In his long revolutionary career, he has experienced all kinds of grievances and injustices, but there are very few records of his anger in historical materials. The object of a rare outburst was a diplomat - the then Soviet ambassador to China, Eugene. ** This outburst caused a great shock in Moscow, and Khrushchev had to personally visit China to explain the relevant issues.
What is it that causes *** to get angry with a diplomat?
In 1957, the Chinese delegation visited the Soviet Union, and the New China Navy was only formed after the liberation, and at that time, there were only a few ships brought by the Kuomintang insurrectionary forces, and there was a lack of equipment and professional and technical personnel.
In 1952, Xiao Jinguang, then commander of the Navy, visited the Soviet Union to seek assistance. After several rounds of negotiations, China and the Soviet Union signed an aid agreement on June 4 of the following year, known as the "** Agreement." According to the content of the agreement, the Soviet Union will provide China with ships, ** and other materials;**Shipbuilding Materials;Sending experts to China and helping to train technicians in China.
The agreement was signed during the War to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea, and since then the United States and the Soviet Union have continued to compete for hegemony. Due to the needs of the situation, Stalin was quite generous to China, and our country obtained the best equipment from the Soviet Union relatively smoothly.
By 1957, "most of the agreed projects had been completed. In the past five years, China's navy has made significant progress, has mastered many construction technologies, and has also cultivated a large number of technical personnel. But the top brass of the Navy also knew very well that the Soviet Union was providing us with something that they were about to obsolete, and that although these things were new to us, they were backward compared to other capitalist powers.
In order to avoid detours, our country must acquire new technologies. At that time, the Soviet Union had already begun to develop missile technology for ships, and nuclear submarines were under construction. As the big brother of the socialist camp, China naturally first thought of acquiring new technology from the Soviet Union.
However, at this time, the Stalin era had come to an end, and the newly appointed Khrushchev, despite the opposition of the party and the socialist fraternal countries, made a secret report completely repudiating Stalin at the 20th Congress of the CPSU, which cast a shadow on Sino-Soviet relations and the beginning of Sino-Soviet differences.
He agreed with the criticism of Stalin's shortcomings, but he believed that the evaluation of Stalin should be "seven points of merit and three points of fault." Under Stalin's leadership, the Soviet Union made great contributions to the world anti-fascist war, and after the end of World War II, he also provided great help to the socialist movements in various countries. Just because he made some mistakes doesn't mean he can't dismiss them entirely. Obviously, the view of *** is more objective and more in line with the materialist view of history.
Moreover, not only in the USSR, but also in other socialist countries, Stalin had high prestige, and he was like the "spiritual pillar" of communists all over the world. The sudden rejection of it in its entirety will inevitably shake the socialist countries, which is tantamount to "handing a knife" to the capitalist countries. It is believed that Khrushchev's total rejection of Stalin is "lifting the lid and poking a leak".
The 1956 Hungarian Incident was followed by mass demonstrations in Poland and Hungary one after another, and even showed anti-Soviet tendencies, known as the "Polish-Hungarian Incident" in history. Khrushchev was hesitant in dealing with the "Polish-Hungarian incident" and was also faced with challenges within the Soviet Union, and was overwhelmed. He urgently needs the support of fraternal countries, so he has tried his best to maintain relations with China.
It was against this background that in September 1957, Marshal **, Chen Geng, Song Renqiang and others led a delegation to visit the Soviet Union. Negotiations with the Soviet Union lasted for 35 days and the "October 15 Agreement" was reached. According to the agreement, the Soviet Union will provide assistance to China in rocket and aviation technology.
In December 1958, the first Soviet nuclear submarine was officially delivered to the Navy, which meant that the Soviet Navy was able to operate far from the coastline. But at that time, there were no satellites, and radio communication had to be relied upon, and how to complete communication after the nuclear submarine was far from the Soviet coastline became a big problem for the Soviet Union.
The Soviet Union was already thinking about this issue when nuclear submarines were still being built, and the Navy offered Khrushchev two options: one was to build a long-wave radio station in his own country;The second is to build one each in India and China.
If a long-wave radio station is built in the country, it will be far away from the South Pacific and the Indian Ocean, and it will be difficult to guarantee the quality of communication. At that time, friendly relations between the Soviet Union and India had just been established, and India was not a socialist country, and Khrushchev feared that a rash proposal to build military facilities in the country would cause resentment. So, in the end, he decided to build a long-wave radio station in China.
Khrushchev believed that the Chinese Navy was still built with the help of the Soviet Union, and China also needed long-wave radio, and there was no reason why China would refuse the Soviet Union. At that time, China really needed long-wave radio. Due to the formation of the submarine force, the three short-wave radio stations originally provided by the Soviet Union can no longer meet the needs of the troops' activities, and China hopes that the Soviet Union can provide assistance in long-wave radio technology.
However, it was this seemingly "win-win" affair that led to huge differences between the two sides.
Khrushchev's initial proposal for the Soviet Union was to establish a high-power long-wave transmitter radio and a special receiver radio center in southern China. The project is expected to cost 1100 million rubles, 70 million by the Soviet Union and 40 million by China, will be jointly managed and used by both sides after completion.
This plan, nominally co-managed, seems to be beneficial to China, but it is more far-reaching. He believes that only the Soviets understand technology, and according to past experience, they are certainly unwilling to teach China all the technology, and when the time comes, they will have the final say, and China will not be able to intervene at all.
Moreover, China has finally driven out foreigners and achieved independence, so how can it be possible to invite foreigners in again and build military facilities on our territory?** Believe that this has already involved the issue of sovereignty, and cannot agree with the Soviet proposal. He believes that the construction project can be agreed, but it must be fully funded by China and owned by China.
The then Minister of Defense replied to the Soviet side according to the instructions of ***, but the Soviet Union still adhered to the "joint construction" plan and proposed to immediately send experts to China to survey and design. In order not to delay the construction time, it is recommended that Soviet specialists be allowed to come to China for preliminary work, and the issue of investment and use will be discussed slowly in the future.
** Agreed to this suggestion, but repeatedly emphasized that "the money must come from China", and added a sentence at the end of the instructions: ".This is China's opinion, not my personal opinion。It can be seen that he has become disgusted with the "joint construction" repeatedly demanded by the Soviet Union. However, the Soviet Union could not understand the feelings of the Chinese comrades and always insisted on "joint construction", but the two sides were never able to reach an agreement.
The Soviet nuclear submarine long-wave radio project has not yet been agreed upon, but an incident has occurred that has made the two sides even more divided. After learning that the Chinese Navy wanted to develop new technologies, the Soviet advisers to the Chinese Navy repeatedly suggested: "China and the Soviet Union have a brotherly relationship, and what the Soviet Union has, as long as China sends a telegram, it will be given." ”
Due to the special status of the adviser, the navy believed that this was the internal view of the Soviet Union, so it suggested that *** should come forward and request the Soviet Union to assist China in new submarine technology. So he sent a letter to Khrushchev, hoping that the USSR would "provide design drawings and materials for the construction of new combat submarines in a planned and step-by-step manner, under possible conditions." Based on the analysis of the archives of the conversation with the Soviet ambassador to China, Eugene, the "new combat submarine" mentioned here refers to the nuclear submarine.
Unexpectedly, this was again seen by Khrushchev as an opportunity. He believes that the development of nuclear submarines costs a huge amount of money and requires considerable technical support, and that it is difficult for China to complete it alone, and that it should be jointly built with the Soviet Union.
Khrushchev's idea was also based on the practical predicament of the Soviet Union at that time. Although there were the Black Sea and the Baltic Sea to the west of the USSR, it was easily blocked by the enemy. To the north, there is an ice-free port of Murmansk, but it is small and faces a blockade from Britain and Iceland. The eastern access to the sea was again blocked by South Korea and Japan.
So the Soviet Union wanted to build a military base along China's long coastline, so that they would have easy access to the Pacific Ocean and even the Indian Ocean. If China agrees to build a joint fleet, then the problem of long-wave radio stations for commanding the fleet will be solved.
So Khrushchev asked the Soviet ambassador to China, Eugene, to meet with *** and convey the proposal for building a "combined fleet". Khrushchev's idea can be described as killing two birds with one stone, solving both the problem of access to the sea for the Soviet Navy and the problem of communication and liaisonBut he saw only the interests of the Soviet Union and ignored the feelings of China.
Eugene was the fourth Soviet ambassador to China. At first, Stalin's trust in China was not high, and on his first visit to the Soviet Union, he modestly told Stalin that his work was going to be published and that he wanted a scholar to help him read the philosophical content so as not to make mistakes. **The real intention was for Stalin to send a confidant to China to see what was going on in order to increase trust.
Soviet Ambassador to China Eugene (first from right) Stalin sent Eugene to China, ** courtesy, often took the initiative to visit, and the two sides established a good personal relationship. On July 21, 1958, Eugene asked for an urgent meeting with *** saying that there was something important to report. **and several** leaders met with Eugene that night.
Due to the close relationship between the two sides, Eugene did not beat around the bush. The idea of the desire of the USSR to create a "combined fleet" was directly expressed. What he didn't expect was that,After listening to the translation, I was surprised to say "ah", and then asked, "Are you going to start a cooperative again?"”
** By cooperatives, we refer to the four joint ventures that Stalin imposed on China at the time of the signing of the Sino-Soviet Treaty of Friendship, Alliance and Mutual Assistance with the Soviet Union. ** said that he just wanted to ask the Soviet Union to help us build the navy, and did not consider engaging in "cooperatives". And repeatedly asked: "Are you engaged in 'cooperatives', are you talented?"Was it the USSR who commanded this fleet?”
Eugene was in a bad mood when he saw *** and didn't dare to say more. He said that he was only conveying Khrushchev's opinion and hoped that China would send someone to the Soviet Union for detailed talks, and then he took his leave.
After Eugene left, ** was in a bad mood, lying on a wicker chair and smoking for a long time without speaking. The next morning, I always liked to work at night, and I found other leading comrades to hold a meeting, and everyone thought that the Soviet Union was taking advantage of China's assistance to put forward political conditions, and unanimously decided to withdraw the request for the Soviet Union to help build nuclear submarines.
Then *** urgently summoned Eugene, and said straight to the point: "In the morning, our Politburo discussed it and decided to withdraw your request to help us build nuclear submarines." ”
Then he looked at Eugene with a serious expression and said: "You just don't believe in Chinese, you only believe in ** people, ** people are superior people, Chinese are inferior people, and they are sloppy, so there is a joint venture problem......”
Speaking of anger, he also counted the various arrogant manifestations of the Soviet Union against China during the Stalin period. bluntly said: "Some of you regard the relationship between the Soviet Union and China as a father-son party and a cat-mouse party. ”
** He also questioned Eugene: "How do you talk to the world when you propose a naval 'cooperative'?"How to speak to the Chinese people?You made me so angry yesterday that I didn't sleep all night. ”
** Firmly stated: "Why do you want to raise the issue of half ownership?".This is a political issue. If you want to talk about political conditions, you can't even ...... half a fingerThe military strength to defend the country must be in our own hands, you have nuclear submarines, we also have them, if you don't give them, even if it is 10,000 years, we will have to make it ourselves. ”
At the end of the conversation, ** also asked Eugene to convey the original words to Khrushchev: "Please tell Comrade Khrushchev the same way, you can say what I say, and don't whitewash it for me." He criticized Stalin and is now engaging in Stalin's stuff. ”
Eugene returned and drafted a telegram overnight, reporting to Moscow early the next morning, and this long telegram was like a bomb that caused a great shock in the Kremlins. They did not expect such a violent reaction from the Chinese comrades, and Khrushchev canceled his trip to the United States and decided to secretly go to Beijing to persuade the Chinese comrades.
On July 31, 1958, Khrushchev was greeted by leaders at Nanyuan Airport, and he and Khrushchev simply shook hands, not hugging like relatives in the past.
During Khrushchev's visit to China, he held four talks, the most important of which was the first, which was the afternoon when Khrushchev first arrived in China. The fact that they had come from afar to hold talks before they had time to rest can also be seen in the importance of this matter in the hearts of both sides.
The atmosphere of the talks was rather tense, and Khrushchev said at the very beginning: "On the issue of naval construction, you said that you have not slept all night because of this incident, and I have not slept all night since I received the report. ”
He then denied that he had proposed a "combined fleet" and put all the blame on Eugene, saying that Eugene did not understand what he meant. "Military issues are to him what the moon is as far away from the earth as the moon," he said. He had never been exposed to military issues. ”
** Constantly questioned whether Khrushchev would not help China build its navy if he did not engage in "cooperatives"?Khrushchev, like a student in training, constantly explained that it was due to the wrong communication of the person who did the work, emphasizing that there was no idea of violating China's sovereignty and that he would not impose political conditions on aid.
Apparently this is just Khrushchev's statement of shirking responsibility, and according to the analysis of the archives declassified by the USSR later, Eugene did not convey the error. However, at that time, Khrushchev vehemently denied that he wanted to build a "joint fleet," so the differences between the two sides naturally disappeared, and it was finally agreed not to talk about building a "joint fleet."
When talking about the construction of long-wave radio stations, Khrushchev repeatedly said that he would lend money to China. ** resolutely rejected Khrushchev: "100 million rubles is nothing to us, we don't need a loan, it's completely borne by us, we don't need to pay for it, we can do it ourselves if you want to do it, and we won't do it if you want to pay for it." ”
In the end, Khrushchev had to agree to build a long-wave radio station at China's own expense, with the Soviet Union providing technical support. But before the construction of this project was completed, Sino-Soviet relations completely deteriorated, and the Soviet Union transferred back all specialists. After several years of hard work, China did not complete construction until September 1965.
Although Khrushchev said that he would not impose political conditions on China's aid, in fact he always held a grudge against China for not cooperating. Later, when the conflict between China and India arose, the Soviet Union made a statement that it was clearly biased in favor of India despite China's opposition, making the contradictions between China and the Soviet Union public. Later, Khrushchev unilaterally announced the tearing up of the contract and the withdrawal of Soviet specialists. This also meant a complete rupture of Sino-Soviet relations.
When the Soviet Union withdrew the experts, the Chinese comrades went to the airport to see them off*** It was rare to get angry, ostensibly because of differences with the Soviet Union, but in fact there were deeper reasons. Since the Opium War, the Chinese people have endured bullying and oppression by Western powers and signed many unequal treaties. It took decades of war for the revolutionary aspirants to completely overthrow the three mountains that weighed down on the Chinese people.
Therefore, the revolutionaries of the older generation cherish this hard-won achievement very much, and they certainly do not want to see the flag of another country fluttering again on the territory of China and the army of another country. For the sake of its own interests, the Soviet Union ignored China's feelings and raised issues involving China's sovereignty, which hurt the national feelings of the Chinese comrades and naturally aroused disgust and indignation.
It can also be seen from these two incidents that the Soviet side is largely responsible for the rupture of Sino-Soviet relations. During the Stalin period, the Soviet Union practiced great power chauvinism, treating other fraternal countries as subordinates, often ignoring their feelings and doing things that damaged the relationship between the two sides. After Khrushchev came to power, although he tried his best to behave differently from Stalin, the chauvinism of the great powers had been deeply rooted in the marrow of the Soviet people and was difficult to change for a while.
The proposal of "long-wave radio" and "combined fleet" is a continuation of the chauvinism of the great powers, which is also the fundamental cause of the rupture of Sino-Soviet relations. The relationship between countries is roughly similar to the relationship between people, and it must be on the basis of equality, so that long-term friendship can be maintained.