"The Soviet Union stands for brotherhood and friendship between all peoples and for the telt-determination of all nations. Within M. Stalin's constitution of 1936 all national minorifies in my country, and there are many, are assured complete freedom for national development. The Soviet Union further recognizes internal order in each state is its own concern" This statement made at the AWet Conference in London by the: Soviet Ambassador to the Court of St. James, M. Ivan Maisky, should do much to clear up possible mísunderstandings of the Soviet Government's position vis-à-vis the rest of the world. In his speech before the assembled representa-lives of freedom and^bf respect for the pledged word, M. Maisky revealed that the hopes for the future of the world held in Russia are identical with those held in other countries now engaged in the struggle against Nazidoto, aha by the emphasis he laid upon religious freedom in he Soviet Union, he effectively put the finishing touch to the crumbled token of a crusade, which Hitler has vainly attempted {o raise in justification for his treacherous attack. Last year there were over 30,000 independent religious communities in Soviet Russia, with about 8,000 churches and 60,000 Driests and ministers, whose rights were pro-lected by Soviet law. In short, the Soviet Ambassador showed that since 1938 there has been an end to that religious intolerance which blackened the early history "oh the. Russian revolution. There has been an attempt on the part of Nazi propagandists to iw M. Maisky's statement as some sert of ith-bed. repentance. They have hínted that the So-viers, faced with great peril from the German armies. would be willing to declare anything and promise anything, in return for the wholehearted assistance they may need in order to prove victorious in the present struggle. This is, of course, another lie. It betrays the Nazi mentality. They have never hesitated to make promises and to pledge good behaviour without having the slightest Intention of ever mak-{nk their pledges good, and ey, therefore, attribute the same motives to other nations. They harm only themselves by such interpretations.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.