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Table of Contents
The Complete Maisky Diaries: Volume 3
  • 10 January
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© 2025
13 October
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By Liakhovetsky, Ivan Mikhailovich (Maisky)

The Complete Maisky Diaries: Volume 2

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13 October
The Edens came to us for lunch. There were four of us and we conversed candidly. Eden was in a good mood. He is clearly delighted about returning to the bosom of government. His light grey suit and colourful tie gave him a cheerful, almost vernal appearance. His ‘Beatrice’, though, was all in black and unusually stern and silent.
We spoke, of course, about the burning issue of the moment – the war. Eden confessed that he was quite puzzled by our change of policy. He was in the camp with his battalion when news arrived of Ribbentrop’s trip to Moscow. An officer woke him up in his tent at 6 a.m. to inform him. Eden exclaimed ‘nonsense!’, turned onto his side, and wanted to go back to sleep. So the officer thrust a fresh paper with the news under his nose. That made Eden jump out of bed right away. He was wide awake. And although subsequent events clarified a great deal for Eden, he still hasn’t understood everything.
I explained to Eden in a few words the meaning and causes of the Soviet actions, beginning with the Soviet–German non-aggression pact. He listened to me attentively and seemed to display understanding.
Maisky repeated his now familiar apologetic narrative of the events leading up to the pact, suggesting that ‘In a world such as this where wild beasts were loose every country had to take certain precautions for its own safety’; TNA FO 371 23682 N5426/92/38.


Page 645

Then it was his turn to speak. He believes, just as he did four years ago, that British and Soviet interests do not seriously collide anywhere, on any issue or in any part of the world. What we observe today is a temporary and transient tension. It must be eased. How? Eden, like Churchill and Elliot, began sounding me out: mightn’t an authoritative delegation be sent to Moscow? A trade delegation, perhaps? Or a delegation dealing with some other affairs? Or a member of government? What if Seeds were replaced with a more suitable person? Whom would we like: a diplomat, a politician, a public figure, a writer, Bernard Shaw? Mentioning Shaw, Eden openly smiled, but in essence he was dead serious.
Since I didn’t know Moscow’s feelings on the matter, I preferred to refrain from giving advice.
Maisky, who, according to Eden, ‘talked almost the whole time’, did advise him that the Kremlin would prefer to see someone who enjoyed the British government’s confidence, and that it would ‘probably always be doubtful of this if they were dealing with a Left Wing politician while the Government of this country was Right Wing’. Seeds’ health had been failing for a while, and he was being held – most conveniently – as a scapegoat for the failure of the negotiations with the Russians. Following a Cabinet meeting on 30 September in which his judgements were questioned, Halifax met Dawson tête-à-tête for dinner on 5 October and ‘discussed with him possible Labour names to succeed Seeds’; TNA FO 371 23682 N5426/92/38; DVP, 1939, XXII/2, doc. 682. The dissonance between the versions has been spotted by Carley, who is correct in attributing it to Maisky’s need to save his policy ‘and perhaps also his head – since he had to keep the British interested in negotiations’; M.J. Carley, ‘“A situation of delicacy and danger”: Anglo-Soviet relations, August 1939–March 1940’, Contemporary European History, 8/2 (1999), pp. 184 and 191. See also Dawson papers, diary, Box 43; and Aster, ‘Sir William Seeds’, pp. 142–5.
As far as war is concerned, Eden strongly supported the official point of view. War is inevitable and must be fought to the end.
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Document Details
Document Title13 October
AuthorLiakhovetsky, Ivan Mikhailovich (Maisky)
RecipientN/A
RepositoryN/A
ID #N/A
DescriptionN/A
Date1939 Oct 13
AOC VolumeThe Complete Maisky Diaries: Volume 2
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