A Kremlin Promise

In the midst of the elaborate picnic laid on by the leaders of Russia for foreign diplomats (TIME, Aug. 15), bald-polled Ivan Konev, commander in chief of the satellite armies, turned to his companion in the raspberry patch, the British minister. "The marshals are picking berries," said Marshal Konev, and pointed the moral: "The marshals have been turned into soldiers of peace." In case this seemed a little pat for the Western world to believe, the marshals went farther last week. The Kremlin announced that it would reduce the size of the Soviet armed forces by 640,000 men before the end of the year.

"Recent developments, and especially the outcome of the [Big Four] conference at Geneva, bear witness to the fact that a certain relaxation of tensions has taken place," said the official Tass statement. The Russians explained their new move as an attempt to "establish confidence among nations." Whether the Kremlin would keep its promise there was no means of knowing, since the Iron Curtain makes inspection impossible. Tass went on to say that the 640,000 would be sent back "to their places of residence" and be "ensured employment in industrial establishments and collective farms," i.e., they would be put to work where Russia needs able-bodied men.

Total figures for the Russian armed services have never been revealed, but the most reliable estimates put them roughly at 4,000,000, with another 1,300,000 men in the European satellite armies and perhaps 3,500,000 in Red China's vast army. The U.S. has reduced its own forces by 600,000 men during the past two years, and now has a force of slightly less than 3,000,000. All told, NATO can muster about 6,000,000 men, giving it a rough parity in Europe, though in Asia the Red Chinese have a huge numerical edge.

Washington was inclined to be skeptical of the Russian announcement, but gratified if it should prove to be true. "Could be encouraging," said the State Department. It also could be the berries. But most likely, Soviet leaders were coming to a belated recognition of the high cost in money and manpower involved in keeping up a huge standing army in this nuclear age.