The chairman of PSOE I. Prieto and discussion on the Spanish issue in the UN Security Council in 1946

The article reviews previously unpublished archival document - the letter from the PSOE chairman Indalecio Prieto to British Prime Minister Clement Attlee on the outcome of the discussion of the Spanish issue in the UN Security Council in 1946, and considers the background of these events. USSR has actively participated in the international campaign against the Franco regime ( late 1945) and wanted the Security Council to implement sanctions in order to overthrow Franco's regime. However, at this point USSR faced the resistance of Western countries led by Britain. As a result of the controversial discussion in the summer of 1946 the Security Council sanctions were not applied. Thus in his letter Prieto accuses British Prime Minister of an attempt to preserve the Franco regime. He proposes to overthrow Franco and organize general elections in Spain. In his opinion, the Socialists were supposed to win while the Communist Party didn't have serious chances to succeed. However, the British position was based on the assumption that the overthrow of Franco would immediately result in the civil war in which the Communists were likely to succeed as the most organized and well-armed opposition force, which enjoyed the support of the Soviet Union.