Captive Nations

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Well, of course they don't admit there are any captive nations. They have their own propaganda. They present a picture to their own peoples, including the world, so far as they can, that we know is distorted and is untrue.

-Dwight D. Eisenhower[1]

"Captive Nations" is a term sometimes used in the United States to describe nations under undemocratic regimes. During the Cold War, when the phraseology appeared and was more frequently used, it referred to nations under Communist domination, primarily Soviet rule.

As a part of the United States’ Cold War strategy, an anti-Communism advocacy group, the National Captive Nations Committee, was established in 1959 according to Pub.L. 86–90 by President Dwight D. Eisenhower. The American economist and diplomat of Ukrainian heritage Lev Dobriansky played a key role in it.[2]

The law also established Captive Nations Week, traditionally proclaimed for the third week in July since then. The move aimed at raising public awareness of the problems of nations under the control of Communist and other non-democratic governments.

The original Public Law 86-90 specifically referred to the following Captive Nations:[3]

Public Law 86-90 which establishes Captive Nations Week

Reactions

Russian emigres living in US, criticized P.L. 86-90, because speaking of "Russian communism" and "imperialistic policies of Communist Russia" this law by implication equated the terms "Russian", "Communist" and "Imperialist".

Group of prominent American historians issued a statement, noting that PL 86-90 is largely based on historical misinformation and commits the United States to help some mythical "nations" such as "Cossackia" and "Idel-Ural".[4]

Gregory P. Tschebotarioff, Stephen Timoshenko, Nicholas V. Riasanovsky, Gleb Struve, Nicholas Timasheff were among opponents of the PL 86-90.

Current vision

Though certain ideas, expressed by the President Eisenhower in 1959 have lost their relevance since the fall of the Berlin Wall and the collapse of the Soviet Union, American leaders continue the tradition of celebrating Captive Nations Week and each year issue a new version of the Proclamation. The existence of such captive nations as Cossackia and Idel-Ural has never proved to be veritable. Contemporary Proclamations do not relate to particular nations or states. The latest US President to specify the list of countries with oppressive regimes was George W. Bush. His 2008 Proclamation mentions Belarus and North Korea and this fact connects his version of the Proclamation to Eisenhower's original text. Both countries were referred to in the Pub.L. 86–90, though in 1959 Belarus was denoted as White Ruthenia. George W. Bush characterized the leaders of abovementioned countries as 'despots'.[5] When declaring the July 2009 Captive Nations Week, President Barack Obama stated, that, while the Cold War had been consigned to the history books, concerns raised by President Eisenhower remained still valid.[6][7] The text of the July 2011 Proclamation reflected the intention of the US government oppose the use of violence and repression and to support the right of people to choose their leaders.[8]

References

  1. ↑ "Eisenhower's 165 News Conference". The American Presidency Project. July 22, 1959. Retrieved 2011-04-23. 
  2. ↑ Edwards, Lee (02/14/2008), Remembering ‘Mr. Captive Nations’ Lev Dobriansky. HumanEvents.com
  3. ↑ Campbell, John Coert (1965), American Policy Toward Communist Eastern Europe: the Choices Ahead, p. 116. University of Minnesota Press, ISBN 0-8166-0345-6
  4. ↑ "A Statement on U.S. Public Law 86-90". Russian Review 20 (1): 97–98. 1961. JSTOR 126589. 
  5. ↑ http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/FR-2008-07-23/pdf/08-1464.pdf
  6. ↑ Captive Nations Week, 2009 – A Proclamation by the President of the United States of America. The White House Office of the Press Secretary. July 17, 2009
  7. ↑ Dale, Helle C. (August 24, 2009), Captive Nations Past and Present. The Heritage Foundation.
  8. ↑ A proclamation by the President of the United States of America. July 15, 2011
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