The Zhdanov Doctrine and the Cominform
The Zhdanov Doctrine
The Zhdanov Report (22 September 1947)
TextOn 22 September 1947, Andreï Zhdanov, Third Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (CPSU), violently attacks the policies of the United States in a report on the international situation which he presents during a briefing conference of the communist parties in Szklarska Poreba in Poland. This conference brings together delegates from communist parties in the Soviet Union, Bulgaria, France, Hungary, Italy, Poland, Romania, Czechoslovakia and Yugoslavia.
Statement on international problems (September 1947)
TextIn September 1947, a briefing conference of the Soviet, Bulgarian, Czechoslovak, French, Hungarian, Italian, Polish, Romanian and Yugoslav Communist Parties is held in Szklarska Poreba, Poland. During this conference, a statement is issued criticising US and Western imperialism.
‘The new International' from Le Monde (7 October 1947)
TextOn 7 October 1947, the French daily newspaper Le Monde sets out the political objectives of the new Communist International and emphasises the predominant role of the Soviet Union in the new organisation.
Cartoon by Gacq on the Soviet Union's attitude towards Europe (15 February 1948)
ImageOn 15 February 1948, in the Brussels weekly newspaper Le Phare Dimanche, the cartoonist Gacq attacks the protective attitude feigned by the Soviet Union towards Europe, a continent that is being bled dry.
The Cominform
Cartoon on the dangers of Soviet expansionism in Europe (10 October 1947)
Image‘Comintern: It’s spinning a new web over Europe.’ On 10 October 1947, the daily newspaper Hannover Presse portrays the difficult position of Western Europe threatened by the spread of Communist ideology.
‘Cominform? Comintern?’ from the Luxemburger Wort (14 October 1947)
TextOn 14 October 1947, the daily newspaper Luxemburger Wort speculates on the aims of Cominform, the Belgrade-based organisation for the ideological coordination of the communist movement, set up by delegates from the communist parties of the Soviet Union, Poland, Yugoslavia, Bulgaria, Romania, Hungary, Czechoslovakia, Italy and France.
‘The end of a hope’ from Die Welt (6 November 1947)
TextOn 6 November 1947, the German daily newspaper Die Welt comments on the creation of Cominform, the Belgrade-based information bureau and organisation for the ideological coordination of the communist movement, and deplores the policy of repression pursued by Moscow in the countries of Central and Eastern Europe.
Communist Information Bureau Resolutions (November 1949)
TextIn November 1949, the Communist Information Bureau publishes a series of resolutions that criticise the imperialist policy of the United States and its Western Allies, and calls for all workers to unite to fight against the dangers of imperialism and capitalism.