Einstein: Russia views

London, Oct. 12: Letters by Albert Einstein where he gives advice on the USSR are set to go under the hammer next week.

He also dismisses the notion that his theories are difficult to understand as “twaddle”.

Einstein’s correspondent, psychoanalyst Walter Marseille, had suggested an idea of a world government in a paper entitled “A Method to Enforce World Peace”.

Einstein wrote in correspondence in 1948: “Better to let Russia see that there is nothing to be achieved by aggression, but there are advantages in joining (a world government): Then the Russian regime’s attitude will probably change and they will take part without compulsion.”

In another letter, he wrote: “In my view it is much better, both morally and practically, to attempt to bring about a state of affairs in which the Russians, out of pure self-interest, find it preferable to give up their separatist position.”

Simon Luterbacher, who is handling the sale for Bloomsbury Auctions, said: “I think that Einstein was much more open to the suggestion that you can make a deal or you can learn to live with what was the USSR.”

In a separate lot is a hand-written letter to Adrien Wils, a member of the public who had written to the scientist to criticise his theory of relativity. He criticises journalists for failing to understand his world-famous theory, saying: “The twaddle that the theory is extremely difficult to understand, is complete nonsense, spread out by superficial journalists.”

A previous letter by Einstein, in which he described religion as “childish superstitions” and the Bible as full of “primitive legends”, sold for £170,000.