The Fourth Moscow Conference, also known as the Tolstoy Conference for its code name ''Tolstoy'', was a meeting in Moscow between

Winston Churchill Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill (30 November 1874 – 24 January 1965) was a British statesman, military officer, and writer who was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1940 to 1945 (Winston Churchill in the Second World War, ...

and

Joseph Stalin Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin (born Dzhugashvili; 5 March 1953) was a Soviet politician and revolutionary who led the Soviet Union from 1924 until Death and state funeral of Joseph Stalin, his death in 1953. He held power as General Secret ...

from 9 to 19 October 1944.

Procedures

According to Churchill's memoirs, Churchill made a secret proposal on a scrap of paper to divide postwar Europe into Western and Soviet spheres of influence. Stalin apparently examined the scrap of paper and pondered it for a moment, wrote a large check in blue pencil and handed it back to Churchill. Churchill commented: "Might it not be thought rather cynical if it seemed we had disposed of such issues, so fateful to millions of people, in such an offhand manner? Let us burn the paper". Stalin counselled, however, to save the historic scrap of paper. Churchill called the scrap of paper a "naughty document", which came to be known as the " Percentages agreement". These originally-proposed spheres of influence that Churchill were nominated to Stalin in percentages: * Romania = 90% Russian and 10% The Others, * Greece = 90% Great Britain (in accord with US) and Russian 10%, * Yugoslavia = 50–50%, * Hungary = 50–50%, * Bulgaria = 75% Russian and 25% The Others, and *

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

is 'briefly discussed before moving on to the Balkans' – according to the 1974 journal article by Albert Resis on the 1953 vol. 6 memoirs, ''Triumph and Tragedy,'' by Winston Churchill. The known status of Poland after the war shows that Churchill did not press Soviet expectations and capitulated on the matter swiftly. The US ambassador to the Soviet Union, representing President Roosevelt, Averell Harriman, was not present for the discussions, but Churchill informed Roosevelt on 10 October of an agreement after more deliberations. However, it is not certain to what extent the true details were made known at the time. Roosevelt was conditionally supportive but was ultimately unhappy with the level of US influence in the Balkans, specifically Bulgaria, which was the sticking point for the discussion. That resulted in the original percentages being haggled over for some days. A significant consequence of the agreement was the

Cold War The Cold War was a period of global Geopolitics, geopolitical rivalry between the United States (US) and the Soviet Union (USSR) and their respective allies, the capitalist Western Bloc and communist Eastern Bloc, which lasted from 1947 unt ...

, according to Resis, because of its prewar imperialist thought of Churchill and Stalin. It removed the free choice of Eastern Europe and Mediterranean peoples from choosing their own path forward free from Nazi occupation. The proposed percentage division was never mentioned at

Yalta Conference The Yalta Conference (), held 4–11 February 1945, was the World War II meeting of the heads of government of the United States, the United Kingdom, and the Soviet Union to discuss the postwar reorganization of Germany and Europe. The three sta ...

or other meetings. Norman Naimark states that it "confirmed that Eastern Europe, initially at least, would lie within the sphere of influence of the Soviet Union". However, the British historian Andrew Roberts stated: :The Second Moscow Conference was not able to resolve major issues and Eastern Europe, and when Churchill did complete his percentages deal with Stalin, it was not ratified by the Americans. Stalin agreed that the Soviet Union would enter the war against Japan, and the British agreed to return to the Soviets all former Soviet citizens who had been liberated from the Germans. There has never been a confirmation of this agreement and the sole source is Churchill's memoirs. As early as 1958, the authenticity of Churchill's claim has come into question.

Representatives present

The chief representatives for the

Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

at the conference were

, the Soviet premier, and Vyacheslav Molotov the Soviet foreign minister. The

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

's principal representatives were

, the prime minister, and

Anthony Eden Robert Anthony Eden, 1st Earl of Avon (12 June 1897 – 14 January 1977) was a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party from 1955 until his resignation in 1957. Achi ...

, the foreign secretary. The Chief of the Imperial General Staff, Field Marshal Sir Alan Brooke was also present, as were the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

ambassador to Moscow, Averell Harriman, and General John R. Deane, head of the United States Military Mission in Moscow as observers. Also at the conference were delegations from both the London-based

Polish government-in-exile The Polish government-in-exile, officially known as the Government of the Republic of Poland in exile (), was the government in exile of Poland formed in the aftermath of the Invasion of Poland of September 1939, and the subsequent Occupation ...

and the communist Lublin-based Polish Committee of National Liberation.Stanly Smit
Part 1: The Polish Government: Could Churchill have done more to save Poland from Communism?
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Procedures

Representatives present

See also

References

Further reading