In February 1946 Soviet leader Joseph Stalin delivered a speech to voters in a Moscow electoral district. He reflected on the Allied victory in World War II, the stability of the Soviet system and the performance of the Red Army. Most notably, he claimed that war was inevitable in any system where capitalism is dominant:

“Comrades!

Eight years have passed since the last elections to the Supreme Soviet. This has been a period replete with events of a decisive nature. The first four years were years of intense labour on the part of Soviet people in carrying out the Third Five Year Plan. The second four years covered the events of the war against the German and Japanese aggressors…

It would be wrong to think that the Second World War broke out accidentally, or as a result of blunders committed by certain statesmen – although blunders were certainly committed. As a matter of fact, the war broke out as the inevitable result of the development of world economic and political forces [and] monopolistic capitalism. Marxists have more than once stated that the capitalist system of world economy contains the elements of a general crisis and military conflicts… In view of that, the development of world capitalism in our times does not proceed smoothly and evenly, but through crises and catastrophic wars…

The uneven development of capitalist countries usually leads, in the course of time, to a sharp disturbance of the equilibrium within the world system of capitalism. A group of capitalist countries regards itself as being less securely provided with raw materials and markets usually attempts to change the situation and to redistribute “spheres of influence” in its own favour – by employing armed force. As a result of this, the capitalist world is split into two hostile camps, and war breaks out between them.

Perhaps catastrophic wars could be avoided if it were possible periodically to redistribute raw materials and markets among the respective countries… by means of concerted and peaceful decisions. But this is impossible under the present capitalist conditions of world economic development…

That is how it stands with the question of the origin and character of the Second World War. Everybody perhaps now admits that the war was not nor could have been an accident in the lives of the peoples, that it actually became a war of the peoples for their existence, and that for that very reason could not have been a swift or lightning war.

As far as our country is concerned, for her, this war was the fiercest and most arduous ever fought in the history of our Motherland. But the war was not only a curse. It was also a great school which examined and tested all the forces of the people. The war laid bare all facts and events in the rear and at the front, it ruthlessly tore down all the veils and coverings that concealed the actual features of slates, governments and parties, and brought them onto the stage without masks and without make-up, with all their defects and merits. The war was… an examination of our Soviet system, of our State, of our Government and of our Communist Party. It summed up their work and said, as it were: Here they are, your people and organisations, their life and work. Scrutinise them carefully and treat them according to their deserts.

This is one of the positive sides of the war…

Our victory signifies, first of all, that our Soviet social system was victorious, that the Soviet social system successfully passed the test of fire in the war and proved that it is fully viable… The war proved that the Soviet social system is a genuine people’s system, which grew up from the ranks of the people and enjoys their powerful support; that the Soviet social system is fully viable and stable form of organisation of society…

The war proved that the Red Army is not “a colossus with feet of clay” but a first-class modern army, equipped with the most up to date armaments, led by most experienced commanders and possessing high morale and fighting qualities. It must not be forgotten that the Red Army is the army which utterly routed the German army, the army which only yesterday struck terror in the hearts of the armies of the European states.”