[Let me point something out here: Germany did not invade USSR until June 22nd 1941, but this book was printed in 1940 when USSR and Germany were still allies. Could this have been part of a wider preparation for an invasion of the UK by the USSR? Why would they need phrase book to interrogate english speaking soldiers (british soldiers obviously) -ed]

IT IS a world away from the holiday phrasebook. A newly discovered relic of the Second World War shows how the Red Army was expected to take a no-nonsense attitude if they ever encountered English speakers.

The Russian-English military phrasebook told officers how to interrogate English-speaking soldiers and civilians, demand food and water and order people to help repair roads for troops. It even included a phrase for how to demand more tea.

But the date of the phrasebook’s publication, summer 1940 - a year before the Soviets published their equivalent German phrasebook - is seen as highly significant. Some historians based in the former Soviet Union believe it adds weight to a controversial theory that Stalin would have sent troops to Britain if the Nazis invaded in order to open up a “Second Front” against Hitler.

The 100-page Short Russian-English Military Phrasebook was published by the People’s Commissariat for the Defence of the USSR in 1940.

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