The whole world: How the UN was created
On October 24, 1945, the countdown of the history of the United Nations — the United Nations - began. In 1971, this day became an official international holiday. Details can be found in the Izvestia article.
The path to agreement
The great Powers have long tried to establish an international order that would protect the world and, above all, Europe from destructive strife. The first serious attempt was the Holy Alliance of Monarchs, created on the initiative of the Russian Emperor Alexander I after the victory over Napoleon. But the contradictions that separated Russia, Britain, France and the German states turned out to be too strong. Moreover, the idea of sacralization of the monarchical system was already an anachronism in the first half of the 19th century. Unification on a different ideological and legal basis was required. The bloody First World War, which destroyed four world empires, prompted a new attempt to find a common denominator of power. The League of Nations, established in 1920, became the direct predecessor of the United Nations. However, it did not pass the "fire, water and copper pipes" test.
Russian troops are chasing the enemy, June 1916. The Brusilovsky breakthrough, May-July 1916. The South-Western front. World War I (1914-1918)
The need for a similar, but more powerful and resilient organization was realized by the powers that were part of the Anti-Hitler Coalition during the Second World War. The first document on the immediate establishment of an international organization was signed in the autumn of 1941, at the Moscow Conference of the Ministers of Foreign Affairs of the USSR, the United States and Great Britain, which was attended by a representative of China. At the Yalta Conference in January 1945, the heads of the USSR, the United States and Great Britain stipulated that the basis of the organization's decision-making mechanism would be the principle of unanimity of the great powers.
Shortly after the victory, representatives of 50 countries gathered in San Francisco for the United Nations conference, which was supposed to draft and adopt the UN Charter. The delegates based this key document on proposals developed by representatives of Great Britain, China, the Soviet Union and the United States in Dumbarton Oaks in August–October 1944. On June 26, 1945, representatives of all countries gathered in San Francisco and signed the charter. His first words spoke of his "determination to save future generations from the scourge of war, which twice in our lives has brought untold grief to humanity." Poland, which was not represented at the conference, joined the UN "funders" later and is rightfully considered the 51st founding state.
The main working body of the United Nations has become the Security Council, of which Russia (as the legal successor of the USSR), the United States, China, France, and the United Kingdom are permanent members with the right of veto. It addresses the most important issues. Besides them, representatives of 10 rotating countries are constantly working in the council.
United Nations Headquarters in Manhattan
The UN headquarters is located in the United States, in New York, in a 39-storey tower, which was created by a collaboration of the world's largest architects, including Brazilian Niemeyer and Frenchman Le Corbusier.
The UN Secretary General is elected at the Assembly. He provides only technical guidance and represents on behalf of the organization in various negotiations. The head of the UN apparatus does not have dictatorial powers in any way. The first acting Secretary General was an Englishman, Gladwin Jabb. Then it was decided that this position should not be held by representatives of major powers. On February 1, 1946, Norwegian Trygve Lee was elected Secretary General of the United Nations.
The UN Kaleidoscope
The United Nations emerged on the wave of universal understanding that the third World War could be the last, leading to the destruction of humanity. There will be no winners in this confrontation. Hence, it is necessary to resist the "warmongers" with all our might. Another important task of the organization was to support the right of nations to self-determination. And at the same time, respect for the sovereignty of States.
One of the symbols of the United Nations was the outstanding Soviet diplomat Andrei Gromyko, who signed the charter on behalf of our country. In San Francisco, he managed to defend the important right of veto for the USSR, which is possessed by each of the permanent members of the UN Security Council. It was he who signed the UN Charter on behalf of the USSR and became the first representative of the Soviet Union to this international organization. It is largely thanks to Gromyko that the Russian school of diplomacy, up to our time, has shown itself so vividly at the UN, comprehending the basics of multilateral negotiations.
Many of the events that took place in the General Assembly Hall have become legendary. In 1947, the United Nations adopted a resolution on the partition of Palestine into two states — Jewish and Arab. Fidel Castro delivered his passionate marathon speeches from the UN rostrum, who was later taken out of the United States on a Soviet plane, hiding the commander from the American pharaohs. One day, he spoke from the rostrum of the GA about the revolution for four and a half hours. In the fall of 1960, Nikita Khrushchev tapped his shoe on the table, expressing disagreement with a speech by British Prime Minister Harold Macmillan.
The first UN emergency Armed Forces were established in 1956 to monitor the withdrawal of foreign troops from the Suez Canal zone. Representatives of 10 states wore blue berets, which became symbols of peacekeepers.
Sergei Ordzhonikidze, who worked for many years in both the Soviet and Russian permanent missions and in the UN structures, recalls that the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of the USSR Vasily Kuznetsov told them, as a young diplomat, that the United Nations was a huge supermarket where you could find everything you liked and needed, if only you kept your attention and precisely build tactics.
"No" to colonialism
Already in the late 1940s, it was clear that the time of the colonial empires was running out. The Soviet Union supported decolonization, and our country became a leader in this process. Since the early 1950s, representatives of India have made vivid anti-colonial statements. On Moscow's initiative, a draft declaration against colonialism was submitted to the UN General Assembly on September 23, 1960. It provoked a negative reaction from the largest "imperialist" countries, primarily England. And even the majority of African and Asian states considered it too radical. A new compromise project has emerged, based on the Soviet one. After three months of discussions, at the 15th UN session, the declaration, which declared that "subjugation of peoples to foreign yoke and domination and their exploitation are a denial of basic human rights," was adopted by a majority vote. This initiative was then supported by the United States, which was also interested in weakening Britain. Since that time, the collapse of the colonial empires has become irreversible.
A solemn meeting of the Soviet public with the participation of activists of the Association for the Assistance of the United Nations in the USSR, dedicated to the 40th anniversary of the United Nations
In 1960 alone, 17 African states gained sovereignty, and by 1975 there were about a hundred newly independent countries on the planet. Since that time, the initiative at the United Nations has been in the hands of the Soviet Union for decades. Americans increasingly found themselves in the minority. The alliance of the socialist countries with the "non-aligned" ones (among which such loyal allies of our country as Cuba and India stood out) was indestructible. In parallel, negotiations began between the heads of the USSR and the United States, which were followed by the whole world. At the UN, the confrontation did not subside, but it became mutually respectful. The powers demonstrated different views on the political future of mankind. By and large, this is cooperation and development. The planet cannot and should not obey the dictates of the "world hegemon."
Many issues that were resolved during the bilateral negotiations at the highest level were tested by the UN initiatives. The discussions, which were attended by representatives of dozens of countries, provided invaluable information, showing how diverse the world in which we live is. The UN is a symbol of multipolarity, which does not exclude alliances and involves the interaction of different countries.
The meeting place cannot be changed
The organization's greatest achievements were arms limitation projects, support for countries that were getting rid of colonial dependence, and assistance to peoples suffering from natural disasters, epidemics, and famine. The eradication of poverty and dangerous social contradictions are also universally recognized tasks of the organization. Another task of the United Nations is to build friendly relations between peoples and states, cooperation in various fields — in medicine, in the exact sciences and humanities, in the energy sector, in culture, in nature conservation and even in the fight against corruption...
Today, the UN includes 193 countries. A platform has been created where representatives of different states can peacefully resolve disputes, preventing new wars. Of course, this doesn't always work out. Some modern politicians are skeptical about the future of the United Nations. But the world has not invented anything better than the system created by the victorious powers in 1945. This is the arena of multilateral diplomacy, a permanent world congress. The system created 80 years ago is not perfect, but it can be improved, and the potential of the United Nations is inexhaustible. This is the meeting place of the powers, and it cannot be canceled.
The author is the deputy editor—in-chief of the magazine "Historian"
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