Averell Harriman stated that approximately two-thirds of the large industrial enterprises in the USSR were built with United States help, financing, or technical assistance.
Posted by The Pete Quiñones Show, Checked
- Sources
- 1 contradict4 context
- Said
- 1 time·
- Confidence
- 60%
The Pete Quiñones ShowOct 1, 2026
The two-thirds figure is documented in a primary 1944 FRUS telegram, but that telegram records Stalin as the speaker, with Harriman reporting it, so attributing the statement to Harriman is only partly accurate. The sources also say 'help or technical assistance' and do not mention financing.
A detail. The sources confirm the gist; the verdict faults a detail such as a date, number or wording.
What was said
… Um, and that was just the very beginning. Um, Avril Harriman, during World War Two, he, he talked about, you know, Stalin admitting and paying tribute to the assistance rendered by the US before and during the war. Stalin and Harriman both said that about two thirds of the large industrial enterprises in the USSR had been built with United States help, financing, or technical assistance, and that was a direct quote, actually. I got straight out of the Sutton book. You know, then and now, you go in as a university, as a Bolshevik, you're celebrating nationalists, get a very different kind of reception. …
The Pete Quiñones Show · · from the transcriptPost →What we found
Contradicts. The same telegram attributes the statement to Stalin ('He said'), in a conversation with Eric Johnston, so Harriman is the reporter of the remark rather than its originator, which conflicts with the claim's attribution to Harriman.[1]
Supports. Harriman's June 30, 1944 telegram from Moscow reports that Stalin said about two-thirds of all large industrial enterprises in the Soviet Union had been built with United States help or technical assistance.[1]
Context. Secondary sources (Conspiracy Archive, JBS, Daily Wire, Schlafly Report) repeat the same Stalin quote and attribute it through Harriman's State Department report; they add no independent confirmation beyond the FRUS record.[2][3][4][5]
Context. The claim's 'financing' element does not appear in the quoted wording, which says 'help or technical assistance'; this is a minor difference from the record.[1]
Sources
5 sources: 1 primary, 1 tier 3, 2 not rated, 1 rated low
- 1Foreign Relations of the United States: Diplomatic Papers, 1944, Europe, Volume IVhistory.state.gov · primary source · cited for: contradicts, supports, context
- 2MITSOTAKIS: Communist Blood Money Always Had A High Pricedailywire.com · tier 3 · cited for: context
- 3www.conspiracyarchive.net › document › stalin-quote-us-econ-assistanceStalin Quote On US Econ Assistance | Conspiracy Archiveconspiracyarchive.net · not rated · cited for: context
- 4Phyllis Schlafly Reportphyllisschlafly.com · not rated · cited for: context
- 5Aid and Trade Treachery: Building an Enemy - Vietnam Warjbs.org · rated low for factual reporting by Iffy.news and Media Bias/Fact Check · cited for: context
Where this claim was made
Said in 1 published post
Related claims
- Stalin had an industrial economy to work with due to Western, especially American, investment.True
- General Electric provided assistance for the electrification of the Soviet Union.True
- The Gulag system was built with Western money and expertise.False
- Soviet debts from World War II were canceled.False
- President Herbert Hoover and the American Relief Administration organized the import of food into the Soviet Union during the early 1920s.True