Telegram on the Fortieth Anniversary of the Founding of the Soviet Armed Forces
(February 21, 1958)

Comrade Nikita Khrushchev, First Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union;
Comrade Kliment Voroshilov, Chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR;
Comrade Nikolai Bulganin, Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the USSR;

Dear Comrades!

On the occasion of the fortieth anniversary of the founding of the heroic Soviet Armed Forces, on behalf of all the Chinese people, I extend to you, and through you to the great Soviet people, our warmest congratulations.

The glorious Soviet Armed Forces were born in the fiery crucible of the Great October Socialist Revolution as the world’s first army of the working class and the peasantry. Over the past forty years, under the leadership of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union and the Soviet Government, this entirely new type of socialist army has traversed a brilliant and glorious combat path. The valiant Soviet Armed Forces successfully defended the gains of the October Revolution and shattered imperialist armed intervention; during the Second World War, they annihilated the main forces of Nazi Germany and Japanese militarism, thereby safeguarding the independence of various nations and rescuing human civilization. In the postwar period, the Soviet Armed Forces have tirelessly struggled to defend world peace and the cause of human progress, making outstanding contributions. Facts have proven that the Soviet Armed Forces are loyal friends of all oppressed peoples and peace-loving peoples.

Thanks to the Communist Party of the Soviet Union’s continuous strengthening of political work within the Soviet Armed Forces, and thanks to the fact that the Soviet Armed Forces possess the richest combat experience and the most modern technical equipment, the Soviet Armed Forces have become

the most powerful and battle-capable revolutionary army in the world. We are confident that, in the struggle to safeguard the security of the countries of the socialist camp and to defend world peace, the Soviet Armed Forces will continue to achieve ever greater successes.

Under the leadership of the Communist Party of China, the Chinese People’s Liberation Army has, over its long revolutionary struggles, drawn upon the fundamental experiences of Soviet military construction. Henceforth, the Soviet Armed Forces will remain a model for the Chinese People’s Liberation Army to emulate. We are delighted to see that the great solidarity between the peoples of China and the Soviet Union is steadily growing, and that the bonds of combat friendship between the two armies are constantly being strengthened. The Chinese people and the Chinese People’s Liberation Army will forever stand firmly alongside the Soviet people and the heroic Soviet Armed Forces, striving to consolidate the socialist camp led by the Soviet Union and to uphold peace in the Far East and throughout the world.

Mao Zedong, Chairman of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China
Liu Shaoqi, Chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress of the People’s Republic of China
Zhou Enlai, Premier of the State Council of the People’s Republic of China
February 21, 1958