September 2, 1945

Information Bulletin, Embassy of the U.S.S.R.

Comrades, compatriots, men and women! Today, September 2, representatives of the state and the armed forces of Japan signed the act of unconditional surrender. Utterly defeated on the seas and on land, and surrounded on all sides by the armed forces of the United Nations, Japan acknowledged her defeat and laid down arms.

Two hotbeds of world fascism and world aggression formed on the eve of this world war: Germany in the West and Japan in the East. It was they who unleashed the Second World War. It was they who placed humanity and its civilization on the verge of destruction.

The hotbed of world aggression in the West was eliminated four months ago, and as a result Germany was compelled to surrender. Four months later the hotbed of world aggression in the East was eliminated and as a result Japan, Germany's chief ally, has also been forced to sign the act of surrender. This means that the Second World War has come to an end.

Now we can say that the conditions necessary for the peace of the world have already been won. It should be noted that the Japanese invaders inflicted damage not only on our Allies-China, the United States, Great Britain they also inflicted most serious damage on our country. Therefore we have a special account of our own to settle with Japan.

Japan began her aggression against our country as far back as 1904, during the Russo-Japanese War. As is well known, in February, 1904, while negotiations between Japan and Russia were still in progress, Japan took advantage of the weakness of the Tsarist government and unexpectedly and treacherously, without declaring war, attacked our country and assaulted a Russian squadron in the Port Arthur area in order to disable several Russian warships and thus to place her own navy in a position of advantage. And, indeed, she did disable Russia's three first class warships.

Characteristically, thirty-seven years later, Japan repeated exactly the same treacherous device against the United States of America when, in 1941, she attacked the United States naval base at Pearl Harbor and disabled a number of American battleships.

As is well known, at that time Russia suffered defeat in the war with Japan, and Japan took advantage of Tsarist Russia's defeat to wrest southern Sakhalin from Russia, to strengthen her hold over the Kurile Islands, thus locking all outlets for our country to the ocean in the east and consequently also all outlets to the ports of Soviet Kamchatka and Soviet Chukotka. It was plain that Japan had set herself the aim of wresting from Russia her entire Far East.

Japan's predatory actions against our country, however, were not confined to that. In 1918, after the establishment of the Soviet system in our country, Japan, taking advantage of the then hostile attitude of Great Britain, France and the United States toward the Soviet country and leaning on them for support, again attacked our country, occupied the Far East and for four years ravaged our people and plundered the Soviet Far East. But even that is not all.

In 1938 Japan again attacked our country in the Lake Khasan area near Vladivostok, aiming to encircle Vladivostok, and the next year Japan repeated her attack, this time in a different place, near Khalkhin-gol in the area of the Mongolian People's Republic, aiming to break into Soviet territory, cut our Siberian trunk railway line and cut off the Far East from Russia. True, Japan's attacks in the Khasan and Khalkin-gol areas were suppressed by Soviet troops with great disgrace for the Japanese. Similarly, the Japanese military intervention of 1918-1922 was successfully suppressed and the Japanese invaders were thrown out of the areas of our Far East.

But the defeat of the Russian troops in 1904 in the period of the Russo-Japanese war, left grave memories in the minds of our people. It fell as a dark stain on our country. Our people trusted and awaited the day when Japan would be routed and the stain wiped out.

For forty years we, the men of the older generation, have waited for this day. And now this day has come.

Today Japan has acknowledged her defeat and signed the act of unconditional surrender. This means that southern Sakhalin and the Kurile Islands will pass to the Soviet Union and from now on will not serve as a means for isolating the Soviet Union from the ocean and as a base for a Japanese attack on our Far East, but as a means of direct communication of the Soviet Union with the ocean and as a base for the defense of our country against Japanese aggression.

Our Soviet people did not spare its strength or labor for the sake of victory. We have lived through hard years. But now every one of us can say: We have won.

From now on we can consider our country saved from the threat of German invasion in the West and of Japanese invasion in the East. The long-awaited peace for the nations of the whole world has come.

I congratulate you, my dear compatriots, men and women, on the great victory, on the successful termination of the war, on the advent of world peace!

Glory to the armed forces of the Soviet Union, the United States of America China and Great Britain, which have won victory over Japan!

Glory to our Far Eastern troops and the Pacific Fleet which upheld the honor and dignity of our Motherland!

Glory to our great people, victor people!

Eternal glory to the heroes who fell in battles for the honor and victory of our Motherland!

May our Motherland thrive and prosper!