Lot 585

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Description:

VYACHESLAV MOLOTOV
(1890 - 1986) Bolshevik politician and diplomat, ranked second in Soviet leadership for most of the 1930s under Stalin. In this capacity he signed the German Soviet Non-Aggression Pact in 1939 (also called the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact). Eponym for the ‘Molotov cocktail.' Excessively rare, war date A.N.S. written over a typed D.S. sent to him by VYACHESLAV MALYSHEV (1902-1957), Soviet politician and leading industrialist, instrumental in the Soviet atomic bomb project. The D.S. is 1p. 8vo., [n.p., n.d. but very likely 1943], addressed to Molotov, largely untranslated but discussing how Soviets are splitting car frames received from the U.S. thanks to the Lend-Lease agreement and using them for the war effort. Molotov writes over the text of document forwarding it to Anastas Mikoyan (1895-1978), writing 'To C[omrade] Mikoyan. I consider this [change] being the correct one. I think we don't have to issue a special order. V. Molotov. April 4th.' Lightly toned with a few chips to the margins, else fine condition. Molotov and his predecessor Maxim Litvanov were instrumental in negotiating the Lend Lease agreement with the U.S. and United Kingdom. The Allied powers believed they did not stand a chance against the Germans if the Soviet Union fell. From 1941-45 the United States delivered roughly eleven billion dollars in aid to the Soviets via three different routes: one through the Arctic, one through Persia, and one through the Pacific which was constantly harassed by the Japanese. In addition to financial aid, the U.S. also sent hundreds of thousands of military vehicles, associated equipment, and fuel. As the Soviet Union began to push back the German lines across the Eastern front in the summers of 1943 and 44, they did so with the help of American M4 Sherman tanks, Bell P-39 fighter planes, and close to two million tons of food.

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April 5, 2022 10:00 AM EDT
Chesapeake City, MD, US

Alexander Historical Auctions LLC

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Bid Increments
From: To: Increments:
$0 $99 $10
$100 $499 $20
$500 $999 $50
$1,000 $1,999 $100
$2,000 $4,999 $250
$5,000 $9,999 $500
$10,000 $19,999 $1,000
$20,000 $49,999 $2,500
$50,000 $99,999 $5,000
$100,000 + $10,000