Davies had been asked by FDR to evaluate the strength of the Soviet Army , its government and its industry and to find out if possible which side the Russians would be on in the " coming war . " While Davies ' predecessor , William Christian Bullitt , Jr. had been an admirer of the Soviet Union who gradually came to loathe Stalin 's brutality and repression , Davies remained unaffected by reports of the disappearance of thousands of Russians and foreigners in the Soviet Union throughout his stay as U.S. Ambassador . His reports from the Soviet Union were pragmatic , optimistic , and usually devoid of criticism of Stalin and his policies . While he briefly noted the USSR 's ' authoritarian ' form of government , Davies praised the nation 's boundless natural resources and the contentment of Soviet workers while ' building socialism ' . He went on numerous tours of the country , carefully prearranged by Soviet officials . In one of his final memos from Moscow to Washington D.C. , Davies assessed : Communism holds no serious threat to the United States . Friendly relations in the future may be of great general value . Davies attended the Trial of the Twenty One , one of the Stalinist purge trials of the late 1930s . He was convinced of the guilt of the accused . According to Davies , " the Kremlin 's fears regarding treason in the Army and Party were well justified " . His opinions were at odds with much of the Western press of the day , as well as those of his own staff , many of whom had been in the country far longer than Davies . The career diplomat Charles Bohlen , who served under Davies in Moscow , later wrote : Davies even claimed that communism was " protecting the Christian world of free men " , and he urged all Christians " by the faith you have found at your mother 's knee , in the name of the faith you have found in temples of worship " to embrace the Soviet Union
purge trials
Great Purge
Joseph E. Davies