Russia prepared to go to war with Japan . Stalin ' s dramatic warning . Joseph Stalin , dictator of the Soviet Union , gave a dramatic and solemn warning to Japan in a rare interview , granted to Roy Howard , American chief of Scripps Howard newspapers , at the Kremlin , Moscow . The Soviet Union is prepared to go to war with Japan if it is necessary , to prevent the destruction of the independence of her virtual political ally , Outer Mongolia he said . There are two focal points of danger to world peace , in the Far East and in Europe , in the zone of Germany , Stalin considers . Compared with either of these the Italo Abyssinian war is an episode he says . Photo shows , Joseph Stalin in making a speech at Moscow . 4 March 1936