Wilson Centerin kylmän sodan arkisto:
https://www.wilsoncenter.org/progra...-project?fuseaction=topics.home&topic_id=1409
Esimerkkinä Brežnevin kirje Honeckerille marraskuussa 1980:
Secret
Dear Erich!
After discussing matters in the Politburo, we decided to turn to you and
Comrades G. Husak, J. Kadar, and T. Zhivkov on an important and, in some
sense, extremely urgent matter.
Not long ago, as you know, we received Cdes. Kania and Pinkowski in Moscow.
The situation they face is, one might say, exceptionally onerous. An urgent
necessity has arisen for all of us together to help Poland make it through the
current crisis.
You are well aware of the political situation in the PPR. The counterrevolution is
on the attack and has practically seized the party by the throat. At the recent
meeting we conveyed to the Poles our views about the need to halt the course
of events and launch an attack against the counterrevolutionary forces, and we
are informing you about this separately. In these circumstances, the situation in
the economy acquires enormous significance and is now close to a catastrophe.
A further deterioration of the situation in Poland threatens to inflict enormous
damage on the entire socialist commonwealth. For that reason it is our common
internationalist and.— I would even say — our class duty to do everything we
can to prevent this.
Let me emphasize that we ourselves will assume the main burden in this matter.
Despite our own economic problems, which I described to you, we believe it is
necessary to give Poland significant financial and economic assistance by
extending hard-currency grants and extra shipments of a number of goods.
However, it will be impossible to provide this assistance without a certain degree
of participation by the other fraternal countries. In raising this question, we of
course are very well aware that it is not simple. For that reason, we have tried to
find an approach that would have only a minimal effect on internal plans and
would not be something beyond your means.
Concretely, here's what I have in mind. We propose to reduce oil shipments
somewhat to a number of countries in the socialist commonwealth. This oil will
be sold on the capitalist market and the hard-currency revenues will be
transmitted to Poland in the name of the corresponding countries. This will
enable Poland to alleviate its critical financial situation and to purchase certain
vitally necessary products and other goods.
As far as the GDR is concerned, the volume of oil shipments from the Soviet
Union in 1981 will, with your consent, be reduced by 600,000-650,000 tons of
the designated amount, without affecting the level of shipments of German
goods to the Soviet Union.
I request, Erich, that you look upon this suggestion with understanding. I am
certain that our display of fraternal solidarity will help our Polish comrades
withstand what for them is a trying hour.
With Communist greetings
[signed]
L. BREZHNEV
4 November 1980
http://digitalarchive.wilsoncenter.org/document/112716
