Page 246 - The Chief Culprit

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June 13, 1941

Stalin was not one who openly declared his intentions.
—R C, THE GREAT TERROR

n May 5, 1941, in the Kremlin, Stalin in essence told the graduates of the mili-
tary academies to disregard official propaganda and to prepare for war. On June
1
O13, 1941, Moscow radio broadcast a rather unusual announcement of the Soviet
Union Telegraph Agency (TASS). It claimed that “Germany was following the conditions of
the Soviet-German pact as flawlessly as the Soviet Union,” that the rumors of an impend-
ing German attack on the USSR “were clumsily fabricated propaganda by the enemies of
Germany and the USSR, interested in broadening and prolonging the war.” e following
day, central Soviet newspapers published that announcement; a week later, Germany invaded
the USSR. Everyone knew the author of the TASS announcement. Stalin’s characteristic style
was recognized by generals in Soviet staffs, inmates in the labor camps, and Western experts.
Both the Soviet and foreign press wrote extensively about the TASS announcement.
Many of those who spoke out on the subject laughed at Stalin. e TASS announcement
was sometimes described as a sign of nearsightedness. However, the June 13, 1941, TASS an-
nouncement was more mysterious and inexplicable than ridiculous. Only its author is clear,
while the rest is a puzzle.
e TASS announcement did not at all fit in with Stalin’s character. e man most
familiar with Stalin, his personal secretary Boris Bazhanov, characterized him in the following
way: “Secretive and extremely sly. . . . He possessed an extraordinary ability to remain silent,
and in this respect was unique in a country where everyone spoke too much.” Following
are some more descriptions. A. Avtorkhanov: “He was an implacable enemy of word infla-
tion and excessive talking. Do not say what you are thinking.” A. Antonov-Ovseenko: “At
critical moments, Stalin’s actions came before his words.” Robert Conquest, a scholar of the
Stalin era, noted Stalin’s secretiveness and silence as the strongest points of his personality:
“Extremely reserved and secretive. We still have to peer through the darkness of Stalin’s excep-
tional secrecy. . . . Stalin never said what was on his mind, even regarding political goals.”

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