The center of history and civilization is shifting to the Pacific, where Russia and the United States will play the dominant roles, Pitirim A. Sorokin, professor of Sociology, told a forum at the Observatory Monday night.

Asserting that "the European Age is at an end," Professor Sorokin predicted that the Latin American nations will soon take their places in "the drama of history," and that India and China would follow. "What part can Europe and France hope to play here?" he queried.

Praises Russia's Diplomats

At the San Francisco conference, Russian diplomacy has been more honest than that of the other big nations, Professor Sorokin claimed. The Soviet Union did not, he pointed out, indulge in the hypocrisy of the equality of all the United Nations, "little Iceland included."

While Secretary of State Stettinius insisted on giving the smaller power powers a chance to speak their respective pieces and ceremoniously went through the sham of listening to them, the Russians always maintained the truth of the Big Three position. Stettinius, Professor Sorokin indicated, let them talk but gave their opinions scant weight in plotting the ultimate decisions of the Big Three.

In spite of accusations of greed, the Russians have been less aggressive in power politics than any of the larger nations. No number of killings in Greece, Sorokin pointed out, could cause the furor that arose in newspapers and diplomatic circles over the death of 16 Poles.

Americans and Britishers so prone to characterize Russian diplomacy as "grasping" would do well to realize that they are not themselves perfect. All the United States wants, Professor Sorokin observed, is bases, trusteeships, and the right to interfere in Balkan and Mediterranean politics.