the first researcher of the unofficial nuances of the Yalta meeting, the Crimean historian and local historian Vladimir Gurkovich, with whom the correspondent of RIA Novosti (Crimea) spoke, the Allied delegations were greeted with great fanfare. In addition to the obligatory formation of guards of honor and other honors in this case, the Soviet side also arranged a grand reception not far from the airfield.

In particular, three large tents were set up, where there were tables with glasses of sweet tea with lemon, bottles of vodka, cognac, champagne, plates with caviar, smoked sturgeon and salmon, cheese, boiled eggs, black and white bread. This is despite the fact that food cards were still in force in the USSR, and Crimea was liberated from the invaders less than a year ago.

Gurkovich's book about everyday and unofficial details of the Yalta Conference was published in 1995 and became the first such publication on this topic. The local historian collected testimonies of participants in the events still alive at that time: guards - NKVD officers, cooks, waiters, pilots providing " clear sky over the Crimea.

He says that, according to one of the chefs who prepared meals for the reception at the Saki airfield, there were no restrictions on food and drinks.

"Everything had to be high level and, our country had to confirm this level. And the tables were really bursting with all sorts of delicacies," the Crimean local historian notes.

And this is only on the tables of official delegations. And American and British pilots were received at the Pirogov Saki military sanatorium, where about 600 places were prepared for them. Russian hospitality manifested itself here as well. They were prepared according to the menu, approved by a special order of the head of the rear of the Black Sea Fleet. According to eyewitnesses, the tables were also bursting with abundance: they had everything except bird's milk.

Churchill smoked a cigar in Simferopol, and Stalin shaved in Alushta

In fact, this stop of the Prime Minister of Great Britain in Simferopol, in the house at 15 Schmidt Street, cannot be called secret. Along the route of the corteges from Sak, several places of possible stops for rest were provided. One of them was in Simferopol, and the second in Alushta. The first of them was used by Churchill on his way to Yalta, and the second by Stalin.

The house on Schmidt Street in Simferopol was previously a reception house, or otherwise a hotel of the Council of People's Commissars of the Crimean ASSR. During the occupation, high-ranking officers of the Wehrmacht lived there, so the building and the interior were quite well-groomed and ready to receive distinguished guests.

Sir Winston Leonard Spencer-Churchill was a famous lover of cognac and cigars, which he used without sparing his health. When flying from Malta, and this is a rather long journey, he sent a telegram to Stalin that he was already on the flight and "had already had breakfast." And at the airfield in Saki, the allies were greeted with no less warm hospitality, with Armenian cognac and champagne for the British prime minister.

As Vladimir Gurkovich notes, there is nothing unusual about Churchill's stop in Simferopol. He most likely needed time to "come to his senses, think and once again smoke a cigar." And he stayed in guest house no more than an hour, and indeed, going out onto the balcony, according to one of the state security officers, he smoked a traditional cigar.

Gurkovich also cites information that the chairman of the Council of People's Commissars of the USSR, Joseph Stalin, after arriving in the Crimea, stayed in Alushta - at the so-called dacha "Dove" of the retired tsarist general Golubov, on the first floor. “Here he rested and shaved,” testified the archival record found by Gurkovich.

"Dove" is also notable for the fact that it was here that the future heir to the throne Nikolai Alexandrovich (Nicholas II) and his future wife Alexandra Feodorovna stayed in 1894, after the blessing of their marriage by Emperor Alexander III, dying in Livadia.

Franklin Delano Roosevelt from Sak immediately went to the Livadia Palace without stopping.

Roosevelt and Churchill visited Sevastopol after the conference, which lay in ruins. And the British Prime Minister visited Balaklava, where one of his ancestors died in the Crimean War (the first defense of Sevastopol in 1854-1855). However, he does not mention this trip in his memoirs.

Stalin to the Yusupovs, Roosevelt to the Romanovs, Churchill to the Vorontsovs

The main venue for the meeting was Livadia, the former estate of Russian emperors, starting with Alexander II. The famous Livadia Palace was built in 1911 by the architect Nikolai Krasnov for the last of the Romanovs, Nicholas II.

It was the Livadia Palace that was identified as the main residence of the US delegation at the talks, which was headed by Roosevelt. The President of the United States has been wheelchair-bound since 1921 due to polio and has had limited mobility. Therefore, Stalin, in order not to once again jeopardize Roosevelt's health and create comfortable conditions for him, appointed Livadia for work - both to accommodate the US delegation and meetings of the Big Three summit.

Churchill and the British delegation got the no less luxurious palace of the Governor-General of Novorossia Count Vorontsov in Alupka, which was built according to the project of the English architect Edward Blore.

Stalin chose the palace of Prince Yusupov in Koreiz for his residence.

A number of researchers note that this location was chosen, allegedly not by chance: Koreiz is located between Alupka and Livadia, and Stalin could observe all the movements of the allies.

To put it mildly, this is not so, or not quite so. Surveillance and wiretapping services of the Soviet state security worked at a high level, so it is unlikely that Stalin would have pulled back the curtain and watched the frequency with which motorcades run between the British and American residences.

Furniture and products were delivered by echelons

The palaces of the South Coast looked very deplorable after the occupation. The Germans tried to take out everything as valuable as possible from furnishings and decorations. Therefore, colossal efforts were made on the Soviet side to make the conference as comfortable as possible.

Suffice it to say that more than 1,500 wagons of equipment, building materials, furniture, services, kitchen utensils and food were delivered to the Crimea for this purpose.

The renovation of the Livadia Palace alone took 20,000 working days. In Livadia, as well as in Koreiz and Alupka, bomb shelters were built, since the possibility of an enemy air raid was not ruled out.

Roosevelt, who traveled apprehensively to the summit, was nonetheless delighted with the design of his suite. Everything was to his taste: the curtains on the windows, the draperies on the doors, the bedspreads on his and his daughter's beds, and even telephone sets all rooms were blue. This color was Roosevelt's favorite color and, as he put it, "caressed his blue eyes."

In the White Hall of the Palace, where the main meetings of the conference were held, a round table for negotiations of the Big Three was mounted. For the working needs of the members of the delegations, the former billiard room was prepared, where most of the documents were signed, the inner Italian courtyard and the entire garden and park ensemble.

In Livadia, where not only the American delegation was located, but also where the main negotiations between the leaders of the USSR, the USA and Great Britain took place, three power plants were installed. One working and two duplicates. In Alupka and Koreiz - two each.

The publication was prepared on the basis of RIA Novosti's own materials (Crimea) and open sources

The Crimean (Yalta) Conference, the second meeting of the leaders of the countries of the anti-Hitler coalition - the USSR, the USA and Great Britain - during the Second World War (1939-1945), occupies an important chapter in the history of not only our country, but the whole world. Interest in it does not weaken, although 70 years have passed since the date of its holding.

The venue for the conference was not chosen immediately. Initially, it was proposed to hold a meeting in the UK, as equidistant from the USSR and the USA. Malta, Athens, Cairo, Rome and a number of other cities also appeared among the names of the proposed venues. I.V. Stalin insisted that the meeting be held in the Soviet Union, so that the heads of delegations and their entourage could see for themselves the damage that Germany had inflicted on the USSR.

The conference was held in Yalta on February 4-11, 1945, at a time when, as a result of the successful strategic operations of the Red Army, military operations were transferred to German territory, and the war against Nazi Germany entered its final stage.

In addition to the official name, the conference had several codenames. Going to the Yalta conference, W. Churchill gave it the name "Argonaut", drawing an analogy with ancient Greek myths: he, Stalin and Roosevelt, like the Argonauts, go to the Black Sea coast for the Golden Fleece. Roosevelt responded to London by agreeing: "You and I are the direct heirs of the Argonauts." As you know, it was at the Conference in Yalta that the division of the spheres of influence of the three powers in the post-war world took place. The code name - "Island" - was given to the conference to mislead opponents, since one of the possible places for its holding was Malta.

The Conference was attended by the leaders of the three allied powers: Chairman of the Council of People's Commissars of the USSR I.V. Stalin, Prime Minister of Great Britain W. Churchill, President of the United States of America F.D. Roosevelt.

In addition to the Heads of the Three Governments, members of the delegations also participated in the Conference. From the Soviet Union - People's Commissar for Foreign Affairs of the USSR V.M. Molotov, People's Commissar of the Navy N.G. Kuznetsov, Deputy Chief of the General Staff of the Red Army General of the Army, Deputy People's Commissars for Foreign Affairs of the USSR A.Ya. Vyshinsky and I.M. Maisky, Marshal of Aviation S.A. Khudyakov, Ambassador to Great Britain F.T. Gusev, Ambassador to the USA A.A. Gromyko. From the United States of America - Secretary of State E. Stettinius, Chief of Staff of the President Admiral of the Navy W. Leahy, Special Assistant to the President G. Hopkins, Director of the Department of Military Mobilization Judge J. Byrnes, Chief of Staff of the American Army General of the Army J. Marshall, Commander-in-Chief of the Naval By US forces, Admiral of the Fleet E. King, Chief of Supply of the American Army, Lieutenant General B. Somervell, Administrator of Naval Transportation Vice Admiral E. Land, Major General L. Cooter, Ambassador to the USSR A. Harriman, Director of the European Department of State Department of State F. Matthews, Deputy Director of the Office of Special Political Affairs of the State Department A. Hiss, Assistant Secretary of State C. Bohlen along with political, military and technical advisers. From Great Britain - Minister of Foreign Affairs A. Eden, Minister of Military Transport Lord Leathers, Ambassador to the USSR A. Kerr, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs A. Cadogan, Secretary of the Military Cabinet E. Bridges, Chief of the Imperial General Staff Field Marshal A. Brooke, Chief of Staff of the Air Air Force Marshal C. Portal, First Sea Lord Admiral of the Fleet E. Cunningham, Chief of Staff of the Secretary of Defense General H. Ismay, Supreme Allied Commander, Mediterranean Theater Field Marshal Alexander, Chief of the British Military Mission in Washington Field Marshal Wilson, member of the British Military Mission in Washington Admiral Somerville along with military and diplomatic advisers.

The USSR prepared for the reception of high-ranking guests in Yalta in just two months, despite the fact that the Crimea suffered greatly from military operations. Destroyed houses, remnants of military equipment made an indelible impression on all participants of the conference, US President Roosevelt was even "horrified by the extent of the destruction caused by the Germans in the Crimea."

Preparations for the conference were launched on an all-Union scale. Equipment, furniture, products were brought to the Crimea from all over the USSR, specialists from construction organizations and the service sector arrived in Yalta. In Livadia, Koreiz and Alupka, several power plants were installed in two months.

Sevastopol was chosen as the place for the parking of allied ships and vessels, where reserves of fuel, drinking and boiler water were created, berths, lighthouses, navigation and anti-submarine equipment were repaired, additional trawling was carried out in bays and along the fairway, and a sufficient number of tugs were prepared. Similar work was carried out in the Yalta port.

The conference participants were located in three Crimean palaces: the USSR delegation headed by I.V. Stalin in the Yusupov Palace, the US delegation led by F. Roosevelt in the Livadia Palace and the British delegation led by W. Churchill in the Vorontsov Palace.

The host party was responsible for the safety of the conference participants. Protection on land was provided by aviation and artillery special groups, from the sea - by the cruiser "Voroshilov", destroyers, submarines. In addition, Allied warships joined them. Since the Crimea is still within the range of the German air force based in northern Italy and Austria, an air attack was not ruled out. In order to repel the danger, 160 fleet aviation fighters and the entire air defense were allocated. Several bomb shelters were also built.

Four regiments of NKVD troops were sent to Crimea, including 500 officers and 1,200 operational workers specially trained to carry out security. In one night, the park around the Livadia Palace was surrounded by a four-meter fence. The attendants were forbidden to leave the territory of the palace. The strictest access regime was introduced, according to which two security rings were installed around the palaces, and after dark a third ring of border guards with service dogs was organized. Communication centers were organized in all the palaces, providing communication with any subscriber, and employees who spoke English were attached to all stations.

Official meetings of members of delegations and informal ones - dinners of heads of state - were held in all three palaces: in Yusupov, for example, I.V. Stalin and Winston Churchill discussed the transfer of people released from Nazi camps. Foreign Ministers Molotov, Stettinius (USA) and Eden (Great Britain) met in the Vorontsov Palace. But the main meetings were held at the Livadia Palace, the residence of the American delegation, despite the fact that this was contrary to diplomatic protocol. This was due to the fact that F. Roosevelt could not move independently without outside help. From February 4 to February 11, 1945, eight official meetings took place in the Livadia Palace.

The range of military and political issues discussed turned out to be very wide. The decisions that were taken at the conference had a great impact on accelerating the end of the war and the post-war order of the world.

During the conference, the Heads of the three powers demonstrated a desire for cooperation, mutual understanding and trust. It was possible to achieve unity in matters of military strategy and the conduct of a coalition war. Together, powerful strikes by the Allied armies in Europe and the Far East were coordinated and planned.

At the same time, the decisions taken by the conference participants on the most complex issues of world politics, which were the result of compromises and mutual concessions, largely determined the development of international political events in for a long time. Opportunities have been created for effective action post-war system of international relations based on the principles of balance of interests, reciprocity, equality and cooperation in order to ensure world peace and security.

As a result of the work of the conference, the most important international legal documents were approved, such as the Declaration Free Europe, documents on the basic principles of the creation of the international United Nations, which laid the foundation for relations between states.

Conditions were worked out for the treatment of defeated Germany by the Allies and questions about her future were resolved. The participants in the conference declared their unbending determination to liquidate German militarism and Nazism, agreed on France's participation in settling the German problem, on Poland's borders and the composition of its government, and on the conditions for the USSR's entry into the war against Japan. An important role in the course and results of the negotiations was played by the enormous growth in the international prestige of the Soviet Union, which was facilitated by the outstanding victories of the Soviet Armed Forces.

Nevertheless, there were serious disagreements between the conference participants on a number of issues. Representatives of the Western member countries of the anti-Hitler coalition had fears associated with the transformation of the USSR into a world-class power. However, the persistent desire of Soviet diplomacy to search for mutually acceptable solutions and adopt them on the basis of equality without imposing their opinion on others led to the fact that the documents approved at the conference were a reflection of the consent of its participants, and not the result of Soviet diktat.

The work of the Conference began with an examination of the situation on the European fronts. The heads of government of the three powers instructed the military headquarters to discuss at their meetings the issues of coordinating the offensive of the allied armies from the east and west. During the meetings on military issues, it was confirmed that on February 8, 1945, the Soviet offensive would begin on the western front. However, American and British military experts evaded the requests of the Soviet side to prevent the transfer of German troops from Norway and Italy to the Soviet-German front. In general terms, the interaction of strategic aviation forces was outlined. The coordination of the relevant operations was entrusted to the General Staff of the Soviet Army and the heads of allied military missions in Moscow.

During the Conference, the issue of the USSR's entry into the war in the Far East was also resolved. The secret agreement, signed on February 11, 1945, provided that the Soviet Union would enter the war against Japan two to three months after the surrender of Germany. In this regard, the conditions for the entry of the USSR into the war against Japan, which were put forward by I.V. Stalin: maintaining the status quo of the Mongolian People's Republic; the return to the Soviet Union of the southern part of Sakhalin and all the islands adjacent to it; internationalization of Dairen (Dalian) and restoration of the lease on Port Arthur as a naval base of the USSR; resumption of a joint venture with China (with essential interests of the Soviet Union) exploitation of the East China and South Manchuria railways; transfer of the Kuril Islands to the USSR.

This agreement specified the general principles of allied policy, which were recorded in the Cairo Declaration, signed by the United States, Britain and China and published on December 1, 1943.

Since the prospect of the USSR entering the war with Japan assumed its defeat in the near future, this political agreement determined the boundaries of the possible advance of the Soviet Armed Forces in the Far East.

The leaders of the three great powers discussed the political issues that were to arise after the defeat of Germany. They agreed on plans for the enforcement of the terms of unconditional surrender and general principles for the treatment of a defeated Germany. Allied plans provided, first of all, the division of Germany into occupation zones. The conference confirmed the agreements developed by the European Consultative Commission "On the zones of occupation of Germany and on the management of Greater Berlin", as well as "On the control mechanism in Germany".

Under the terms of the agreement “On the zones of occupation of Germany and on the management of Greater Berlin”, the armed forces of the three powers were to occupy strictly defined zones during the occupation of Germany. The Soviet Armed Forces were to occupy the eastern part of Germany. The northwestern part of Germany was assigned to be occupied by British troops, the southwestern - by Americans. The Greater Berlin area was to be occupied jointly by the armed forces of the USSR, the USA and England. The northeastern part of "Greater Berlin" was intended to be occupied by Soviet troops. The zones for the troops of England and the USA have not yet been determined.

The agreement "On the Control Mechanism in Germany", signed on November 14, 1944, stated that the supreme power in Germany during the period of fulfillment of its basic requirements of unconditional surrender would be exercised by the commanders-in-chief of the armed forces of the USSR, the USA and England, each in his zone of occupation according to instructions their governments. On matters affecting Germany as a whole, the commanders-in-chief would have to act jointly as members of the Supreme Control Organ, which would henceforth be known as the Control Council for Germany. Extending these regulations, the Crimean Conference decided to grant a zone in Germany to France as well, at the expense of the British and American occupation zones, and to invite the French government to join the Control Council for Germany as a member.

When discussing the German question at the Crimean Conference, the leaders of the United States and Great Britain insisted on making a decision to create a commission to study the question of the post-war structure of Germany and the possibility of its dismemberment. However, the Anglo-American plans for the dismemberment of Germany did not receive the approval of the Soviet delegation.

The point of view of the Soviet Union on the future of Germany was well known from the very beginning of the war from the speeches of the Soviet leaders. The USSR rejected the policy of revenge, national humiliation and oppression. At the same time, the leaders of the three powers declared their determination to carry out important measures in relation to defeated Germany: to disarm and disband all German armed forces; destroy the German General Staff; determine punishment for Nazi war criminals; destroy the Nazi Party, Nazi laws, organizations and institutions.

A special place at the conference was occupied by the question of German reparations, initiated by the USSR. The Soviet government demanded that Germany compensate for the damage inflicted on the allied countries by Hitler's aggression. The total amount of reparations was to be 20 billion dollars, of which the USSR claimed 10 billion dollars. The Soviet government proposed that reparations be collected in kind - in the form of a one-time withdrawal from Germany's national wealth and annual commodity deliveries from current production.

The collection of reparations through a one-time withdrawal from the national wealth (equipment, machine tools, ships, rolling stock, German investments abroad, etc.) was envisaged mainly with the aim of destroying Germany's military potential. The conference took into account the experience of resolving the reparation problem after the First World War, when Germany was required to compensate for damage in foreign currency and when the reparation issue, in the final analysis, contributed not to weakening, but to strengthening Germany's military potential.

During the discussion of this issue, the leaders of the United States and Great Britain were forced to admit the validity of the Soviet proposals for reparations from Germany. As a result of the negotiations, a protocol was signed, which was published in full only in 1947. It set out the general principles for resolving the reparation issue and outlined the forms for collecting reparations from Germany. The protocol provided for the establishment in Moscow of an inter-Allied reparations commission consisting of representatives of the USSR, the USA and Great Britain. The minutes indicated that the Soviet and American delegations agreed to base their work on the proposal of the Soviet government on the total amount of reparations and on the allocation of 50 percent of it for the USSR.

Thus, despite their disagreements, the Allied powers at the Crimean Conference adopted agreed decisions not only on the complete defeat of Germany, but also on a common policy in the German question after the end of the war.

An important place among the decisions of the Crimean Conference was occupied by the Declaration on Liberated Europe. It was a document on the coordination of policies in helping the peoples liberated from fascist occupation. The Allied Powers declared that general principle their country policies liberated Europe is to establish an order that will enable the peoples to "destroy the last traces of Nazism and Fascism and establish democratic institutions of their own choosing". The Crimean Conference showed an example of the practical solution of such problems in relation to two countries - Poland and Yugoslavia.

The "Polish question" at the conference was one of the most difficult and debatable. The Crimean Conference was supposed to decide on the eastern and western borders of Poland, as well as on the composition of the future Polish government.

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 passed almost near Kyiv and Minsk. The western border with Germany was located east of the river. Oder, while most Baltic coast also belonged to Germany. In the east of the pre-war historical territory of Poland, 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 "Curzon Line", established 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 division of Poland between Germany and the USSR in 1939 under the Treaty of Friendship and Border between the USSR and Germany, the main difference from which was the transfer of the Bialystok region to Poland.

Although Poland by the beginning of February 1945, as a result of the offensive of the Soviet troops, was already under the rule of the provisional government in Warsaw, recognized by the governments of the USSR and Czechoslovakia (Edvard Beneš), there was a Polish government in exile in London (Prime Minister Tomas Archiszewski), which did not recognize decision of the Tehran Conference on the Curzon line and therefore could not, according to the USSR, the USA and Great Britain, claim power in the country after the end of the war. The instruction of the government-in-exile for the Home Army, drawn up on October 1, 1943, contained following instructions in case of unauthorized entry of Soviet troops into the pre-war territory of Poland by the Polish government: “The Polish government sends a protest to the United Nations against the violation of Polish sovereignty - due to the entry of the Soviets into the territory of Poland without the consent of the Polish government - at the same time declaring that the country will not interact with the Soviets. At the same time, the government warns that in the event of the arrest of representatives of the underground movement and any repressions against Polish citizens, the underground organizations will go over to self-defense.”

The allies in the Crimea were aware that "A new situation was created in Poland as a result of the complete liberation of her by the Red Army." As a result of a long discussion of the Polish question, a compromise agreement was reached, according to which a new government of Poland was created - the "Provisional Government of National Unity", on the basis of the Provisional Government of the Polish Republic "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 further form in Warsaw a political regime that suited it, as a result of which clashes between pro-Western and pro-communist formations in this country were resolved in favor of the latter.

The agreement reached at Yalta on the Polish question was undoubtedly a definite step towards resolving one of the most controversial issues of the post-war world order. The conference did not accept the Anglo-American plan to replace the Provisional Polish Government with some new government. From the decisions of the conference it became clear that the existing Provisional Government should become the core of the future Government of National Unity.

At the suggestion of the USSR, the Crimean Conference discussed the question of Yugoslavia. It was about speeding up the formation of a unified Yugoslav government on the basis of an agreement concluded in November 1944 between the chairman of the National Committee for the Liberation of Yugoslavia, I. Tito, and the Prime Minister of the Yugoslav government in exile in London, I. Subašić. According to this agreement, the new Yugoslav government was to be formed from the leaders of the national liberation movement with the participation of several representatives of the Yugoslav government in exile. But the latter, with the support of the British government, hindered the implementation of the agreement.

After discussing the Yugoslav question, the conference adopted the proposal of the USSR with amendments by the British delegation. This decision was a great political support for the national liberation movement of Yugoslavia.

An important place in the work of the Crimean Conference was occupied by the problem of ensuring international security in the postwar years. Of great importance was the decision of the three allied powers to create a universal international organization for the maintenance of peace.

The leaders of the three powers succeeded at Yalta in resolving the important question of the voting procedure in the Security Council, on which no agreement was reached at the Dumbarton Oaks conference. As a result, Roosevelt's "principle of the veto" was adopted, that is, the rule of unanimity of the great powers when voting in the Security Council on peace and security issues.

The leaders of the three allied powers agreed to convene a conference of the United Nations on April 25, 1945, in San Francisco to prepare a charter for an international security organization. The conference was supposed to invite countries that signed the United Nations declaration on January 1, 1942, and those countries that declared war on a common enemy by March 1, 1945.

During the work of the Crimean Conference, a special declaration "Unity in the organization of peace, as well as in the conduct of war" was adopted. It stated that the states represented at Yalta confirm their determination to preserve and strengthen in the coming period of peace that unity of action that made victory in the war possible and certain for the United Nations. This was a solemn undertaking by the three great powers to preserve in the future the principles of the mighty anti-fascist coalition formed during the Second World War. One manifestation of this determination was the agreement to establish a permanent mechanism for regular consultation between the three Foreign Ministers. This mechanism was called the "Conference of Ministers of Foreign Affairs". The conference decided that the ministers would meet every 3-4 months alternately in the capitals of Great Britain, the USSR and the USA.

The Crimean Conference of the leaders of the USSR, USA and Great Britain was of great historical significance. It was one of the largest international conferences during the war and the high point of cooperation between the three allied powers in waging war against a common enemy. The adoption by the Crimean Conference of agreed decisions on important issues serves as convincing evidence of the possibility and effectiveness of international cooperation between states with different social systems. In the presence of good will, the Allied Powers, even in the face of the most acute differences, were able to reach agreements imbued with the spirit of unity.

Thus, the decisions of the Crimean Conference strengthened the anti-fascist coalition at the final stage of the war and contributed to achieving victory over Germany. The struggle for the comprehensive and complete implementation of these decisions became one of the main tasks of Soviet foreign policy, not only at the end of the war, but also in the post-war years. And although the Yalta decisions were carried out exactly only by the Soviet Union, they, nevertheless, were an example of the military commonwealth of the "Big Three" during the war years.

All the work of the Crimean Conference proceeded under the sign of the immeasurably increased international prestige of the Soviet Union. The results of the work of the heads of the three allied governments served as the basis for those democratic, peace-loving principles for the post-war structure of Europe, which were developed by the Potsdam Conference shortly after the victory over fascist Germany. The bipolar world created in Yalta and the division of Europe into East and West survived for more than 40 years, until the end of the 1980s.

Prokhorovskaya A.I.
Senior Researcher, 3rd Department of the Research
Institute (military history) of the Military Academy
General Staff of the RF Armed Forces
Candidate of Historical Sciences

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