Shortly before his death, Joseph Stalin was making plans to heat up the Cold War by invading Alaska, according to information divulged during a three-day Yale conference focusing on the period immediately following World War II.

Titled "Stalin and the Cold War 1945-1953," the Sept. 23-25 conference brought scholars from around the globe to Yale to put into perspective well-known facts, and uncover new ones, about the Cold War period.

The event was one of a series of programs sponsored by the Washington D.C.-based Cold War International History Project (CWIHP), which monitors new documents pertaining to the Cold War, notes conference organizer John Gaddis, the Robert A. Lovett Professor of Military and Naval History. The Yale conference centered on Stalin's relationship with the United States as well as communist nations.

"The period of Stalin during the Cold War is the period in his life that is least known," says Gaddis. That is beginning to change, he noted, with the recent availability of several previously classified documents on the Russian dictator.

It was by researching these materials that Vladimir Naumov of the Center for Preservation of Contemporary Documentation in Moscow discovered Stalin's U.S. attack plan. "Stalin had a contingency plan to attack Alaska in 1951-52," says Gaddis. "He had major military preparations going." How such an attack would have profited Stalin remains unclear, he notes.

"There are several different interpretations. If he really thought he could pull it off, one has to consider his mental stability. ... He thought the West Germans would welcome Soviet expansion" if it were not for the influence of the United States, says Gaddis. "That relates to Stalin's ability to detect reality."

Princeton University professor Robert C. Tucker, author of a forthcoming biography of Stalin, was the keynote speaker for the conference. Other topics explored include Stalin's plans for post-War Europe, his relationship with Polish leaders, Soviet policy towards Japan, Stalin's position on the issue of German reparations, and foreign policy correspondence between Stalin and members of the Politburo.

In addition to CWIHP, which is under the auspices of the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, the conference was sponsored by the Yale Center for International and Area Studies' Council on European Studies and International Security Studies, the Wilson Center's Kennan Institute of Advanced Russian Studies, and other organizations.

-- By Felicia Hunter

T H I SW E E K ' SS T O R I E S

Women with breast cancer genes risk relapse with conservative therapies

Ex-Secretary of State describes greatest foreign policy challenges facing the U.S.

Researchers discover animals will shun others with infectious diseases

Exhibit will offer Yale community a peek at libraries' treasures

HHS Secretary to talk about Medicare, privacy issues

NY governor, UPenn president are year's first Chubb Fellows

Solicitor General Waxman to speak at Law Reunion

Conference to explore 'dilemma' over use of cost-benefit analysis to make policy decisions

Headstone dedication will highlight Divinity Convocation

Goethe's contributions to science, modern culture celebrated

Grant supports STAR program to promote success in sciences

Scientists studying how animals move in perfect tandem

Two-part sculpture coming together for first time at Yale center

Human figure and landscape explored in Asian art exhibit

Exhibit features works of Chinese artist who mixes Western and Eastern styles and symbols

Yale hosts day-long conference on Asian studies

Stalin's secret plans to invade Alaska among topics discussed at international conference . . .

Yale launching annual United Way fundraising drive

Series focuses on slavery in early U.S. and the Middle Ages

Drug for glaucoma will be tested in clinical trial at the medical school

Medical program will focus on topic of breast cancer

German scholar to speak to local Humboldt chapter members

. . . In the News . . .

Campus Notes

Bulletin Home|Visiting on Campus| Calendar of Events|Bulletin Board

Classified Ads|Search Archives|Production Schedule|Bulletin Staff

Public Affairs Home|News Releases| E-Mail Us|Yale Home Page