White House congratulations to the USSR on its 25th anniversary (11-6-42)

Franklin Delano Roosevelt (D-NY)

President Roosevelt’s congratulations to the USSR on its 25th anniversary
November 6, 1942

His Excellency Mikhail Kalinin, President of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, Moscow, USSR:

On the occasion of this twenty-fifth anniversary of the establishment of the Soviet State, I convey to Your Excellency the congratulations of the Government and people of the United States.

For the second time in a generation, our two countries are in the forefront of a gathering of nations aligned against a common enemy. Collaboration in the mighty military task before us must be the prelude to collaboration in the mightier task of creating a world at peace.

The resistance of free peoples has made possible the mounting power of the United Nations. The Russian Army and the Russian people in their continuing struggle against Nazi conquest today bear the brunt of the massed weight of the Nazi might and their incomparable heroism stands as a symbol of determination and unrelenting effort.

Let Your Excellency rest assured that the steadily growing power of the United States has been, and will continue to be, dedicated to complete victory.

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What is the reason a US President would send such a letter? The USSR certainly did not have “free peoples” compared to the US and other free nations of the time. Did the US and other nations send congratulations on previous anniversaries?

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There’s no other way to put this: he and his administration were a group of closeted (to the public) USSR sympathizers – the overcentralization of his New Deal programs (inspired in part by economic policies of the Nazis and the USSR), the administration’s actions regarding the Holodomor, granting the USSR diplomatic recognition as well as taking the advice of known fellow travelers and open communists (or in worst case scenarios, even being said fellow travelers) with regards to Soviet-American relations. That’s not to mention general media interference for his administration.

Take a look for yourself (please do):

https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/people/president/franklin-d-roosevelt