Soviet propaganda poster: "Peoples of world do not want the hardship of war again!" (I. Stalin)

The World Peace Council (or World Council of Peace) was formed in 1949 in order to promote peaceful coexistence and nuclear disarmament. From the very beginning, it has been alleged to be a front organization of Communist parties due to its advocacy of unilateral disarmament in western countries and the active participation and funding of the council by the Soviet bloc as well as the leading role taken in the WPC by Communists such as Frédéric Joliot-Curie, the WPC's founding president. Indeed, the documents of the former Communist bloc archives indicate that from its inception the WPC heavily relied on the Soviet government subsidies. The WPC itself admitted in 1989 that 90 per cent of its funding came from the Soviet Union (WPC, Peace Courier, 1989, No. 4). Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Iosif (usually anglicized as Joseph) Vissarionovich Stalin (Russian: Иосиф Виссарионович Сталин), original name Ioseb Jughashvili (Georgian: იოსებ ჯუღაშვი&#4314... 1949 (MCMXLIX) was a common year starting on Saturday (the link is to a full 1949 calendar). ... Peaceful coexistence was a theory developed during the Cold War among Communist states that they could peacefully coexist with capitalist states. ... U.S. and USSR/Russian nuclear weapons stockpiles, 1945-2006 Nuclear disarmament is the proposed dismantling of nuclear weapons, particularly those of the United States and the Soviet Union (later Russia) targeted on each other. ... A front organization is any entity set up by and controlled by another organization, such as intelligence agencies, criminal organizations, banned organizations, religious or political groups, advocacy groups, or corporations. ... In modern usage, the term communist party is generally used to identify any political party which has adopted communist ideology. ... Unilateral disarmament is a policy option, to renounce weapons without seeking equivalent concessions from ones actual or potential rivals. ... During the Cold War, the Eastern Bloc (or Soviet Bloc) comprised the following Central and Eastern European countries: Bulgaria, Romania, Hungary, East Germany, Poland, Albania (until the early 1960s, see below), the Soviet Union, and Czechoslovakia. ... This article is about communism as a form of society and as a political movement. ... Frédéric Joliot-Curie Jean Frédéric Joliot-Curie né Joliot (March 19, 1900 – August 14, 1958) was a French physicist and Nobel laureate. ...

In 1971 the World Peace Council contained some 600 people from 104 countries, recommended by national organizations of Peace followers, by the World Federation of Trade Unions, by the Women's International Democratic Federation, by the International Association of Democratic Lawyers and other organizations. Its governing bodies were the Presidium and the Secretariat^[1] The World Federation of Trade Unions (WFTU) was established in the wake of the Second World War to bring together trade unions across the world in a single international organization, much like the United Nations. ...

It was involved in many demonstrations and protests from the late 1940s to the late 1980s and attempted to lead the peace movement though it was largely sidelined beginning in the 1960s by the New Left which distrusted the Soviet Union and its supporters in the "old left". The People's Republic of China resigned from the council in 1966 as a result of the Sino-Soviet split, a move that undermined the WPC's credibility among Maoists and their sympathisers who dominated the New Left in many western countries. Demonstrators march in the street while protesting the World Bank and International Monetary Fund on April 16, 2005. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... A peace movement is a social movement that seeks to achieve ideals such as the ending of a particular war (or all wars), minimize inter-human violence in a particular place or type of situation, often linked to the goal of achieving world peace. ... Year 1960 (MCMLX) was a leap year starting on Friday (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... The New Left is a term used in different countries to describe left-wing movements that occurred in the 1960s and 1970s. ... Year 1966 (MCMLXVI) was a common year starting on Saturday (link will display full calendar) of the 1966 Gregorian calendar. ... The Sino-Soviet split was a major diplomatic conflict between the Peoples Republic of China (PRC) and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR), beginning in the late 1950s, reaching a peak in 1969 and continuing in various ways until the late 1980s. ... Maoism or Mao Zedong Thought (Chinese: 毛澤東思想, pinyin: Máo Zédōng Sīxiǎng), also called Marxism-Leninism–Mao Zedong Thought or Marxism-Leninism-Maoism (MLM), is a variant of communism derived from the teachings of Mao Zedong (1893&#8211...

The WPC was especially active in those areas bordering U.S. military installations, in Western Europe, believed to house nuclear weapons. It waged large campaigns against US-led military operations, especially against the Vietnam war. At the same time, the Soviet-sponsored and Communist-dominated WSG did not condemn similar Soviet actions in Hungary, Afghanistan or elsewhere. Motto: (Out Of Many, One) (traditional) In God We Trust (1956 to date) Anthem: The Star-Spangled Banner Capital Washington D.C. Largest city New York City None at federal level (English de facto) Government Federal constitutional republic  - President George Walker Bush (R)  - Vice President Dick Cheney (R) Independence from... A military installation is a facility directly owned and operated by and/or for the military or one of its branches. ... The borders of Western Europe were largely defined by the Cold War. ... The mushroom cloud of the atomic bombing of Nagasaki, Japan, 1945, rose some 18 kilometers (11 mi) above the hypocenter A nuclear weapon derives its destructive force from nuclear reactions of fusion or fission. ... The Vietnam War was a war fought between 1957 and 1975 on the ground in South Vietnam and bordering areas of Cambodia and Laos (See Secret War) and in bombing runs (Rolling Thunder) over North Vietnam. ...

Following the breakup of the Soviet Union, the council has dwindled down to a small core group.

The WPC had its headquarters in Helsinki, Finland, at Lönnrotinkatu 25 A, until the 1990s when the Council moved to Greece. In the past the WPC awarded the International Peace Prize. It published two magazines: the New Perspectives and the Peace Courier.^[1] Location of Helsinki in Northern Europe Coordinates: , Country Finland Province Southern Finland Region Uusimaa Sub-region Helsinki Charter 1550 Capital city 1812 Government  - City manager Jussi Pajunen Area  - City 187. ... International Peace Prize was an award, established on the First World Congress of Peace followers, held in April, 1949, in Paris. ...

In May 2004, the Council held its world congress in Athens attended by representatives of 100 peace groups from around the world. Year 2004 (MMIV) was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Athens is the largest and the capital city of Greece, located in the Attica periphery. ...

The covert support of the Council by the Soviet and Communist Bloc was matched by the covert operations directed against it by the Western agencies. For example, Phillip Agee noted in his book "Inside the company CIA Diary" that actions were taken to neutralize the groups propaganda campaigns against the US and its allies. Efforts where made to prevent the organization from having meetings outside the communist bloc, and other forms of harassment were employed as well.

Presidents

• Frédéric Joliot-Curie (1950-1959)
• John Desmond Bernal (1959-1965)
• Isabelle Blume (1965-1969)
• Romesh Chandra (General Secretary in 1966-1977; President in 1977-)

Image File history File links This is a lossless scalable vector image. ... Frédéric Joliot-Curie Jean Frédéric Joliot-Curie né Joliot (March 19, 1900 – August 14, 1958) was a French physicist and Nobel laureate. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_the_United_Kingdom. ... John Desmond Bernal (May 10, 1901—September 15, 1971) was an Irish-born scientist (from Nenagh, County Tipperary), known for pioneering X-ray crystallography. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Belgium. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_India. ...

References

1. ^ ^{a b} (1971) Great Soviet Encyclopedia., 3rd ed. (in Russian), Moscow: Sovetskaya Enciklopediya, vol. 5, pp. 450-451. 

Title page of the 3rd ed. ...

See also

• World peace

World peace is an ideal of freedom, peace, and happiness among and within all nations. ...

External links

• World Peace Council homepage
• Prince, Rob. The Ghost Ship of Lonnrotinkatu, Peace magazine, vol. 8, no. 3, p.16, May/Jun 1992.
• Prince, Rob. Following the Money Trail at the World Peace Council, Peace magazine, vol. 8, no. 6, p.20, Nov/Dec 1992.
• WorldYouthPeaceCouncil
• Welcoming Address to 1979 Session of the World Peace Council Erich Hoenkers speech to the WPC meeting in East Berlin
• U.S. Peace Council