The Percentages Agreement

             Summary of the Content of the Document .
             The 'percentages agreement' was taken from Churchill's (1953) 'The Second World War, Vol. 6, Triumph and Tragedy'. During the final year of the war, the British premier, Winston S. Churchill, attended several crucial summits, and in October 1944, he visited Moscow for having talks with the Soviet Union leader Joseph Stalin. As the Soviet army had already effectively occupied Poland, Churchill knew that he could do little for Poland. However, Churchill knew he could secure a 'percentages agreement', which Churchill later referred as his 'naughty document', by dividing the Balkans into spheres of influence. According to this agreement, both Britain and Russia would have 90% dominance in Greece and Romania respectively; Russia would have predominance in Bulgaria with 75%; and in Hungary and Yugoslavia the influence of the two great powers was balanced, each having 50% share equally. Stalin scrawled a big mark on the document with his customary blue pencil. Churchill was impressed, thinking that was a successful conference where Stalin could be relied upon. The document demonstrates some efforts of Churchill to limit the authority of the Soviet Union and sustain that of Britain without any reference to the millions of the peoples of these countries involved. .
             2. Comment on the Date of Publication and Discussion on the Wider Social, Economic, and Political Context .
             The 'percentages agreement' was made public by Churchill only through the publication of his book The Second World War, Vol. 6, Triumph and Tragedy'. Hiram (2012) noted that Soviet Union did not make any confirmation of the agreement till now and, most significantly, no confirmation from the American side has ever been made despite the presence of their ambassador Averell Harriman. .
             During the WWII, relationships between the Allies were governed by the 'Big Three': Roosevelt, Churchill, and Stalin.