Stalin Speech of

9. February 1946

...

Thus the First World War was the result of the first crisis of capitalist system of world economy, and the Second World War was the result of the second crisis.

That does not mean of course that the Second World War is a copy of the First. On the contrary, the Second World War differs essentially from the First in its nature. It must be borne in mind that before attacking the Allied countries the principal fascist states --- Germany, Japan and Italy --- destroyed the last vestiges of bourgeois democratic liberties at home, established a brutal terrorist regime in their own countries, rode roughshod over the principles of sovereignty and free development of small countries, proclaimed a policy of seizure of foreign territories as their own policy and declared for all to hear that they were striving for world domination and the establishment of a fascist regime throughout the world.

.....

Our victory means, first of all, that our Soviet social system has triumphed, that the Soviet social system has successfully passed the ordeal in the fire of war and has proved its unquestionable vitality.

... As regards the pans for a longer period ahead, the Party intends to organize a new mighty upsurge in the national economy, which would allow us to increase our industrial production, for example, three times over as compared with the prewar period. We must achieve a situation where our industry can produce annually up to 50,000,000 tons of pig iron .... Only under such conditions can we consider that our Motherland will be safeguarded against all possible eventualities. That will take three Five-Year Plans, I should think, if not more. But it can be done and we must do it.