Liveblogging World War II: November 26, 1943
Press Conference with Veterans of the Foreign Intelligence Service:
Moderator: Good day, ladies and gentlemen, friends and comrades. We are glad to welcome you again at the Foreign Intelligence Service press office. Today we are presenting a book by Yuri Lvovich Kuznets entitled "Teheran-43 or Operation Long Jump". The choice of the date for launching the book is not accidental. It is less than two weeks to the memorable date. November 28, 1943 saw the opening of the Teheran conference. And without any exaggeration it was a turning point in the allies' relations....
Kuznets: Dear colleagues, dear comrades. It gives me all the more pleasure to use that form of address because the use of this word is in the tradition of the Russian Army and Navy. Every commander in our army during the Crimean War called his men "comrades". Admiral Kornilov and Admiral Nakhimov called their sailors "comrades." And in the years of the Civil War such a conservative figure as Admiral Kolchak has also began his field orders with the word "comrades." I think with more than 80 years history of using that word, I think we would do well to remember it today. So, it happened that when I woke up in the dead of night once I momentarily had a feeling that I had forgotten everything that I have written in this book. So, I may have difficulty recalling some events and dates, but one thing I will not permit myself is to be too long winded and to speak too long about this book....
A lot has been written and said here about Churchill, chiefly on the negative side. But I must say that the man's undoubted literary talent produced handsome names for whole conferences....
In January of 1943, Roosevelt and Churchill met in Casablanca. The Germans had their agents even in the US ruling circles, particularly in the Department of Defense. The messages they intercepted mentioned the name of Casablanca. Hitler's special services took an aim, but in Spanish "casa" means house, and "blanca" white. So, German decipherers reported that the meeting was most likely to take place in the White House, that is in the United States. German agents in the US became very active. Washington was being constantly watched, so to speak. Meanwhile Roosevelt and Churchill were peacefully conversing in Casablanca....
In the year 1943, the Germans learned quite quickly that the conference was going to take place in Teheran. And it became clear that the first meeting of the three leaders was being planned to be held there.... I have to say that the work in Iran was very difficult for our intelligence.... with the prevention of terrorist acts against the heads of government, especially since the relationships between the heads of government were quite complex.
Stalin was a very observing person and a very circumspect person. It's just a little touch to help you understand what was happening at that time. Once he noticed that President Roosevelt had sent some note on a small piece of paper to Churchill who was sitting next to him. Stalin gave an instruction to Ivan Ivanovich Agayants, our intelligence agent in Iran, to get that note, not just to find out what was in it, but to get the note itself.... Ivan Ivanovich did get a copy of the note. In the note Roosevelt wrote to Churchill, Sir, your fly is open. On the same note Churchill replied, The old eagle will not drop out of the nest. This may be a funny fact, but it shows that nothing went unnoticed in the relationships between the heads of state....
I am very appreciative to my friend and the man who wrote some section of the book--Valentin Ivanovich Zhilyayev who provided indeed quite unique photographs and, contrary to gossip that appears now and then that Stalin never flew by plane, that he was afraid of them to the point of panicking, that a huge detour route was chosen by land, one of these photos shows the moment in which the "supreme commander" is boarding a special liner in Baku at 10 o'clock in the morning on November 26, 1943. This picture is interesting in that we always saw "frontal" photos. In this case, however, the chief of his guards Vlasik, who was allowed to do that, took a picture of the boarding moment and in the center of the picture was the back of the supreme commander-in-chief. But I assure you that although I never saw Stalin alive, that was so expressive and recognizable a back, that could not be mistaken for somebody else's...
