THE USSR ACADEMY OF SCIENCES
THE INSTITUTE OF MARXISM-LENINISM, CC CPSU
THE ACADEMY OF SOCIAL SCIENCES, CC CPSU
THE HIGHER PARTY SCHOOL, CC CPSU
[1] THE GREAT OCTOBER
REVOLUTION
AND THE PRESENT
EPOCH
International Scientific Conference
on the 60th Anniversary
of the Great October Socialist Revolution
(Moscow, 10--12 November 1977)
Editors:
P. N. FEDOSEYEV
A. G. YEGOROV
M. T. IOVCHUK
E. M. CHEKHARIN
MOSCOW
[2] __TITLE__ TRIUMPH OF LENIN'S IDEAS __TEXTFILE_BORN__ 2007-06-20T15:39:58-0700 __TRANSMARKUP__ "Y. Sverdlov" __SUBTITLE__ Proceedings of Plenary SessionPROGRESS PUBLISHERS
MOSCOW
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__COPYRIGHT__ «HayKa», 197710104--947 B 014((M).78 "6e3 °6l*BJI-
[4] CONTENTS MIKHAIL SUSLOV Member of the Political Bureau and Secretary of the CC CPSU OPENING REMARKS.............. 9 BORIS PONOMAREV Alternate Member of the Political Bureau, CC CPSU and Secretary of the CC CPSU THE WORLD HISTORIC SIGNIFICANCE OF THE GREAT OCTOBER SOCIALIST REVOLUTION........22 HERMANN AXEN Member of the Political Bureau and Secretary of the Central Committee of the Socialist Unity Party of Germany THE GREAT OCTOBER REVOLUTION AND THE PRESENTDAY STRUGGLE FOR PEACE AND SOCIAL PROGRESS . 54 GUS HALL General Secretary of the Communist Party of the United States THE OCTOBER EPOCH AND THE GENERAL CRISIS OF IMPERIALISM .................: 62 5 GRISHA FILIPOV Member of the Political Bureau and Secretary of the Central Committee of the Bulgarian Communist Party THE GREAT OCTOBER REVOLUTION AND THE GENERAL LAWS AND NATIONAL CHARACTERISTICS OF SOCIALIST REVOLUTION AND THE BUILDING OF A NEW SOCIETY 71 CARLOS RAFAEL RODRIGUEZ Member of the Political Bureau and CC Secretariat of the Communist Party of Cuba and Deputy Chairman of the State Council and Council of Ministers of the Republic of Cuba THE OCTOBER REVOLUTION AND THE COLLAPSE OF NEO-- COLONIALIST POLICY..............88 DESZO NEMES Member of the Political Bureau of the Hungarian Socialist Workers' Party Central Committee and Editor-in-Chief of Nepszabadsdg THE 60th ANNIVERSARY OF THE GRFAT OCTOBER REVOLUTION AND THE DEVELOPMENT OF SOCIALISM . . 99 LUIS CORVALAN General Secretary of the Communist Party of Chile SOCIALISM-THE ROAD OF TRUE DEMOCRACY .... 104 NGUEN KHAN TOAN Chairman of the Council of Social Sciences of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam THE OCTOBER REVOLUTION IS THE MAIN EVENT OF OUR EPOCH.................Ill ANDRZEJ WERBLAN Secretary of the Central Committee of the Polish United Workers' Party and Director of the Institute of Fundamental Problems of Marxism-Leninism, CC PUWP THE OCTOBER REVOLUTION AND THE LIBERATION MOVEMENT OF THE WORKING CLASS........120 6 GEORGES COGNIOT President of the Administrative Council of the Maurice Thorez Institute, Central Committee of the French Communist Party SIXTY YEARS OF STRUGGLE AND VICTORIES.....132 JOSEF HAVLIN Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia THE COMMUNIST MOVEMENT UNITY IS THE CONDITION FOR SUCCESS.................137 YOGENDRA SHARMA Secretary of the National Council of the Communist Party of India AN INEXHAUSTIBLE SOURCE OF INSPIRATION .... 143 LEONTE RAUTU Member of the Political Executive of the Central Committee of the Romanian Communist Party, Rector of the Stefan Gheorghiu Academy TOWARDS A SOCIALIST TRANSFORMATION OF THE WORLD...................148 SANBAGIYN SOSORBARAM Secretary of the Central Committee of the Mongolian People's Revolutionary Party and Minister of Culture of the Mongolian People's Republic WORLD HISTORIC EXPERIENCE OF THE CPSU AND ITS SIGNIFICANCE FOR THE MONGOLIAN PEOPLE'S REVOLUTIONARY PARTY.............156 RODNEY ARISMENDI First Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Uruguay LENIN, DEFENCE OF FUNDAMENTAL PRINCIPLES, AND THE CREATIVE APPROACH TO THEORY......163 7 KURT FRITSCH Member of the Presidium and Secretariat of the Board of the German Communist Party THE EXISTING SOCIALISM-MAIN FACTOR OF SOCIAL PROGRESS.................: 173 PYOTR FEDOSEYEV Member of the CPSU Central Committee and Vice-President of the USSR Academy of Sciences INTERNATIONAL SOLIDARITY-A POWERFUL FACTOR OF THE LIBERATION MOVEMENT.......... 179 Name Index.................. 191 Subject Index................. 193 Index of Geographical Names........... 198 [8] __ALPHA_LVL1__ OPENING REMARKS MIKHAIL SUSLOV
MEMBER OF THE POLITICAL BUREAU AND
SECRETARY OF THE CC CPSU
Comrades, our conference is opening at an auspicious time. The festivities marking the 60th anniversary of the Great October Socialist Revolution have made an indelible impression on all of us. This glorious anniversary was celebrated with great enthusiasm by the Soviet people, the peoples of the fraternal socialist countries and all progressive mankind.
No other event in history can equal the Great October Socialist Revolution in significance. It was prepared by the entire course of development of world capitalism during its monopoly stage and was the logical result of the class struggle of the proletariat and the embodiment of the noble ideals of the working people. The October Revolution fundamentally changed our country's destiny, ushering in a new epoch in world history-the epoch of the downfall of capitalism and the revolutionary transition to socialism and communism. To quote Marx, the victory of the socialist revolution ended "the prehistory of human society''.^^*^^ There _-_-_
^^*^^ Karl Marx and Frederick Engels, Selected Works in three volumes, Vol. 1, Moscow, 1976, p. 504.
9 is every reason to say that the victory of the October Revolution was the beginning of mankind's true history.The Great October Revolution released mighty forces of social progress which, in a historically brief period, changed the face of our planet beyond recognition. It has become the banner of peoples building socialism and communism and an inspiring example for the working people of all countries fighting against the yoke of capital.
The experience of the victorious socialist revolutions in Europe, Asia and Latin America, with all the specific features of each of them, bears out the truth of Lenin's idea that the basic features of the October Revolution inevitably repeat themselves in all countries.
The socialist society that exists in the USSR and a number of other countries is the principal result of the Great October Revolution and the entire world revolutionary process. It was built by the working people for the working people and epitomises the future of all mankind.
Led by the Communist Party, the Soviet people have made reality out of the vision of that genius of revolution, Vladimir Ilyich Lenin, and have built a developed socialist society, now the greatest achievement of social progress. The adoption of the new Constitution of the USSR, which legislatively secured the gains of mature socialism in our country and convincingly showed its essential advantages over capitalism, was an event of outstanding historic significance.
Developed socialism is being built by the peoples of fraternal countries, displaying for the world the unlimited creative potentialities of labour emancipated from exploitation. The community of socialist countries carrying on the cause of the October Revolution has become a powerful factor of social progress and an indestructible citadel of all the forces of peace, democracy and socialism.
The October Revolution convincingly and in every respect revealed the world historic mission of the working class, which is able to form a militant party and under 10 its guidance to lead the working people in both destroying the exploiting system and building a new society free from exploitation of man by man. The October Revolution inspired revolutionaries of all countries and gave powerful impetus to the international working-class and communist movement.
The Great October Revolution opened for the oppressed colonial peoples real prospects of national liberation. The defeat of German nazism and Japanese militarism and the emergence and growth of the world socialist system strongly stimulated the national liberation movement, ultimately leading to the disintegration of the imperialist colonial system and the emergence of new states, many of which have opted for the socialist orientation.
The social development of the world since October 1917 has irrefutably confirmed Lenin's assessment of the international significance of our revolution. "Human history these days,'' he wrote soon after the victory of the revolution, "is making a momentous and most difficult turn, a turn, one might say without the least exaggeration, of immense significance for the emancipation of the world.''^^*^^
Time has turned sixty pages in the annals of history since the birth of the first state of working people. Since then the ideas of the October Revolution and their implementation have captured the unflagging attention of all mankind. As the true turning point in world development, the October Revolution leaves no one indifferent-neither friend nor enemy. The ideas and cause of the October Revolution evoke immense interest and revolutionary enthusiasm among millions upon millions of working people in every country, engender a deep feeling of sympathy for the peoples blazing the trail to a bright future for mankind, and stimulate the striving to acquire a more profound understanding of these ideas in order to break out of the fetters of capitalist oppression. In the camp of the _-_-_
^^*^^ V. I. Lenin, Collected Works, Vol. 27, p. 159.
11 exploiters the ideas of the October Revolution arouse class hatred and the striving to prevent their spread at all costs.Comrades, the six decades since the October Revolution are glorious chapters in our country's history and stages in its rapid, dynamic progress. The sixth decade of Soviet power has exceedingly important historical features of its own. In that period the country's economic potential doubled, the technical re-equipment of industry proceeded along a wide front, the material and technical resources of agriculture rose to a qualitatively new level and the productivity of crop and animal farming increased. A most far-reaching programme for raising the living and cultural standards of the people has been carried out.
Our people marked the glorious 60th anniversary of the Soviet state with new achievements in fulfilling the decisions of the 25th CPSU Congress. That Congress made a major contribution to the theory of the building of communism, defined our Party's stand on the key problems of today, mapped out a concrete action programme for the Party and people aimed at accomplishing the huge and complex tasks involved in the country's further social and economic development.
The preparations for and celebration of the anniversary saw a particularly great moral and political upsurge springing from the nationwide discussion and the adoption of the new Constitution of the USSR. The entire Soviet people were the makers of the Fundamental Law of their life. Its discussion and adoption vividly showed the profoundly democratic nature of our system, the actual participation of all citizens in the administration of the state and their deep-rooted commitment to continue improving our political system.
The Constitution of the USSR epitomises the vast experience of the Soviet people and the fundamental conclusions and theses put forward by the Party in recent years on the basis of a creative generalisation of the practice of communist construction, and marks the beginning of 12 a new important stage in the development of Soviet society.
Implementation of the tasks set by the 25th CPSU Congress, discussion and adoption of the new Constitution of the USSR and preparations for and celebration of the 60th anniversary of the Great October Revolution have rallied the Soviet people still closer round the Party of Lenin and provide added convincing proof that the Party is performing its mission of political leader of the Soviet people with eminent success.
Growth of the Party's influence and enhancement of its leading role are the key factor in the progress of our society. The experience of existing socialism has convincingly shown that the objective need to direct socio-economic and political processes consciously, as manifested since the initial period of the building of socialism, is even more pressing in the period when socialism is growing into communism. This can be done only by the Communist Party, the organising nucleus and backbone of the country's entire socio-political life.
The Communist Party of the Soviet Union is the political vanguard of the working class and the entire Soviet people, uniting their finest representatives. It has accumulated extensive experience of political leadership and has learnt to awaken the gigantic creative energy of the masses and to direct it to solving the most difficult and urgent problems in the country's development.
In the course of many years of struggle and labour the Soviet people have grown convinced that the Party is utterly devoted to the interests of the working people and that its policy is wise and correct. Our people unanimously approve and support the Leninist policy of the CPSU and are proud of the successes achieved under the leadership of the Party and its Central Committee headed by that outstanding Marxist-Leninist, Comrade Leonid Ilyich Brezhnev.
In all its political and organisational work the CPSU is guided by the most advanced theory, Marxism-Leninism, 13 and its knowledge of the laws of social development. The six decades of the victorious advance of socialism are irrefutable evidence of the viability of Marxism-Leninism, of its correctness and superiority over the various ``theories'' of social-reformists and revisionists, who can ``build'' socialism only on paper.
Marxism-Leninism is a scientific theory expressing the vital interests of working people. Only socialism, which has embodied the ideas of Marxism-Leninism, is able to resolve the crucial problems that have faced the working masses of the world for centuries. In this lies the power of attraction of the ideas of scientific socialism for hundreds of millions of working people in all parts of our planet.
The CPSU is working tirelessly to develop and steadfastly implement Marxist-Leninist theory. Its special attention to questions of theory springs from the very nature of our Party as a party of creative Marxism-Leninism, from the nature of socialist society and the nature of our tasks. Socialism can develop successfully only on the basis of science, of a creative understanding of the past, painstaking analysis of the present and prevision of the future.
In recent years our Party, its Central Committee and the Political Bureau headed by the General Secretary of the CPSU Central Committee, Comrade Brezhnev, have made a substantial contribution to the theory of the building of communism. On the basis of a scientific analysis of socialist reality, the Party has drawn basic conclusions on the building of a developed socialist society in the USSR, defined its major features, analysed the economic and political system of developed socialist society, and the conditions and ways of building communism.
The concept of developed socialism was theoretically elaborated by our Party in association with fraternal Communist and Workers' parties. This is an important constructive contribution to Marxist-Leninist theory.
The CPSU has made a thorough Marxist-Leninist analysis of the historical process of the development of the state of 14 the dictatorship of the proletariat into a socialist state of the whole people that expresses the will and interests of workers, peasants and the intelligentsia, of the working people of all the nations and nationalities of the Soviet Union, and has shown the directions to the development of public self-administration that will be fully asserted in the classless, communist society.
By revealing the content of the communist ideal-"the free development of each is the condition for the free development of all"-our Leninist Party showed that socialism, which ensures the political freedoms and rights of all citizens, provides the actual conditions for the consistent harmonious development of the individual, for the application of all his creative powers, abilities and talents for the benefit of society as a whole.
Comrades, the CPSU does not for an instant relax its efforts to further the development of our theory, that fount of life powerfully stimulating our progress.
The social practice of existing socialism is developing and poses new urgent questions that must be answered by the science of Marxism-Leninism. Some problems are resolved at once, for on this depend the rate of our advance and success in fulfilling state plans. This applies to the integration of the achievements of the scientific and technological revolution with the advantages of socialism, the translation of this scientific thesis into practical, applied solutions, a quest for optimal methods that would increase the efficiency of social production, enhance the quality of work, and promote the improvement of economic management and planning.
The most important theoretical problems concern advance towards greater homogeneity of the social structure of our society, its ever increasing unity, and the still closer drawing together of all the country's nations and nationalities. As before, the working class plays and will continue to play the leading role in this process. No less topical for us today are questions of the social consciousness-the 15 moulding of the new man. "One of our primary tasks,'' Leonid Brezhnev stressed in one of his recent speeches, "is to foster in people a desire to attain lofty social goals, to foster in them ideological conviction and a truly creative attitude to work. This is a very important area of struggle for communism, and the economic as well as the socio-political development of the country will be increasingly dependent on our successes in this area.''^^*^^
In its theoretical and practical activity, the Party organically gears current tasks to long-term aims. Thus, with the increasing co-operation between enterprises and the concentration of production, which are part of the process of the further socialisation of production under socialism, there are tendencies towards the future merging of the two, now basic, forms of socialist property into one form of property of the whole people. The supply of agriculture with up-to-date machinery and the comprehensive development of the country's large agro-industrial zones are paving the way for the elimination of the substantial distinctions between town and country.
Strengthening the alliance of the working class, collective farmers, and people's intelligentsia is the basis for the future social homogeneity of communist society. The broad system of public education, political studies, and communist education has already secured a general powerful rise in the cultural standard and intellectual level of our entire people, of all classes and social groups.
One could mention many other fundamental problems concerning the present and the future, to which our Party constantly seeks solutions in its theoretical work.
Solving the theoretical problems set by the contemporary stage of mature socialism is of great international significance. The theoretical work of the CPSU and other fraternal parties reveals common objective laws governing the building of communist society, and shows the way to _-_-_
^^*^^ New Times, No. 45, November 1977, p. 8.
16 solving problems that will inevitably confront the working people of other countries building the new society.Comrades, the present epoch ushered in by the October Revolution was, by virtue of its content, motive forces, and perspectives of development, the most revolutionary epoch in human history and was marked by acute struggle between capitalism and socialism throughout the 60-year period.
The special features of the present-day confrontation of the two social systems are determined by the fact that as a result of the radical change in the balance of world forces, the historical initiative has passed to existing socialism, whose advantages are becoming ever more widely and convincingly apparent. Relying on their all-round and continuously expanding co-operation, the fraternal parties of the countries of the socialist community are successfully guiding the process of impressive social transformations -the forward march to developed socialist society and communism. The scientific basis for this is Marxist-Leninist theory which they creatively apply and develop in their countries to suit concrete conditions. It is becoming ever more important to tackle jointly and creatively those problems which relate to the present stage in the development of existing socialism and the world revolutionary process, to secure an ever more regular exchange of opinion and experience among the fraternal parties, and collectively analyse new phenomena and events in the world at large.
The common international positions of the socialist countries are growing stronger every year and their influence on the course of world development is increasingly strong and deep. Major positive changes in the field of international relations and a turn from cold war to detente was achieved mainly by their concerted efforts.
Detente is an important condition for, and at the same time a component of, social progress. With the easing of tension and the establishment of lasting peace are linked the vital interests of peoples and the very survival of __PRINTERS_P_17_COMMENT__ 2---327 17 modern civilisation. This is why ensuring peace is the main content of our Programme for peace, security, and co-- operation, adopted by the 24th and developed by the 25th congresses of the Party. For the first time in history, work for peace has been made a constitutional principle and is enshrined in the new Fundamental Law of the Soviet Union.
The consistently peaceloving policy of the socialist community countries does not mean "class peace" with capitalism, but stems from the humanitarian nature of socialism.
Socialism brings peace to the nations. Peace creates favourable conditions for the further development and consolidation of socialism. At the same time, peace accords with the cherished aspirations of all nations. It ensures life and work in conditions of security and equitable beneficial co-operation. It is natural, therefore, that in the struggle between the two opposite systems success is on the side of socialism, the system which is consistently and resolutely fighting for peace and for banishing war from the life of human society for all time.
Peace and detente inhibit the activity of the most rabid forces of international reaction, promoting the expansion of democratic liberation movements, and creating favourable conditions for the continuing social progress of all humanity.
Present-day developments show convincingly that world socialism is striding ahead and developing dynamically. Working people throughout the world are watching existing socialism with growing sympathy as the embodiment of their profound aspirations and hopes. They rightly regard it as a society of genuine freedom and democracy, real humanity and social optimism. The socialist world is determining the main trend of mankind's social progress.
Meanwhile, capitalism, rent by irreconcilable contradictions and subjected to powerful pressure by the forces of progress, is gradually surrendering its positions, notwithstanding all the efforts of the bourgeoisie to buttress its foundations. The whole edifice of modern capitalism is 18 shaken by an acute economic and politico-ideological crisis. The worldwide economic crisis of the mid-70s has grown into the deepest crisis of the entire postwar period.
Capitalism has proved incapable of solving any of the basic social problems of our time troubling mankind. It is an ever greater enemy of freedom, democracy, and social progress. As a result, the discontent of the mass of working people is growing, political life is moving to the left, a revolutionary potential is accumulating ever more actively within the working-class movement, an objective basis for broad anti-monopoly alliances is forming and expanding, and the process of the internationalisation of the class struggle is gaining momentum. The deepening contradictions between the developed capitalist states and the developing countries are making matters still more complicated for capitalism. Every recent event vividly shows that capitalism has no future and is steadily declining.
But capitalism still possesses considerable reserves, and monopoly bourgeoisie is not abandoning hopes of revenge. World imperialism is doing everything it can to harm the further consolidation of the forces of peace, democracy, and socialism, and to ``limit'' detente. The most active opposition to detente comes from reactionary quarters connected with the military-industrial complex. They regard detente and stable peace as a threat to their superprofits and political influence on society.
International reaction of all hues is seeking to step up the struggle against socialism, and is doing so by ever more refined methods. It has unfolded a political and propaganda campaign under the hypocritical slogans of " defence of human rights'', ``freedom'', and ``democracy''.
It is quite obvious that this clamorous slander campaign concerning "human rights" is in fact an attempt by the defenders of capitalism to disguise capitalism's anti-- democratic nature and divert the attention of the working people in their countries, and of world opinion in general, from the acute crisis of bourgeois society.
__PRINTERS_P_19_COMMENT__ 2* 19The CPSU and the other fraternal parties are repulsing the imperialist reactionary propaganda attacks, untiringly exposing the parasitical, undemocratic essence of capitalism and vividly demonstrating the advantages of the socialist system.
It is now apparent not only to us Marxists-Leninists, but also to an ever greater number of people in the nonsocialist world, that despite the efforts of the bourgeois leaders and the monopolies' ability to adapt to the new situation, capitalism will never regain the historical initiative.
The world revolutionary process is advancing irresistibly. Marching in the vanguard of the revolutionary struggle is the world communist movement, brought into being by the Great October Revolution. The world communist movement, which has taken shape and grown in strength under the impact of its ideas, has become the most massive and influential political force and a most important factor in world development.
Nowadays, the task of strengthening the international solidarity of the Communists has gained special importance. Proletarian internationalism is one of the basic conditions for the further success of the international working-class and communist movement. Under the present conditions, the social base of the anti-imperialist forces has expanded and the role of internationalism and the sphere of action of its principles has grown. This puts a special responsibility on the Communists to strengthen the unity of their ranks, develop international solidarity, and rally more closely all the forces of the world revolutionary process.
A specific feature of the communist movement today is the fraternal parties' growing influence on the mass of working people in a number of capitalist states. In the new conditions brought about by the favourable domestic and international situation, great and difficult political tasks are facing the revolutionary vanguard of the 20 working class: to combine correctly the immediate tasks of the working people's struggle with the struggle for the socialist perspective; further to strengthen the ranks of Communists on a principled Marxist-Leninist basis, achieving unity of left forces, and creating a mass antimonopoly coalition; to combine the Communist parties' struggle for the interests of the working people in their own countries with discharge of their internationalist duty and mutual support of Communists of various countries in the absence of a single international centre with the parties acting independently and ruling out interference in the internal affairs of one another.
All these problems call for thorough theoretical study based on creative application and development of the science of Marxism-Leninism and of the experience of socialist revolutions.
The ideas of the Great October Revolution, the ideas of the struggle for peace, freedom, and socialism, are taking a hold on the minds of increasingly vast numbers of people, and growing into an unconquerable material force. Fidelity to the ideas of the October Revolution, to Marxism-Leninism, to its mighty, life-asserting creative spirit guarantees success in the revolutionary struggle, the further acceleration of the revolutionary process, and victory over capitalism, the last of the exploiting systems.
Comrades, the fruitful meetings of social scientists working on topical problems of revolutionary theory greatly contribute to the collective development of Marxism-Leninism by the fraternal parties.
Permit me, on behalf of the Central Committee of the CPSU, to extend cordial greetings to the participants in this international scientific conference devoted to the 60th anniversary of the Great October Revolution, and to wish you every success in your work.
[21] __ALPHA_LVL1__ THE WORLD HISTORIC SIGNIFICANCEBORIS PONOMAREV
ALTERNATE MEMBER OF THE
POLITICAL BUREAU, CC CPSU
AND SECRETARY OF THE CC CPSU
The vivid and profound report of Comrade Leonid Brezhnev, General Secretary of the CPSU Central Committee and Chairman of the Presidium of the USSR Supreme Soviet, at the anniversary meeting in the Kremlin summed up the vast experience of the CPSU as the vanguard of the Soviet people and part of the international communist movement and the entire liberation movement, and showed the creative approach of our Party to Marxism-Leninism and its concern for developing revolutionary theory and translating it into practice.
The report of the outstanding Leninist, Comrade Brezhnev, the speeches of leaders of socialist countries, Communist parties, and young independent states and also of representatives of the national liberation movements contain an exhaustive exposition of the historic significance of the October Revolution and socialism's subsequent achievements for all nations, for the international working-class movement and for the world. These speeches-altogether over a hundred-vividly and impressively illustrated how relevant is the legacy of the October Revolution, and how the influence of its ideas is 22 increasing all over the world. They convincingly proved that the ideas of the October Revolution are eternally young and continue to inspire the fighters for freedom and happiness of the working people. Every new generation of revolutionaries finds in the universal experience of the first victorious socialist revolution, in the first experience of building socialism, inexhaustible material for drawing conclusions and lessons and for understanding the laws and motive forces of revolution and progress.
The Great October Revolution tremendously increased the scale of revolutionary practice, the multiform experience of activity aimed at revolutionary liberation and transformation. The role of theory and its interaction with practice underwent an essential change with the victory of the revolution. To quote Lenin, "the historical moment has arrived when theory is being transformed into practice, vitalised by practice, corrected by practice, tested by practice''.^^*^^
As we mark the 60th anniversary of the revolution, we have every right to say that the post-October era has distinctly and irrevocably established itself in the history of mankind. The first and main feature that distinguishes it is the irresistible progress of human society towards socialism.
After 1917, socialism, which was at first only a dream, then a theory, and lastly a movement, became a socioeconomic and state-political reality. The homeland of the October Revolution was the first country to build the foundations of socialism. Shortly afterwards the Mongolian People's Republic embarked upon non-capitalist and then socialist development. Then the number of countries _-_-_
^^*^^ V. I. Lenin, Collected Works, Vol. 26, p. 413. 23
23 that broke away from capitalism increased sharply as a result of the victory of the nations over fascism in the Second World War. Today socialism is being put into effect in a large group of European, Asian, Latin American, and African countries.Communist parties equipped with Marxist-Leninist theory now play the leading role in establishing and developing socialist society, and charting the domestic and foreign policy of the socialist states. The importance of our theory is today greater than ever before. This is due above all to the colossal extension of the sphere of its application, to the involvement of more and more contingents, streams and currents in the world revolutionary process. Its importance is also growing because the tasks of developing the socialist world are becoming more complex, and because of the continuing expansion of relations between socialist countries, the emergence of new economic, social, and cultural problems at the stage of developed socialism, the appearance of new opportunities for radical socio-political changes in the advanced capitalist countries, and the emergence of a new situation in areas of the national liberation movement. Each Marxist-Leninist party, operating in the conditions of its own country, can participate in the creative development of our internationalist teaching.
Life gives rise to new concepts, new terms. For instance, the concept of "real (existing) socialism" has appeared. Sometimes one hears doubts whether this concept is legitimate. So, it would, evidently, be appropriate to dwell on this subject.
Indeed, what is meant by real socialism?
Real socialism is a definite state-political reality. It is a new type of state in which power belongs to the working people headed by the working class and its revolutionary vanguard-the Communist Party. This was the type of state formed in our country as a result of the October Revolution. Now there is a system of socialist 24 states on the international scene that has become a major factor in international politics.
Further, real socialism is a definite economic reality. It is a qualitatively new mode of production based on social ownership of the means of production that puts an end to exploitation of man by man. In the international context the socialist economy is becoming an increasingly important part of the world economy.
Real socialism is a new type of social relations. It is a society whose social base is an alliance of the working class, the peasantry, and the intelligentsia. Socialist society, unlike capitalist society with its class antagonisms and its national contradictions, is characterised by the establishment of the principles of social equality and justice, and of internationalism, by the gradual drawing together of all classes and social strata, of all nations and ethnic groups, by growing social homogeneity.
Real socialism is a new cultural and moral reality. It embodies qualitatively new relations between people, relations that are permeated with the spirit of comradeship and humanism. It is a new socialist culture that absorbs the greatest achievements of human civilisation. It embodies new moral values on whose basis a new man is moulded, with his mature sense of civic duty, noble ideals, and moral qualities. It is a socialist way of life that fosters the all-round, harmonious development of the individual.
Real socialism is a result of the active, vigorous creative effort of the masses of people themselves under the leadership of Marxist-Leninist parties. The labour and socio-political activity of millions enriches, deepens, and concretises the ideas of socialism expressed in theory. This socialism emerges from bitter class struggle inside a country and on the world scene. It takes shape in the process of surmounting the opposition of the world imperialist system and the internal difficulties that arise in the 25 course of economic, social, and cultural development. In it the greatest achievements of human thought and the practice of millions are blended into one alloy.
Thus, socialist society is the practical embodiment of the ideas of scientific socialism which is the theoretical expression of the interests of the international working class, of all working people. What Marx and Engels predicted in principle more than a hundred years ago and what Lenin elaborated as a detailed concept has now become reality.
The international experience of the struggle for socialism and of the building of socialism is extremely varied. Each country and each people contributes its own national features to it. However, in this complex historical process, with its diversity of conditions and forms, some general, fundamental features of socialism as such come to the fore.
The most general and most essential features that we can justly regard as criteria of real socialism are the following: the leading role of the Marxist-Leninist party, of the working class leaning on alliance with other working strata; socialist statehood, and social ownership of the means of production; the fundamentally new aim of social production-not profit but the interests of man, his wellbeing, his social and intellectual development; the integration of scientific and technological progress with a planned economy which rules out unemployment and inflation; and the broad rights of the working man guaranteed by the social system itself. These features underlie the formation of the new, higher social system that is replacing capitalism.
The totality of the basic, fundamental features of the socialist system is most fully and tangibly expressed in developed, mature socialism. As Comrade Brezhnev put it, this is a "stage of maturity of the new society at which the restructuring of the entire system of social relations on the collectivist principles intrinsic to socialism is being 26 completed''.^^*^^ The new Constitution of the USSR proclaims and confirms precisely those socio-economic, political, and moral principles of the organisation of society and the state which are characteristic of developed socialism. The diversity and breadth of our socialist democracy, the basic feature of the political system, which organically combines the principles of state and public administration, the leading role of the Party, and the activity and initiative of the masses-all this is mirrored in the Constitution. The new Constitution reflects the further development of the Marxist-Leninist theory of the state. One of its prominent features as a constitution of the socialist type is that it not only records the achievements of socialism and formalises them in the law, but that it also defines the basic aims and tasks of socialism's further development. The implementation of the combined measures aimed at achieving the highest goal of the state, the creation of a classless communist society, becomes the Fundamental Law of the state. The principles recorded in the Constitution open up prospects of constantly improving socialism's political system, of an ever broader participation of citizens in running the affairs of the state and society and, in the last analysis, of putting into practice the Party's programmatic provision of communist self-government. No bourgeois constitution contains, or can contain, all these things.
The nationwide discussion of the draft Constitution showed the civic maturity and enhanced political level of the Soviet people and was a vivid manifestation of their solidarity with the Communist Party. The process by which the Constitution was adopted demonstrated to the world the high social consciousness of the people and the profoundly democratic nature of the socialist system.
_-_-_^^*^^ L. I. Brezhnev, On the Draft Constitution (Fundamental Law) of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics and the Results of the Nationwide Discussion of the Draft, Moscow, 1977, p. 25.
27All this means that the new Constitution of the USSR is a substantial contribution to the international theoretical and practical experience of socialism. The norms and principles proclaimed in it are likewise the reality of socialism. Today, we have every reason for saying that the international impact of the October Revolution on the progress of mankind is being continued by the real (existing) socialism.
The socialist countries are rightly regarded the creation of the international working-class movement, of which they are an inalienable part. In turn, having become a sociopolitical and economic reality, socialism is playing an increasingly important role in world development.
This role can be briefly described as follows:~
- socialism is the chief factor in the steadily changing alignment of forces in the world in favour of peace, democracy, national independence, and social progress;~
- the experience of many nations has proved that the theoretically substantiated ideals of socialism are attainable as a social and political system higher than capitalism;~
- the results achieved in building the new society facilitate the ever broader spread of socialist ideas and break down anti-communist prejudices and bourgeois ideology;~
- real socialism demonstrates the superiority of the new, genuinely internationalist relations between states based on the principles of fraternity and mutual assistance of the peoples;~
- it is a mighty bastion of peace, which by its very existence and policy bars the way to a world war; it constructively influences the entire system of international relations, helping consolidate peace and settle controversial issues by negotiation;~
- it beneficially influences the external and, indirectly, domestic political conditions of the class struggle in capitalist countries;~
- it assists hundreds of millions of people upholding the national sovereignty of their countries which have liberated 28 themselves from colonialism and embarked on the road of independent development.
A number of factors contribute to the continuously mounting impact of socialism on mankind's development. The October Revolution accelerated the appearance and consolidation of the forces rejecting capitalism and aspiring to the socialist ideal. The world communist movement, a qualitatively new force in the working-class movement, took shape under its direct influence. Its impact promoted the formation of revolutionary-democratic movements and organisations in colonial and dependent countries. These new forces, which differ from each other in character but are united by their anti-imperialist orientation, have acquired their own dynamics and sunk deep roots in the masses, in their national life. Drawing upon the experience accumulated by the international revolutionary movement, they are advancing towards the common goal of all peoples-national and social liberation.
The abolition of capitalism and transformation of society along socialist lines are increasingly becoming an objective necessity, a vital demand of our epoch. The spread of the ideas of socialism the world over is a vivid indication of overall social progress.
The deepening of the general crisis of the capitalist system, as well as the processes directly bound up with the scientific and technological revolution and with the aggravation of global problems, such as energy, food, and environmental protection, work increasingly in favour of socialism. Only socialism and its principles of international relations can ensure the effective solution of the major problems of the twentieth century and secure for the peoples and countries a new, higher level of scientific, technical, economic, and cultural co-operation, the need for which springs from the character and power of the productive forces of the present and future.
29The greatest significance of the October Revolution is to be traced to the fact that its victory brought about a qualitative change in man's age-old problem of war and peace.
From the first fundamental document of Soviet powerLenin's Decree on Peace-and up to the new Constitution of the USSR the entire 60-year history of the Soviet state is a convincing illustration of the fact that, to quote Leonid Brezhnev, "the first state of victorious socialism has for all time inscribed on its banner the word `peace' as the highest principle of its foreign policy, which meets the interests of its own people and all the other peoples of our planet''.^^*^^
The CPSU and the Soviet Government consistently and steadfastly pursue a policy aimed at ensuring the peaceful coexistence of states with different social systems, and the exclusion of world war from the life of society. Now this policy is affirmed in the Fundamental Law of our country.
Before the whole world the Constitution of the USSR solemnly reaffirms that the Soviet Union is a country of friendship and peace among nations. It reiterates that socialism and peace are inseparable: this is not only one of the most stable traditions of the new society, but also one of the main features of the very nature of the socialist state.
The peaceloving and internationalist policy of the Soviet Union, and of the socialist community as a whole, has strongly influenced the entire system of international relations. The Declaration on the Granting of Independence to colonial countries and peoples, the UN Declaration on the prohibition of the use of nuclear and thermonuclear weapons, international covenants concerning human rights _-_-_
^^*^^ New Times, No. 24, June 1977, p. 33.
30 and many other UN documents were adopted on the initiative and with the support of the USSR.In our nuclear age, the Soviet policy of peace has truly vital significance for all peoples and for all mankind, because the menace associated with world war, of which Lenin warned as early as 1918, now exists in all its stark reality, namely, the menace of disrupting the very conditions of existence of human society.
It was incredibly difficult to curb the forces of imperialist aggression that unleashed the cold war against the Soviet Union and other socialist countries, to avert the danger of a thermonuclear catastrophe, and achieve a relaxation of international tension. All this required colossal efforts and the outlay of huge resources so needed for the fuller utilisation of all the potentialities of socialism.
After all, it involved countering the laws inherent in imperialism and stemming from the foundations of its economy and politics, laws that for a long time had inevitably led to world wars in the setting of monopoly capital's supremacy.
An outstanding role in this was played by the Peace Programme adopted at the 24th CPSU Congress. This Programme was broadly acclaimed by peace forces throughout the world and became a powerful lever for restructuring international relations on the principles of peaceful coexistence. Comrade Rodney Arismendi, a prominent leader of the international communist movement, recently aptly pointed out: "We owe it to the 60 years of revolutionary development since October 1917 that today war is no longer inevitable and that we are successfully pursuing a policy of peace and detente.''
As is known, our Party, its Central Committee, and the Political Bureau of the CC CPSU, headed by Comrade Leonid Brezhnev, are today working to implement the Programme of further struggle for peace and international co-operation, and the freedom and independence of the peoples, drawn up by the 25th Congress.
31We regard ending the arms race and going over to disarmament as the central objective in consolidating and deepening detente.
Acting in close co-ordination with other socialist countries, the Soviet Union has come out with a truly allembracing programme in this sphere. The fraternal socialist countries' initiatives cover the entire range of approaches to the problem of disarmament.
For a long time the USSR has affirmed its readiness to achieve general and complete disarmament. Our readiness has been recently inscribed in the new Constitution of the USSR.
At the latest session of the UN General Assembly the Soviet Union repeated that it was ready without delay to start discussing the problem of nuclear disarmament in all its aspects. All existing governments have long since been forwarded the Soviet proposals concerning a world treaty on the non-use of force in international relations and the simultaneous prohibition of nuclear weapons for all time.
In his report at the anniversary meeting in the Kremlin on November 2, 1977, Comrade Brezhnev has proposed a radical step, namely, an agreement on a simultaneous cessation of manufacturing nuclear weapons by all countries and a gradual reduction of existing stockpiles. This would mean that from now on nuclear materials will be produced exclusively for peaceful purposes. The atom for peace alone! There is no doubt that realisation of this proposal would be a tremendous step forward in solving the problem of preventing nuclear war, which is the key problem of our epoch.
Moreover, Comrade Brezhnev said that in addition to a ban on all nuclear weapons tests for a specified period the USSR is prepared to declare a moratorium on nuclear explosions for peaceful purposes. The purpose of this proposal is to clear the road for the signing of the largely completed text of an agreement on a total ban on all nuclear tests. The peoples of the world have long been 32 demanding to ban tests not only in the atmosphere, in outer space, and under water, but also under ground.
For many years we have been advocating effective measures to back up the non-proliferation of nuclear weapons. The Soviet Union took the initiative in proposing a treaty prohibiting development and manufacture of new types of weapons of mass annihilation, and of new systems of such weapons. We insist on the earliest possible conclusion of an international agreement on the prohibition and destruction of accumulated stockpiles of chemical weapons similar to the Convention on the prohibition of the development, production and stockpiling of bacteriological ( biological) and toxin weapons that has already been signed.
The Soviet Union has submitted detailed proposals on reducing armed forces and armaments, notably in Central Europe. We have repeatedly offered to conclude an agreement on the dismantling of all military bases on foreign territories and the withdrawal of troops from these territories. The USSR steadfastly urges a reduction of military budgets and the use of part of these resources for economic assistance to liberated nations. One of the more important Soviet initiatives is the proposal to withdraw nuclear-armed vessels from separate areas of the World Ocean. The Soviet Union supports the creation of peace zones, particularly in the Indian Ocean.
The USSR consistently opposes the maintenance of military blocs. Time and again we have proposed the simultaneous dissolution of NATO and the Warsaw Treaty Organisation and, as a first step, the abolition of their military organisations.
At a reception given in honour of an Indian government delegation. Comrade Brezhnev enunciated a detailed programme to complement political detente in Europe with military detente, which provides for an agreement not to take action that could lead to the enlargement of the existing military-political groupings and the conclusion by the participants in the European Conference of a treaty __PRINTERS_P_33_COMMENT__ 3---327 33 not to use nuclear weapons first against each other. The draft of such a treaty was made public by the Political Consultative Committee of the Warsaw Treaty Organisation.
__b_b_b__Lastly, the Soviet Union has proposed assuming a reciprocal commitment not to conduct military exercises that would involve more than 50,000--60,000 troops.
Needless to say, this broad programme of giving material form to detente is not an easy undertaking. It is absolutely clear that the changes for the better in international relations have not transformed the nature of imperialism. Aggressive militarist circles are making one effort after another to undermine detente. It is obvious that their main objective here is to weaken the positions of the Soviet Union and the socialist community as the principal material and political bulwark of the peace forces. This became especially evident when the international situation deteriorated at the close of 1976 and during the first few months of this year.
There began what can be described as a crusade against detente. The very concept of detente was questioned. Every conceivable argument was used. Some opponents of detente maintained that it is a "one-way street'', that it benefits only the socialist countries. Others contended that nothing had been achieved in the way of detente, that it was all an illusion. Still others attempted to counterpose the so-called question of human rights to detente and to revert to a sharp confrontation behind a smokescreen of demagogic rhetoric about freedoms.
A cause of particularly great anxiety is the development of new types of mass destruction weapons and delivery vehicles-neutron bombs, cruise missiles, and the like. ``Theories'' about the possibility and even expediency of ``localised'', ``limited'' nuclear wars are being revived. To justify inflated military budgets the bogey of a "growing 34 Soviet military threat" is being massively used again. There is growing danger of a fresh round in the arms race, and of the threat of nuclear war re-emerging at a new level.
Yet international developments of the past few months have also shown something else, namely, that the development of detente is grounded in powerful objective tendencies, that detente has sunk deep roots in present-day international life, and that in this area there is now a considerable margin of safety.
The wave of protests against the production of the neutron bomb has demonstrated the hollowness of the imperialist propagandists' speculation that people have "grown used" to living with the nuclear sword of Damocles hanging over their heads and that fear of the nuclear war threat has diminished among a considerable section of people. More, it has become evident that realisticallyminded circles in a number of capitalist countries acknowledge the peaceful character of the foreign policy pursued by the socialist countries and are prepared to oppose the cold war demagogues.
In the last analysis, the firm policy of the socialist countries to preserve and consolidate detente has proved viable. The attacks of its adversaries did not yield the results they expected.
Of course, this gives no grounds whatsoever for complacency. There is no denying that in the NATO countries the arms race has reached an unprecedentedly high level, or that it conflicts with political detente and runs counter to the assurances of Western statesmen that they want peace. This means that the tendency towards detente is realised and asserted not automatically, but chiefly as a result of the policy of the socialist countries and the vigorous actions of the world's peace forces.
Today, the most burning and urgent problem is to find a way for ending the continuing stockpiling of armaments. For as history shows, if they are not defused in time, __PRINTERS_P_34_COMMENT__ 3* 35 shooting is bound to begin. The peril is all the greater in view of the existence of forces so blinded by cupidity and class hatred that they might risk precipitating a catastrophic military conflict.
This makes struggle to end the arms race and bring about disarmament the sacred duty of all those who consider themselves democrats and humanists, to say nothing of Communists. Also, it must be emphasised that words alone cannot halt the production of neutron bombs or cruise missiles. Words will not stop the spread of nuclear weapons. What is needed is action-vigorous, militant, and determined action. It is necessary to use every resource to build up the mass character, scale, and intensity of the struggle against militarism and aggression.
To put an end to the arms race is a task on which the future of mankind depends. We Soviet people. Communists of the Soviet Union, have been and will continue doing everything in our power to prevent the flames of a nuclear war from ever enveloping our planet.
The opponents of detente are stepping up their efforts not only in the sphere of armaments production. " Psychological warfare" against the socialist countries reached its peak in 1976 and early in 1977. The propaganda campaign of slander launched under the false pretext of defending freedoms and human rights has many diverse aims. Directly, and more often indirectly, it serves the policy of stepping up the arms race with all the wellknown consequences. It is being used to befog the minds of the masses in the capitalist world gripped by an extremely severe crisis, mass unemployment, and galloping inflation, from which the leaders of capitalist society cannot extricate themselves no matter how hard they try. In this situation, when the capitalist system is manifestly discrediting itself on an unparalleled scale, when the striving to resolve critical problems by socialist methods is growing and the struggle of the working people against 36 state-monopoly rule is mounting, the anti-Soviet and anti-socialist campaigns are meant by the architects to turn the masses away from socialism and create a gulf between the socialist countries and the peoples of the West.
Neither has imperialism abandoned its attempts at ``eroding'' the social system in the socialist countries by means of subversive propaganda campaigns, and by supporting all kinds of turncoats and enemies of socialism. However futile these efforts are in our time, they do spoil the international climate, because they amount to interference in the internal affairs of the socialist countries, to say nothing of the fact that they serve the same old aim of discrediting socialism and justifying military preparations against it.
The efforts of imperialist circles and the Peking leadership, which acts in collusion with them, to split the ranks of the forces opposing imperialism have grown to unprecedented dimensions. Political manoeuvres are being used to upset relations between socialist countries, attempts are made at exacerbating inter-state conflicts arising in certain regions, and, of late, especially intensive efforts have been witnessed to set the Communist parties of socialist and capitalist countries against one another.
It stands to reason that on the historical plane such subversive acts and manoeuvres are doomed to ignominious failure. If imperialism was unable to overcome the new society with its material force when it was superior in the economic and the military-technical fields, it cannot hope to compete with socialism in the ideological field. Is it not typical, and paradoxical for that matter, that bourgeois ideologists often attack socialism under the flag of defending the ideas of ``humanist'' and " democratic" socialism? The apologists of capitalism must be in a bad way if they have to make themselves ridiculous by posing as the advocates of a "better socialism" than the one actually in existence.
37There is no denying all this. But, deplorably, the bourgeoisie sometimes manages to confuse a certain part of the population by its specious methods. That is why departure from the principle of solidarity, groundless criticism of existing socialism, and disassociation from it, is not simply a theoretical problem or a problem concerning relations between Communist parties. It is directly connected with detente and the prospects of preventing war. When the general public and the mass of the people in a capitalist country receive truthful information about the state of affairs in the socialist countries, about the Soviet Union and its policy, this has a definite effect on the ruling circles, and those who have aggressive intents will think twice before they put their designs into practice, lest they reap a storm of anger and indignation on the part of their own people who know the truth and will not let themselves be deceived.
On the other hand, picking faults with the socialist countries helps distort the people's idea of their aims and policies, weakens the resistance of the masses to the aggressive schemes of reactionary circles, and lessens their apprehensions of the people's reaction to an attempt on their part to unleash war.
It is no exaggeration to say that the anti-war forces in the world have never been as strong as now. Never before has the potential of the worldwide struggle for peace been as great as now. But to enable these forces to contribute to the consolidation of detente and the curbing of the arms race, and to the cause of genuine disarmament, there must be active, concerted action and enterprise, above all, on the part of the Communist parties, the vanguard of the workers' movement.
A good foundation for such action is the document of the 1976 Berlin Conference. Obviously, the ideas and proposals which the fraternal parties jointly formulated in that document must be utilised more extensively and persistently in the practical struggle. It is well known that 38 the Berlin programme had been prepared with due consideration for the fact that, as time passes, the dialectical connection between the struggle for the strengthening of peace and the struggle for social progress, between the struggle for peace and the internationalist co-operation of Communists of all countries would become greater. The intervening period has confirmed the correctness of this approach. The ability of the communist movement to influence the course of events in the world and ensure an increasing superiority of the peace forces over the forces of war is in many ways related to the degree of solidarity among the fraternal parties.
The great aim of securing lasting world peace and ruling out war in international affairs is becoming feasible in practice. But the attainment of this aim demands persistent renewal of efforts, deeper mutual understanding, and closer unity of the peaceloving forces.
All the important social achievements of the past sixty years stem from the October Revolution of 1917 and are a part of the worldwide revolutionary process started in the days "that shook the world''. Now, in the 70s, it has become especially evident that the forces of national and social liberation have approached qualitatively new frontiers.
The ideas of the October Revolution, embodied in the achievements of socialism, the international working-class and national liberation movements, are a powerful and increasingly effective accelerator of social progress throughout the world. The torch of the revolutionary transformation of all the pillars of the life of mankind, lit by the October Revolution, is held aloft by the international communist movement. This movement is in an important stage of its development, a period of great 39 events and new opportunities. In general, as an international force, it is on the upgrade.
This also applies to the parties waging a complex and hard struggle in the capitalist countries. Some of them have achieved considerable successes and have substantially strengthened their prestige and influence. No other political force in the capitalist world so deeply and fully expresses and so selflessly defends the rights of the working people, the national interests of its country, and the needs of social progress as do the Communists. The role of the Communist parties as the leading factor of broad international solidarity with the liberation movements, with fighters against imperialism's aggressive designs, and with victims of reaction, has become visibly greater. In the area under capitalist rule they were and remain the chief motivating force in the struggle for strengthening detente, for international security, and against the arms race.
At times such as these, when new phenomena keep coming to hand, and when theory is called upon to tackle many problems on the solution of which the immediate future of the revolutionary process depends, Lenin's call for a scientific, Marxist approach to large-scale historical changes is particularly relevant. Lenin said that the politically conscious man "must evaluate these new changes, 'make use' of them, grasp them, if we may use that expression, and at the same time, he must not allow himself to drift helplessly with the stream, he must not throw out the old baggage, he must preserve the essentials in the forms of activity and not merely in theory, in the programme, in the principles of policy''.^^*^^ Continuity in Marxist-Leninist theory and policy reflects the objective internationalist unity of the world historical process and a close relationship between its various stages.
The Communist Party of the Soviet Union has always _-_-_
^^*^^ V. I. Lenin, Collected Works, Vol. 17, p. 146.
40 followed with great interest and respect the efforts of the fraternal parties to find specific ways of building socialism, taking into account the particular conditions in their countries and their own experience. As was said more than fifteen years ago in the CPSU Programme, "while the principal law-governed processes of the socialist revolution are common to all countries, the diversity of the national peculiarities and traditions that have arisen in the course of history creates specific conditions for the revolutionary process, the variety of forms and rates of the proletariat's advent to power''.^^*^^Drawing on the analysis of the social structure of their country and carefully taking into account the interests and needs of all sections of the working people, the Communist parties are working on such a cardinal problem as the building of broad alliances that would embrace the majority of the people and be able to effect major social transformations. Each party is looking for ways and means best suited for its country of securing united action with other left, democratic forces, parties, and organisations, and is fighting for the leading role and the initiative within political alliances and blocs.
It stands to reason that whatever the social composition of the anti-monopoly coalition may be, the working class should be its leading and determining force. It also stands to reason that the fraternal parties are putting special emphasis on strengthening their positions in the working class and, among other things, directly at industrial enterprises.
Alliances of this kind would isolate the reactionary rightist forces and would lay the political foundation for relatively peaceful social transformations, with socialism as their ultimate aim. But it stands to reason, too, that the road to socialism is under all conditions a road of _-_-_
^^*^^ The Road to Communism, Documents oi the 22nd Congress of the Communist Party ot the Soviet Union, Moscow, 1962, p. 486.
41 class struggle. This is because the ruling class has never anywhere voluntarily given up power, or its riches and privileges, nor ever will, without resorting to every possible means, including, if feasible, the most extreme means, to preserve its rule and crush the revolution.The peculiarities of the situation in different capitalist countries, the diversity of the experience gained by different Communist parties, and the fact that their concrete strategic and tactical guidelines have not been sufficiently tested in practice serve objectively as a warning against hasty generalisations, against making an absolute of specific solutions and raising them to the rank of theoretical verities. "Whatever routes are chosen,'' said Comrade Brezhnev, "the ultimate mission of the Communists is to lead the masses to the principal goal, to socialism. The experience of the struggle for the victory of the October Revolution has shown that changes of tactics, compromises in order to win new allies, are quite possible in revolutionary practice. But we are also convinced of something else: under no circumstances may principles be sacrificed for the sake of a tactical advantage.''^^*^^
An extensive, accurate, and well-thought-out assessment of the experience gained by the revolutionary forces in the past, in various countries and in different circumstances, by the ruling Marxist-Leninist parties and also by the parties directly engaged in the struggle against capitalism has always been an essential condition for working out and implementing a correct policy, and for a truly creative and effective approach to new problems. We have known for a long time that mastering the whole body of Marxist-Leninist theory is not a merely bookish, academic process. It requires, above all, such knowledge of one's own experience and the international experience of revolutionary struggle that would enable to draw _-_-_
^^*^^ New Times, No. 45, November 1977, p. 10.
42 lessons, to set the correct guidelines for practical action, and to take into account all the dangers and pitfalls, and all the possible options in the event of a radical change in the situation.The Communist Party of the Soviet Union does not impose on anyone the conclusions it has drawn from its own vast experience or from the international experience of modern socialism. But we are convinced that life and revolutionary practice forcefully confirm again and again that there are fundamental, inalienable features in the socialist revolution and the building of socialism in any country. These features, formulated in a condensed and theoretically generalised form by Leonid Brezhnev in his report, "The Great October Revolution and Mankind's Progress'', include effective political power of the working class, acting in alliance with all other working people; use of this power to end the social-economic domination of capitalists and other exploiters; the inspiring and organising role of the working class and its communist vanguard in uniting the mass of working people to build socialism, and, finally, the ability of the working people's power to defend the revolution against the inevitable attacks of the class adversary. This is our understanding of the most general objective laws governing the transition from capitalism to socialism.
The achievements and the growing ideological and political potential of the communist movement are causing obvious anxiety among the class enemies. In conditions of crises and historic political setbacks, imperialism is rallying all its political and ideological resources. Coordinated subversive campaigns against the fraternal parties and our movement as a whole have become an inalienable and increasingly important element of the global strategy of imperialism. It is using all the means available, resorting to the most barbarous reprisals, inciting fascist-type anti-communist thugs and left extremists, persecuting progressives, as, say, in West Germany with the 43 notorious Berutsverbote and, of course, constantly manipulating public opinion through the mass media.
What extremes of wanton violence the monopoly bourgeoisie will go to when its vital interests are at stake is illustrated by the events in Latin America.
In response to the successes of the liberation movement, imperialism and domestic reaction have mounted a counteroffensive there, exacting a heavy toll of life and causing great suffering for the peoples of the continent. Imperialism and the local oligarchies have managed to strike serious blows at the working-class and liberation movement in Chile, Uruguay, Brazil, and certain other countries, and to create a zone of fascist tyranny in the southern part of the continent. The Communist parties in these countries have suffered grave losses and have been compelled to go deep underground.
And yet there are no reasons for regarding this as a triumph for reaction and fascism in Latin America. The liberation movement is alive and is again gathering strength. In its vanguard stand Communist parties founded soon after the October Revolution and possessing a more than 50 years' history of dedicated and heroic struggle for the interests of the working people in their countries. Acting in extremely difficult conditions, they are carrying the ideas of Marxism-Leninism to the masses, spreading the truth about socialism, and waging a determined struggle against anti-communism and various currents of right and ``left'' opportunism.
There has hardly been any other time in the history of the communist movement when bourgeois propaganda loosened such a stream of venomous words against the fraternal parties as it does today. The aims of the organisers of this propaganda campaign are more than obvious. Their purpose is to undermine the unity of the communist movement, to set the Communist parties against each other and, first of all, to drive a wedge between the Communist parties of capitalist countries and the ruling 44 Marxist-Leninist parties. The method used in these provocative actions is also fairly obvious. The class enemy is trying to take advantage of the natural fact that the different conditions in which the fraternal parties are working and the differences in their present political possibilities and immediate aims and objectives result in differences in their approach to various problems. The aim of the present anti-communist campaigns, specifically the propaganda ballyhoo about Eurocommunism, a concept invented by the bourgeoisie, is to interfere in the discussion of these problems, to try to turn differences of views into discord and discord into division.
Therefore, it is especially important for the Communists today to arrange an exchange of views and experience and comradely discussions between different parties on the basis of principle and mutual respect, taking into account one another's interests, that is to say, the common interests of our movement.
The attempts to besmirch the glorious historic past of the Soviet Union and other socialist countries and to ignore their experience and services to the revolutionary movement-whatever the motives behind this approachultimately work against those who expect to derive an advantage from it. To resort to such methods means weakening and undermining the people's faith in the socialist transformations of the world, and tarnishing the image of socialism.
The Soviet Communists, faithful to the Leninist internationalist tradition, never fail to display solidarity with the activity of their comrades in the capitalist countries, to express their deep fellow-feeling for them, and to wish them further success in their struggle for the interests of the working class and all working people. A' the same time, the internationalist position of our class brothers abroad and their solidarity with our efforts are an important stimulus for the political activity and work 45 of the Soviet people, help them to solve the problems arising in socialist society, and afford us substantial moral and political support.
This is why the CC CPSU deeply appreciates as a demonstration of true internationalism the presence at the October festivities of so many high-ranking delegations of the fraternal parties and of other democratic parties and states, their speeches and their meetings with the Soviet people.
Since the birth of the first socialist state internationalism has become one of the guiding principles of the Communist Party, now the ruling party, in its activity at home and on the international scene. At present, with the adoption of the new Soviet Constitution, it has acquired the force of law.
The formation of the world socialist system has deepened and extended the forms and content of the internationalist solidarity of the working people. One of the forms to emerge and take root is socialist internationalism which applies and develops the principles of proletarian internationalism in relations between sovereign socialist states.
The development of internationalism has also found expression in the fact that, after the collapse of the imperialist colonial system and the establishment of many dozens of anti-imperialist and socialist-oriented states, its principles are being applied in practice in the diverse relations maintained by the socialist countries with this new, dynamic force in world affairs and social progress. As we know, a concise formulation of the present meaning of internationalism was given by the 1969 Meeting of Communist and Workers' Parties: "Peoples of the socialist countries, workers, democratic forces in the capitalist countries, newly liberated peoples and those who are oppressed, unite in a 46 common struggle against imperialism, tor peace, national liberation, social progress, democracy and socialism!"^^*^^
It is argued sometimes that the term ``proletarian'' is no longer applicable to this ``broad'' and ``new'' concept of internationalism. But in the lifetime of Marx and Engels, too, the term did not apply solely and exclusively to solidarity between proletarians of different countries. In the course of time, ever broader masses of people belonging to different social strata began taking part in solidarity movements. As we see it, this shows that internationalism's class content has become even more distinct, not that it has lost its proletarian character. The growing numbers of adherents of internationalist solidarity show, in fact, that the working class is making good progress in its world historic mission-that of uniting on a common platform all those who can fight for peace, democracy, freedom of the nations, and for socialism.
The term "proletarian internationalism" is not out of date. Today, it still points correctly to the origins of internationalism, to its class foundation, and to its principal and most consistent champion. The working class unites all working people on the platform of its ideas in their struggle against exploiters and oppressors. And there is no more reason to give up the term, which shows the revolutionary fighters' fidelity to tradition, than there would be to change the famous slogan, "Proletarians of All Countries, Unite!'', on the grounds, say, that there is no longer any proletariat in the socialist countries, but a working class, the leading socio-political force of the new society.
Sometimes it is argued that the principle of proletarian internationalism must be radically revised, because the connection between the international and the national in the general development of mankind has changed, and " priority" now belongs to the national principle. In actual fact _-_-_
^^*^^ International Meeting of Communist and Workers' Parties, Moscow 1969, Prague, 1969, p. 39.
47 there are no grounds for counterposing the national to the international.Certainly, the growth of the Communist parties into an influential political force does increase the volume of their national tasks, and in some ways also changes the very nature of these tasks. The growing significance of the problems of national independence-and this also in the conditions of developed capitalism-gives patriotic demands added weight in the policy of Communists, heightens the Communists' role as the most consistent and staunchest champions of the nation's true interests, and is a factor for uniting all the sound forces of society in the striving for a democratic solution to the critical impasse brought about by the domination of monopoly capital. The Communists are the initiators and the principal force in the struggle against world imperialism's pressure on their country, and against the threat to its sovereignty from all kinds of supranational monopoly alliances and organisations.
There is no denying all this. But if each of these processes is examined in isolation from the general course of historical development, if each one is regarded as an absolute law in itself, this one-sidedness may lead to the erroneous conclusion that the role of internationalism is practically reduced to nought.
But if we examine the facts from every angle, as Marxism-Leninism requires, we shall easily see that the practical significance of the international solidarity of Communists, and of all progressive forces, has increased. The connection between the national and the international in the communist movement, in all revolutionary practice, has become still closer and more essential. There has never been, nor can there be-and especially today-any antagonistic contradiction between the national interests of a people, of a Communist Party, and the international interests of the world revolutionary movement.
The internationalisation of social life, which Lenin 48 observed as early as in the beginning of the twentieth century, increases the impact of international factors on the development of any country, on the activity of all social and political movements of every nation. Conditions of struggle within national frontiers have never depended so much as now on the alignment of world forces, the activities of the socialist countries in the international field, and the active efforts of all other elements of the world's anti-imperialist movement.
At the same time, a large number of problems is arising these days that demand unity on the international plane. And the proportion of internationalist tasks is increasing in the activities of each fraternal party. The main objective is to launch an extensive campaign for the prevention of world war, for the strengthening of world peace, against the arms race, and against the aggressive acts and plans of imperialism.
The international character of the class struggle of working people acting in concert against the domination of the so-called multinationals, has become noticeably more pronounced. International support for liberation and democratic movements, and solidarity with prisoners of reaction is acquiring ever greater importance. The need for internationalism is also prompted by the fact that monopoly capital is now making more vigorous efforts to join forces on an international scale and co-ordinate its activities in the struggle against the revolutionary forces.
It is noteworthy that the Social-Democratic parties, with the help of the Socialist International, have lately been actively strengthening ties among themselves and with other political forces. Disregarding possible charges of interference and violation of the sovereignty of parties, the Socialist International regularly holds congresses, convenes meetings of its Bureau and of other central bodies, and sends commissions representing several parties to various parts of the world. In other words, it is in every way stimulating interest in international problems.
__PRINTERS_P_49_COMMENT__ 4---327 49In discussions of the meaning of internationalism it is sometimes counterposed, as it were, to the firmly established principles and norms of relations between fraternal parties, such as respect for the independence and equal rights of each party, non-interference in one another's internal affairs, unconditional sovereignty of parties, and their complete independence in defining policy. The CPSU is against such counterposing. More, fully in keeping with the Document of the Berlin Conference, it holds that the modern understanding of proletarian internationalism organically includes these norms and principles.
For those who do not want to stir up trouble it is clear that a world communist centre is a thing of the past. And, with all due respect for this past and paying tribute to the outstanding role played by the Comintern in furthering the revolutionary forces of the present epoch, no Marxist-Leninist has suggested reviving it in any form whatever.
For the communist movement to develop successfully, continuous care must be taken to see that the forms of relations among the fraternal parties should conform with the needs of a given historical stage. At this time, the ideas of the world community of Communists and the traditions of international solidarity find expression in international campaigns, in broad and systematic contacts between parties, in collective theoretical work, in bilateral and multilateral meetings, and in joint political actions on concrete issues of world politics.
Undoubtedly, the common views of the fraternal parties on a large range of vital problems pertaining to the struggle for peace, detente, and social progress are a sound foundation for the further development and strengthening of the internationalist unity of action of Communists.
With the victory of the October Revolution the national liberation movement became an integral part of the world revolutionary process. History has strikingly confirmed Lenin's prediction that "the socialist revolution will not 50 be solely, or chiefly, a struggle of the revolutionary proletarians in each country against their bourgeoisie-no, it will be a struggle of all the imperialist-oppressed colonies and countries, of all dependent countries, against international imperialism''.^^*^^ The emergence of the first socialist state, and thereupon of the system of socialist states, gave powerful impetus to the national liberation struggle. Progressive forces all over the world organised and won the battle against colonialism.
At present, a struggle to stamp out the last remaining colonial racist regimes is raging in the southern part of the African continent. The world is witnessing grave crimes by the oppressors of the many millions of Africans in Namibia, Zimbabwe, and South Africa. All our sympathy and all our support is with the fighters for freedom and vital human rights in these countries, and for the complete elimination of the disgraceful system of apartheid. We firmly believe that the hour of the final triumph of the just cause of the peoples in southern Africa is near.
The national liberation movement has entered a qualitatively new stage. The tasks of economic and social emancipation have moved to the forefront. They are exceedingly difficult tasks, because they involve overcoming the ageold economic backwardness, a grave consequence of the colonial past, and uprooting archaic social structures, involving a sharp clash with imperialism and local reaction. Using such neo-colonialist levers as export of capital, manipulation of prices and exchange rates, and the pressure of multinationals and international financial bodies, imperialism is trying to consolidate the dependent condition of the liberated countries and to perpetuate their backwardness. Imperialism is sowing discord among the liberated states, seeking to magnify the contradictions rooted in the past, and provoking fratricidal armed conflicts.
The struggle over the choice of paths of development _-_-_
^^*^^ V. I. Lenin, Collected Works, Vol. 30, p. 159.
__PRINTERS_P_51_COMMENT__ 4* 51 is becoming increasingly acute. It is closely associated with the growing social stratification. In a number of regions the progressive social forces and the mass of the people show their preference for the socialist orientation. The number of countries that have opted for the socialist orientation and have begun building a new economy not dominated by foreign and local capital is growing. Some revolutionary-democratic parties have proclaimed Marxism-Leninism the ideological and political basis of their activity. As a result, the national liberation movement has begun to merge with the theory of scientific socialism. This has created better conditions for the transition of states which emerged from the movement to socialist reforms.In the present stage, the young national states' co-- operation with the socialist world, based on equality and mutual benefit, has become tremendously important. Alongside the further deepening and development of bilateral ties, which promote their economic modernisation and social progress, an increasingly greater part belongs now to their co-operation with socialist countries in the striving for radical change in the entire system of world economic relations and against the exploitation of the liberated states by international imperialism, as well as in the struggle for world peace and security.
__b_b_b__Having entered the seventh decade of the epoch ushered in by the October Revolution, the Soviet people led by Lenin's Party are optimistic and confident in their future. The indomitable social forces awakened and inspired by the October Revolution are seeking and finding solutions to the key problems of our times along the road indicated and illumined by that revolution.
--- The historical experience of the October Revolution scientifically generalised by the Marxist-Leninist parties, and the international experience of the revolutionary 52 struggle, contain a tremendous politico-ideological charge, are a guarantee of the still further spread of the ideas of Marxism-Leninism in all countries, and a source of new victories in the socialist reconstruction of the world.
--- The radical change in the alignment of world forces begun by the October Revolution, which brought about the irreversible historical superiority of the socialist forces and the forces of social progress, democracy, and peace, has created conditions for preventing world war, for securing lasting peace, and for solving in the interests of all nations a number of other acute global problems-- ecological, raw materials, energy, and food.
--- The new society, which has been established in a number of countries and has reached maturity in its first base, the Soviet Union, is successfully implementing the great principle formulated by Marx and Engels and promulgated as law in the new Soviet Constitution: "The free development of each is the condition for the free development of all.''^^*^^
Implementation of this principle will secure many fresh successes for the great Marxist-Leninist teaching, and for the cause of peace and communism.
_-_-_^^*^^ Karl Marx, Frederick Engels, Collected Works, Moscow, 1976, Vol. 6, p. 506.
[53] __ALPHA_LVL1__ THE GREAT OCTOBER REVOLUTIONHERMANN AXEN
MEMBER OF THE POLITICAL BUREAU AND
SECRETARY OF THE CENTRAL COMMITTKE OF THE
SOCIALIST UNITY PARTY OF GERMANY
Dear comrades, the past few days have made an unforgettable impression on all of us. We were happy and proud to see the enthusiasm with which the glorious Soviet people, the fraternal peoples of the socialist community, and all progressive mankind celebrated the 60th anniversary of the Great October Revolution.
Communists and people of the German Democratic Republic received the report of Comrade Leonid Brezhnev at the jubilee meeting on the 60th anniversary of the Great October Socialist Revolution with wholehearted approval. We consider it a keynote document, because it most convincingly shows the following:
1. Over the past 60 years the Soviet Union, the first country in the world to have built socialist society, has achieved the highest stage of human progress. And as it lays the foundations of communism, its role of pioneer and vanguard is increasing. The 60 years of Soviet power prove that the October Revolution has started the epoch of the victorious materialisation of the ideals of freedom, peace, labour, equality, and fraternity. The 60-year practice of the Land of Lenin has brilliantly confirmed the truly 54 scientific character of Marxism-Leninism, and has served as irrefutable proof of the universal significance of the theory of socialist revolution and the building of socialism, which, thanks to the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, has enriched the science of Marxism-Leninism.
2. The October Revolution and the building of socialism have done away with the exploiter system which prevailed since society became divided into classes. The strengthening of the world socialist system, the collapse of the colonial empires, the successes of national liberation movements and socialist revolutions, the ever decreasing sphere of influence and the imminent decline of capitalism have brought about serious changes in the correlation of forces in the international arena and a turn from the cold war to detente. For the first time peace has reigned on earth for more than three decades.
3. During the 60 years since the October Revolution conditions have been created for the Soviet Union and other countries of the socialist community to make further social progress. This will make it possible for the socialist world to confirm its superiority in all key spheres and decisive sectors of the class struggle, thus facilitating the maintenance of stable peace and the transition of ever new countries from capitalism to socialism and communism.
4. The new Soviet proposals for a simultaneous halt in the production of nuclear weapons by all states and for a moratorium covering all nuclear explosions, including those for peaceful purposes, and the appeal To the Peoples, Parliaments and Governments of All Countries will give new impetus to the peoples' struggle for peace and security. These initiatives have convincingly demonstrated the vanguard role of the Soviet Union in the struggle for peace, international detente, and social progress.
It is quite safe to say that Comrade Brezhnev's report will tremendously stimulate the activities of all progressive forces.
55The delegation of the Socialist Unity Party of Germany wishes to state that it fully agrees with Comrade Mikhail Suslov's and Comrade Boris Ponomarev's meaningful speeches.
Permit me now to touch upon two aspects connected with the 60th anniversary of the October Revolution and with our future tasks.
The first aspect concerns the universal importance of the experience of the socialist revolution and of the building of socialism in the Soviet Union. We speak about this not in general terms, but on the basis of the concrete experience of the revolutionary process successfully unfolding for the past thirty years on German soil. The emergence and strengthening of a socialist workers' and peasants' state on German soil is one of the international effects of the October Revolution determining the specific features of our epoch. This may be rightly described as a turning point in the history of Europe. The fact that the glorious Soviet Army smashed nazism, the strongest and most criminal striking force of world imperialism, and the subsequent revolutionary transition to socialism on German soil testifies to the all-conquering material and ideological forces generated by the Great October Revolution which led to the victory of socialism in the German Democratic Republic. Two main factors account for this victory.
First, the Soviet Union's feat of liberation led to the complete elimination of the imperialist fascist state apparatus, while the presence of Soviet troops provided military protection for the ongoing people's revolution.
Second, the German working class had a tried and tested vanguard-the Communist Party of Germany-which had acquired a thorough understanding of Marxism-Leninism in the course of its heroic class battles and which, after merging with the Social-Democratic Party, won the majority of the working class and the working people to the side of the socialist revolution.
56That the German Democratic Republic is a firmly established socialist state it owes to the fact that the Socialist Unity Party of Germany has consistently and creatively used the basic experience of the CPSU at every stage of the Republic's development-of course, taking into consideration the specific historical and national features of our country. This was not always easy to do. After 1945 world imperialism did everything possible to block socialism on German soil.
From the first days of its existence the Socialist Unity Party of Germany has done everything in its power to make it possible for the whole of Germany to embark on a democratic, progressive, and hence peaceful, road. Our Party has worked consistently and hard to achieve this goal. It proved impossible, however, to secure a progressive course of development for all the German people at that time on account of the resistance of the united forces of international monopoly capital. But neither could the forces of imperialism succeed in re-establishing the exploiter system throughout Germany. Thus, a separate Federal Republic of Germany came into being. The building of socialism in the German Democratic Republic was the splendid result of the class struggle on German soil and an important historic event. Nowadays, there are on German soil two states with opposite social systems-the German Democratic Republic and the Federal Republic of Germany; there are two peoples and two nations-the socialist nation of the German Democratic Republic and the capitalist nation of the Federal Republic of Germany.
Imperialists are well aware that the stronger the ties of the socialist countries with the Soviet Union, the main force of world socialism, the surer and more successful will be the building of the new society. Therefore, with the help of nationalist slogans and concepts, imperialists have been seeking, and continue to seek, to undermine our friendship with the Soviet people and thus thwart our successful advance along the socialist road.
57Confrontation between the socialist German Democratic Republic and the capitalist Federal Republic of Germany is, in fact, a reflection in a most acute form of the struggle and competition between the two opposite world systems. The failure of the imperialist "rolling back" policy was at the same time a failure for the revenge-seeking plans of German imperialism. However, monopoly capital in the Federal Republic of Germany stubbornly refuses to reconcile itself to the existence of the socialist German Democratic Republic. The ruling circles in the FRG persist in distorting and violating the system of European agreements and the Helsinki Final Act in their struggle against our workers' and peasants' state.
The German Democratic Republic is doing its utmost to assert the principles of peaceful coexistence as the norm of relations between the GDR and FRG in all spheres. In this we proceed from factors that Bonn, too, must take into account. First, there is no alternative to peaceful coexistence. Second, trade with socialist countries, including the GDR, is ever more important for the crisis-stricken FRG. The FRG must learn to respect and recognise the GDR as an independent socialist state.
It should be pointed out that the class objectives of German imperialism and the actual correlation of class forces between socialism and imperialism, a correlation of basic importance, are two different things. The German Democratic Republic has for all time become an inseparable part of the socialist community. As developed socialist society makes further advances, the natural process of the convergence of the different nations and peoples of our socialist community is becoming more far-reaching and dynamic.
The successful development of the socialist German state and its firm commitment to world socialism is truly convincing proof of the universal significance of the experience of the CPSU and the triumph of the ideas of the Great October Revolution.
58The German Democratic Republic is marching forward successfully, because our Party has always carried aloft the great banner of the October Revolution. And on the eve of the 60th anniversary of the Great October Revolution, Comrade Leonid Brezhnev has rightly said: " Without Marx, Engels, or Lenin, without Marxism-Leninism, there could be no October Revolution, and without it there could be no socialist GDR.''^^*^^
``The firm ties with the Party of Lenin,'' Erich Honecker said at the 9th Congress of the SUPG, "are a matter of principle in determining class positions and a decisive criterion for any revolutionary and internationalist. This has been true since the Great October Revolution, this remains true today, and will be all the more true in future.''
The second aspect which I would like to deal with concerns the necessity of strengthening the unity of action and ideology of the international communist movement in the new stage of struggle. The 60th anniversary of the October Revolution coincides with this new stage. That is why we consider Comrade Brezhnev's speech a document that offers guidance in solving the problems our movement will face in the immediate future.
In our opinion, the new stage will be characterised primarily by new development processes in socialist, capitalist, and developing countries. In the USSR the foundations of communism are being laid. In many other fraternal countries a developed socialist society is being built. Thus, socialism has entered a new, higher stage of development. The magnetic force of the social and political aspects of developed socialism in solving all the tasks confronting us is constantly increasing. The practical implementation of the ideas of scientific communism appeals ever more strongly to the minds and hearts of the people in non-socialist countries. At the turn of the century the revolutionary workers' movement influenced the course _-_-_
^^*^^ Pravda, 2 November 1977.
59 of history above all through the persuasive truth of Marxist-Leninist theory and through the revolutionary and militant character of its anti-capitalist action. Nowadays, socialism exerts a decisive material and ideological influence on world political development by its practical achievements.These achievements are determined first of all by the main objective of the socialist countries-the further raising of the living standard and cultural level of the people. Unity of economic and social policy in socialist countries is an objective law. This means that under socialism the wellbeing of the people is central. "Never before have we had such favourable opportunities for carrying out the tasks for which, in the final count, the revolution was accomplished-for raising the wellbeing of the masses, extending socialist democracy and furthering the harmonious development of the individual,'' Comrade Brezhnev said at the jubilee meeting on the 60th anniversary of the October Revolution.^^*^^ It is precisely towards this goal that the course charted by the 9th Congress of the SUPG is directed.
Extending socialist democracy is the main objective in the development of the state in the countries of the socialist community. In these countries, where class antagonisms have been eliminated, different classes and sections of the population are drawing closer together. Most of these countries, however different their ways of development may be, have as their objective the gradual elimination of the basic distinctions between town and country, and between physical and mental labour. With the heightening of the leading role of the working class, the moral and political unity of the people increases. The profoundly humane and democratic essence of the new social system is vividly reflected in the new Constitution of the USSR, a constitution of developed socialism and of communist construction. This Constitution confirms that socialism alone guarantees human rights. The might and successes of _-_-_
^^*^^ New Times, No. 45, November 1977, p. 6. 60
60 socialism are sure guarantees of man's fundamental rights and freedoms which, in turn, ensure the protection of the dignity and the harmonious development of the individual. Thus, the Fundamental Law of the USSR is a charter of genuine rights and freedoms, democracy, and man's civic duties, the charter of a society which is on the threshold of communism. The new Constitution of the Soviet people is the world's most progressive fundamental law.Inspired by the example of peoples who are successfully building socialism, the national liberation movement is rapidly gaining strength. Many countries that have won national liberation have chosen the non-capitalist path of development. More and more countries take the socialist orientation. The Asian, African, and Latin American countries are ever more actively demanding equality in political and economic relations with international monopoly capital. With the loss of its political domination on the international scene and of its nuclear weapons monopoly, and with the collapse of the colonial system, imperialism is losing its former monopoly grip on the natural resources and strategic positions in the developing countries, though we are, of course, aware that the influence of the international corporations of the main imperialist countries is still very strong.
The general crisis of capitalism is assuming such proportions that the masses in the capitalist countries no longer can, or wish to, live in the old way. The working people in the majority of the industrially advanced capitalist countries are ever more insistently demanding radical democratic and social changes. This enhances the role and responsibility of the Communist parties. There is no other force, apart from the Communist parties, capable of showing the masses the way out of the crisis and exploitation, and of leading them in the struggle for their aims.
The successes achieved by the three main revolutionary forces in the present-day world briefly described here determine the specific features of the new stage in the 61 international class struggle. Socialism has already taken firm root on three continents, and the process of revolutionary transition to socialism is already under way on the fourth continent-Africa. These facts demonstrate that the international revolutionary process is developing at a faster rate than before. It follows from this that the revolutionary transition to socialism, as Lenin predicted, will take ever more diverse forms. As the fraternal paities correctly emphasise, this calls for greater skill on the part of Communist and Workers' parties in correctly and creatively applying the general laws of Marxism-Leninism in the specific national conditions of struggle in their countries. Underestimation of the national factor in the revolutionary struggle is extremely harmful.
The contemporary revolutionary process is not only characterised by the growing variety of forms of transition to socialism, but also by growing internationalisation of the revolutionary process and the class struggle-a phenomenon corroborated by numerous facts. This phenomenon can be explained primarily by the internationalisation of production and exchange, which is typical both of socialism and imperialism. The ability to cope with the processes of internationalisation largely determines the course of economic competition and struggle between socialism and imperialism. Such problems as protection of the environment, soil, sea, air, atmosphere and space, supply of power resources, and the battle against disease and hunger are acquiring worldwide importance. Imperialism has become the main obstacle to the solution of these vitally important problems. So, only joint international struggle of all antiimperialist, peaceloving, and realistically-minded forces can secure the solution of these problems in the interests of the peoples of the world.
Another factor of international significance exerting a decisive influence on the world revolutionary process is the struggle for peace and the prevention of a nuclear war. The struggle to limit the arms race and achieve 62 disarmament is becoming the main objective in international politics, and can only be attained through joint and consistent international action by peace forces in all countries. There is no doubt that this struggle will be hard and long. The success of this struggle depends first of all on unity of action by the international working class and of all antiimperialist and peaceloving forces in the international arena.
For this reason, on behalf of our Party and the people of the GDR, Comrade Erich Honecker in his speech at the Berlin meeting on the 60th anniversary of the October Revolution on November 5, heartily welcomed Leonid Brezhnev's new peace proposals and the new peace appeal of the Party and government of the Soviet Union.
And, finally, internationalisation is increasingly seen in the class struggle. This is due clearly to the growing might and international influence of socialism, the deepening general crisis of capitalism, the intensifying national and socialist liberation revolutions, and other factors mentioned earlier. The General Secretary of the Central Committee of the SUPG in the report to the 9th Party Congress emphasised the following:
``One cannot but see that many of the new tasks facing Communists today can only be accomplished by them jointly, in the process of a co-ordinated struggle and on the basis of a common platform of action. The rich experience of the revolutionary battles of the past and present bears out the following conclusion made by Marx, Engels, and Lenin: so long as class enemies join forces organisationally on a world scale, the revolutionary movement can achieve its aims only if it acts in concert in all countries and continents regardless of the frontiers dividing them.''
Despite all the successes achieved by the three main revolutionary forces, we must not overlook the fact that imperialism will not reconcile itself to defeat. The forced adaptation of imperialism to the changed correlation of forces in the world does not signify that it has given up 63 its class objectives. Despite the aggravation of contradictions between the imperialists, international monopoly capital is united in its intention to prevent the further narrowing of the spheres of its influence and is making joint efforts on a world scale to weaken and disrupt the revolutionary forces. The imperialist powers are trying through NATO and various international state monopoly organisations, such as the European Community, the World Bank, and the International Monetary Fund, through summit conferences, and a so-called dialogue between North and South, etc., to unite all capitalist forces politically, economically, ideologically, and militarily against the socialist and developing countries, and against the workers' movement in capitalist countries.
The arms race, the activity of military alliances, and ideological campaigns to stir up national hatred, provoke conflicts, perpetrate acts of intervention, organise reactionary conspiracies and assassinations-all these actions are a part of the overall imperialist strategy aimed at impeding or reversing social progress.
Inasmuch as, in view of the present correlation of forces, imperialism cannot run the risk of a direct military confrontation with socialism, it is laying special emphasis on psychological warfare. This change in imperialism's tactics has been thoroughly analysed by Comrade Ponomarev in his report.
The main propaganda ploy in psychological warfare is raising a hue and cry over human rights. What hypocrisy! On the one hand, imperialists extol the neutron bomb, because it exterminates people, leaving property intact. On the other, we hear pathetic appeals to observe human rights and establish human contacts.
Those who, for various reasons, are swayed by this false propaganda and dissociate themselves from socialist countries, objectively facilitate the struggle of the aggressive circles in capitalist countries against international detente. Besides, continued dissociation from existing socialism is 64 not only an ideological matter. Those who undermine the faith of the working class in the correctness and superiority of socialism objectively divert the working class from the correct road in the struggle for peace and against the war danger. In the event of serious changes in the international situation this could lead to dangerous consequences. That is why solidarity of the revolutionary forces with existing socialism is an integral and decisive part of the struggle for peace and social progress.
In this connection we cannot afford to overlook the negative effect on the international class struggle of the greatpower and chauvinist policies of the Chinese leaders, who are extending their political, military, and economic cooperation with the main imperialist countries, particularly the United States, the Federal Republic of Germany, and now with Japan. On an international plane this policy weakens the world anti-imperialist front, and on a national plane it undermines the positions of socialism in China. The anti-Soviet course intensified by the present Chinese leadership after the llth Congress of the Communist Party of China demonstrates their betrayal of Marxism-Leninism and of proletarian internationalism. This course is a threat to the cause of peace and socialism.
The victory of the progressive forces in the struggle against the intrigues of imperialism in Cuba, Indochina, and Angola proves that the importance of the international factors in the revolutionary movement is constantly increasing. Therefore, it is imperative that in the present-day revolutionary process the unity of our communist movement with all other revolutionary forces should be stronger than ever before. Those who disregard this weaken the main source of our strength.
The international communist movement, guided by tried and tested principles and norms, is using various forms and methods of international co-operation. These include bilateral, multilateral, regional and international conferences, symposia, and scientific conferences such as the __PRINTERS_P_65_COMMENT__ 5---327 65 present one. The successful and constructive international conferences of Communist and Workers' parties held in Moscow, the conferences of Communist and Workers' parties of Latin America and of Arab countries, as well as the Berlin Conference of the Communist and Workers' Parties of Europe are also vivid examples of such co-operation.
The Socialist Unity Party of Germany will support all initiatives and proposals aimed at organising and successfully carrying out joint actions of Communists in the struggle against imperialism and the war danger, for peace and security, and for the creative elaboration of the main theoretical questions of our struggle.
We must redouble action and strengthen the ideological unity of the international communist movement. We are bidden to do so by the famous appeal of the Communist Manifesto, by the world-transforming accomplishments of Lenin's Party and the Soviet state, and by our communist duty to our peoples, the international working class and progressive mankind.
[66] __ALPHA_LVL1__ THE OCTOBER EPOCHGUS HALL
GENERAL SECRETARY OF THE COMMUNIST PARTY OF THE UNITED STATES
__NOTE__ Author(s) appear above LVL heading in original.Dear comrades, from the vantage point of 60 years of socialist construction and continuing along the line of the report of Comrade Leonid Brezhnev, Comrade Mikhail Suslov and Boris Ponomarev have clearly sketched the theoretical outlines of present-day developments.
Viewing world developments from within the hub of world imperialism, we. United States Communists, always welcome and greatly appreciate every opportunity for collective exchanges and assessments of world trends. We have always been convinced, that it is the only way the forces of the world revolutionary processes can fully harness the power that ensues from objective developments. Such exchanges add context and richness to proletarian internationalism. It is the Marxist-Leninist method and style.
In a sense we are observing two interrelated anniversaries. We are celebrating the 60th anniversary of the first socialist state that broke the world monopoly of capitalism-and, largely because of that, we can also observe-and even celebrate, the opening phase of the decaying processes feeding the general crisis of world capitalism. The 67 relationship between them is that of a growing and living process, and a decaying and dying one.
Capitalism is, indeed, its own automated grave-digger. Its general crisis is propelled by its own inner laws. But it is just as true, that the growing socialist sector and its magnetic revolutionary force is speeding up the processes of capitalist decay and is thus adding nails to the coffin of this outdated dilapidated system.
In this connection, there is a lesson in a law, accepted by all railroad workers, that a railroad spike when driven in rhythm by three hammers, sinks the spike four times faster.
One of the significant manifestations of the general crisis of capitalism is the pulls of the centrifugal forces in its camp.
These tendencies need a more careful ongoing examination by us. They are a very important factor in our struggles against policies of imperialist aggression. They were an important factor in ending the United States aggression in Indochina. They were a factor in the oil crisis of 1974. Last year they limited the London conference of capitalist powers to having a cup of tea.
The rise of these centrifugal tendencies has added new importance and presents new possibilities for application of the Leninist tactic of using the inner imperialist rivalries and contradictions. We see it as a most effective weapon in the struggles against United States imperialism. But again its effectiveness depends on the law of the railroad workers, on the unity of the forces driving in the anti-imperialist spikes.
Accommodations or capitulations to imperialism, for any reason, make the tactic counter-productive. The clear and unmistakable aim of Lenin's tactic must be to weaken imperialism.
Like the rhythm of the railroad workers hammers, powerful blows are possible only when the forces of the world revolutionary processes are united. There is a fundamental 68 difference between using the divisions in the ranks of capitalist countries and letting them use you.
In the United States we have to view the effects of the general crisis and the centrifugal forces in the historic framework that for some years the law of uneven development has been at work eroding the dominant position of United States capitalism.
Because the main roots of world capitalism are so interwoven within United States monopoly state capitalism, all effects and shock waves of the general crisis become an active force on the United States economic and political landscape.
The new stage of the general crisis of the capitalist world is a factor in the stagnation of the present economic boom. It is reflected in the crisis of the steel industry in the capitalist world. It is a factor in the world monetary crisis.
After almost two years of the upswing side of the economic cycle United States economy sits on a four-horned dilemma-on inflation, on high unemployment, on an unprecedented 25 billion dollar annual trade deficit, and a capital strike against investment.
Of course, US monopoly state capitalism still has options open. A cut in the military budget and a cut in corporate profits would be steps in the right direction.
The bilateral commission is the first serious effort to overcome the effects of the centrifugal forces. It is an ongoing effort to overcome the contradictions between the major imperialist powers.
It is an effort to circle the wagons of imperialism as a defence against the forces of the world revolutionary processes. It is an effort to pool the economic, financial, and military reserves of the main imperialist powers. In a sense it is world capitalism commission on its general crisis.
George Meany, the head of the AFL-CIO, is noted for his idiotic remarks like, "I have never walked on a picket 69 line'', or his recent remark, "Ideology is bunk" or, "We do not seek to recast American society in any particular ideological image''. This, about a country that is the world centre and most steeped in the ideology of monopoly capital. Meany echoes the dilemma of monopoly capitalism in the stage of its general crisis, because there is a general crisis of its ideology as well. Monopoly spokesmen work to cover-up its ideology of decay, exploitation and racism, by talking about no ideology or that "ideology is bunk''.
The aim of the campaign that "ideology is bunk" or that ideological thoughts are out of date is to downgrade and if possible to eliminate ideological thoughts, identified with and sustained by the working class.
When George Meany says, "We do not seek to recast American society in any particular ideological image'', he wants to put over the fraud that it is possible to have a state that has no ideological base, to have a state power that is without ideology, a state power that is not motivated by class interests or class ideologies.
A state is not a fluttering butterfly. Any state has to deal with concrete matters and concrete matters inevitably involve class interests, which brings into play ideologies associated with such classes.
If the world movement has learned anything, it is that ideological thoughts must be in harmony with specific socio-economic systems. Ideology is as real as are the classes and the class struggle.
In the United States we cannot predict or make promises as to what the monopoly capitalist will do, especially when it will be against the wall.
We can and we do promise to work to limit its ability to strike back. But history indicates that imperialism does not passively or willingly give up its ideology, its special privileges or political power. It seems to us, we must indicate that truth to the masses.
Is that not the lesson of October 60 years ago?
[70] __ALPHA_LVL1__ THE GREAT OCTOBER REVOLUTIONGRISHA FILIPOV
MEMBER OF THE POLITICAL BUREAU AND SECRETARY
OF THE CENTRAL COMMITTEE OF THE BULGARIAN
COMMUNIST PARTY
Comrades, the 60th anniversary of the Great October Socialist Revolution is a great holiday not only for the Soviet people and the CPSU, but for all countries of the world socialist community, the working class of the whole world and its vanguard-the international communist movement, as well as the national liberation and democratic movements; it is a holiday for all peoples, for the whole of progressive mankind. The truly worldwide internationalist character of the celebrations of this momentous anniversary is a concentrated reflection of the tremendous, allembracing, profound, lasting, and transforming revolutionary influence of the Great October Revolution on the entire subsequent course of the socio-economic, political, and spiritual life of the peoples, on all world history.
This celebration culminated in the jubilee meeting of the CPSU Central Committee, the USSR Supreme Soviet, and the RSFSR Supreme Soviet, attended by 123 delegations from 104 countries. The profoundly meaningful report of Comrade Leonid Brezhnev with its Marxist-Leninist analysis of the world historic significance of the Great October Socialist Revolution has made an indelible impression on 71 our minds. In forceful and striking terms it describes the magnitude of the exploit performed by the Soviet people and their Communist Party in the course of building socialism and communism. The report summarises the manyfaceted experience of the CPSU as the vanguard of the Soviet people, a part of the international working-class movement and of the liberation movement. It provides evidence of its creative approach to Marxism-Leninism, and of its concern for the development and practical application of revolutionary theory. After the adoption of the new Constitution of the USSR it is, in fact, a new contribution of the CPSU to the development of Marxist-Leninist theory and the practice of socialist revolution and socialist construction in present-day conditions.
This scientific conference is a logical continuation of the international celebrations and joint ideological and political activities devoted to this great anniversary. There can be no doubt that it will contribute not only to bringing out still more vividly the world historic significance of the Great October Revolution, the tremendous influence and impact of its ideas and deeds on the development of the modern revolutionary process, but also to the further development of Marxism-Leninism, to the strengthening of our ideological front. In our opinion, it is called upon not only to demonstrate the results of the work of Communist parties, the CPSU, in the first place, in developing our theory, but also to help enrich it with new conclusions and guidelines related to the current stage of the world communist and working-class movement.
Comrades, the global and lasting importance of the Great October Revolution was very graphically emphasised in Comrade Mikhail Suslov's opening speech and Comrade Boris Ponomarev's report. We all agree that the October Revolution is the principal event of our dynamic and crucial twentieth century. This first victorious proletarian revolution has cardinally changed the world's social and political make-up, ushering in a new epoch in man's 72 history---the transition from capitalism to socialism throughout the world.
The Great October Socialist Revolution owes its character and consequences to the gigantic creative and innovative work of the CPSU, of the Russian proletariat, and the Soviet people, who, overcoming the incredible difficulties facing pioneers and trail-blazers in refashioning society along socialist lines, are laying the road that leads to the triumph of socialism all over the world. The chief result of the revolution is the erection in the USSR of the world's first developed socialist society and the transition to the building of communism. This is a triumph for the October Revolution and our common international heritage and pride. This triumph finds magnificent embodiment in the new Soviet Constitution, which formalises the principles and practical achievements of Marxism-Leninism and outlines the prospects for the building of a new world and for co-operation among peoples and states in the name of the greatest of all blessings-peace and happiness for all.
``Each people that is fighting for freedom, national independence, social progress, and peace makes its contribution to the revolutionary cause,'' Comrade Todor Zhivkov. First Secretary of the Central Committee of the Bulgarian Communist Party, and Chairman of the State Council of the PRB, stressed at the jubilee meeting in Moscow. "But there has never been, nor is there now, any other party of this kind, any other state or people that have done so much for mankind, for peace and progress, in the name of our common communist future, as the CPSU, the USSR, and the Soviet people.''
One of the most salient features of the major historical changes wrought by the October Revolution is the fusion of the world revolutionary movement with Marxism-- Leninism and the practical activity of the Communist parties. The triumph of the revolution opened up the possibility of turning the ideas of scientific socialism into an existing socialist society. We are justified in saying, therefore, 73 that the October Revolution will be the victorious banner not only of the twentieth, but also of the twenty-first century, the century of worldwide victories for the great communist ideals. This is borne out by world developments. The facts show ever more vividly that, historically, capitalism has played itself out. Our time is marked by an unprecedented overall upsurge of revolutionary forces and by the realisation of the masses that it is historically necessary to replace capitalism with socialism.
We fully agree with the conclusion that in our time, when the revolutionary process has spread throughout the world, Marxist-Leninist theory and its creative application have assumed greater importance than ever in revolutionary struggle and in the building of socialism with account taken of the specific conditions of every country. This is due in the first place to the extension of its sphere of application, and to the involvement of ever new contingents, currents and trends in the world revolutionary process. The role of theory grows also in connection with tasks arising in the course of the development of world socialism, the shaping of relations between socialist countries, the emergence of new problems in the development of existing socialism, the appearance of new possibilities for radical socio-political transformations in developed capitalist countries, and the new situation in the national liberation movement.
Therefore, creative understanding of the complex and rich content of the dialectical connection between the general laws of society's revolutionary development and the constantly growing diversity of the ways, forms, and methods of their practical operation is an essential aspect of the theoretical and political study of the main lessons of the 60 years' experience of the October Revolution.
Undoubtedly, this has been and remains a key problem of the communist and working-class movement. Its correct, Leninist solution gives parties a powerful weapon in their struggle to accomplish socialist revolutions in their 74 countries. Any deviation from this solution is fraught with grave consequences for the parties and leaders that renounce the Leninist principles on this issue, just as any juggling with them unavoidably leads to the morass of opportunism and revisionism.
The experience of the Great October Revolution shows that the main key to the solution of this problem is strict observance of the fundamental Marxist-Leninist principle that no matter where, a socialist revolution and construction of the new society constitute an objectively conditioned process developing according to principles and laws of universal character and relevant for all countries.
We refer here not to some far-fetched plan, but to the essence of socialist revolution, which remains the same no matter where or by what means (peaceful or non-- peaceful) this revolution is accomplished. Specifically, this applies to the following universally valid principles:~
--- the leading role of the working class headed by a Marxist-Leninist party in carrying out socialist revolution;~
--- seizure of political power by the working class in alliance with other strata of working people, and the establishment of one form or another of the dictatorship of the proletariat;~
--- social ownership of the means of production, abolition of the exploitation of man by man, and creation of a new, non-antagonistic socio-class structure of society;~
--- planned guidance of economic and social processes in the interests of the working people;~
--- a cultural revolution and domination of the MarxistLeninist ideology;~
--- defence of the gains of the revolution against attacks of the class enemy;~
--- adherence to the principles of proletarian internationalism.
In other words, a socialist revolution implies the destruction of the military-bureaucratic machinery of the exploiting class and the establishment of a new system of 75 state power expressing the essence of the new society. It involves a radical change in all social relations, a qualitative turn from the exploitative socio-economic formation to the communist formation. One can reckon with these laws or ignore them. But the point is that these laws are not the result of a subjective decision, of free choice, and those who refuse to reckon with them depart from the socialist revolution or speak of a revolution that is in no way socialist.
At the same time, it is an axiom of Marxist-Leninist theory, confirmed by the revolutionary practice of many years of proletarian battles, victories, and defeats, that the way to socialism and to its construction cannot be absolutely the same for all peoples, countries, and times. The ways, means, methods, and concrete forms of advance towards the ultimate aim common to all workers are and will always be influenced, to some extent, by national tradition and culture, and the peculiarities of the historical conditions and of the time in which the revolutionary process takes place. The specific national and international conditions in which socialist revolutions and socialist construction are being and will be carried out in individual countries leave and will always leave their imprint not only on the form, but also on the content of the revolutionary process and of the refashioning of society. They play and will continue to play an important role in determining the tempo, duration, and stages of development of the socialist revolution and socialist construction, and the ways and means of carrying them out. This is due to the uneven development of countries and to the fact that social laws never exist and manifest themselves other than in individual countries, in individual socio-historical phenomena and processes, and in concrete socio-historical conditions.
Lenin said in this connection: "Fundamental revolutionary principles must be adapted to the specific conditions in the various countries. The revolution in Italy will run a different course from that in Russia. It will start in a 76 different way.. . . We never wanted Serrati in Italy to copy the Russian revolution. That would have been stupid.''^^*^^
Therefore, the position of the right and left opportunists, who claim today that they were the first to discover the long-proved thesis concerning the many different forms and ways of accomplishing the transition to socialism, is absolutely untenable. The Great October Revolution and existing socialism are particularly vivid proof of this. The experience of the October Revolution and the existing socialist countries shows that the Marxist-Leninist parties derive their strength from observing the universally valid laws in the specific conditions of each country and in a specific situation, rather than in copying someone else's experience and following standard formulas. It is here that a party's political maturity and ideological creativity are tested.
To be sure, when speaking of the dialectical unity of the general and the particular one should bear in mind Lenin's proposition that the determining role belongs to the general, the law-governed, for it is the essence of the particular and the individual. Therefore, any attempt to tackle questions from other positions than those of general Marxist-Leninist laws and principles leads to loss of class positions and aims, to departure from the proletarian class struggle. Therefore, irrespective of the conditions and circumstances in which socialist revolution is being accomplished, to be genuinely socialist it must conform to the objective laws of this revolution. Peculiarities and specific conditions cannot change the essence of the socialist revolution.
This Marxist-Leninist postulate helps find the only correct answer to the much-discussed question of different "national roads and models" of socialist revolution and socialist society, of the peaceful and non-peaceful ways of revolutionary struggle.
_-_-_^^*^^ V. I. Lenin, Collected Works, Vol. 32, pp. 465, 466.
77In any particular instance the terms "national road" or "national programme'', like peaceful and armed ways of struggle, serve to denote concrete strategy and tactics in carrying out a socialist revolution and building a socialist society in a given country. It is necessary to proceed from the basic principles of Marxism-Leninism and the general laws of socialist revolution and socialist construction discovered by it, solving the principal questions of revolutionary struggle and socialist construction to suit the concrete conditions in every country. As a result, while possessing a wide diversity of specific features which will impart a concrete national colour to them, the programmes of Communist parties do not change the essence of socialist revolution. That would be the only correct, MarxistLeninist understanding of the differences between " national roads or models" of socialist revolution and socialist construction.
This is not accidental. Any "national model'', based on the Marxist-Leninist view of the general and the particular, must answer the following questions:
- how will the socialist revolution be accomplished in specific conditions? What system of state power will be set up?
- what class forces will accomplish the aims and tasks of the revolution?
- what role is assigned to different classes in the revolution?
- through what stages will the revolution pass, and what tasks will be accomplished at the different stages?
- what will be the advantages and nature of the new system?
These are legitimate questions. The founders of MarxismLeninism pointed out time and again that differences between the peaceful and non-peaceful roads to socialism are not differences between evolution and revolution, but merely differences between two forms of revolution.
If a given ``model'' does not give the answer to these 78 questions, it becomes an abstract plan leading to selfdeception; it diverts the masses in capitalist countries from the struggle for socialism, leads them to believe that there is a special, non-revolutionary road to socialism.
From this viewpoint a purely "national model" of socialist revolution and socialist construction cannot exist. For if models differ fundamentally from one another in their essence and have no common basic features, how can they be called models of socialism? They can be models of anything but a socialist revolution reposing on strict observance of general laws and the demands of specific conditions.
In this connection Comrade Leonid Brezhnev rightly stressed in his report at the meeting on the 60th anniversary of the October Revolution that the practice of world socialism has been extended and enriched, and that it would produce an even greater diversity of specific forms of socialist construction. "However, life provides confirmation that the general fundamental and inalienable features of socialist revolution and socialist construction continue to apply and retain their force....''^^*^^
``Whatever routes are chosen, the ultimate mission of the Communists is to lead the masses to the principal goal, to socialism.''^^**^^
Comrades, the Marxist-Leninist teaching on the dialectics of the general, particular, and concrete in socialist revolution and socialist construction provides the key to a correct understanding of one more fundamental question, that of the universal model of carrying out a socialist revolution and socialist construction.
The question of the universal model is one of the main questions of principle which is of tremendous methodological importance both for Marxist-Leninist theory and for revolutionary practice. It is not a new question. It was _-_-_
^^*^^ New Times, No. 45, November 1977, p. 8.
^^**^^ Ibid., p. 10.
79 posed by Marx and Engels, and constituted the main guiding principle of all their theoretical and practical activity. They proved that under certain circumstances, due to the uneven development of the world historical process, one particular social revolution and one particular society can perform, and is bound to perform, the role of universal model for other social revolutions and societies.As applied to a socialist revolution and socialist society this approach signifies that the first victorious socialist revolution can serve, and inevitably does serve, as the universal model for other socialist revolutions, just as the first socialist society can serve, and inevitably does serve, as the universal model for future socialist societies.
What is meant here is not, of course, a mechanical copying of the experience of any one particular country with its own specific national character, but those essential features which stem from the general laws of socialist revolution and socialist construction, which have manifested themselves or have been realised in countries where a socialist revolution has been accomplished.
Herein lies the world historic significance of the experience of the Great October Revolution and existing socialism, which represent an organic unity of the general, the particular, and the concrete in the development of the new social system. The October Revolution was the first to open the way for the operation of universal laws and demonstrated in practice their demands, which no socialist revolution can ignore. In this connection, objecting to an attempt to present the October Revolution as a purely Russian phenomenon, Lenin wrote: "All the primary features of our revolution, and many of its secondary features, are of international significance in the meaning of its effect on all countries. .. . The Russian model... reveals to all countries something-and something highly significant-of their near and inevitable future.''^^*^^
_-_-_^^*^^ V. I. Lenin, Collected Works. Vol. 31, pp. 21, 22. 80
80The history of the post-October socialist revolutions and the building of socialism in many countries shows beyond any doubt that the October Revolution is truly the prototype, a kind of giant "experimental laboratory" for all the revolutions of the twentieth century, for all the class battles of the proletariat and other strata of working people that make up the content of the transition from capitalism to socialism throughout the world.
That is why it is no coincidence that despite the diversity of methods and forms they use to misrepresent the ideas of the October Revolution, bourgeois ideologists and the revisionists have one feature in common: their desire to localise the experience and lessons of the October Revolution, to belittle their importance, and overemphasise Russia's real and imaginary specific features. Following a tradition established in bourgeois literature, the ``experts'' in anti-communism are trying even today to present the October Revolution as the result of a combination of ``accidental'' circumstances in Russia, as a "purely Russian phenomenon'', as a socialist revolution in an underdeveloped country, and to prove the "limited relevance" of its experience, and the inapplicability of Leninism to the economically developed countries of the West. Today, our class adversaries rely heavily on various ``geopolitical'' concepts, and on attempts at ``deleting'' the Leninist stage in the development of Marxism from the history of socialist thought and the experience of the October Revolution, the CPSU, and the other fraternal parties in carrying out socialist revolutions and building a new society from the history of the international working-class movement.
This purpose has been served by numerous ``projects'', ``studies'', and ``models'' of socialism over the past thirty years, beginning with the now discredited ideas of " national socialism'', "democratic socialism'', and "socialism with a human face'', and ending with the latest model-" Eurocommunism''. All these theories are being sedulously __PRINTERS_P_81_COMMENT__ 6---327 81 propagated. The only thing the bourgeois ideologists and opportunists of all hues do not recommend and stubbornly fight against is the experience of the October Revolution and the existing socialism.
That is why we must be united. Unjustified faultfinding and disassociation from existing socialism is not just a theoretical problem or a problem of relations between Communist parties. It is most directly bound up with the preservation of the gains of the October Revolution, with defence of existing socialism and the interests of the working class in every country, with detente, with the prospects for preventing war, and with the consolidation of peace and social progress.
Therefore today, when our revolutionary doctrine has triumphed in theory and in practice, when the October Revolution and existing socialism have proved the objective character of the laws discovered by Marxism-Leninism, it is our common class duty to consolidate our internationalist unity and cherish our most precious possession-the ideas and cause of the Great October Revolution; to steadfastly defend existing socialism as the main conquest of the international working class in the struggle against capital, as the main bulwark of the advance towards the ultimate aims of the workers' movement; to fight consistently and to the end against anti-Sovietism, this concentrated expression and most malignant form of modern anticommunism, and for the complete triumph of MarxismLeninism.
Comrades, the world historic significance of the experience of the October Revolution and the vitality of the Marxist-Leninist theory of the general and the particular in socialist revolution and socialist construction have also been fully borne out by the history of the Bulgarian Communist Party. Our Party has always made clear that the deep-going revolutionary transformations in the People's Republic of Bulgaria would have been inconceivable without the creative application of universal laws, Leninist 82 principles, and the rich experience of the CPSU. In this connection Comrade Todor Zhivkov again declared at the jubilee meeting in Moscow on the 60th anniversary of the October Revolution that "the road of our Bulgarian victories has been the road of the Leninisation of the Bulgarian Communist Party. And we were able to accomplish a socialist revolution in our land and in 33 years radically change Bulgaria only because Leninism and the example of the October Revolution have always been the banner of the Bulgarian Communists and the Bulgarian people''. That was our position of principle during the preparation and accomplishment of the socialist revolution in Bulgaria on 9 September 1944.
The 9 September revolution in Bulgaria is known to have been a people's democratic revolution in form, but as far as its essence and content is concerned, it was a socialist revolution from the outset. This means that the revolution in Bulgaria is a continuation of the October Revolution, a repetition of its main and basic features, a manifestation and a part of the great worldwide revolutionary transition from capitalism to socialism, and, at the same time, a specific form of revolutionary struggle determined by the socio-economic, military, and political conditions in Bulgaria and Eastern Europe at the end of the Second World War due to the victorious offensive of the Soviet Army against Hitler Germany.
Proceeding from Soviet experience and the general laws of socialist construction, the BCP produced a number of guidelines and decisions characteristic for the building of socialism in our country, which we regard as our contribution to the development and enrichment of MarxismLeninism and the practice of socialist construction. For example, on the basis of the Leninist teaching on the state, our Party characterised people's democracy as a new suitable form of proletarian dictatorship that corresponds to the national conditions and traditions of our country and its internationalist obligations. Thus, the BCP put into __PRINTERS_P_83_COMMENT__ 6* 83 effect Lenin's prevision concerning the diversity of state forms of proletarian dictatorship. Our experience in applying Lenin's co-operative plan also has distinctive Bulgarian features. The BCP introduced co-operative agricultural farms as socialist enterprises and a new form of socialist reconstruction ot agriculture without nationalisation of land. Our Party can also be credited with its original elaboration of questions connected with the establishment, consolidation, and development of the Patriotic Front in socialist conditions. In keeping with the Marxist-Leninist teaching on allies of the working class and with the traditions of our historical development, the Bulgarian Agrarian People's Union was preserved as the second ruling party in the political structure of our society. It accepts the Programme of the BCP, recognises our Party's leading role in society, and acts as its loyal ally.
Of exceptional importance for the all-round improvement of the theoretical and practical activity of the BCP in creatively applying the experience of the CPSU and the Great October Revolution, and the main laws of social development discovered by it, was the historic April (1956) Plenary Meeting of the BCP Central Committee, which set the stage for building developed socialist society in Bulgaria.
The programme of building developed socialism adopted by the Party at its 10th Congress crowns years of hard work by the BCP Central Committee headed by Comrade Todor Zhivkov, by all Bulgarian Communists to find optimal forms and methods of combining the international with the national, the general with the particular, and theory with practice. In elaborating this programme we based ourselves on the laws inherent in the building of developed socialism which originally were developed and applied in the USSR, namely:~
--- ensuring a high level of development of the productive forces through the use of the latest achievements of the scientific and technological revolution;~
84--- gradual development of the economic basis by enhancing socialist property in its two principal forms (state and co-operative) and their gradual drawing together and mutual enrichment;~
--- constant improvement of the wellbeing of the working people, which is the principal aim of the socialist national economy;~
--- strict observance and improvement of the socialist principle of distribution according to work as the main form of distribution;~
--- progressive modification of the social structure by enhancing the leading role of the working class, strengthening its alliance with other strata of the population, consolidating the unity of the entire society, and increasing its social homogeneity;~
--- growth of the state of proletarian dictatorship into a socialist state of the whole people; deepening and securing the all-round development of socialist democracy;~
--- further enhancement of the educational and cultural level of the people, of their political awareness and ideological maturity; the moulding of a scientific, MarxistLeninist world outlook of the working people;~
--- promotion of all-round co-operation with the fraternal socialist countries;~
--- heightening the leading role of the Communist and Workers' parties in all areas of society's life as the main condition for the triumph of socialism and communism.
The experience of the CPSU and our own experience show that mature socialism is an indispensable stage in the development of the socialist phase of the communist formation. It is a necessary stage before embarking on the building of communism.
It is on the basis of these principles that the BCP now pursues the policy of building developed socialism in Bulgaria. Among the important elements of this policy we list the organic fusion of the advantages of socialism with the latest results of the scientific and technological 85 revolution; further improvement of social production and the raising of its efficiency; transition to higher forms of social organisation of production such as economic associations and combines and agro-industrial and industrial-agrarian complexes; introduction of profit-and-loss accounting not only in individual organisations, but in all economic ministries; development and improvement of forms of socialist property and the creation of conditions for the formation of common socialist property; development of the socialist way of life, and the like. On the basis of this programme we are constantly perfecting our political system, which ensures the development of socialist democracy and enables us to combine state and public forms of management ever more closely, to introduce the social and state principle of management, to draw millions of working people into active administration of the affairs of society.
As a result of the consistent implementation of the line of building developed socialist society as given in the decisions of the llth Congress of the BCP, the People's Republic of Bulgaria will make the next major step forward in laying the material and technical foundations of mature socialism, in further improving social relations, promoting the all-round development of the individual, and paving the way to gradual transition to communism.
The Party's general line of building socialism and communism includes, as its basic element, fraternal friendship and co-operation with the great Party of Lenin and the Soviet Union. This friendship and co-operation have become a vital concern, the destiny of the entire Bulgarian people, and, at the same time, a great material force in our socialist advance. Today, this friendship has risen to a new, higher stage, a stage in which there is even closer co-- operation and drawing together at all levels between our two countries and peoples. Our experience has shown that the course towards drawing the socialist countries closer together with the USSR is governed by objective laws and is a decisive factor in each country's development and advance 86 to communism. This policy of drawing closer to the Soviet Union in all areas and of bilateral and multilateral cooperation with other socialist countries reflects the objective tendency towards the internationalisation of the whole of the economic, political, and spiritual life of the peoples and bears out Lenin's brilliant prediction "of a single world economy, regulated by the proletariat of all nations as an integral whole and according to a common plan''.^^*^^
This line, further developed during the visit of our Party and government delegation headed by Comrade Todor Zhivkov to the Soviet Union at the end of May and the beginning of June 1977, accords with the vital interests of our two countries and of the entire socialist community. It is our common striving to make the relations between the People's Republic of Bulgaria and the Soviet Union now and in future a model of relations between two socialist states, an example of socialist internationalism in action.
We have always regarded the theoretical guidelines and decisions of the Bulgarian Communist Party, their practical realisation in building socialism, as our Party's distinctive creative approach to the national and other specific features of objective conditions and as a further development and enrichment of the experience and cause of the Great October Socialist Revolution. That is why the path traversed by the People's Republic of Bulgaria since 9 September 1944 is one more great triumph for the October Revolution and for the ideas of Leninism in Bulgaria.
_-_-_^^*^^ V. I. Lenin, Collected Works, Vol. 31, p. 147.
[87] __ALPHA_LVL1__ THE OCTOBER REVOLUTIONCARLOS RAFAEL RODRIGUEZ
MEMBER OF THE POLITICAL BUREAU AND CC SECRETARIAT
OF THE COMMUNIST PARTY OF CUBA AND DEPUTY CHAIRMAN
OF THE STATE COUNCIL AND COUNCIL OF MINISTERS
OF THE REPUBLIC OF CUBA
Sixty years ago the gunshot fired from the cruiser Aurora was heard in all parts of the world. Rising like a tidal wave this shot and the triumphant battle cries of the Petrograd workers and sailors. storming the Winter Palace reached all the then oppressed peoples. Though the forms of oppression were different, the consequences of unbridled capitalist and imperialist exploitation were the same-- misery, hunger, and bloodshed.
Almost half a century earlier, Marx pointed out in the Charter of the International Working Men's Association that a socialist revolution would inevitably be international: "The emancipation of labour,'' he said, "is neither a local nor a national, but a social problem, embracing all countries in which modern society exists... .''^^*^^
That is why in his recent speech Leonid Brezhnev said on behalf of all Soviet people that although the problems the October Revolution resolved were primarily those posed by history and the concrete conditions of the country today celebrating its 60th anniversary, "basically, however, these were not local but general problems posed before the whole of mankind by social development. The _-_-_
^^*^^ Karl Marx and Frederick Engels, Selected Works, Vol. 2, p. 19.
88 epochal significance of the October Revolution lies precisely in the fact that it opened the road to the solution of these problems and thereby to the creation of a new type of civilisation on earth''.^^*^^The record of these 60 years; the emergence of powerful socialist states on different continents; the existence of the socialist community in which many millions of men and women looking to the future place their hopes and which is an example for these millions; the fact that the Soviet Union is the vanguard of this community, and the spread of socialist trends among the working class and technical intelligentsia-all this, in contrast to the econo-. mic, political, and moral crisis bringing the capitalist system nearer to its downfall each day, is at this historic junction the most impressive proof of the international influence of the October Revolution.
We Cuban Communists, modest builders of socialism in a country where socialism emerged for the first time in conditions of modern neo-colonialism, would like to express our views on the influence which the Red October of 1917 has exercised on the development of the peoples' struggle for the abolition of the colonial oppression that held down hundreds of millions of men and women sixty years aqo.
Lenin, who together with the Bolshevik Party he had created, led the October Revolution and founded the first socialist state, showed great political insight when, long before 1917, he described the policies of European SocialDemocrats as opportunist, and stressed that as a result of extensive colonial policy, part of the European proletariat found itself in a position when it was not its labour, but the labour of the practically enslaved natives in the colonies, that maintained the whole of society.
Lenin regarded as ``monstrous'' the political creed of right-wing Social-Democrats, whom he opposed, and saw in the rising protest in Turkey, India, and China, though it _-_-_
^^*^^ New Times, No. 45, November 1977, p. 5.
89 was not yet free from bourgeois-democratic class sentiments, signs pointing to future revolutionary upheavals. "The class-conscious European worker,'' Lenin said, "now has comrades in Asia, and their number will grow by leaps and bounds.''^^*^^Lenin's thought was greatly influenced by Marx's idea of preconditions for revolution, set out in his study of the British colonisation of India. According to Ho Chi Minh, Lenin was the first revolutionary in modern Europe who understood the significance of the struggle of Asian peoples on the eve of the October Revolution. When the imperialists were preparing for the First World War and rejecting the economic and political protests of the then weak working class of Europe, and when Asia was considered backward and politically dormant, Lenin said: "The awakening of Asia and the beginning of the struggle for power by the advanced proletariat of Europe are a symbol of the new phase in world history that began early this century.''^^**^^
Today, 60 years later, we see the beginning of this new historical phase, the importance of which was only vaguely visible in November 1917, as a crucial point separating our epoch from the past centuries which Engels called the prehistory of mankind.
To the peoples of the colonial and neo-colonial countries the October Revolution was a momentous event which demonstrated for the first time in history that despite numerous defeats, the oppressed were capable of "storming the sky''. To the millions of people on the Asian continent and in the countries of Africa and Latin America the October Revolution was a living example of how an old autocratic empire built on national oppression was turned into a free community of equal nations, and how these nations were helped develop their resources to _-_-_
^^*^^ V. I. Lenin, Collected Works, Vol. 15, p. 185.
^^**^^ Ibid., Vol. 19, p. 86.
90 the extent where they were transformed into sovereign and autonomous republics working for progress, economic growth and cultural advance.I do not speak now of Finland, which also won the right to self-determination as a result of the victory of the Great October Revolution. What was important was the attitude of the victorious proletariat to the outlying areas in the Asian part of the country. Lenin noted this in his address, "To the Communists of Turkestan'', in November 1919, saying: "The establishment of proper relations with the peoples of Turkestan is now of immense, epochal importance for the Russian Socialist Federative Soviet Republic.
``The attitude of the Soviet Workers' and Peasants' Republic to the weak and hitherto oppressed nations is of very practical significance for the whole of Asia and for all the colonies of the world, for thousands and millions of people.''^^*^^
Today, 60 years later, we see the triumph of the national policy Lenin had carefully guarded against any deviations. Over these six decades it has inspired the oppressed peoples with hope that their revolutionary struggle, too, can win.
The fact that the unwise behaviour and erroneous political stand of the Chinese leadership has led revolutionary China to the road of betrayal and collusion with the most reactionary imperialist powers, thereby jeopardising the country's socialist gains, cannot detract from the profound historical significance of the Chinese revolution, the second of the great revolutions of its time that undermined the foundations of the power of capitalists and imperialists.
No one can question the great impact and influence of the October Revolution on the emergence of revolutionary China and on the growth of the political awareness of Chinese workers and peasants who made the 1949--50 _-_-_
^^*^^ V. I. Lenin, Collected Works, Vol. 30, p. 138.
91 victory possible. Li Ta Chao, one of the founders and leaders of the Communist Party of China, welcomed the October Revolution with these words: "From this moment on, the victorious banners of the Bolsheviks will be seen in all parts of the world and their victorious songs will be heard everywhere.... The dawn of freedom has come. The world of tomorrow will be a world of the red banner.''No matter how hard the deserters of the revolutionary process may try to ignore these words, the books in which these words are recorded are preserved in libraries of many countries. No matter how hard these traitors may try to make people forget these words, there will remain books with Mao Tse-tung's own statements acknowledging that "the salvoes of the October Revolution" brought Marxism to China-
The influence of the October Revolution can be seen not only in the shaping of the Chinese revolutionary ideology, not only in the efforts to create the Chinese Communist Party and to build solidarity in face of the brutal persecutions of Chiang Kai-shek. The impact of the October Revolution on revolutionary China is also evident from Sun Yat-sen's testament, whose significance is becoming increasingly clear. The founder of the Chinese Republic advised his comrades and successors always to remain close to and friends of the Soviet Union and Lenin's Party.
History cannot be remade. That the declaration of war on Japan by the Soviet Union played a decisive role in the revolutionary process in China was recognised by all at the time. It was not for nothing that the telegram to the Soviet Government on behalf of the Chinese people signed by Mao Tse-tung and Chu Teh, read in part: "Warmly welcome declaration of war on Japan by the Soviet Union.'' In his last period, one of degeneration and egocentrism, Mao Tse-tung was wrong when he attacked the glorious country of Lenin. He was right when, twenty years earlier, he declared before the Party and the Chinese people that "with the help of our great ally, the Soviet 92 Union, and other fraternal countries and thanks to the support of all fraternal countries in the world and all those who are in sympathy with us, we do not in the least feel isolated''.
Comrades and friends, the Great October and its revolutionary charge fired men and women throughout the world. The foremost detachments in the remotest parts of the world have borrowed the important experience of Marxism-Leninism. As Comrade Fidel Castro said addressing the 25th Congress of the Soviet Communist Party, "No revolutionary has ever stopped feeling the inspiring support of Soviet Communists. It may be said that since the October Revolution ever new generations of revolutionaries were educated on its ideas, spirit, and principles. No other event has so influenced the minds of people, the destiny of nations, and world progress''.
In 1935, people all over the world rose against the atrocities perpetrated by fascism. The working class in capitalist countries fought in difficult conditions; the absence of unity between the Communists and Social-Democrats enabled the fascists to come to power. Though the historical seeds of the great explosion that came ten years later were already present, imperialism was still imposing its iron will on the colonial countries.
But the Communists gathered in Moscow for their 7th Comintern Congress. They came from all parts of the world. The mood at the Congress was not one of defeatism, but of militancy and confidence. In the discussion of the conditions and prospects of struggle in those vast areas of the globe that would, it seemed, remain under imperialist oppression forever, and during the drafting of the strategy and tactics of that struggle, Wang Ming spoke on behalf of the Communist parties of colonial and semi-colonial peoples, and said he believed it was necessary "to emphasise in all earnest that the growth of revolutionary forces in the colonial and semi-colonial countries was directly linked with the tremendous influence of the Great October 93 Revolution in general and with its successive historical victories in the first two five-year plan periods in particular.
``The complete and final victory of socialism in the USSR is for the colonial and economically backward peoples a practical example of how their countries can be transformed.''
The Communists of Indochina led by the great Ho Chi Minh and by the Communist Party they founded in 1930 never forgot the experience of the Soviet Union and always felt the presence at their side of the successors to those who had carried out the October Revolution. The record of their epic struggle is well known, while their feat of crushing the huge concentration of US imperialism's armed forces will forever go down in history and become part of the common heritage of nations.
It is the leaders of the Vietnamese Communists-Ho Chi Minh in the past and Le Duan at present-who showed most clearly that from its inception and development through its main stages up to the most recent battles the revolution in Indochina has always been supported and encouraged by Lenin's Party and the Soviet people.
Allow me, comrades, to refer to the Cuban revolution as one more convincing proof of what 7 November 1917 means for the peoples fighting against imperialism.
In 1959, when the Cuban revolution was carried out, winning the sympathy and support of all progressive people and when the statements and practical work of Fidel Castro and his associates left no doubt that the revolution was developing along socialist lines, professional antiSoviet theorists and ``leftist'' spokesmen appeared on the scene in great numbers. They prattled about a non-existent third road of development and the peculiarity of the Cuban revolution (which, indeed, no one has ever denied) in an attempt to counterpose this "third road" to the historic road begun by the October Revolution and the triumph of which we celebrate today on its 60th anniversary.
94Jean-Paul Sartre, whose political vacillations are well known, said that the Cuban revolution was a "revolution devoid of ideology''. Sweezy and Hubermann, two progressively-minded Americans who at that time were under the influence of Chinese views and who were later compelled by history itself to renounce these views, expressed similar ideas.
There was nothing new in this. For when socialist trends had just begun to develop in the revolutionary process in Cuba, attempts were made to steer the struggle of the Cuban proletariat in a direction leading away from Marxism. Back in 1905, Carlos Balino who had fought in the war against Spain for Cuba's independence together with Jose Marti, and who later became one of the founders of the Communist Party of Cuba, criticised those who, he said, sought a "special type of socialism" for Cuba. "This special type ot socialism,'' Balino said, "would have a lot of the special, but nothing socialist about it.'' Later, another founder of the Communist Party of Cuba, Julio Antonio Mella, speaking against Aprism shortly before he was assassinated by the Machado tyranny subservient to imperialism, declared: "To say that Marxism and hence a Communist Party or an organisation that fights for Marxism are an exotic thing for America, one would have to prove that there is no proletariat whatsoever in America, that there is no imperialism with its characteristic features as noted by all Marxists, and that the productive forces in America are different from the productive forces in Asia and Europe, and so on.. . .''
Fidel Castro put an end to all these speculations by stating on 26 July 1965: "They were unaware how well the ideas that are called Marxist-Leninist thrive in this climate.. . .''
The sources of socialism in Cuba are to be found precisely in the influence which the October Revolution exercised among the working class and part of the intelligentsia in our country.
95It is true that already in the second half of the nineteenth century there appeared Socialists in Cuba and a number of prominent people advocating Marxist ideas. However, the Socialist parties which existed prior to 7 November 1917 had many reformist and Utopian ideas. It was the gunshot from the Aurora that for the first time made the voice of Marxism-Leninism ring clear and loud. It opened real revolutionary perspectives.
The working class, which had demonstrated its political awareness in numerous strike actions, embarked on the correct road.
In 1921, the Workers' Federation of Havana sent a message of greetings to Lenin welcoming the Soviet revolution. In a reply to Lenin's appeal to help the workers of besieged socialist Russia overcome hunger, Carlos Balino declared that "the workers of Cuba wish wholeheartedly to make a contribution of their own to the strengthening of the Soviet Republic, the most important revolutionary gain which the peoples have ever secured. The Cuban workers prompted by their political consciousness and sense of duty will share their last crust of bread with their Russian comrades. For it is a question of rescuing the heroic proletarian republic...''.
In July 1922, the Socialist Group of Havana decided to break with the Second International and declared its full support for the Communist International.
In January 1924, after the death of Vladimir Ilyich Lenin, the municipal council of Regla, a town across the bay from Havana decided to commemorate Lenin's name by planting a tree in the town square at the very moment when the coffin bearing the body of the great leader of the international proletariat would be placed in the Mausoleum on January 27.
In August 1925, Havana workers prepared to give a warm welcome to the seamen of the Soviet merchant vessel Waclaw Worowski, and when the authorities banned this, Julio Antonio Mella, founder of the student 96 federation of Havana University, who later became a Communist leader, went to the ship in a boat and handed a Cuban flag to the Soviet seamen.
And it was in August 1925 that Mella, Balino, and other comrades founded the first Communist Party of Cuba.
No one has described the significance of the first Marxist-Leninist movement in Cuba better than Fidel Castro. In his speech at the celebrations of the 50th anniversary of the first Marxist-Leninist Party in Cuba and in his report at the 1st Congress of the Communist Party of Cuba he noted the staunchness, heroism, and devotion of the Cuban Communists throughout a long and difficult period. He particularly praised their persistent propagation of Marxism-Leninism.
Defence of the first socialist state and propaganda of the achievements of Soviet power as an example for the Cuban Communists have always held a central place in their work. In the 40s, before our revolution, Marxist publishers put out Lenin's works and many books and pamphlets about the USSR. One book. The Soviet Power, written by Hewlett Johnson, Dean of Canterbury, was the most popular book ever to appear in Cuba before 1959. More than 75,000 copies of it were sold in a few days.
This propaganda work, and the feat of the Soviet people, who under the leadership of the CPSU defeated Hitler and his generals, and the nazi tank divisions that had swept across Europe, won the USSR great prestige, and its influence on the majority of Cuban workers, students, and intellectuals increased visibly.
And though the Creole oligarchy that ran Cuba according to instruction it received from Washington was able politically to isolate the Cuban Communists, many of whom were murdered or persecuted, it was unable to prevent the ideas of Marxism-Leninism and the influence of the Soviet Union from reaching the comrades who later carried out revolutionary changes in Cuba.
__PRINTERS_P_97_COMMENT__ 7---327 97When Jean-Paul Sartre said that a "revolution devoid of ideology" was developing in Cuba in 1959, he had not taken the trouble to ask what Fidel Castro thought about it. In December 1961, speaking on Cuban television, Fidel Castro said for the first time that when preparations for the assault of the Moncada barracks were under way in 1953, he already considered himself a Marxist-Leninist. On 26 July 1973, during the celebrations of the 20th anniversary of the assault, he elaborated on his earlier statement: "The nucleus of the leadership of our movement who, apart from doing our regular work, found time to study Marx, Engels, and Lenin considered Marxism the only rational and scientific concept of revolution.''
The revolutions in China, Vietnam, and Cuba, if one is to judge by the number of people of these countries liberated from colonial and imperialist oppression, are historically the three most important revolutions that had taken place under the influence of the glorious October, whose anniversary we are celebrating today. The light of the ideas of the October Revolution has reached to all corners of the world. We can see it in Angola, Mozambique and Guinea-Bissau; it illuminates the path of fighters in Zimbabwe, Namibia, and South Africa, it is reaching the vast Arab world, and its radiance instils hope in people tormented by torturers in Chile, Uruguay, Paraguay, Nicaragua, and Guatemala.
Dear comrades, I would like to conclude my speech with the following impressive episode: in 1957 a member of the Communist Youth of Cuba lying on the ground, his head fractured, raised himself a little and told his butchers: "Look at the sky!" and, upon seeing surprise on the faces of his torturers, he said: "You blind fools, look, there is a sputnik above! Even if you kill me, you have lost! We shall win!''
The first sputnik then revolving round the Earth also embodied 7 November 1917; it also embodied the Great October Socialist Revolution.
[98] __ALPHA_LVL1__ THE 60th ANNIVERSARYDEZS\+O NEMES
MEMBER OF THE POLITICAL BUREAU OF THE HUNGARIAN
SOCIALIST WORKERS' PARTY CENTRAL COMMITTEE
AND EDITOR-IN-CHIEF OF N6PSZABADSAG
Dear comrades, the 60th anniversary of the Great October Revolution is an outstanding international political event of our time, a signal socio-political landmark in the historical process of transition from capitalism to socialism.
I would like to speak here about the celebration of this jubilee in our country.
It was with great enthusiasm that the Hungarian Socialist Workers' Party and all the working people of our country celebrated the jubilee of the Great October Revolution and the labour and combat exploits of the past 60 years along the road to advanced socialist society. In Hungary, as in the great Soviet Land and other fraternal socialist countries, the jubilee impelled an upsurge of creative work. The socialist emulation movement gained fresh momentum. The experience of the Great October Socialist Revolution and its global significance are being studied with deep care. More research is being conducted into the historic implications of the building of the world's first socialist society, the process of socialism growing into a worldwide system, and the historic contest and 99 Emacs-File-stamp: "/home/ysverdlov/leninist.biz/en/1978/TOLI198/20070620/198.tx" __EMAIL__ webmaster@leninist.biz __OCR__ ABBYY 6 Professional (2007.06.20) __WHERE_PAGE_NUMBERS__ bottom __FOOTNOTE_MARKER_STYLE__ [*]+ __ENDNOTE_MARKER_STYLE__ [0-9]+ struggle of the two world systems. There is a growing understanding of the Soviet Union's role in the radical changes in the world over the past 60 years.
The jubilee of the Great October Revolution and the study of its lessons and international significance includes, in our country, analysis of its impact on the Hungarian working-class movement and progressive forces. We cannot help recalling here the Hungarian Soviet Republic created in March 1919 under the influence of the ideas of the October Revolution. The fact that the Soviet Land repulsed all imperialist attacks and scored great victories in building the new life in face of many obstacles was of tremendous moral and political significance for the Hungarian working-class movement in the difficult period of counter-revolution and in the period of the fascist Horthy regime established after the military intervention of the Entente. This gave hope to the working class and its allies, tormented and humiliated by the counter-- revolution, and enabled them to believe that they would regain their freedom soon and again take power.
Then came the days of decisive change in the destiny of the Hungarian people. This was in 1944--45, when the Soviet Army, the army of liberation, drove the nazi hordes out of our land, opening the way to the national democratic rebirth of the Hungarian people.
This makes it quite clear, I hope, that the working people of our country are keenly aware of the historic significance of the Great October Revolution and of the mission of liberation performed by the Soviet Union in the course of the Second World War, and of the fact that the Soviet Union bore the brunt of the burden of that war. Marking the jubilee of the October Revolution we recall with special gratitude those who laid down their lives in the fight for freedom and whose memory will live forever in the hearts of the Hungarian people.
Hungary's embarking on the road of socialist construction and the historic successes achieved on that road 100 further deepened the ideological and political consciousness of our people.
It must be noted, however, that the former leadership committed adventuristic and criminal mistakes, which were exploited by the external and internal enemies to create ideological and political confusion in the 50s. They encouraged in every way those political figures whom they hoped to employ for their purposes, played them up as "true Marxists" and attempted a counter-revolutionary uprising in 1956. Events have shown that distortion of Leninist policy, adventurism, ``left'', right, or any other deviations, may lead to dangerous consequences even despite important economic and cultural achievements.
Reorganising its ranks in the course of the battle against the counter-revolutionary uprising, our Party did much to expose overt and covert enemies, and succeeded by persuasion to bring back to the true path those misled and deceived by enemy propaganda. This required rectification of earlier mistakes and elaboration of a truly Leninist policy suiting the actual conditions of socialist construction in the country. This was accomplished by the new leadership headed by Comrade Janos Kadar. The developments of the past 20 years have shown that correct application of the ideas of the Great October Revolution yields good results.
Our country embarked on building socialism in the course of socialism's transformation into a world system, and became a member of the new community of socialist states. In this, like the other fraternal countries, Hungary was helped in every way by the Soviet Union and benefited by its extensive experience of building socialism as the world's first socialist state. It is true that the correct answer to the question of how to apply a fraternal country's experience-in a mechanical or creative manner-depends on the policy of the Party and government, on their ability to implement a truly Leninist course. This in turn requires consistent creative work.
101The study and application of the experience of the fraternal countries, especially the rich experience of the Soviet Union, is one of the key factors in our country's successful development. The Hungarian people have a deep understanding of the significance of this, and this has been largely instrumental in furthering Hungarian-Soviet friendship which has its roots in the profound solidarity of the Hungarian workers with their Russian brothers, and in making that friendship indestructible.
We can safely say that the celebration of the anniversary of the Great October Revolution has given added momentum to the ideological and political education of Communists and all working people in Hungary.
Permit me to say a few words about the international ideological struggle that has erupted in connection with this jubilee of the October Revolution. It is well known that from the very moment the Soviet state came into existence, international reaction has made anti-Sovietism the basis of its propaganda. Since socialism has become a world system, capitalist anti-Soviet propaganda has been supplemented by propaganda against other socialist countries, though it is still spearheaded against the Soviet Union, the bastion of socialism and of mankind's progress in general.
It is the order of the day to expose and refute all antiSoviet slander in order successfully to combat the dominance of capitalist monopolies and all imperialist manoeuvres, and to fight for the power of the people, for socialism.
Anti-Sovietism is the chief ideological and political weapon of international reaction in its struggle against socialism and universal progress. Anti-Sovietism is also employed by those who conspire with the imperialists, resort to unscrupulous manoeuvring, and give direct support to the military preparations of the imperialist states. Some Peking leaders, having failed in their attempts to impose Maoism on the world communist movement, are 102 now calling on the capitalist states to join them in fighting the USSR. Yet, these Chinese leaders still call themselves ``Communists''.
It is appropriate here to recall Comrade Kadar's words that "there is no such thing as anti-Soviet communism, nor can there be'', and this either in Chinese or any other garb.
The world working-class movement and the world antiimperialist front hope that the leadership of the People's Republic of China will return to the path of friendship and unity with other socialist countries and all the anti-- imperialist forces of the world. This would accord with the vital interests of the Chinese people and help strengthen all progressive forces in the anti-imperialist struggle.
Despite malicious anti-Soviet propaganda, the forces of socialism and progress are scoring ever new victories. Evidence of this is the impressive scope of the celebration of the 60th anniversary of the Great October Socialist Revolution in all parts of the world.
[103] __ALPHA_LVL1__ SOCIALISM---THE ROADLUIS CORVALAN
GENERAL SECRETARY OF THE COMMUNIST PARTY OF CHILE
__NOTE__ Author(s) appear above LVL heading in original.Dear comrades, the 60th anniversary of the Great October Socialist Revolution is being celebrated in all parts of the world, and this is the most vivid and direct proof of its influence on present-day development. This jubilee has really become a world holiday- The fact that the celebrations in Moscow were attended by delegations of Communist and Workers' parties, national liberation movements, Socialist parties, socialist and revolutionary-democratic states, trade union, youth, and other mass organisations from 104 countries, reflects the significance of the October Revolution for the working class, the popular masses, and all progressive mankind.
The worldwide response to the report of Comrade Leonid Brezhnev at the Palace of Congresses meeting on November 2, and particularly, to his proposal for the simultaneous termination by all states of the manufacture of nuclear weapons and the prohibition of all tests of these weapons, clearly shows the great role of the Soviet Union in world politics.
The impact of the Great October Revolution is felt in all political and social affairs of our day. It is seen in the awakening of many hundreds of millions of people, in their struggle and their aspirations, in the victory of socialism in a great part of the world, in the collapse of the 104 disgraceful imperialist colonial system, and in the emergence of an international atmosphere conducive to stable peace.
The class struggle is acquiring unprecedented scope- Of historic significance for its outcome is the growth of the might of socialism in contrast to capitalism. Every fresh success in the building of the new society generates an upswing in the struggle of the working class and the masses of people in countries still dominated by capital. In this sense the celebration of the 60th anniversary of the Great October Socialist Revolution underlines and shows to all nations the enormous advances made by the Soviet people as a result of their selfless creative work under the leadership of the Communist Party. And I do not mean the Soviet Union's colossal achievements in the material sphere only, but also the social, cultural, and political achievements that have been placed at the service of the people. It has been demonstrated once again that socialism is a society that guarantees real rights, a society in which these rights are being made more comprehensive as it advances to communism. The recent discussion and adoption of the new Constitution of the USSR provides a good example of socialist democracy in action in the period of mature socialism.
All this has become possible thanks to the fact that 60 years ago the Russian proletariat led by Lenin and the Bolsheviks, and standing at the head of the mass of the working people, did away with the exploitation of man by man. This created a basis for advance to real democracy and full implementation of human rights.
In terms of history the overthrow of tsarist autocracy and bourgeois-landlord power and their replacement by a state of the dictatorship of the proletariat constituted an act which opened the way to the triumph of true democracy. This act in itself was a great victory for democracy. Furthermore, the elimination of all forms of national oppression, the solution of a problem which had for 105 thousands of years caused suffering and oppression of whole nations and national minorities, is another historic contribution of the October Revolution to man's emancipation and the attainment of genuine democracy, justice, and equality. In conditions of developed socialism and the absence of class antagonisms the proletarian dictatorship took its next step, creation of the state of the whole people, which also meant a further development of democracy.
This is the main thing. It proves the profoundly democratic character of socialism and is a practical reflection of the mission of the working class which in attaining its own liberation also liberates the whole of society. Communism leads to the freedom of nations, to a genuine recognition of human rights, and to a limitless development of the individual.
Many difficulties had to be overcome as socialism was being built. Mistakes could not be altogether avoided and the Soviet Communists were the first to point them out and correct them. But the important thing is that mistakes were not prevalent. Let me recall a statement made by the founder of our Party, Luis Emilio Recabarren. He visited Moscow in the early years of Soviet government, and on returning to Chile, said: "I did not go to Russia to gather details on some particular subject, I did not need this for my purpose. I went there to see the most important, the basis on which the future is being built.... And it was a joy for me to see that full political and economic power was really in the hands of Russia's working people, and from what I saw there is no force in the world that could wrest power from the Russian proletariat that has won it.''
Those who face up to reality will admit that without the support and the inspired and selfless effort of the Soviet people, the only creator of all the achievements of socialism in this part of the world. Soviet power would not have been able to withstand the united onslaught of internal reaction and imperialist intervention during the hard years of the Civil War, to carry out the gigantic creative 106 task of completing the building of socialism, to repulse the barbarous attack of nazi Germany and win, or to make good the ravages of war in so short a time; it would not have been able to enter the stage of developed socialism and to be what we see it today.
The Soviet Union accomplishes the tasks it sets every day, every week, every month, every year, and in every five-year period, and this will enable it to reach its historic goal-the building of a society of complete freedom.
Great successes have been achieved, but much remains to be done. And this is only natural. As our fine compatriot Gabriela Mistral said, if everything were already done, life would be very dull. But in your country, which is steadily and rapidly advancing along the road of progress in all spheres of human activity, no one has ever known boredom, nor will any one ever know boredom, because everyone is a creator, working in freedom for the good of society, conscious of being brother, friend, and comrade to his countrymen, and seeing his country and environment in a new way with eyes, mind, and heart.
On the 50th anniversary of the Great October Revolution, Pablo Neruda said that the Soviet Union had in its 50 years taught man what he had not learned in the previous 50 centuries, namely, that a republic of working people can do better than an exploiter state and that it does not need colonies, wars, or superstitions to add to its strength.
In the capitalist world the question of freedom, democracy, and human rights is the crucial question in the noble struggle for justice and social emancipation fought by the working class headed by Communists, in alliance with the mass of the people.
We all know that objectively the transition to capitalism meant that humanity had made considerable progress towards democracy. The bourgeoisie proclaimed the personal rights and equality before the law of every citizen, alongside freedom of trade, including purchase and sale of 107 lahour power and the right to the private ownership of the means of production. This order was fraught with deep social conflict leading to discrepancies between word and deed and giving rise to intolerable limitations in the practical exercise of democracy. Sale of labour power and private appropriation of the social product constitute a negation of basic human rights and consistent democracy.
In this situation, with the contradictions of capitalism becoming increasingly acute, it has been possible, above all owing to the struggle of the working class and the mass of the people, to preserve valuable democratic gains in some capitalist countries, such as universal suffrage, representative bodies of power and subordination of the authority to the will of the citizenry, all, of course, within the limits provided by the system I have mentioned. Among these gains there are also some important political and personal rights and liberties of the working people.
But apart from being incomplete, these gains are constantly threatened. The monopoly bourgeoisie is out to strike down democracy, to do away with the gains of the working people, violating the law and imposing arbitrary rule to promote its own interests. However active the struggle for democracy, democratic rights under capitalism can never be stable, and the danger of fascism-the striking force of the more aggressive monopoly circles-be it great or small, open or hidden, always prevails.
What has happened in Chile is proof of what I have just said. It was not an isolated event of merely local significance. Fascism, with its typical crimes so monstrous that it is difficult even to name them, with its encroachments on all democratic institutions, has also appeared in other Latin American countries, namely Brazil, Uruguay, and other countries. Several countries on this continent have been suffering under the yoke of fascist or pro-fascist reactionary dictatorships for decades. In South Africa, Rhodesia, and Namibia, extreme reaction has taken another brutal form-racialism. Something of a similar nature can be seen 108 in Indonesia, South Korea and Thailand. The monstrous doings of the anti-democratic forces are set in motion by transnational monopolies. The point is that, to use Lenin's expression, reactionary forces are active in all spheres.
However, fascism is not the prevailing tendency in the world- It is not fascism that scores victories on our continent. The fascist Pinochet dictatorship is in isolation inside the country and on the world scene, and even some reactionary quarters are reluctant to side with this dirty regime. In Chile, just as in Brazil, Uruguay, and Bolivia, the tide is turning. The fascist dictatorships are disintegrating, while the anti-fascist front is gaining strength and the struggle of the peoples in these countries is now on the upgrade.
Like the struggle for peace and complete national independence, we regard the struggle for democracy, as a point of confluence of the three great revolutionary forces of today: the socialist camp, the working class and its allies in capitalist countries, and the national liberation movement. We attach prime importance to this battle.
It was proved more than 30 years ago that fascism is not invincible. The collapse of the fascist dictatorships in Portugal, Greece, and Spain and the victories of the peoples of Angola and other countries show that the world has taken a path different from the one fancied by fascists and reactionaries.
The fact that this has become possible, that nations which were weak and defenceless yesterday can successfully defend their freedom and independence today, illustrates another great contribution of the October Revolution to the struggle for national and human rights.
Of particular importance for the struggle for democracy and freedom in capitalist countries or in countries dominated by imperialism is a principled approach to this problem, exposure of the real enemies of human rights, exposure of the system whose very essence means violation of these rights, and the ability to see where is the strongest 109 foundation of true democracy and the most reliable support for the struggle of all peoples for their lawful rights.
The Soviet Union and other socialist countries have contributed to democracy, freedom, and human rights by virtue of the benefits the revolution and socialism have brought to their people, and as a result of their efforts in this direction on the world scene. Thanks to the Soviet Union which played the decisive role in the rout of German fascism, not only the occupied Soviet territory was liberated, but also all of Europe, and humanity was saved from the domination of the most brutal, anti-- democratic regime, all this eventually leading to the downfall of the colonial empires. Scores of young states have embarked on the road of independent political life; their people were liberated from the most barbarous forms of oppression and exploitation. In the USSR they have found a true friend who has given them help and solidarity and who never seeks any advantages by trying to exploit their raw material resources, and resorts to any of the methods used by imperialist states.
Last but not least, the policy of peace and peaceful coexistence, a policy pursued by the Soviet state ever since it was founded, is of paramount importance for the defence of human rights. Man has no greater wish than tc live in a world without wars. This provides the only guarantee that the human race will survive. The efforts of the Soviet Union to put a stop to the arms race, ban the proliferation of nuclear weapons, and prevent contamination of the environment by atomic tests and other harmful actions, as well as the concrete Soviet disarmament proposals, constitute the main factors in the effective defence of human rights in our time.
We know that not all upright people have yet been able to arrive at a correct answer to this range of questions, but we are certain that the course of events and our struggle will in the long run prove that socialism and democracy are indivisible.
[110] __ALPHA_LVL1__ THE OCTOBER REVOLUTIONNGUEN KHANH TOAN
CHAIRMAN OF THE COUNCIL OF SOCIAL SCIENCES OF THE SOCIALIST REPUBLIC OF VIETNAM
__NOTE__ Author(s) appear above LVL heading in original.Dear comrades, in the festive atmosphere of the great jubilee scientists and cultural workers of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam are happy to share with their Soviet and foreign colleagues the general elation filling the hearts of millions of people on earth in connection with the celebration of the 60th anniversary of the Great October Socialist Revolution.
We offer our heartfelt thanks to the Soviet Land, the homeland of Lenin, the genius and great teacher of the working class and the oppressed peoples of the world and immortal architect of the world's first proletarian state, who showed all the peoples the way to freedom, independence, equality, happiness, peace, and friendship.
We are deeply grateful to the glorious Soviet people who have set and continue to set for all mankind a wonderful example of self-denial, legendary heroism, and remarkable creative endeavour in the struggle for the implementation and protection of noble, human ideals.
Dear comrades and friends, we note with pride and joy the great difference between the way the working people in foreign countries observed anniversaries of the October 111 Revolution in the pist and the way they celebrate the jubilee today.
Gone forever are the dark days when the downtrodden, utterly rightless colonial people of Vietnam were harshly persecuted, thrown into prison, sent to penal servitude, or sentenced to death for taking part in a demonstration or strike, or for distributing leaflets on the anniversary of the October Revolution.
Now that the invincible red banner of socialism is triumphantly flying under the sunny Vietnamese skies and all of Vietman has been cleared of enemies, it is with boundless love, enthusiasm, and inspiration that the independent, free, united, and socialist Vietnam is observing the 60th anniversary of the greatest event in world history, to which our people are largely indebted for their complete liberation.
All men and women-workers, peasants, servicemen, intellectuals, youth, all nationalities and all government agencies, all economic, scientific, cultural and mass institutions and organisations, the entire 50-million-strong people of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam, link their work of implementing the decisions on socialist construction of the 4th Congress of the Communist Party of Vietnam with the celebration of the October Revolution jubilee by launching with tremendous fervour a powerful socialist emulation movement for a period .of one month in honour of the 60th anniversary of the Great October Socialist Revolution.
Dear comrades and friends, all this shows that in the 60 years since the victory of the October Revolution history has taken giant strides forward, that October 1917 ushered in a new era of world history, a new phase in the life of nations, a new stage in the development of the world, a stage of triumphant socialist revolution and of the building of socialism on a global scale.
In 60 years, marching along the road of the October Revolution illuminated by Lenin, a road of hard and 112 heroic struggle for humanity's regeneration, the nations of the world have accomplished feats that bring closer humanity's transition from the realm of necessity to the realm of freedom.
In 60 years the working class, the peasantry, the advanced intelligentsia, and the progressive sections of the world population have scored great victories by destroying the old and laying the foundation of a new social order (which has aggravated and deepened the general crisis of capitalism) by developing and strengthening the world socialist system, limiting the sphere of imperialist domination and broadening the sphere of influence of the socialist states and independent nations, and by intensifying the struggle for universal peace.
In 60 years decisive blows have been dealt at capitalist domination which had lasted for centuries. In 60 years onethird of humanity has freed itself from slavery and won the right to decide its own destiny.
No doubt, it will take many more years of hard struggle to rid our planet of the forces of exploitation and enslavement. While these forces exist they will not cease to commit the most heinous crimes, causing untold suffering to people. These include aggressive wars, racial discrimination, intensified production of new weapons of mass annihilation, and incitement of bloody tribal and national conflicts, as can be seen from the current situation in some parts of the world, in particular, South and East Africa and the Middle East.
The cynicism and violence with which these "defenders of the free world'', "advocates of human rights'', and other imperialist henchmen trample upon the vital rights of the peoples are no evidence of strength. On the contrary, they speak of impotence and dread of the future.
The 60-year triumphant march of Marxist-Leninist theory and the spirit of the October Revolution has changed the relation of forces on the world scene in such a way that the advantage is no longer on the side of __PRINTERS_P_113_COMMENT__ 8---327 113 imperialism, but on the side of progressive mankind. The world of today is no longer the property of exploiters and oppressors.
This means that their attempts to reverse the course of history, no matter how refined, will end in utter failure under the combined blows of the three vigorous revolutionary streams of our time-the forces of socialism, the forces of national liberation, and the forces of democracy, social progress, and peace.
In all stages of its development world history has never before known a revolution as powerful, complete, and deep-going as the October Socialist Revolution. It resolved in a fundamental and exemplary manner, in a principled and practical way, problems posed by life, for whose solution generations had spent so much effort and shed so much blood.
This concerns the destiny not of one country or nation. At the present historical stage of capitalism's decline and socialism's ascent the dialectics of our epoch and life itself demand that the question of "who beats whom" should be posed and settled on a worldwide scale.
That is why the October Revolution shook the entire world and divided it into two opposite camps.
On the one side were the imperialists, the reactionary bourgeoisie and their agents, and opportunists of all shades who saw in the young Soviet Republic their sworn enemy and furiously attacked it with all means at their disposal, who launched an anti-Bolshevik crusade and an armed intervention of 14 capitalist powers.
On the other side were the revolutionary proletariat of all lands, the colonial peoples, all the oppressed, and all those who cherished freedom, social justice, peace, and brotherhood, who ardently welcomed the October Revolution, enthusiastically supported and courageously defended it at the cost of their lives, regarding it as their own revolution, the lodestar, the spring of mankind, a friend and a brother, and who knew and firmly believed that what 114 Soviet Russia was today the whole world would be tomorrow.
All of us know the outcome of the imperialist attempts to strangle the October Revolution 60 years ago. Young Soviet Russia emerged victorious from the first fierce clash of the two worlds, and grew to become a titan, proving to the world the unquestionable superiority of socialism over capitalism. For 60 years this superiority has been repeatedly confirmed ever more forcefully and on a growing scale.
Mankind will forever be grateful to the homeland of Lenin and the October Revolution which, marching in the vanguard of the revolutionary and democratic forces of the world and at the cost of untold sacrifice and suffering, crushed fascism, saved world civilisation, gave decisive impetus to the emergence and development of the world socialist system, and furnished the most favourable conditions for the struggle of the oppressed peoples for their national liberation, whereupon hundreds of nations shook off the imperialist yoke and achieved independence.
These days all progressive people of the world look with admiration, respect, and love at the Soviet Union where 60 years ago a historic battle was fought that decided the destiny of mankind. Thanks to Soviet Russia's victory in that battle and, later, in the most fearful ordeal of our century-the Second World War and the nazi aggressionsocialism, once an island in the capitalist ocean, has today become part of the everyday life of many peoples, a tangible reality and has created exceptionally favourable conditions for the struggle of the oppressed peoples to end the colonial domination of imperialism and secure their right to self-determination.
In the course of these historic processes the Soviet Union rapidly grew into the world's most powerful socialist country comprising 15 equal and prosperous Soviet socialist republics, a country which opened the road to outer space and has now adopted a new Constitution granting all __PRINTERS_P_115_COMMENT__ 8* 115 citizens the most vital and truly democratic rights-the world's first manifesto of developed socialism illuminating the road to the triumph of communism.
All progressive mankind regards the Soviet Union as a bulwark of freedom and civilisation, of peace and friendship among nations.
The Vietnamese people, ever grateful to Lenin, the Great October Socialist Revolution, and the heroic and fraternal Soviet people, are marching along the path indicated by Lenin, assimilating the experience of the October Revolution and the entire world revolutionary movement, and relying on the solidarity of the Soviet people and of progressive mankind. The Vietnamese revolution led by the Communist Party of Vietnam headed by the outstanding and tested Leninist, Comrade Ho Chi Minh, has scored three historic victories in 30 years.
The triumph of the August revolution and the founding of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam opened for the people of Vietnam an era of independence, freedom, and socialism and put an end to the era of colonial slavery. The victory over the French colonialists and their defeat at Dien Bien Phu led to the collapse of old colonialism. Then came the victory over the strongest imperialist aggressor, mankind's "enemy No. 1'', US imperialism. This was a complete and final victory which dealt a mighty blow at the main citadel of world imperialist domination. This victory also meant the attainment by the Vietnamese of all the aims of their century-old liberation struggle-independence, freedom, unity, peace, and socialism.
Mankind's impressive achievements in the past 60 years have been possible because our epoch, the epoch of socialism's triumph on a global scale, is permeated with the spirit of Leninist proletarian internationalism as embodied in the Great October Socialist Revolution.
Implementing the basic principles of the Marxist-Leninist theory in the concrete conditions of Vietnam, the Communist Party of Vietnam has always linked our struggle 116 for national independence with the struggle for social liberation and for socialism. The Vietnamese revolution fulfils both its national duty and its international obligations.
The solidarity of all revolutionary forces in the world is spearheaded against imperialism, the common enemy. This is the basis of the growing friendship and co-- operation among nations and a powerful factor in the victory of the socialist revolution on a world scale.
The hearts of Vietnamese people were filled with joy and gratitude when General Secretary of the CPSU Central Committee, Chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR, Comrade Brezhnev said that solidarity with Vietnam has been and remains foremost in the hearts and minds of Soviet Communists, of all Soviet people.
Dear comrades and friends, world history in the past 60 years has provided daily confirmation of all that Lenin had said even before the October Revolution about the great changes in the life of peoples in our epoch, for which the October Revolution provided the initial stimulus.
This means that Lenin's teachings constitute the only correct revolutionary science of the proletariat and all oppressed people. This was confirmed by the leader of the Vietnamese revolution. Comrade Ho Chi Minh, who said: "There are many teachings, many `isms', but the most correct, most reliable, most revolutionary is Leninism.''
What Lenin said about the position of the exploited masses under capitalism are not general phrases or abstract speculation about good and evil, but concrete and real facts. Every hired worker, be he an American or a labourer on a coffee plantation in Africa, readily understood that this directly concerned him.
The revolutionary strategy and tactics elaborated by Lenin for the overthrow of capitalism and the building of socialism provide the revolutionaries of the whole world 117 with a definite and correct answer to the question of how the enemy is to be conquered and how to create a new life for the working people.
The triumph of the Great October Socialist Revolution was above all a triumph of the most revolutionary world outlook of our time-the scientific socialism of Marx, Engels, and Lenin. This was well understood by the leader of the Vietnamese revolution, Comrade Ho Chi Minh, who said: "For us Vietnamese revolutionaries, for the entire Vietnamese people, Leninism is more than a compass. It is the sun lighting our way to the final victory, to socialism, to communism.''
Of the October Revolution he said: "It opened a new epoch, an epoch of transition from capitalism to socialism on a worldwide scale.''
Lenin and the October Revolution have shown the modern world what it needs for implementing the historic mission of the proletariat-overthrowing capitalism and building a classless society. This includes a consistent and staunch revolutionary spirit; uncompromising struggle against all varieties of opportunism; solidarity with all revolutionary and progressive forces, and, what is most important and decisive, the militant vanguard of the working class-a truly revolutionary Marxist-Leninist party-to guide the revolution.
In vain are the attempts of imperialists and all kinds of opportunists to deny the universal character and essence of Leninism, to belittle, distort, and slander the great cause of the October Revolution. Lenin's sun is shining brighter than ever in all parts of the world. The inextinguishable torch of the Great October Revolution is lighting the way for more and more millions of people throughout the world.
Comrade Ho Chi Minh said: "The Vietnamese people have scored outstanding victories along the road indicated by the great Lenin, the road of the October Revolution. That is why we feel so close and so thankful to the glorious 118 October Revolution, to the great Lenin, and the Soviet people.''
On the 60th anniversary of the Great October Socialist Revolution, allow me to express our deep gratitude to Lenin's Communist Party of the Soviet Union led by the General Secretary of the CPSU Central Committee, Comrade Brezhnev, to the Soviet Government, and the Soviet people. We warmly congratulate the fraternal Soviet people and wish them great successes in implementing the historic decisions of the 25th CPSU Congress, new outstanding victories in building the material and technical basis of communism and in strengthening their position as the bulwark of the peoples' struggle for independence, democracy, peace, and socialism.
Long live Leninism!
Long live the Great October Socialist Revolution!
Long live communism!
[119] __ALPHA_LVL1__ THE OCTOBER REVOLUTIONANDRZEJ WERBLAN
SECRETARY OF THE CENTRAL COMMITTEE
OF THE POLISH UNITED WORKERS' PARTY AND DIRECTOR
OF THE INSTITUTE OF FUNDAMENTAL PROBLEMS
OF MARXISM-LENINISM, CC PUWP
Comrades, allow me to express on behalf of the Polish participants in this important conference our gratitude for the hospitality to its organisers, the Soviet comrades.
We listened with great interest to the speech of Comrade Suslov and the report of Comrade Ponomarev. Their profound content, the ideas expressed in them provided a useful background for our work.
In this connection I would like to stress that the 60th anniversary of the Great October Socialist Revolution has not only been an impressive demonstration of the strength of socialism, the immense prestige of the Soviet Union and the CPSU, and of the indissoluble internationalist unity of Communists, but has also greatly stimulated theoretical study and ideological work. The main credit for this goes to the CPSU and Soviet science. The profound generalisation of the historic achievements of the existing socialism and of the major problems and prospects of our time, contained in Comrade Brezhnev's report at the anniversary meeting of the CPSU Central Committee, the USSR Supreme Soviet, and the RSFSR Supreme ,et, and in other speeches at that meeting, has enriched 120 Marxism-Leninism and deepened our understanding of the problems and tasks facing the Communists of all countries. We Polish Communists highly value this experience. We use it in our ideological and political work, and also contribute to it ourselves.
Comrades, the course of historical development confirms again and again, with new force, the correctness of Lenin's idea that the principal features of the October Revolution "have a significance that is not ... peculiarly national, or Russian alone, but international''.^^*^^ The October Revolution made a great impact on the development of the Polish working class and on the destiny of the Polish people. This was due to the close interconnection between the revolutionary parties of the Polish and Russian proletariat, between the victorious revolution and the break-up of the political structures of the reactionary monarchies which oppressed Poland.
The first genuinely Marxist revolutionary party of the Polish working class-the Social-Democracy of the Kingdom of Poland and Lithuania-was organisationally and ideologically kin to the Bolshevik Party. Lenin enormously influenced the political thinking and practical activity of the Polish workers' movement. He understood the Polish question better than any of his contemporaries, and his works provide convincing evidence that the Polish and Russian proletariat had similar revolutionary aims and that the Polish people's struggle for independence was connected with the class struggle for socialism.
Lenin's programme on the national question became the basis of the internationalist unity of the Polish and Russian working-class movements. In his polemics against some SDKPL leaders on the national question, Lenin sought to correct their position in keeping with the laws of socialist revolution in conditions of imperialism. With brilliant foresight Lenin saw that in the epoch of _-_-_
^^*^^ V. I. Lenin, Collected Works, Vol. 31, p. 21.
121 imperialism it was no longer possible to realise the nineteenthcentury idea of a world revolution that would at one stroke sweep away thrones and capitalism, private ownership and state boundaries, destroying all forms of oppression and injustice. Lenin saw that the road of socialist revolution would be longer and more tortuous, that a series of revolutions in different countries would have to be accomplished, leading to the emergence of socialist states and ushering in a whole epoch of confrontations and coexistence between these states and the capitalist world. Lenin foresaw that anti-imperialist, democratic aims would inevitably blend with socialist aims in the course of every future revolution, and that it was highly probable that man's road to socialism would be opened by countries that were the most ready for it politically, but backward economically and socially.Today, these assumptions are established facts, but at the turn of the century they precipitated acrimonious debate. It took great intellectual courage and revolutionary fervour to adopt this forecast as the basis of a political programme. In the historical context this courage and fervour won, inspired the masses, and changed the history of Russia, the history of Poland, and the history of the world.
The October Revolution opened Poland's way to independence; it fundamentally changed the conditions underlying the formulation of the Polish question in the international arena and at the same time led to the growth of radical and freedomloving aspirations in Poland and among Poles living in Russia. It should be recalled that in the crucial year of 1917 there were in Russia more than two and a half million Poles, immigrants from the former Kingdom of Poland. Most of them were workers of evacuated factories, peasants, soldiers, students, and former political prisoners and exiles. For instance, more than 5,000 Poles were employed in Petrograd's Putilov Works alone.
122The first Soviet revolutionary acts, specifically the Declaration of the Rights of the Peoples of Russia (15 November 1917) and the Soviet Government's decree of 29 August 1918, annulled the division of Poland as incompatible with the principle of self-determination and with the revolutionary legal consciousness of the workers and soldiers of Russia.
The fact that the aims of the Russian revolution coincided in principle with the interests of the Polish working class and the entire Polish people stimulated the mass participation of Poles living in Russia in the revolutionary struggle, in the Civil War, and in the fight against foreign intervention. The names of Felix Dzerzhinsky, Julian Marchlewski, Konstantin Rokossovsky, Karol Swierczewski, and many other splendid patriots and internationalists, fighters for the common cause, went down in the history of the Polish and Russian revolutionary working-class movement. The ranks of the defenders of the revolution were joined not only by leaders of the working-class movement, but also by many Polish workers, peasants, intellectuals, and young people who had not formerly participated in the revolutionary struggle.
The fact that in 1918--19, despite the intensive activity of the masses and the establishment of Soviets of Workers' Deputies, power in the renascent Polish state was seized by the bourgeoisie, was due to many factors. Revolutionary centres in various regions of the country found themselves isolated, while the working class, divided as it was between right and left trends, was unable fully to deploy its forces. The newly won independence satisfied the aspirations of a considerable part of society for some time and dampened the social contradictions. Capitalism was still strong ideologically, politically- and militarily, and this enabled it to hold back the development of the workers' movement.
Nevertheless, the years of revolutionary storm and stress had made a tremendous impact on the 123 consciousness of the working class and the further development of the Polish working-class movement, leading to a reappraisal of experience and acceptance of Lenin's ideas. It was precisely at this time that there was formed, as a result of the merger of the SDKPL and the left wing of the Polish Socialist Party, the Communist Party of Poland, which, with great self-denial and heroism, launched a struggle for the socialist path in Poland. The left tendencies in the socialist and peasant movements grew; a democratic movement of the intelligentsia emerged; political forces began to form which later on, together with the Communists and under their leadership, took into their own hands the cause of Poland's revival.
In the two decades between the wars the CPP tirelessly promoted the idea of Polish-Soviet rapprochement. It was a far-sighted internationalist and patriotic platform. In the face of the growing threat from fascist Germany only alliance with the USSR offered a real possibility of saving Poland's independence. Conforming to the interests of both countries, such an alliance could have played an important part in preserving peace in Europe. However, the bourgeois-landlord parties and the right wing of the PSP and of the peasant movement did not give up their antiSovietism and anti-communism. Their policy left Poland on her own to face nazi aggression.
The September catastrophe and nazi occupation exposed the Polish people to mortal danger. All forces were subjected to severe trials; every social class and political group was put to a historic test. The results of this test were clear. The policy of Polish reaction proved a total failure. The class egoism of its Western imperialist allies was fully exposed.
At this crucial stage the Polish United Workers' Party put forward a coherent concept of national and social emancipation based on the principles of Marxism-- Leninism, won the working people's support for it, and, guided by it, took the lead in the liberation struggle.
124The heroic Soviet Army played the decisive role in the liberation of our country, while the Soviet Union's political support was of paramount importance for the revival of our state within new frontiers and on a new socio-political basis. There took place, on this basis, a profound reorientation of the political consciousness of the Polish people. They rejected the policy of the propertied classes and opted for socialism, for alliance with the Soviet Union.
The fraternal Polish-Soviet alliance, built in joint struggle against the nazi invaders, provided the essential conditions for attaining the principal aims of the Polish people: independence within just frontiers, guarantees of security and territorial integrity, progressive socio-- economic reforms, and dynamic development. Today, this alliance constitutes the fundamental principle of Polish political thought and the cornerstone of the policy of our Party and state. It is vigorously supported by the Polish people as it accords with their class and national interests.
Comrades, the revolutionary influence of the October Revolution and its legacy on the historical destiny of the Polish people has many aspects. The central ideas of the October Revolution and the building of socialism, their universal features are being fully confirmed in Polish conditions. Acting in alliance with the peasantry and the intelligentsia, the working class established people's power, abolished the domination of landlords and capitalists, and safeguarded the revolution against the encroachments of internal and external reaction. The MarxistLeninist party of the working class, which rallied the working people and the whole nation in the struggle for the building of the new society, for the socialist restructuring of the economy, social relations, and political and cultural life, became the organising force of the process of national revival and the building of socialism.
It goes without saying that the revolutionary processes in our country have their own specific features stemming 125 from the historical traditions of the Polish people and conditioned by their psychological make-up and the concrete relation of forces. These features can be seen in the tempo at which some social reforms are proceeding, in the peculiarities of the political institutions, in the manner of solving some social contradictions, and in the country's cultural life.
To ensure the success of revolution, to draw the masses into it, to rouse them to action and to take the initiative, it is essential to have a correct approach to every specific national situation and the ability to combine the conclusions drawn from this situation with the universal laws of socialism. However, the overall direction of the revolutionary process is determined by its common universal features, of which the October Revolution and the Soviet Union's pioneering experience of building socialism were the first and at the same time the principal and classical embodiment. The recurrence of these universal features in concrete situations in every country has an objective basis determined by the logic of the historical process, by the identity of the social problems.
To oppose the specific to the universal and to disregard universal laws inevitably leads to voluntarism and negatively affects the class struggle and the building of socialism. Ever since the establishment of socialism there has been no "system of reference" to verify our knowledge of the new order other than the experience of the existing socialism. Without this experience it is impossible to distinguish scientific generalisations of the social process from deformations resulting from nationalist prejudices and from illusions deriving from short-sighted tactics and sometimes directly inspired by bourgeois ideologists, and which, depending on circumstances, are in fact rightopportunist or left-extremist, or both. Take the sad example of Peking's policy during and after Mao's lifetime.
Past relations between the Polish and Russian revolutionary working-class movement and the relations today 126 between People's Poland and the Soviet Land demonstrate the vitality of internationalism, its intrinsic connection with patriotism, and the dialectical unity of class and national interests. The strength of the ideas of Marxism-Leninism, and of the communist movement inspired by these ideas, lies "in selfless service in the interests of the workers' cause, of their peoples and all mankind'', as Comrade Edward Gierek, First Secretary of the CC of our Party, said at the meeting of the CPSU Central Committee, the USSR Supreme Soviet, and the RSFSR Supreme Soviet on the 60th anniversary of the Great October Socialist Revolution.
The internationalist co-operation of socialist countries is assuming ever new forms. The already traditional unity of action in the international arena and economic co-- operation are magnificently supplemented by scientific and technical co-operation and the constantly growing cultural and tourist exchange. Economic integration, in the promotion and development of which Poland is taking a most active part, is now becoming a characteristic feature of relations between socialist countries.
Socialist integration is a concrete form of combining national and international interests. Thanks to socialist integration all economic, scientific, and technical achievements of our time, including conquest of outer space, belong to all the socialist peoples and states irrespective of their economic potential and size of population. The profound elucidation of the essence of internationalism at the present stage given in Comrade Ponomarev's report today fully coincides with the viewpoint of Polish Communists. It is our common stand, the stand taken at the Berlin Conference of our parties.
Comrades, the question of democracy occupies a key place in the theory and practice of socialism. Lenin repeatedly pointed to the direct interconnection between socialism and democracy. The October Revolution was based on the broad democratic movement of the masses. Socialist 127 democracy has brought forward and is solving problems never tackled by any previous forms of democracy. Since the position of the individual depends almost entirely on the position of the social class to which he belongs, the essence of socialist democracy is the liberation of the working people and the provision of social guarantees for equal opportunities and equal rights, coupled with a steady extension of the participation of the working people not only in political life, but also in managing production, on which the welfare of society depends. The principles of socialist democracy have found their fullest expression in the new Constitution of the USSR, the product of six decades of development of socialist relations.
The superiority of socialist democracy is confirmed also by the development of our country: by the unprecedented growth of the role of the masses and especially the working class and peasantry, the unparalleled activity of the people as a whole, which has torn down the centuries-old barriers between large social groups and opened up splendid prospects for the rising generation.
Quite understandably, in creating new forms of political life socialist democracy relies upon progressive traditions, but transforms them and enriches them with new qualities. The shape of political institutions in socialist countries differs a bit from country to country, but are all based on common principles. One of the features of socialist democracy is its orientation on the unity of the masses as distinct from the so-called pluralist forms of political life based on differentiation and rivalry of political groupings. In socialist society there is no class basis for such rivalry.
In her more than thirty years' history People's Poland, too, has acquired some experience in the matter of forms of political life, including pluralistic forms, which we tried in the 40s. Our experience has convinced us that the political system of present-day Poland, which is essentially the embodiment of principles common to all socialist countries 128 and at the same time the continuation of progressive Polish traditions, accords with the needs of our system and society. This system, with its distinctive socialist multiplicity of parties, broad interaction of social forces, and the ever more extensive practice of consultations, creates conditions enabling large-scale participation of the working people in running the affairs of society, discussion of problems regarding the country's development and thus securing the best possible solutions, and also opportunities for correcting them when necessary. Our political life provides conditions for the expression of different views and for initiative of many different kinds. But these differences are not fixed and ``institutionalised'', on the contrary, they are smoothed over by means of solutions that accord with the interests of the people and contribute to the maximum unanimity and cohesion of the people.
The opponents of socialism and specialists of psychological warfare resort to pseudodemocratic demagogy in an attempt to introduce anarchy into the political life of our country, to reverse its course and again put on the agenda fundamental questions concerning the state system decided many years ago at the cost of sacrifices in bitter struggle. But these attempts have no chance of succeeding. Our people know the value of our historic transformations. They are resolutely consolidating their unity built on the basis of socialism. This is the common cause of Polish Communists and all patriots, and in this respect there is broad unanimity in our country.
We know that different hypotheses regarding forms of democracy in conditions of transition to socialism are being discussed by progressives in the West. We respect these searches, but we regard as inappropriate and harmful the attempts to assess, let alone criticise, the existing socialism from the positions of such hypotheses as yet untested in practice. Such attempts, which are neither of scientific nor of ideological use, certainly damage the cause of progress and peace.
__PRINTERS_P_129_COMMENT__ 9---327 129Comrades, socialism is a society of emancipated labour. The emancipation of man is first of all the emancipation of labour, the main sphere of human life and the main factor in the moulding of the personality. The emancipation of labour is the main condition for providing man with the right to a decent life, which accords with the very essence of humanism.
The socialist revolution abolished exploitation and the socio-economic conditions for the enslavement of man, thereby accomplishing a radical turn towards the realisation of the right of man to a decent life. Since then, any step forward in the development of socialism has been at the same time a new advance in the realisation of this right, in improving the life of man and creating conditions for his all-round development- This progress manifests itself especially vividly under developed socialism. This stage of development has been achieved so far only by the Soviet Union, but it is the aim of the practical construction under way in many other socialist countries.
In the first twenty-five years of her development, Poland built the basis of socialism and created conditions for embarking, in the 70s, on the building of developed socialist society. The implementation of the decisions of the 6th Congress of our Party enabled our country to reach new frontiers in production and technology, and to improve the wellbeing of the people. The present stage of Poland's development is marked by the close interlacing of economic, social, ideological, and moral tasks, and a close connection between the structure of production and the model of consumption, and economic and social efficiency. With this in view, the 7th Congress of our Party gave top priority to the task of raising the quality of labour and conditions of life, increasing socio-economic efficiency, forming the socialist way of life, and strengthening the ideological orientation and the educational function of our state. This orientation conforms with the finest traditions of our movement and the ideological legacy of the October 130 Revolution. We have to overcome many difficulties and solve many complicated problems before ensuring harmony between stabilisation and dynamics, between today and tomorrow. Therefore, we must analyse present-day development, the rich experience of the CPSU and Soviet Union, and that of all fraternal parties, still more attentively and thoroughly. Only by continuing the traditions of the October Revolution, the class and humanist traditions of thought and action, is it possible to avoid technocratic illusions that divorce technical from social progress and lead to a hopeless world of shaken values, to a weakening of social ties, and the spiritual degradation of the personality.
In his report on the 60th anniversary of the October Revolution, Comrade Brezhnev made a profound analysis of the tasks of Communists and first of all of the community of socialist states as the initiators and organisers of international co-operation in solving the formidable problems confronting modern civilisation, such as the food, raw materials, and energy problems, the elimination of socio-economic backwardness, an aftermath of colonialism, and the protection and formation of the environment. Comrade Brezhnev rightly said that these problems should be an integral part of the policy of peaceful coexistence. Beyond any doubt, the world socialist system, which has proved its historical effectiveness in the struggle for social and national emancipation, and for the establishment of just and humane relations between people and nations, for peace and dynamic development, will ever more successfully pave the way to the solution of the new problems on which the future of the world depends.
[131] __ALPHA_LVL1__ SIXTY YEARS OF STRUGGLEGEORGES COGNIOT
PRESIDENT OF THE ADMINISTRATIVE COUNCIL
OF THE MAURICE THOREZ INSTITUTE,
CENTRAL COMMITTEE OF THE FRENCH COMMUNIST PARTY
Dear comrades, it is with a feeling of deep satisfaction and joy that I convey to you who have gathered here and through you to the Soviet people warm, fraternal congratulations from your French friends on the 60th anniversary of the Great October Socialist Revolution, which is a holiday for all the working people of the world. Directed by Lenin and the Bolshevik Party the great revolution, whose jubilee we are celebrating, represented not only a decisive turning point in modern history, but one of the most extraordinary events whose influence will be felt for many millennia.
The glory of the Soviet Union is the glory of the first socialist country in history, a country which ushered in a new, more advanced era in mankind's development and which raised hopes of freedom and justice for all peoples. The USSR began and carried on for many years, in conditions of unprecedented difficulties, gigantic transformations. And today neither its friends nor its enemies doubt that this work has radically changed the world.
Speaking from this rostrum I recall those distant days when I first set foot on Soviet soil. Half a century has passed since that time. Everything I saw then convinced me that the working people of the Soviet Union were indeed learning the art of government and were already 132 governing the country. On every visit to the Soviet Union I noticed new successes of your country's economy which was developing at unprecedented rates and was free of crises, and also a steady rise in the people's living standards. I was amazed, too, at the rapid progress achieved in such important fields as education, science, and culture. Sixty years after 1917, we are witness to the great strength of the world socialist system which extends to all parts of the world, from Vietnam to Cuba; we are witness to the growing prosperity of this system and its increasing ability to impose upon imperialism a respect for peace and to link the humanisation of social relations in each country with the humanisation of international relations.
At the same time, history bears witness to the collapse of the colonial system of imperialism and successes of the workers' and general democratic movement in the capitalist countries, particularly the strengthening of Communist parties in the advanced capitalist states of Europe. Without the October Revolution none of these developments would have been possiblePermit me as a Frenchman to draw a brief comparison with what took place sixty years after the bourgeois revolution at the end of the eighteenth century. At the time of its 60th anniversary, my country and the whole of Europe was swept by a wave of ruthless reaction that had set in following an upsurge of popular struggle in 1848. Soon France was to experience the oppression and disgrace resulting from the personal power of Napoleon III whose rule ended in a humiliating national tragedy.
Why is there such a contrast between the two anniversaries? The point is that the 1789 revolution had merely replaced one form of exploitation and oppression by another. It brought to power the bourgeoisie which became counterrevolutionary by 1848, the time when the working class began to act as an independent political force and proclaimed what Marx called the ``secret'' of modern revolution-the emancipation of the proletariat. The October 133 Revolution, on the other hand, put an end to the exploitation of man by man, and emancipated labour.
Thanks to the salvoes of the Aurora and thanks to Lenin, revolutionaries of my country belonging to three generations-the generation of fighters before 1914, such as Marcel Cachin, that of the soldiers who fought in the war, such as Paul Vaillant-Couturier, and that of young workers, such as Maurice Thorez-united to form the French Communist Party in 1920. The Land of Soviets was regarded by the working people of France as a fortress of the international working class, and during the war of intervention against revolutionary Russia French sailors, soldiers, and dock workers proclaimed the slogan "Hands off Soviet Russia!''
The young Communist Party of France, as is known, passed through a long and difficult school. It is long since impossible to speak of French history without mentioning the role of the French Communist Party.
This Party is fighting today to bring about, on the basis of the unity of the people of France, radical political and social changes for which conditions have matured. The task is to build under the direction of the working class a broad, stable, and continuously expanding mass movement and to forge and strengthen an alliance of the workers with other working classes and sections of the population, with all those who suffer from monopoly pressures. Only such an alliance can put an end to the current crisis, and this will be a step forward towards true democracy and socialism. It alone will make it possible to implement, by peaceful means, the strategy of the socialist transformation of society-
For French Communists freedom is both a means of achieving socialism and the aim of socialism. We intend to establish a socialist system with the "national colours of France" in our country, excluding any mechanical copying of various models and patterns. This means that prime attention should be paid to the tasks of democracy and 134 people's participation and control and of establishing vital dialectical links between government officials and the masses. Back in 1946, Maurice Thorez reminded us that history offers diverse ways of achieving socialism and confronts each nation with the necessity of going its own way independently. Thus, it follows that there may be different points of view on some issues among the parties.
But is it not obvious that the emergence of a broad range of new opportunities is, to a decisive degree, connected with the changes in the correlation of world forces that have their roots in the October Revolution and its effects? Likewise, the October Revolution is a source of what, in July this year, a popular Catholic magazine in France has regretfully called "the fascination with Marxism"- It is a fact that particularly during the last 20 years Marxism has captured the attention of many French intellectuals and has permeated all aspects of intellectual and social life.
The ideologues of the ruling classes try in vain to resist this trend by reviving the outworn idea about the death of Marxism. What Ernest Labrousse, a historian, and not a Communist Party member, said on this subject in 1961 holds true today: "The obituaries of Marxism could be an interesting subject for a thesis. How many times a tomb of Marxism of impressive size has been shown to us in the cemetery of dead theories! But gods can rescue the dead out of their graves, and Marxism has outlined its spiritual frontiers in the world of the living. It has penetrated economics, history, philosophy, and all scientific and literary thought.''
Frenchmen have been taught by history that implementation of Marxist-Leninist ideas gives strength to fight and win not only to classes and individuals, but also to whole nations. My compatriots have not forgotten to whom they chiefly owed their salvation in the Second World War. They remember that the superhuman war efforts of the Soviet state and the unprecedented sacrifices made by the Soviet 135 people were decisive in the fight against nazism which had made many European states crumble like houses of cards.
Without the heroes of the battles for Leningrad, Stalingrad, Kursk and Berlin, France would have been erased from history.
Sixty years ago Soviet power appeared before the world proclaiming the word ``peace''. For the first time the ageold desire for peace of great masses of people found real expression in Lenin's Decree on Peace. The idea of peace was embodied in a state and a society for which the abolition of war is the condition for rapid progress in its great creative undertakings. Even the Second World War could not stop this progress.
It is an undeniable fact that up to now all important initiatives aimed at achieving peaceful coexistence, security, and arms limitation have come from the socialist community. We understand the vital importance of these salutary actions; they are fighting to make detente irreversible and to spread it from the diplomatic to the military field in order to bring about disarmament, the cardinal issue of our time.
The growing economic, political, and moral crisis in our country also urgently calls for new solutions. The fact that capitalism is a society without a future, a society that has exhausted its possibilities of growth, is more and more clearly understood by those who are daily faced by the deep-going social contradictions of this system-- unemployment, insecurity, the dire consequences of inflation, and the decline in living standards. All who reject poverty, inequality, and injustice aspire to socialism which brings liberation, the era of which began with the October Revolution 60 years ago, and which gave the working class and the people of France powerful historical impetus for modern development and advance towards a superior form of social relations.
May the ideas of the October Revolution live forever!
Long live the 60th anniversary of the Land of Soviets!
Long live the invincible cause of communism!
[136] __ALPHA_LVL1__ THE COMMUNIST MOVEMENTJOSEF HAVL\'IN
SECRETARY OF THE CENTRAL COMMITTEE OF THE COMMUNIST PARTY OF CZECHOSLOVAKIA
__NOTE__ Author(s) appear above LVL heading in original.Dear comrades, friends, the joint conference of the leading Party and government research centres on the glorious jubilee-the 60th anniversary of the Great October Socialist Revolution, gives us. Communists of Czechoslovakia, an opportunity to congratulate you on behalf of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia and Gustav Husak, General Secretary of our Party and President of the Republic-
We are convinced that this conference will contribute to the further development and creative implementation of the triumphant Marxist-Leninist doctrine.
The international communist and working-class movement and the working people of the whole world closely followed the joint meeting of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, the Supreme Soviet of the USSR and the Supreme Soviet of the RSFSR, which was the crowning event of the celebrations held on the 60th anniversary of the Great October Socialist Revolution. The speech of Comrade Leonid Brezhnev, the General Secretary of the CC CPSU and Chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR, which evoked such broad response in other countries, including ours, was received with immense interest and satisfaction. The ideas contained in it are an important contribution to Marxist-Leninist theory and give inspiration to the Marxist-Leninist parties 137 in their struggle for the interests of the working people. Comrade Brezhnev outlined the increasingly tangible prospect of man's age-old hope-the building of communist society. This it is that infuses mankind with real hope and new strength in the struggle for the revolutionary transformation of the world.
The appeal of the CC CPSU, the Supreme Soviet of the USSR, and the Council of Ministers of the USSR To the Peoples, Parliaments and Governments of All Countries gives fighters for peace and happiness boundless energy, increasing the strength of the movement of the peace forces and instilling confidence in a future without war, fear, and insecurity.
Allow me to express the heartfelt gratitude of the Communists and working people of Czechoslovakia to Lenin's Party and the Soviet people for their part in the establishment of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia, for their internationalist solidarity with our people's struggle to overthrow capitalism, for their help in liberating our country from nazi slavery, and for their assistance in building and developing socialist society in Czechoslovakia.
The history of the class struggle in our country shows that unless the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia had assimilated and creatively used the experience of the CPSU, it could not have fulfilled its historical mission and leading role. Our Party has always seen the Communist Party of the Soviet Union as a party possessing a wealth of experience of revolutionary struggle for the establishment of the dictatorship of the proletariat and the socialist transformation of society. Klement Gottwald, outstanding leader of our Party and the international communist and working-class movement, said this repeatedly at the time of the bourgeois republic and at the beginning of the building of socialism.
The leadership of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia headed by Gustav Husak, General Secretary of its Central Committee and President of the Czechoslovak 138 Socialist Republic, has repeatedly stressed the exceptional significance of Soviet experience and the experience of other fraternal parties for our Party. Now, this refers to the experience of the revolutionary transformation of society tested in practice by hundreds of millions .of men and women. Here is how Comrade Husak put it at our 15th Party Congress: "We built and developed the new social system taking as the basis the ideas of scientific socialism, the general laws of the building of socialism> our own experience and the experience of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union and other fraternal parties, and the creative use of the ideas of Leninism in the specific conditions of our country.''
It should not be forgotten that by the mid-20s, when the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia launched the drive for Bolshevisation, the CPSU had behind it three revolutions. It had accumulated great practical experience and had mastered all forms of class struggle. It was the only proletarian party which, being in power, and this in exceptionally hard conditions, had for some years stood at the head of the sweeping revolutionary reforms initiated by the Great October Socialist Revolution. Our Communist Party, which gradually developed from a revolutionary political opposition party into the vanguard party of the proletariat, learned most of all from the Bolsheviks at that time, adopting their methods of struggle for the dictatorship of the proletariat.
Now, we recall again and again with gratitude the invaluable assistance which the CPSU and Lenin personally rendered our Party at the time of its foundation and when it began to grow, when its struggle developed, and when it grew into a real revolutionary vanguard of the working class and all working people.
The path of our working class and the CP Czechoslovakia to the victorious socialist revolution, to our socialist present had certain distinctive features traceable to the previous history of our peoples. In the first place, 139 however, it was determined by the general laws that manifested themselves in the triumph of the October Revolution, in the very existence of the USSR, in its growing might, and its friendship with and assistance to our people.
This Leninist truth is confirmed again by the documents of the recent joint meeting of the CC CPSU, the Supreme Soviet of the USSR and the Supreme Soviet of the RSFSR on important problems of the international communist and working-class movement. The Communist Party of the Soviet Union tackles all problems with infinite wisdom. The universal nature of the common, intrinsic features of the socialist revolution and the building of socialism is emphasised with Leninist fidelity to principle. These features have been scientifically proved and fully confirmed by the 60 years of socialist construction in the USSR.
The Communist Party of Czechoslovakia was able to lead the working class and the mass of the people to victory over bourgeois reaction and pave the way to the building of socialism precisely because, mindful of our local conditions and characteristics and firmly united with the people, it waged a consistent revolutionary struggle to win power and smash the bourgeois state machine in full conformity with the general laws of revolution. In this sense, we have every reason to say that without the Great October Socialist Revolution the working people of Czechoslovakia led by the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia would never have won their victory over bourgeois reaction in February 1948, the 30th anniversary of which we shall be marking next year.
The history of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia shows quite clearly that any, even temporary, deviation from the Marxist-Leninist approach hampered the advance of our Party and society. It became especially obvious during the mounting crisis in the Party and society in the 60s, which came to a head in 1968. Under the slogan of alleged democratisation, right-wing opportunists in the Party, who made use of the counter-revolutionary forces 140 still remaining in our society, made an attempt not only to reject the Leninist principle of democratic centralism, but also to corrupt the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia and turn it into a petty-bourgeois reformist party of a social-democratic type.
Our experience shows that restoring the unity of the Party on Leninist principles and increasing its fighting capacity and revolutionary efficiency was indispensable in order to surmount the crisis and ensure the further successful development of our socialist society. For this reason, the well-known document, "Lessons of the Crisis Development in the Party and Society after the 13th Congress of the CPC'', has great and lasting significance.
Comrade Husak, General Secretary of the Central Committee of our Party and President of the Czechoslovak Socialist Republic, said at the 15th Party Congress: "The results of the five years since the 14th Congress have shown that the Party can carry, out its historic role only if it is guided in its activities by the principles of Marxism-- Leninism and proletarian internationalism, if it maintains close contact with the people, and if the Party leadership is stable, united, and active. Our advance has been possible thanks to the growth of the internal strength, unity, and efficiency of the Party, thanks to its greater leading role in society, and the enhancement of its Marxist-Leninist character.'' This is one of the key lessons taught by the history of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia.
Comrades, the immense efforts of the CPSU in promoting ever more vigorous and consistent implementation of peaceful coexistence are of enormous significance for the constructive labour of our people, the further development of the socialist community and the world revolutionary process, and the peaceful existence of mankind.
For this reason the new Soviet proposals for disarmament as crucial for preserving and strengthening peace have evoked such an extraordinary response throughout the world. The capitalist countries and their mass media will 141 not succeed in torpedoing this initiative, which conforms so completely with the vital interests and aspirations of the working people of the world. The Communist Party of Czechoslovakia and the people of our country support these well-grounded proposals without any reservations.
When world war is averted and lasting peace ensured, new prospects will open to all men and women of the world, which, in any event, will be linked with the growth of the forces of socialism and communism. For this reason, the October Revolution is the banner of great achievements raised high over the twentieth century by the will and hands of the masses. Comrade Leonid Brezhnev quite rightly emphasised that we are moving towards a time when socialism, in some specific historically conditioned form, will be the predominant social system on the globe, bringing peace, liberty, equality, and prosperity to all working people.
For us Communists these festive days are an inexhaustible source of knowledge needed in our daily work and to develop theory further. For this reason we welcome this conference. We heard the speeches of Comrade Mikhail Suslov and Comrade Boris Ponomarev with keen interest, and we support them wholeheartedly. The work of our conference is directly influenced by the speech of Comrade Brezhnev at the joint meeting of the CC CPSU, the Supreme Soviet of the USSR, and the Supreme Soviet of the RSFSR on the 60th anniversary of the Great October Socialist Revolution. The glorious path followed by the Soviet people and their Communist Party is clear and attractive to every honest, thinking person. For this reason, the policy of the CPSU is unanimously supported by the people of our country. And that is why we shall go on learning from the Communist Party of the Soviet Union.
Allow me, dear comrades, to express thanks for the invitation to attend this conference, and to assure you that its results shall be used in the practical work of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia.
[142] __ALPHA_LVL1__ AN INEXHAUSTIBLE SOURCEYOGENDRA SHARMA
SECRETARY OF THE NATIONAL COUNCIL OF THE COMMUNIST PARTY OF INDIA
__NOTE__ Author(s) appear above LVL heading in original.The Great October Revolution not only ushered in a new epoch in world history, but changed the face of the world as well. Not only has this been the greatest event of the twentieth century, but it has materially changed the course of mankind's development.
From 1917 onwards, it has been and continues to be a triumphal march of the ideas of the October Revolution. Millions the world over are getting attracted to the ideas of October and new strivings find expression in country after country in its favour.
If it were only a tally of 400,000 Communists (of them 350,000 in Russia alone who under the leadership of Great Lenin accomplished the great historic task of revolution) and 10 Communist parties in the world in 1918, today we are 55 million strong in 91 Communist parties helping to decisively change the course of world developments in favour of independence, peace, and for socialism and communism. What a mighty force we Communists and our allies are, despite certain detractors and their divisive tactics that affect international solidarity!
Sixty years ago it was the beginning of socialism in one country-the country of Lenin, brought about by the Party of Lenin. It meant socialism for 150 million people only. 143 Today socialism is a number of countries representing over 33 per cent of the world population and over 26 per cent of world territory and it also has a great ally in the national liberation movement which has already achieved political independence in very many countries. They represent over 48 per cent of the world area and nearly 46 per cent of world population. Colonies and dependent regions today constitute barely 1 per cent of world area and less than 0.5 per cent of world population.
The world of capitalism is shrinking. It occupies about 25 per cent of world area and represents only 20 per cent of world population. In 1917, Russia accounted for barely 3 per cent of world industrial production; today the Soviet Union accounts for over 20 per cent and together with other socialist countries of the CMEA for about 33 per cent, and by another decade the socialist states will account for almost half of world production. This is the triumph of socialism, this is the visible representation of validity of Marxism-Leninism.
Every day bears out the correctness of Marxist-Leninist theory about the necessity and inevitability of the replacement of capitalism that is embroiled in the steadily deepening insoluble general crisis of its economic, political, and ideological system. The only way out is socialism. People in developing countries, too, are more and more clearly realising this fundamental truth and veering round to the ideas of socialism. The world of socialism and the national liberation movement are today the most powerful force of world history which will win victory over capitalism.
The basis of this revolutionary force has been and continues to be the working class as the source of the growing strength of our movement, which is based on common aims, interests and world outlook-proletarian internationalism.
It is due to the combined efforts of these two forcessocialism and national liberation movement-that already for more than 30 years general peace has been ensured in 144 the world, though aggressive imperialist circles ignited wars in different parts of the world, such as Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, the Middle East, and others. But in most areas, imperialism has been decisively defeated. And though hotbeds of tension still remain in certain areas, imperialism is no longer able to hold sway over the destinies of peoples. The Helsinki Final Act could be signed not because imperialism changed its spots, but because it had no other alternative. That is why political detente has been achieved in Europe and a possibility appeared for its extension to other parts of the world, to be followed up by military detente. It is this innate strength of the forces of peace which has created the possibility of preventing a third world war.
The tremendous potentiality of concerted actions by the countries of socialism and the national liberation movement is best exemplified by the Indo-Soviet relations which demonstrate not only traditional friendship between peoples of the two countries, but coexistence and co-operation in the mutual interest between two states belonging to different social systems. This friendship is not based on transient considerations and is not circumscribed by immediate interests. That is why this has become an example of mutual relations that any two countries can follow. It has served and continues to serve, therefore, the vital interests of mankind as such.
The 60th anniversary of the Great October Socialist Revolution coincides with an event of tremendous significance-the adoption of the new Constitution of the Soviet Union. The constitutions, ever since the triumph of October, reflected the historic accomplishments of the Soviet people and represented society at its successive higher stages of development. The new Constitution, thus, represents not only the developed socialist society that has been established in the USSR, but what is gradually growing into a communist society. The document not only testifies to the achievements of Soviet society, but it underlines the __PRINTERS_P_145_COMMENT__ 10---327 145 higher forms of socialist democracy. Naturally, it is the continuation of the historic process begun by the October Revolution and will ever more inspire the developing countries in choosing ways for their further development. Capitalism does not and cannot provide such an example.
The crisis-free economy, the steadily rising standards of living of the people, the rapid spurt in industrial and agricultural growth, the material wellbeing of people, together with other dynamic facets of socialism, are beacons of hope and direction of advance for the peoples of developing countries. More and more people come to realise every day that only socialism can provide democracy in the real sense and truly ensure the people's wellbeing. They are realising that capitalism, a system based on exploitation of man by man, cannot be democratic, cannot guarantee emancipation and liberation of all classes and strata of the population. It is to hide the victories of socialism, to nullify its all-pervasive effect, that protagonists of capitalism paint freedom, democracy, and human rights in absolute terms and claim that they exist in capitalist countries. Their racket about human rights is actually a cry of fear.
Unfortunately, certain forces do play a role that helps imperialism, seeking to confuse and divert peoples of developing countries or those who are fighting for national liberation and thereby weaken the very process of antiimperialist unity and social transformation. Divisive tendencies, though of a small scale, within the international communist movement also affect this process as well as speedier construction of socialism. Such divisive tendencies find the sharpest expression today in the form of "political regionalism" and ``autonomism''. Every Communist must realise that no socialism can be built if it is not scientific socialism, if it is not based on the science of Marxism-Leninism.
No one visualises that socialist transformation of society will follow only one specific model, but political 146 regionalism in terms of narrow geographical boundaries is not its alternative either. It is no accident that as far as the land of the October Socialist Revolution is concerned, all opportunist trends join together and find a common goalto denigrate and besmirch the achievements of socialism.
We Indian Communists firmly adhere to proletarian internationalism and Marxism-Leninism- Our recent experience through which we have had to pass and the changes that have come about once again induce us to reaffirm our proletarian internationalism which alone can help us in discharging the historic role that we are destined to perform in a country of 660 million people.
For us the land of the October Revolution is a continuing and ever increasing source of inspiration, and the Party of Lenin, the most experienced contingent of the world communist movement.
We shall continue to expand and deepen our fraternal relations and draw lessons from the inspiring march of the world of socialism that began with the triumph of the October Revolution. We salute the Party of Lenin and all those who made the revolution and all those who are leading from triumph to triumph the Land of Soviets.
Long live the Great October Revolution!
Long live the CPSU, the Party of Lenin!
Long live proletarian internationalism!
Long live Indo-Soviet friendship!
[147] __ALPHA_LVL1__ TOWARDS A SOCIALISTLEONTE RAUTU
MEMBER OF THE POLITICAL EXECUTIVE OF THE
CENTRAL COMMITTEE OF THE ROMANIAN COMMUNIST PARTY,
RECTOR OF THE STEFAN GHEORGHIU ACADEMY
Permit me first of all to express my sincere gratitude for your kind invitation to take part in this important scientific conference and to convey to you, on the occasion of the 60th anniversary of the Great October Socialist Revolution, our warmest congratulations and to wish the Soviet people new brilliant successes.
In these six decades, the Soviet Union, founded as a result of the great revolution, has carried out great revolutionary transformations. The Soviet people have successfully built a socialist society, a great socialist state with an enormous economic potential, outstanding achievements in science and technology, broad access to, and the flourishing of, public education and a new, socialist culture, and with constantly growing material and cultural standards of the people. The structural changes in the social and economic life of the Soviet peoples, which determine the characteristic features of Soviet society at its present stage, are vividly reflected in the new Constitution adopted in this jubilee year.
Because of its tremendous achievements in all spheres of social and economic life and because of its peace policy, the Soviet Union has been able to play an extremely important role in modern international affairs and in the 148 struggle for socialism and social progress, for security in Europe and in the world, and for co-operation and friendship between nations.
The October Revolution, inspired by the profound, creative thought of Lenin and carried out by the broadest masses who had been roused to the active making of history, was one of the turning points in world history. As is noted in the Programme of the RCP, adopted at its llth Congress, the victory of the Great October Socialist Revolution "marked a new epoch in the development of human society, the epoch of the transition from capitalism to socialism''. The formation of the first workers' and peasants' state under the leadership of the Bolshevik Party headed by Lenin, "gave powerful impetus to revolutionary battles throughout the world, aggravated class contradictions and the contradictions between the imperialist states and their colonies, and added vigour to the struggle for national and social liberation in the world''.
The epoch ushered in by the October Revolution has become an epoch of triumphs of socialist revolutions and of the transition to the building of a new society in a number of countries in Europe, Asia, and Latin America. This is a logical result of historical development, of the implementation of socialism's ideals in vast areas of the globe, and an expression of the indispensable, objective condition for mankind's advancement towards a new type of civilisation and social progress.
In each of these countries the revolution and socialist construction have borne and continue to bear the imprint of specific conditions inherent in it. Historical experience has shown that the victory of socialism depends in a decisive measure on the creative application of the general principles of scientific socialism to the concrete social, economic, and political conditions of each country, to their historical and national peculiarities.
Practice shows that socialism is the only way for bringing about a fundamental solution of complex social, 149 economic, and national problems within a historically short period.
Confronted with the necessity of overcoming the consequences of age-old backwardness which was typical of almost all the countries that have today embarked on the socialist path, and acting in the course of many decades in an extremely complicated international situation created in the first place by the policies of world imperialism, the peoples of those countries, beginning with the Soviet Union, the first country of victorious socialism, have had to search for new solutions and new methods of action and social organisation and to accumulate new historic experience. All this shows the real scale of the profound changes brought about by the new system and the scope of the remarkable achievements in all spheres of social and economic life, which account for the socialist countries' increasing influence on the entire course of present-day historical development.
Dear comrades, for more than three decades our people have been building a new life under the tried and tested leadership of the Romanian Communist Party. Revolutionary transformations in all decisive spheres of social life have been carried out: in the development of the productive forces and their balanced distribution throughout the country, the establishment and strengthening of new production relations and socialist social relations, and the development of a virtual revolution in education, science, and culture. There have been radical improvements in society's social structure and quantitative and qualitative changes in the way of life of the working people.
Because of the onerous legacy left by the bourgeoislandowner regime, the people had to exert every effort to achieve high rates of economic development and create the conditions for closing the gap that separated us from the economically developed states. As a result of carrying out steadfastly the policy of socialist industrialisation, which is the basis of economic development and the country's 150 overall progress, and of the continuous process of modernising agriculture, Romania's industrial output is now 38 times greater than it was in 1938, her agriculture produces 150 per cent more than in the record years between the two world wars, and her national income has increased 11-fold.
The additional material resources created owing to the outstanding achievements of our economy, its dynamic development, and ever broader introduction of scientific and technological achievements have enabled our Party to work out a programme for rapidly improving the working people's wellbeing in the next few years. Our people, the working people, regard this programme as fresh proof of the correctness of the Party's policy which, in the course of socialist and communist construction in Romania, shows basic concern for man, for the full satisfaction of his vital material and intellectual requirements, and for the raising of our socialist nation to a higher stage of progress and civilisation. In this lies the essence of our revolutionary policy, the essence of our socialist humanism.
As the tasks of building a harmoniously developed socialist society become more complex, the role of the Communist Party as the guiding political force responsible for the nation's destiny will also increase. The providing of unified direction of social and economic processes, the fostering of socialist awareness among the masses and the strengthening of the principles of socialist ethics and justice in the life of society, the elimination of contradictions inherent in the epoch of profound revolutionary changes in the material and non-material spheres, the establishment of proper relations between the Party, the classes, and the mass of the people, and between the Party and the state, the development of socialist democracy by employing the forms of joint work and collective leadership at all levels, the creation of the necessary conditions for effective participation by all working people in administering social and economic affairs-these are the basic domains of Party 151 work in our society. While successfully directing the building of socialism in Romania and carrying out its national tasks, our Party at the same time contributes to the growth of socialism's strength and prestige in the world and to the common cause of peace, democracy, and socialism.
While being legitimately proud of and satisfied with our achievements, we are at the same time conscious of the complex problems facing us. We consider it the most important historical task of our Party to utilise fully the great advantages of the socialist system in all fields of social life. The idea of continuity of the revolutionary process is found in all the major documents of our Party. This provides the basis for our comprehensive development programme. From this also follows the concept of the developed socialist society as opposed to any narrow understanding of socialism, a concept whose essence lies in the conviction that socialism is called upon to prove its superiority not only in material production and the development of the productive forces, but also in relations between people, in social ethics, in the harmonious, unfettered, and creative development of the human personality and in the establishment of true democracy. To the ``models'' of growth which characterise modern capitalism we counterpose an entirely different pattern of social and economic development that has none of the glaring contradictions of capitalist society. This development is characterised by a theoretically substantiated rationale and the ability consciously to govern social processes and impart a social and humane purpose to economic progress.
As Nicolae Ceausescu, General Secretary of the RCP, has said, the historic mission of Communists consists in both social and national liberation of the peoples and the struggle to ensure lasting peace on our planet, these two aspects of their activity constituting an integral whole. The establishment of an atmosphere of peace and international detente, democratisation of international relations, and elimination of centres of conflict, and of serious 152 dangers jeopardising peace on earth-all this promotes social progress and the struggle against imperialism, the struggle for national independence, democracy and progress, and the victory of socialism, limits the possibilities of the reactionary forces to intervene in the internal affairs of other peoples, and wards off the harmful influence of either cold war or hot war on social processes.
In the field of foreign policy our Party holds that all states, irrespective of their size, economic potential or military strength, must actively contribute to the solution of pressing international problems.
Our Party and state have consistently come out for friendship and co-operation with all socialist countries and for the strengthening of their unity and solidarity; our Party and state are expanding relations with the developing and non-aligned nations, and are guided by the principles of peaceful coexistence in their relations with the developed capitalist states. In her international relations Romania invariably abides by the principles of equality, respect for independence and sovereignty, non-intervention in internal affairs, mutual benefit, renunciation of the use or threat of force, respect for the right of each nation freely to develop and determine its own destiny.
We live at a time of profound social and political changes in the life of mankind. In a number of capitalist countries Communist parties have become a powerful national political force, and the social and political forces calling for a radical renovation of society have grown considerably.
Deep social and national changes are under way in the countries which have cast off the yoke of colonial slavery. All these developments give rise to a multitude of new problems which the classics of Marxism, for all their foresight, had not been able to foresee. These new problems demand a creative approach to Marxism-Leninism and to the theory of scientific socialism and the spirit of innovation in revolutionary theory and practice.
153The Communist and Workers' parties of the nonsocialist countries work in highly diverse conditions, with highly varied correlations of social and political forces. That is why our Party shows full understanding for their efforts to map out independently their strategy and tactics in accordance with the specific historical, national, and international conditions in which they function. We consider it natural that there should be discussion of practical ways and forms of transition from capitalism to socialism and of the struggle for socialism and the building of the new system in conditions which differ drastically from those in which it was accomplished in the socialist countries existing today.
We follow with particular attention the efforts directed to ensuring unity of action of Communists, Socialists, and other democratic parties and groups for the purpose of establishing a correlation of forces that would make it possible to carry out progressive changes in society.
The RCP works consistently for the strengthening of international solidarity and unity of a new type between the Communist and Workers' parties on the basis of their full equality, mutual respect, autonomy, and independence. At the same time, we extensively develop contacts with the Socialist parties, Social-Democratic parties, national liberation movements, and all forces striving for democracy, progress, peace, and international co-operation.
Dear comrades, in these festive days the Romanian Communists and all people of Romania express brotherly feelings of sympathy and of deep satisfaction with the successes achieved by the Soviet people advancing along the road opened by the October Revolution. Our two countries are bound by long-standing traditions of militant revolutionary solidarity. Many Romanian revolutionaries took up arms to defend the gains of the October Revolution against the forces which tried to strangle the young Soviet state. In the difficult years of underground work Romanian Communists fought heroically for the 154 establishment of friendly ties between Romania and the Soviet Union. The Romanian-Soviet friendship, sealed with the blood of our soldiers and the soldiers of the glorious Red Army in the battles against fascism, was raised to a still higher level in the years of building socialism.
The meetings of Comrade Nicolae Ceausescu and Comrade Leonid Brezhnev, the visit of the General Secretary of our Party to the USSR last year and the visit of the General Secretary of the CC CPSU to our country, and the Joint Declaration signed during that visit made an outstanding contribution to the development of friendly contacts. We are firmly convinced that friendship and co-operation between socialist Romania and the Soviet Union and between the Romanian Communist Party and the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, will become stronger and more fruitful, and this will be of benefit to our peoples and to the common cause of socialism, progress, and universal peace.
A sober assessment of the correlation of forces in the modern world has convinced us that despite all the zigzags and turns of history our cause will win and the road to the complete victory of socialism and communism will open before mankind.
[155] __ALPHA_LVL1__ WORLD HISTORIC EXPERIENCESANBAGIYN SOSORBARAM
SECRETARY OF THE CENTRAL COMMITTEE OF THE
MONGOLIAN PEOPLE'S REVOLUTIONARY PARTY
AND MINISTER OF CULTURE OF THE MONGOLIAN
PEOPLE'S REPUBLIC
Dear comrades, we are deeply gratified that this conference has been convened during the celebrations held on the 60th anniversary of the Great October Socialist Revolution, and that it has on its agenda "The October Revolution and the Present Epoch'', which is a question of paramount significance and vital interest.
The festivities in the great Land of Soviets, crowned by the jubilee meeting in the Kremlin Palace of Congresses and the vivid and impressive speech of Comrade Leonid Brezhnev at that meeting, have made an indelible impression on the whole world.
This speech outlined the far-reaching prospects for humanity's development under the banner of the October Revolution and dealt with the results of the revolutionary regeneration of the world after October 1917, and the tremendous achievements scored by the Land of Sovietsthe pioneer of building socialism and communism. This impressive document is an outstanding contribution of the CPSU and Comrade Leonid Brezhnev personally to the development of Marxist-Leninist thought. It gives the peoples of the world confidence in their future, in the 156 success of their struggle for socialism, peace, and democracy.
The opening speech of Comrade Mikhail Suslov and the speech of Comrade Boris Ponomarev at this conference also contained a comprehensive analysis and a concrete description of the world historic significance of the Great October Revolution.
The central topic at this conference is an exceedingly important subject-the international significance of the experience of the CPSU. The experience of the struggle of the great Party of Lenin is our common heritage of inestimable value. It is an international achievement of the world communist movement. The Mongolian People's Revolutionary Party, like the other fraternal parties, sees it as the cornerstone of its ideological, political, and organisational growth, and a guarantee of success for its many-sided activities. This is borne out clearly by the more than half-century-long history of the MPRP, which became a ruling party not quite four years after the victorious October Revolution, the history of its struggle for the establishment of a new, independent Mongolia, and for carrying out democratic and socialist transformations.
The historic experience of the CPSU, the most seasoned contingent of the international communist movement, is a powerful and effective weapon in the hands of the peoples in their struggle for socialism, for the revolutionary transformation of the world. In the course of its long history, the MPRP has become firmly convinced that, in spite of the different conditions in which Marxist-Leninist parties have to act, the experience of the CPSU is applicable for each of them. This experience is of all-- embracing, international significance, being a tangible embodiment of the objective laws of the building of socialism and communism.
Attempts to minimise or altogether ignore the international significance of the experience of the CPSU, to 157 declare it to be a merely national phenomenon, to work out different models of socialism that have nothing in common with the objective laws governing the development of society, can, in our view, do nothing but grave harm to our movement as a whole and to some individual parties. An obvious example are the voluntaristic actions of the Chinese leaders who, adopting Mao Tse-tung's narrow nationalistic and great-power chauvinist conceptions, and distorting the Marxist-Leninist teaching on the general objective laws of the building of socialism, have become rabidly anti-communist.
As for the diverse circumstances under which Communist and Workers' parties have to act, they are inevitable and should not serve as a pretext for any wholesale repudiation of the international significance of the experience of the CPSU.
Take, for example, the historical experience of the Mongolian People's Revolutionary Party which has managed in a comparatively short time to lead its country out of its backward medieval state to become one of the countries building socialism.
The experience of the MPRP shows that in poorly developed countries revolutionary-democratic parties, in close contact and co-operation with the world communist movement, in alliance with the working class of the Soviet Union, can assimilate the ideas of scientific communism and become the Marxist-Leninist vanguard of the masses, directing the country's development along the socialist path.
The history of the MPRP is above all a history of the creative implementation of Marxism-Leninism in the specific conditions of our country. It is a history of studying and employing the experience of the CPSU, taking into account the concrete historical Mongolian realities. The Mongolian people have the privilege of being one of the first to have embarked on the non-capitalist way, making the transition from feudalism to socialism along 158 the path opened by the October Socialist Revolution and the science of Marxism-Leninism. This was not easy.
The experience and assistance of the great Party of Lenin and effective co-operation with it were decisive for the ideological and political maturity and better organisation of the MPRP. They were decisive for defining its general line which enabled it to find the most effective ways and means of revolutionising Mongolian society and carrying on its many-sided organising and political work, and they were decisive for the struggle against all sorts of leftists and rightists. Our Party has from the start learned from the Party of Lenin the methods of steadfastly translating Marxist-Leninist theory into daily practice, the art and science of working out effective strategy and tactics, the ability creatively to approach urgent problems, and skilfully conduct its policy among the masses.
The establishment and further consolidation of the MPRP proceeded on the basis of the general objective laws and principles of a Communist party's development. As it studied and learned to apply all that was valuable and useful in the practice of the CPSU, our Party amassed great experience in administering society. Systematic study and use of the experience of the CPSU and other fraternal parties for promoting the role of the masses in fulfilling vital tasks involved in the building of socialism, in directing the activities of the state and public organisations and enhancing their role in administering the state has become a tradition and a major source of growth and action capacity of the MPRP and its organisations.
In tackling the tasks of transition from feudalism to socialism by-passing capitalism, the MPRP was guided by Marxist-Leninist principles and relied on the experience gained by the the CPSU in solving the problems of the revolutionary transformation of the Soviet Central Asian republics. In that stage, the democratic objectives of the 159 revolution were successfully attained and the foundations of socialism laid.
The Mongolian People's Republic underwent major socio-economic changes. Modern industry was launched and developed, individual arat households were brought into socialist co-operative organisations, and a cultural revolution took place. These changes were a concrete manifestation of the general objective laws governing the building of socialism, which had been confirmed in practice first by the peoples of the USSR and later on by other fraternal countries. They led to a process under which a national working class and intelligentsia emerged and grew. As a result, the Mongolian People's Republic has grown into an agrarian-industrial socialist country with a uniform socialist economic system.
Thus, the objective laws which operated in the Soviet Union when it was building socialism manifested themselves again in the revolutionary practice of the Mongolian People's Republic. It is significant that the chief results produced by the operation of these natural processes, which manifested themselves under different conditions and at different periods, are essentially similar, resembling each other both in content and form.
In the MPR the study and application of the experience of the CPSU in building the new life follow these main lines:~
---the efforts of the CPSU to bring about the victorious Great October Socialist Revolution, to establish and strengthen people's power, the world's first socialist state, and to defend and multiply the historic gains of the socialist revolution;~
---the struggle of the CPSU for the actual realisation of Marxism-Leninism and consistent implementation of Lenin's plan for building socialism, for mobilising the constructive energy and creative efforts of the masses in order to change the old world, for the country's planned development, for industrialisation, collectivisation/ and a socialist 160 cultural revolution, for the development of socialist democracy, for moulding the new man, and establishing the Soviet socialist way of life;~
---the experience of the CPSU, a model for the struggle to promote proletarian internationalism, friendship, and co-operation among nations, and for the struggle to establish lasting peace on earth.
Everything the CPSU does is motivated by constant concern for the wellbeing of the people, for their peaceful life and work.
As the leading and guiding role of our Party in the life of society increases, it becomes still more important to study and apply the experience of the CPSU. The 17th Congress of the MPRP set the task of furthering co-operation of the MPR with the fraternal socialist countries, the Soviet Union first of all, in the economic, political, cultural, and ideological fields.
All this, naturally, implies that we must develop new forms of co-operation with the fraternal parties and study and apply their wide-ranging experience to greater effect. It is a question, above all, of extending further our study of the world historic experience of the Land of Soviets in building communism, of increasing direct contacts between related fields in the MPR and the USSR, and of improving the forms and methods of co-operation.
The national economic plans of the Soviet Union and Mongolia are being more closely co-ordinated. New forms of co-operation, such as direct contacts between related ministries, departments, and other economic organisations of the two countries are becoming more widespread.
All aimaks and towns in Mongolia have direct contacts with regions and towns in the Soviet Union. Our aimaks and the Soviet autonomous republics and regions conclude agreements on co-operation and share working experience. This form of co-operation enables our Party, state, and public organisations to study in depth and creatively apply Soviet experience in economic and cultural development. __PRINTERS_P_161_COMMENT__ 11---327 161 and to get better acquainted with the life and wonderful achievements of Soviet people.
We also practise other forms of co-operation, including reciprocal visits, meetings of leaders of our parties and states, exchange of delegations, and so on.
The MPRP considers it a paramount duty to go on studying and applying creatively the world historic experience of the great Party of Lenin. The MPRP Programme says: "The MPRP, as before, will pay close attention to the extensive study and creative employment of the experience gained by the fraternal Communist parties, in the first place, of the world historic experience of the most tested contingent and universally recognised vanguard of the world communist movement-the Communist Party of the Soviet Union-in building a new society, fighting imperialist reaction, and promoting human progress.''
The conclusion to be drawn from what I have said is this: the path of the MPRP and the results achieved along this path fully confirm the fact that the attitude towards the CPSU and application of its world historic experience have been and are the main yardstick of fidelity to Marxism-Leninism and proletarian internationalism and the earnest of our Party's successful leadership of the country. Comrade Tsedenbal said that "our Party has always learned and will continue to learn from the great CPSU, whose world historic experience is a real school of Marxism-- Leninism, a school of proletarian internationalism''.
In conclusion, allow me, on behalf of the Central Committee of the MPRP and our Party and scientific institutions, to thank the Central Committee of the CPSU, the organisers of this important international scientific conference on the glorious anniversary of the Great October Revolution, for the invitation to attend this conference.
I would also like to take this pleasant opportunity to wish the Communists and working people of the Soviet Union fresh success in their communist construction for the happiness and prosperity of the peoples of the world!
[162] __ALPHA_LVL1__ LENIN, DEFENCERODNEY ARISMENDI
FIRST SECRETARY OF THE CENTRAL COMMITTEE OF THE COMMUNIST PARTY OF URUGUAY
__NOTE__ Author(s) appear above LVL heading in original.Comrades, Comrade Mikhail Suslov's speech and Comrade Boris Ponomarev's report are a major contribution to the question under discussion.
The teaching of Marx and Engels transformed socialism from a utopia into a science. Lenin and the October Revolution made socialism mankind's concrete alternative to capitalism. Today, socialism determines the life of all peoples, and in the past 60 years has made the Soviet Union the historical centre of all revolutionary and transformation processes taking place in the world.
Within a comparatively brief period marked by the horrors of war against German fascism mankind's advance to socialism and communism has become irreversible. During this complicated period revolutions and liberation processes taking place under the impact of the October Revolution intertwine, at times achieving successes, at times retreating, then advancing once again, and now no one will ever succeed in changing the course of historical development.
As Luigi Longo correctly said, "In the facts of today, as in the main tendencies of social development, no matter how different and unique the forms of their expression may be, we find confirmation that the October Revolution 163 has been and remains the cornerstone of the development of modern civilisation.''
On the ideological, theoretical, and practical plane the victory of the October Revolution signifies a triumph of Marxism and places the name of Lenin, author of the creative development of that science-Leninism-next to the names of its founders. Lenin evolved the theory of socialist revolution in conditions of imperialism, he guided the Russian revolution, and developed the Marxist theory of the state in accordance with the conditions of the transition period, and also elaborated the teaching on the party. And Lenin outlined the main directions of building socialism. In this colossal work he foresaw the destiny of mankind and the character of our epoch, i.e., the twentieth century-a work that in many ways predetermined the course of history. On the subject of socialist construction there existed originally only the general theoretical guidelines of Marx and Engels, including the famous Critique ot the Gotha Programme, and with regard to the character of the state in the transition period one could turn to the glorious, but shortlived experience of the Paris Commune. Moreover, the bold Soviet initiative was hindered by the traditional, mechanistic, and economist concepts of the Second International, according to which the working class had to wait for revolution to take place only in advanced capitalist countries or as a result of the quantitative growth of the productive forces.
Strange as it may seem, there are still historians and publicists who accuse Lenin of bringing about a socialist revolution in conditions of old Russia, of outlining the perspectives of socialism in one individual country, without asking permission of those learned gentlemen. This reminds one of the accusation concerning the "original sin" mentioned in the Scriptures.
The name of Lenin is linked with the rise and development of the international communist movement. MarxismLeninism supplies a theoretical basis and an opportunity 164 for creative work. Far from obstructing creative thinking, Marxism-Leninism presupposes it. Lenin himself always followed Engels' precept that Marxism is not a dogma, but a guide to action. These two qualities-affirmation of the fundamental principles of Marxism and keeping constant and creative contact with reality-expressed in terms of modern practice, have made Leninism a teaching reflecting the essence of our epoch. Lenin defended what he termed the "purity of Marxism" and resurrected Marx's works which had been quietly ignored by ``luminaries'' of the Second International, and at the same time vigorously opposed dogmatism, the abject worship of quotations out of context and the use of such quotations as a substitute for reality. Methodologically this is expressed in his wellknown principle calling for concrete analysis of concrete situations and in his profoundly philosophical thesis, which he had defended passionately, that "the truth is always concrete"-
Lenin was against distortion of Marxism, against revisionism, and opportunist adjustment which amounts to rejecting revolution, against vulgarisation and voluntaristic concepts. Lenin makes a profound study of philosophy and physics in his book Materialism and Empirio-Criticism, in which he developed in a creative manner the Marxist world outlook and dialectical and historical materialism. In his Philosophical Notebooks, besides setting forth a number of new propositions, Lenin defended Marx's teaching from the positivist, pseudoscientific, and sociological interpretations of various epigones. He used the exceptional dynamism of dialectics "to put Hegel on his feet''. He approached questions of war and revolution with the help of the dialectical method, making a creative study of the facts and processes of reality. He came to the conclusion, both in theoretical and practical terms, that a socialist revolution is historically inevitable at the imperialist stage of development. Proceeding from this basic dialectical thesis he evolved the theory on the role of the party and the role 165 of politics as a science and an art. From February to October 1917, Lenin revealed his talent both as a theorist and a politician. In his Blue Notebook he summarised the ideas of Marx and Engels on the state, but theory was to him inseparable from the changes that accompanied revolution. Thus, Lenin was true to his idea which he expressed in 1905 that revolution quickly unites and quickly educates.^^*^^ It took a truly far-sighted political leader and revolutionary to defend with such fervour the necessity for concluding the Brest Peace. Here are more examples: the book " LeftWing" Communism-an Infantile Disorder, his speech in defence of the tactics of the International, all his theses on the relationship between the hegemony of the working class and the policy of alliances, his approach to the national question and colonial problems, and his formulation of the foreign policy of the new socialist state-all this testifies to Lenin's political perspicacity which was free from empty theorising, abstract reasoning, and sectarianism. A severe critic of German Social-Democracy, he, nevertheless, valued the parliamentary activity of some of its representatives and their ability to unite the masses at certain moments.
Thus, Leninism is not "Marxism of the Third International'', not "Marxism for underdeveloped countries'', not "a source which runs dry when certain historical conditions disappear'', but a great revolutionary theory of our epoch.
Obviously, Lenin had no ready recipe for every case, not even for the further development of Soviet society. The CPSU, inspired by Lenin, had to carry out extensive and complex theoretical and practical work in order to find the solutions to problems of developed socialism and to problems of application of the scientific and technological revolution in the state of the whole people, including the writing of the new Constitution and the working out of new initiatives connected with peaceful coexistence, and _-_-_
^^*^^ See V. I. Lenin, Collected Works, Vol. 8, pp. 563--64.
166 many others. No one should consider this process completed.Lenin said: "We take our stand entirely on the Marxist theoretical position'', but "we do not regard Marx's theory as something completed and inviolable"- This theory, he said, "has only laid the foundation stone of the science which Socialists must develop in all directions''.^^*^^ It was also Lenin who noted that taking anything on trust, exclusion of critical examination and development is a grave sin, and "simple interpretation" is obviously insufficient for examination and development.
In other words, Lenin rejected dogmatism, but, at the same time, he never accepted relativism, still less empiricism. The truth is always concrete, but it is neither the pitiful truth of the empiricists nor the dismal truth of the relativists. Marx said that the concrete is a unity of multiformity.
It is from this viewpoint of Lenin that one should regard certain contradictions and problems which at times arise in our world communist movement. The 60 years that have elapsed since the October Revolution have not only "shaken the world'', but have also changed it radically. Socialist and national liberation revolutions accompanied by infinitely varied, sometimes unusual, progressive movements become widespread, pass through many different stages, and take most diverse revolutionary paths. The international communist and workers' movement is a tremendous force and the range of its allies continues to broaden rapidly. Every day something new occurs. As was foreseen by Lenin, the socialist revolution covers an entire historical epoch; everywhere it advances in an open or hidden manner, from countries with tribal structures to advanced capitalist states dominated by state monopoly capital. This process also involves Latin American countries with their specific conditions. One should take into _-_-_
^^*^^ V. I. Lenin, Collected Works, Vol. 4, pp. 210--11.
167 account differences in the levels and rates of development, and differences in institutions, traditions, and social psychology of each country or area. The revolutionary camp is being joined by broad masses of the middle strata and the intelligentsia, as well as employees working in new fields that have come into being as a result of the scientific and technological revolution. It is only natural that there should arise new approaches, contradictions, and arguments. These reflect complex social processes and different approaches to prospects and directions of the revolution. There may even appear plausible theories in the ideological and political field, sometimes with various kinds of ideological overtones. It is easy to see that strategy and tactics change depending on the components of the revolutionary process. And it seems logical that all that makes a real contribution to the tortuous course of national liberation, democracy, and socialism becomes part of the overall experience of the movement, or develops into theory and criticism or, at least, becomes a methodological premise. But who would maintain that this means that scientific truths are defective and that there exist only relative truths which are without absolute value and are good only for a given region of the world, or that theoretical reasoning is merely a piling up of parallel truths?The absence of guiding centres and organisational ties of an international character imparts special importance today to a combination of internationalism with recognition of independence and freedom of choice of each party. But at the same time, independent theoretical search which can enhance the role of each party on a national scale and provide methods for building correct relations between parties must not be reduced to the elaboration of new, legal norms. Critical study of the revolutionary movement's theoretical assets stimulates the growth of parties into a real political force since it presupposes a party's ability critically to regard its own experience, open the way to progress for the masses, and fulfil its vanguard role. 168 However, this is obviously insufficient for satisfying another requirement-to raise experience to the level of scientific generalisations capable of enriching the theory and practice of the entire movement. One victorious revolution is said to be worth a thousand arguments. But the connection between theory and practice remains as indispensable as in Lenin's time.
We are aware that not infrequently theoretical studies and findings lag behind life and do not correspond to the party's historical role. Even the evaluation of new phenomena is sometimes made too late. One example is the underestimation of the danger of fascism in Latin America and on an international plane. Many more such examples can be cited.
Furthermore, at this moment, when the role of subjective factors has greatly increased, it is obvious that in conditions in which the world as a whole has historically ripened for socialism the disparities and different levels within the movement itself pose a variety of theoretical and political questions. And the specific difficulties of a particular case cannot always be attributed to difficulties of a general character.
Lenin pointed out that dialectics includes an element of relativism, though it is not limited to it.^^*^^ History is not a chase after grand myths with which the immediate aims of every generation are masked, as Sorel, inspired by Bergson's ideas, would have us believe.
Therefore, to deny the existence of general, or " cornerstone" principles of Marxism-Leninism, as Lenin called them, to believe that each stage, even each particular direction a revolution takes, leads to a negation of these principles or that there are no general laws governing the transition to socialism and its construction, is to slide into relativism.
_-_-_^^*^^ See V. I. Lenin, Collected Works, Vol. 14, p. 136.
169We should be understood correctly for we by no means believe that these general laws are logical categories applicable to the dynamics of the socio-historical process. Following Lenin, we hold that anything particular is (in one way or another) general and vice versa. As Lenin aptly put it, "appearance is richer than law'', and law is "the reflection of the essential in the movement of the universe''.^^*^^
When Lenin writes that the October Revolution "reveals to all countries something-and something highly significant-of their near and inevitable future'',^^**^^ he is far from mechanically transferring the experience of the Russian revolution to every country or region regardless of place and time- And not only because everything changes, but also because all victorious revolutions-as was also foreseen by Lenin-have taken different forms. But the distinctive character of a process evidently confirms, in the final count, certain general laws. Since the most important of these laws have often been discussed there is no need to speak of them here again.
It goes without saying that general laws cannot be squeezed into the framework of a ``model'' which, incidentally, is a word artificially imposed by our enemies; what is permissible in the sphere of thought and philosophical categories is impermissible in life. General laws are always expressed in concrete terms; that is, they are inseparable from the particular. That is precisely why nothing is more fallacious from the polemical point of view than contraposing national or distinctive roads of socialist revolution, to the world historic experience of the October Revolution, to the global role of the USSR and the CPSU, and the practice of the victorious socialist revolutions. It has been correctly said that new roads which the socialist revolution may take are directed against and are antagonistic to capitalism and, it seems to us, it is dangerous, to say the least, _-_-_
^^*^^ V. I. Lenin, Collected Works. Vol. 38, p. 152.
^^**^^ Ibid., Vol. 31, p. 22.
170 to contrapose them to the experience of triumphant socialism. This would mean dancing to the enemy's tune.The teaching of Marx, Engels, and Lenin is basically confirmed even by the newest of new developments. But we must always be on our guard against theological interpretations or the habit of making the sign of the cross before every trick of history. Lenin was right to repeatedly refer to the "man in a muffler'', the character from a story by Chekhov. Our time, which is turbulent and fiery, is a time of constant challenge, a time full of acute problems awaiting solution. It is difficult to penetrate into these unexplored areas without fraternal, businesslike, constructive, and collective discussions. Even polemics is impossible without a profound study of the question at hand. Let us recall what Lenin said about idealist philosophers in his work On the Question oi Dialectics or about bourgeois scholars and economists in Materialism and Empirio-Criticism, whose concepts should not be accepted at all, but whose concrete scientific studies deserved every attention. Even in the so-called Marxology one should see not only mystifying manipulations-and this does happen at times-but also a reflection of the broadest spreading of Marxist thought in the 60 years since the October Revolution.
But let us be frank and admit that certain internal difficulties of our movement are a factor obstructing creative activity. At a time of broad discussion China's departure from the common standpoint has, among other things, become a negative factor in the development of creative work. The justifiable and constant concern today for the movement's unity based on respect for each party's independent choice of the road it wishes to follow has its negative side in that it makes it difficult to arrive at a broad, collective, and international approach to problems, which, in Lenin's words, is the only way of overcoming exclusiveness. We cannot substitute for scientific investigation (and science has no national borders) certain 171 diplomatic devices, though these are at times necessary to avoid offending someone or causing a clash. Let us have diplomacy by all means which helps find ways to secure joint action and cut short divisive trends! Respect for each party's right to elaborate its own line of action is a principle of unity, but scientific truth and theoretical conclusions cannot always be stated in cut-an-dried formulas. A characteristic feature of any viable theory consists in that it affords an opportunity to generalise, as far as possible, different experiences. But theory becomes fruitful to the full extent when it is a result of collective creative work. The common efforts of the communist and working-class movement and through it of all progressive forces definitely supplies life-giving water to the evergreen tree of Marxist-Leninist creative activity. This is also a manifestation of internationalism. Herein lies the great lesson taught by Lenin, the Marxist theorist and thinker, the creative scientist, and revolutionary genius.
[172] __ALPHA_LVL1__ THE EXISTING SOCIALISM---MAINKURT FRITSCH
MEMBER OF THE PRESIDIUM AND SECRETARIAT OF THE BOARD OF THE GERMAN COMMUNIST PARTY
__NOTE__ Author(s) appear above LVL heading in original.Dear comrades, as a Communist of the Federal Republic of Germany and member of the delegation of the GCP I should like to say first of all how impressed I am by the wonderful and inspiring celebration of the 60th anniversary of the Great October Socialist Revolution. In saying this, I think of the anniversary meeting, the speech of the General Secretary of the CC CPSU, Chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR, Comrade Leonid Brezhnev, the parade, and people's demonstration in historic Red Square.
I also think about the latest news from the FRG. In October, the number of jobless in our country increased by another 43,100 and is approaching the one million mark. The Conference of the Teachers' and Scientific Workers' Union, whose members include teachers in schools and specialised children's establishments, came out once again in support of the main trade-union demand for the right to work for all citizens. In Frankfort on the Main thousands of school-leavers, young people, and representatives of jobless youth held a demonstration demanding employment as apprentices and the introduction of progressive vocational training.
173Both these events-the demonstration of the working people in Moscow, in the socialist part of the world, and the demonstration of workers and youth in the capitalist FRG held virtually on the same day-lead up to the conclusion that the lasting service of the Great October Socialist Revolution is that it ushered in an era ending the contradictions between labour and capital, and defined the landmarks of and conclusions for the struggle to build a society free from exploitation of man by man. To bring this home to all men and women is one of the aims of the celebration of the 60th anniversary of the Great October Revolution and of the outstanding report made by Comrade Leonid Brezhnev.
This report has given us a great deal-it has convincingly summed up the results of 60 years of constructive work in building socialism and changing the world balance of forces in favour of the forces of peace, democracy, and socialism. It has vividly demonstrated to us the lessons of the victorious October Revolution and generalised in concrete terms the experience of the three contingents of revolutionary forces on all continents-the world socialist system, the working-class movement in the capitalist countries, and the national liberation movement. It showed us the main content of the current world revolutionary process as it develops.
We would like to express our gratitude for this, and also to thank Comrade Mikhail Suslov and Comrade Boris Ponomarev for their profound speeches. In our opinion, in the opinion of the GCP, the October Revolution and its lessons are of lasting relevance. They are a treasure-house of experience which should be applied concretely and creatively and which must not be rejected.
The October Revolution appeals to our hearts and to our minds. As people with both feet on the ground, people whose goal is to change the world (which prevents us from being exclusively occupied with reminiscences) we Communists of the FRG define our attitude to the October 174 Revolution and thereby to the Soviet Union mainly on the basis of present-day reality, i.e., the continuing impact made by the October Revolution and the objective role played today by the Soviet Union, which continues consistently to implement Lenin's policy. For us Communists the attitude to the Soviet Union has always been the main criterion. Friendship and fraternal alliance with the CPSU is the core of proletarian internationalism.
That is so if only because the Soviet Union, the strongest power of the world socialist system, is simultaneously the key factor of social progress in the world, and the CPSU, the most experienced of Communist parties that has used every form of struggle and has been tested in the harshest trials of history, is making an inestimable and indispensable contribution to the emancipation of the exploited and oppressed.
The significance of the October Revolution for us lies, therefore, not only in unique and concrete historical events like the gunshot fired from the cruiser Aurora as the signal for the storming of the Winter Palace. It lies also in the fact that the October Revolution is the beginning of the world socialist revolution, and this decisively determines the content and conditions of the struggle waged by Communists throughout the world. It lies in the universal significance of the lessons and objective laws Communists must take into account everywhere as they work out their policy of struggle for peace, social progress, and socialism if they want their struggle to succeed. The 60th anniversary of the Great October Socialist Revolution is an exciting event for us Communists in the FRG and a significant occasion to affirm our indissoluble friendship and solidarity with the Soviet Union.
We shall go on steadily promoting friendship between our two peoples and above all the establishment of closer class contacts between the working class of our country and the Soviet Union and other socialist countries. In expressing the interests of the working people of our 175 country, the GCP will, as before, continue to strengthen constantly its fraternal ties with the CPSU.
In laying emphasis on these great general lessons and the experience of the October Revolution, we simultaneously include here the great lessons and experience amassed by the GDR and other socialist countries in the field of socialist transformations and the building of socialism. When we say this we consider it to be self-- understood that our Party, the GCP, is always guided by the needs of the specific urgent tasks that come up in our struggle, and which when fulfilled will pave the way to socialism.
At the same time, we remember the historical truth that German imperialism twice in this century unleashed devastating wars. From the standpoint of our policy, views, moral standards, and theory, we Communists of the Federal Republic of Germany, find satisfaction in the fact that the 60th anniversary of the Great October Revolution confirms once again the fundamental conclusion that socialism needs peace and generates peace.
All who cherish world peace have heard again that the Soviet Union has put forward new peace proposals. They are of far-reaching significance. They are good and sensible, consistent and clear. They are prompted by what is most important for the life of mankind-the cause of peace. As Comrade Leonid Brezhnev said, they constitute a " radical measure''.^^*^^ We Communists of the FRG will spread the new peace proposals of the Soviet Union in our country so that everybody will know that the Soviet Union has made proposals directed to eliminating the danger of mankind's being plunged into the holocaust of atomic war. We shall act with determination in order to ensure that these fresh opportunities should be used in the interests of our country.
And if I emphasise this several days after the celebration of the 60th anniversary of the October Revolution, at which major theoretical principles were set forth, I am _-_-_
^^*^^ New Times, No. 45, November 1977.
176 doing it because the appeal To the Peoples, Parliaments and Governments of All Countries has made us Communists of the FRG feel that a great responsibility also devolves on our Party during this great contention over the questions of war and peace.The development and establishment of the socialist way of life is the result of the pioneering activities of the Soviet Union. Its advance towards the communist future is a convincing answer to many vital issues of these times. The Soviet Union and other socialist states are moving along a path which leads to the future. They prove that work, housing, education, and culture may be put within reach of all men and women. The Soviet state of the whole people, the first state to build communism under the leadership of the Party of Lenin, is the embodiment of the highest level of socialist democracy. This is reflected in the new Constitution of the USSR which is, in the full sense, a charter of socialist humanism, democracy, and peace.
It is this that so troubles the imperialist ideologists. The main purpose of the anti-communism they are stirring up is to conceal, camouflage, and misrepresent the evidence of the fundamental superiority of the socialist way of life. Clearly, if working people learn about the extensive freedoms of the working class and its allies in the socialist world, it will be impossible any longer to conceal the unworthy, 'existence people lead under the capitalist system. The humiliation of man has reached stupendous dimensions in the industrialised capitalist countries. Man is exposed to unemployment and starvation, deprived of the chance to get an education, or job training, to develop freely as a personality.
Dear comrades, the draft Programme of the GCP is to be published soon. The Programme will reflect the national and international needs of the class struggle oriented on protecting the interests of the working class of our country, as well as the interest of the Party, whose duty it is to observe the principles of proletarian internationalism. __PRINTERS_P_177_COMMENT__ 12---327 177 In this draft Programme, which speaks mainly of democratic changes, of the struggle for anti-monopoly democracy which will open the road to socialism, we say: our modern age has started with the Great October Socialist Revolution in Russia. This first victorious worker-peasant revolution was a turning point in the history of mankind. It turned socialism from a scientific doctrine into an actual reality. It confirmed the teachings of Marx, Engels, and Lenin on the world transforming force of the working class.
Thanks to the Great October Socialist Revolution, the capitalist system has lost its undivided domination of the globe. A fundamentally new balance of forces has emerged. The struggle of the working class and the oppressed peoples for their national and social emancipation has gained powerful momentum.
Socialism is the result of the development of history, of class battles, of the age-old desire of the oppressed and exploited to create a society of equality, justice, and freedom. Socialism has realised the ideals of the working-class movement in practical terms. It is being built successfully in the countries of the socialist community. And everywhere it was set in motion by consistent class struggle. And everywhere it manifests its general features stemming from the general laws discovered by Marx, Engels, and Lenin and given practical proof by the Great October Socialist Revolution and all subsequent socialist changes.
We are confident that in this way we shall be able to explain to the working class and all progressives in our country the significance of the Great October Socialist Revolution and utilise its experience in looking for a path to socialism. In this way, we shall simultaneously confirm the indisputable nature of the international truth about the universal significance of the experience of the Great October Socialist Revolution.
[178] __ALPHA_LVL1__ INTERNATIONAL SOLIDARITY---PYOTR FEDOSEYEV
MEMBER OF THE CPSU CENTRAL COMMITTEE AND VICE-PRESIDENT OF THE USSR ACADEMY OF SCIENCES
__NOTE__ Author(s) appear above LVL heading in original.Vast and diversified modern revolutionary experience is widely represented at this conference, which has dealt exhaustively with many urgent problems of the world liberation movement against imperialism.
Our foreign friends have spoken highly of the historic and truly international significance of the Great October Socialist Revolution, and of the building and development of the world's first socialist society.
The present epoch, which commenced with the Great October Revolution, is the most revolutionary in human history. It is the epoch of the abolition of exploitation and all oppression of man by man, the epoch of the historic struggle for communism. A salient feature of the present stage of world development is the steady growth of the strength and influence of existing socialism, the fusion of socialist, people's democratic, and national liberation revolutions and their interaction with the scientific and technological revolution. In close relation with these processes there has unfolded a powerful movement of peoples, of all progressive forces for peace, security, and international co-operation. All this is ultimately directed against imperialism.
__PRINTERS_P_179_COMMENT__ 12* 179Small wonder, therefore, that imperialism's strategists, political leaders, and ideologists are doing their utmost to disunite and sow dissension between these revolutionary processes and social forces, and thereby undermine and paralyse the world liberation movement. The imperialists are past masters at using others to bank up the fire, at setting peoples and social forces against each other wherever possible, using chauvinists and adventurers of all hues for this purpose.
Bourgeois ideologists and politicians adopt any doctrine and political guideline that can erode the alliance of the revolutionary forces, bring developing nations into conflict with the socialist community, set some socialist countries against others, or kindle disagreement between different contingents of the working-class movement, between different trade unions and other democratic organisations on a national or international scale.
In the struggle between the two world systems the imperialists pin much of their hopes on the continued arms race and on scientific and technological achievements. But on this road, too, they are moving towards not the settlement, but the further exacerbation of the contradictions of the capitalist system.
As Marxist-Leninist theory sees it, the social revolutions and the great scientific and technological achievements of our time are not accidental. They coincide in time naturally, for they spring from the growth of the productive forces and the need for their further development. Revolutionary changes are brought to life by the need for abolishing the obsolete capitalist relations of production and evolving new social forms of managing production, the new, socialist type of its development on the basis of public property in the means of production.
At the imperialist stage of its development, capitalism has become not only a hindrance to social progress, but also a threat to human civilisation as a whole. The First World War of 1914--18 reflected the hyper-aggravation of 180 capitalism's contradictions and was a symptom of the commencement of its decay and general crisis. The Second World War still further uncovered the perniciousness and catastrophic character of imperialism's economic and political system.
Society's new, ascendant development towards communism, and capitalism's steady decline, despite the growth of production in individual periods and the technological progress in developed countries, began with the victory of the Great October Revolution.
By creating a socialist economic system, the Great October Socialist Revolution gave a powerful impetus and continuously operating stimuli to the development of the productive forces and to scientific and technological progress. The socialist system came forward as a challenge to the capitalist world, a challenge to compete in promoting material production and in improving life. The indisputable and increasing successes of the Soviet Union and other socialist countries in this sphere compel the ruling classes of the capitalist countries to grasp at every possible means for speeding economic development and, under pressure brought to bear by the working masses, to concede some improvement of the living standard. In order somehow to blunt the conflicts rending the bourgeois social system they place great emphasis on the use of scientific and technological achievements, utilising the developed industrial facilities and skilled personnel available to them, and intensifying the exploitation of labour. But this is a limited, temporary, and contradictory compensation. The efforts of the imperialist circles to shift the burden of capitalism's crisis to the working masses and the developing nations and increase the profits of the monopolists and their most powerful groups are aggravating the antagonisms and conflicts in the capitalist world system, adding fuel to the class struggle of the working people for their vital interests and human rights, and stiffening the resistance of the liberated countries to imperialism's neo-colonialist policy.
181In addition to the basic antagonism between labour and capital, there is now a sharp conflict between the predatory interests of the monopolies and the human environment, between the development of capitalist industry and nature, between the vital requirements of people and the unbridled growth of the means of destruction that are imperilling the very existence of the human race and all other life on the planet. The economic and energy crisis, the massive growth of unemployment, the unchecked inflation and monetary convulsions, and the escalation of crime and drug addiction are obvious signs of capitalism's senility.
For the socialist world system the scientific and technological revolution is the natural continuation and development of the fundamental social transformations started by the Great October Socialist Revolution. The socialist world is consciously and systematically harnessing the scientific and technological revolution to the service of social progress. It is socialism's mission to ensure the unrestricted growth of the productive forces, to give the fullest possible scope to the scientific and technological revolution, and use its achievements for peaceful purposes, for the good of mankind.
The dialectics of the modern epoch is also seen in the fact that in many countries the socialist revolution preceded the scientific and technological revolution, thereby providing it with basic social conditions. In turn, in these countries the scientific and technological revolution is the means for fostering and multiplying the achievements of the social revolution. In the Soviet Union and other socialist countries every effort is made to combine scientific and technological achievements with the advantages of socialism. In capitalist countries the revolution in science and technology anticipates the social revolution, preparing the material preconditions for it and deepening capitalism's basic contradiction. The distinction in the sequence of the scientific-technological and social revolutions in 182 different countries vividly confirms the law, discovered by Lenin, of the unevenness of economic and political development. However, under both variants of social development, the scientific and technological revolution is in the long run an organic element creating the material preconditions of communist society. The revolution in the productive forces builds up the new material and technical basis of the communist mode of production. In this lies the integrity of the historical process of our time.
From the standpoint of the results of and prospects for world development, it is of fundamental and, one might say, international importance to assess the experience and significance of the Great October Revolution and the achievements of the existing socialism.
As a result of revolutionary changes, the Soviet Union, which inherited a relatively backward and war-dislocated economy, became the cradle of the new system, of the new society. The Soviet people's achievements in building socialism eloquently show the world the historic fact that in alliance with all working people delivered from exploiter oppression the working class is able to develop economy, culture, science and technology faster and more successfully than capitalism.
Socialism's development has given shape to a new type of democracy that assures the actual participation of the entire people in the charting and implementation of domestic and foreign policy, in the administration of affairs of state, and in resolving problems affecting the life of society. We can remind the hypocritical ``champions'' of human rights that the October Revolution triumphed in the struggle against the arbitrary rule and privileges of the exploiting classes and the denial of rights to working people. Since then the tangible rights and freedoms of citizens have been steadily widened on the basis of successful economic and cultural development, in a situation witnessing society's increasingly close-knit social and ideological unity.
183Bourgeois critics of socialism allege that collectivism suppresses and restricts the individual. But creative initiative and individuality receive scope precisely in society, in human association, in collective work. Essentially speaking, socialism rejects individualism, the pretensions of individuals who set themselves above society and lay claim to all sorts of privileges, to a special position. In a socialist society man is, to quote Marx, "a true individuality" and not an individualist. Individuality means an individual with a high level of intellectual maturity characterised by originality and a profound sense of civic duty. In a socialist society an inalienable feature of the individual is not hardened egoism, but the striving to serve society to the best of one's ability and talents. Socialist society lives by the motto: "Everything for the sake of man, for the benefit of man.''
The great achievements of the Soviet people, the rights and freedoms of citizens and the norms of human association in a developed socialist society are detailed in the new Constitution of the USSR. Concern of all for the good of each and concern of each for the good of all is a law of Soviet society.
Bourgeois ideologists and politicians cannot comprehend the source of the unity, organisation, and unanimity of the Soviet people. They contend that they are the result of state pressure and lack of democracy. They are astonished that in a socialist society there is neither contention nor conflict between social groups, nations, and generations. But this great achievement and advantage of the new society is due to public ownership having replaced private ownership, to the abolition of exploiting classes, the steady convergence and unbreakable alliance between the working class, the collective farm peasantry, and the people's intelligentsia, and the consolidation of fraternal friendship among the peoples of the USSR. This is tangible proof and a foretoken of the fact that under communism all class distinctions will disappear, that there will be complete 184 social homogeneity in society and that social self-- administration will be firmly established.
An important hallmark of present world development is the steady growth of the might and unity of the countries belonging to the socialist community, and the continuous enhancement of their political prestige on the international scene. Within a short period these countries, including those that had an undeveloped economy in the past, built up a modern industry and substantially raised the living and cultural standard of their people. As the socialist nations progress and consolidate their sovereignty, the inter-relation between their policy, economy, and social life grows closer, their development gradually levels up and the process of socialist economic integration broadens.
Thus, in the competition between the two world systems the correlation of forces changes steadily in favour of socialism, to the detriment of imperialism. In addition to becoming more violent in their attacks on the Soviet Union and other socialist countries, the imperialists are stepping up subversion against these countries.
It is also apparent that imperialism has not reconciled itself to the loss of its supremacy in the former colonies and semi-colonies. It hopes to continue exploiting the peoples of these countries with the help of neo-colonialism. In their confrontation with imperialism the newly independent nations are upholding their political and economic rights with mounting vigour, striving to consolidate their independence and raise their level of social, economic, and cultural development. The imperialist powers and the reactionary forces in the developing countries are endeavouring to use the innumerable difficulties and economic backwardness inherited by these nations from the recent colonial past.
Imperialist military bases, sinister advance posts of direct military, political, and psychological pressure on the national liberation movement, continue to be __PRINTERS_P_185_COMMENT__ 13---327 185 maintained on the territory of many developing countries. To torpedo the easing of international tension, the neo-- colonialists kindle local conflicts and wars in the developing countries that are, in many cases, accompanied by direct imperialist aggression. The imperialist bosses engineer counter-revolutionary putsches, organise acts of terrorism against progressive personalities, support anti-people's military dictatorships, incite discord between nations and tribes, encourage right-nationalist and separatist movements, and intensify the preaching of anti-communism, racism, and chauvinism.
Nevertheless, despite the West's immense financial, material, and technical resources and huge propaganda machine, colonialism is suffering one setback after another in individual countries and in entire regions. The course of historical development shows that neo-colonialist strategy is doomed to eventual inescapable failure. This is convincingly borne out by the following internationally significant factors.
First, the continued deepening and aggravation of the chronic crisis of the very structure of the division of labour in the capitalist world, in which the former colonies and dependent countries are accorded the role of auxiliary, dependent, and exploited links of the capitalist world system.
Second, the shattering of the entire political system of neo-colonialist relations seen in the annulment or virtual abrogation of many unequal and discriminatory international agreements between the former metropolies and colonies that had substantially restricted the political sovereignty of peoples.
Third, the stinging defeats suffered by neo-colonialism's military strategy. Neither the specially trained punitive troops nor the special military equipment have allowed the imperialist neo-colonialists to win a single significant victory over the revolutionary liberation movements in any region.
186Fourth, the increasingly obvious failure of the social strategy employed by neo-colonialism, which is compelled to rely on the ultra-reactionary, anti-national forces in the newly independent countries. With the anti-imperialist movement gathering momentum, more contingents of working people, the middle social strata and, in particular, the progressive national intelligentsia are opposing neocolonialist expansion with growing vigour and determination.
In the newly independent countries the working class is becoming an increasingly important factor of progressive development.
Fifth, and last, the most serious setbacks have been suffered in recent years by neo-colonialist ideological expansion founded on the massive preaching of anti-- communist and reactionary nationalist ideas. It is more and more obvious for the broadest segments of the political and social forces in the developing nations that neo-colonialism uses the screen of sonorous verbiage provided by the false ``fighters'' for human rights, who pose as champions of "national identity'', to lay on the peoples new chains of exploitation, to restore the most reactionary social practices.
In this situation it is of paramount importance to ensure the closer cohesion of all anti-imperialist forces, of all the forces of progress, against all manifestations of imperialism's neo-colonialist policy, and to repulse its attempts at imposing upon the newly independent nations camouflaged political and economic control.
Different revolutionary torrents and movements in different countries are headed by different class groups and political parties. One of the most difficult problems of the liberation movement is that of achieving co-ordination and co-operation among the different social and political forces in the struggle against imperialism. Interaction of the different streams can and frequently does take shape spontaneously, when imperialism is attacked by scattered __PRINTERS_P_187_COMMENT__ 13* 187 contingents at different times and from different directions. Needless to say, final success in the struggle against imperialism can be ensured when all the liberation movements unite more closely and act in concert.
Experience, particularly present-day world development, incontrovertibly confirms the proposition advanced by Marx and Engels and enlarged upon by Lenin, that the international working class and its foremost contingent, the world communist movement, are the uniting and leading force that can counter the intrigues of imperialism. Its main weapon is international solidarity.
The working class as the motor and leader in society's revolutionary transformation, in the building of socialism and communism, is the central point of the ideology and policy of the communist movement. Any deviation from the Marxist-Leninist understanding of this question prejudices the cause of the working class, the interests of the working people, and the ideals of communism. In every country the working class and its revolutionary party act independently in keeping with the traditions and conditions of the revolutionary struggle. But by virtue of objective conditions the working class cannot isolate itself within the national framework and achieve victory without international solidarity.
With the emergence of a world market and a world economy the international character of historical processes has become increasingly clear. In the epoch of imperialism the motive forces and conditions of the revolutionary struggle have grown more diversified and complex with the more pronounced unevenness of economic and political development and the involvement of new hundreds of millions of people in the liberation struggle in different parts of the world. Today, hundreds of millions of people belonging to the most diverse strata of the population have joined the liberation movement, and this makes it imperative for the Communists to take the features of the situation in each country into account.
188But the dialectics of history is such that the objective and subjective prerequisites of the revolution have also evened out with increasing momentum. At the turn of the century no real possibilities existed for the oppressed peoples of backward Asian and African countries to overthrow the colonialists, proclaim a programme of socialist orientation, and move gradually towards socialism without passing through the stage of capitalist development. Today, it is becoming more and more evident that the objective prerequisites for a fundamental revolutionary renewal have matured or are maturing in all the countries of the world.
Thus, despite the diversity of conditions in different countries, the sphere of operation of the general laws of the revolutionary process is becoming broader instead of narrowing; far from diminishing, the impact of these laws steadily increases on the world scene and in each individual country. To deny the existence of general laws of society's socialist transformation is to be blind to these objective processes, or fail to understand them, and break with the Marxist-Leninist teaching.
International solidarity has been and remains a powerful, tested weapon of the world liberation movement. Proletarian internationalism is a key principle of the theory and practice of communism, the source of the working people's strength and invincibility in their struggle for a bright future for all nations.
Led by the CPSU, the Soviet Union consistently and steadfastly abides by the principles of international solidarity. At the anniversary meeting in the Kremlin on 2 November 1977 Leonid Brezhnev said: "Today, as we mark the 60th anniversary of our revolution, we Communists of the Soviet Union declare once again that we will always be loyal to the great brotherhood of the Communists of the world!"^^*^^
_-_-_^^*^^ New Times, No. 45, November 1977, p. 10. 189
189Relations of fraternal friendship and mutual assistance with the countries of the socialist community, assistance to the world working-class and national liberation movements, and aid to the general democratic struggle for peace tangibly demonstrate the Soviet Union's internationalist essence and embody and exemplify the new relations that socialism brings to all nations.
For their part. Soviet people are profoundly grateful for the internationalist support of the world working class and all friends of the Soviet Union for the historic cause of the Great October Revolution. Citizens of the USSR appreciate and admire the heroic deeds and achievements of the peoples of fraternal socialist countries in building the new society, the courageous efforts and role of the working class and all working people of capitalist countries, and all participants in national liberation movements righting against imperialism, for social progress, democracy, national independence, and peace among nations.
In conclusion, allow me, on behalf of the Presidium of the USSR Academy of Sciences, the Institute of MarxismLeninism, the Academy of Social Sciences, the Higher Party School of the CPSU Central Committee and, I think, of everybody in this hall, to express heartfelt gratitude to all the comrades who spoke at this scientific conference. We are deeply grateful to our foreign friends who have participated in this international meeting to mark the 60th anniversary of the Great October Revolution.
No general resolutions or mandatory documents are required of a scientific conference. But it will be true to say that with their Marxist-Leninist conclusions on many pressing problems the materials of this conference are our common property and serve to promote the cause and interests of progressive world opinion.
[190] __ALPHA_LVL1__ NAME INDEXArismendi, Rodney-31, 163 Axen, Hermann-54
B
Balino, Carlos-95, 96, 97 Brezhnev. L. 7.-13, 14, 16, 22, 26, 27, 31, 32, 33, 42, 43, 54, 55, 59, 60, 67, 71, 79, 88,104, 117, 119, 120, 131, 137, 138, 142, 155, 156, 173, 174, 176, 189
Engels, Frederick-9, 26, 47, 53, 59, 63, 80, 90, 98, 118, 163, 164, 166, 171, 178, 188
Fedoseyev, Pyotr-179 Filipov, Grisha-71 Fritsch. Kurt-173
Gierek, Edwatd-127 Gottwald, Klement-138
H
Hall, Gus-67
Havlin, Josef-137
Hegel-165
Ho Chi Minh-9Q, 94, 116, 117,
118Honecker, Erich-59. 63 Husdk, Gustdv-137, 138, 141
Cochin, Marcel-134
Castro, Fidel-93, 94, 95, 97, 98
Ceausescu, Nicolae-152, 155
Chiang Kai-shek-92
Chu Teh-92
Cogniot Georges-132
Corvaldn, £wis-104
Dzerzhinsky, Felix-123
Johnson, Hetolett-97
191K
[192] __ALPHA_LVL1__ SUBJECT INDEXKdddr, Jdnos-101, 103
Ponomarev, Botis-22, 56, 64, 67, 72, 120, 127, 142, 157, 163, 174
Rautu, Leonte-148 Recabarren, Luis Emilio-106 Rodriguez, Carlos Rafael-88 Rokossoosky, Konstantin-123
Labrousse, Ernest-135
Le Duan-94
Lenin, V. I.-10, 11, 23, 30, 31, 40, 42, 43, 48, 50, 51, 54, 59, 62, 76, 77, 80, 89, 90, 91, 96, 97, 98, 105, 109, 111, 112, 116, 117, 118, 119, 121, 122, 124, 127, 163, 164, 165, 166, 167, 169, 170, 171, 172, 177, 178, 183, 188
Li Ta Chao-92
Longo, Luigi-163
M
Machado-95
Mao Tse-tung-92, 126, 158
Marchlewski, Julian-123
Marti, }ose-95
Marx, Karl-9, 26, 47, 53, 59, 80, 88, 90, 98, 118, 134, 163, 164, 165, 166, 167, 171, 178, 184, 188
Meany, George-69, 70
Mella, Julio Antonio-95, 96
Mistral, Gabriela-107
N
Nemes, Dezso-99 Neruda, Pablo-107 Nguen Khanh Toan-111
Sartre, Jean-Paul-95, 98 Sharma, Yogendra-143 Sosorbaram, Sanbagiyn-156 Sun Yat-sen-92 Suslov, Mikhail-9, 56, 67, 72,
120, 142, 157, 163, 174 Swierczewski, Karol-123
Address of the CC CPSU, the Supreme Soviet of the USSR and the Council of Ministers of the USSR "To the Peoples, Parliaments and Governments of All Countries" -55, 138, 177
All Revolutionary Forces in the world-\09, 114, 117
Anti-communism-^, 45, 82, 158, 177, 186
Anti-Sovietism-37, 82, 103, 177
August revolution-116, 117
B
Berlin Conference of the Communist and Workers' Parties of Europe-38, 50, 66, 127
Bourgeoisie-19, 38, 44, 51, 108, 133
Bulgarian Communist Party-73, 83, 84, 85, 86, 87
36, 48, 67, 68, 69, 108, 114, 115, 117, 118, 138, 144, 146, 163, 170, 180, 181
-contradictions 18, 25, 108, 136, 152, 180, 181, 182
-general crisis 29, 61, 63, 67, 68, 69, 70, 113, 144, 181, 186
Classes and class struggle-9, 16, 19, 25, 26, 28, 41, 42, 49, 55, 62, 63, 65, 75, 77, 78,105, 126, 138, 139, 178, 181 CAfEA-144 Colonialism-29, 186 Comintern-50, 93, 96 Communism-9, 14, 17, 54, 59, 87, 116, 119, 155, 156, 179, 184, 188
Communist parties: 21, 24, 37, 38, 40, 41, 44, 45, 61, 62, 85, 93, 133, 153, 154
-leading role in establishing and developing socialist society 24, 26, 27 Communist Party of CMe-104 Communist Party of China-65, 92
Thorez, Maurice-132, 134, 135 TsedenbaI-162
Vaillant-Couturier, Paul-134
W
Wang-Ming-93 Werblan, Andrzej-120
Zhivkou, Todor-73, 83, 84, 87
Capitalism: 9, 10, 19, 20, 21, 25,
193Communist Patty ot Cuba-88, 95, 97
Communist Party of Czechoslovakia-13,7, 138, 139, 140, 141, 142
Communist Party ot Germany -56
Communist Patty ot India-143
Communist Party of the Soviet Union: 9, 10, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 18, 20, 21, 22, 27, 30, 31, 40, 41, 43, 46, 50, 55, 57, 72, 73, 84, 85, 93, 105, 119, 120, 137, 139, 140, 141, 142, 147, 155, 156, 166, 170, 173, 175,
176, 189, 190
-the experience 13, 22, 43, 57, 73, 81, 131, 138, 157, 158, 159, 160, 161, 162 Communist Party of Vietnam
-112, 116
Competition between the two world systems-17, 18, 62, 100 Constitution ot the USSR (the Fundamental Law of the State)-W, 12, 13, 18, 27, 28, 30, 32, 46, 53, 60, 61, 72, 73, 105, 115, 128, 145, 148, 166,
177, 184
Correlation of forces in the world-\7, 28, 49, 53, 55, 58, 63, 64, 113, 114, 135, 174
Countries of the socialist community-10. 17, 18, 30, 34, 54, 55, 58, 60, 68, 71, 87, 89, 101, 131, 136, 141, 180, 185
Cuban revolution-94, 95
Decree on Peace-30, 136 Democracy: 18, 19, 47, 83, 104, 105, 107, 108, 109, 110, 113, 114, 127, 128, 134, 152, 153, 157, 183
194-socialist 27, 60, 85, 86, 105, 127--28, 146, 151, 161, 177
Detente-\7. 18, 19, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35--38, 40, 50, 64, 82, 136, 145, 152, 186
Developed capitalist countries -19, 24, 61, 74, 133, 153, 164, 177
Developed socialist society: 14, 27, 58, 59, 73, 84, 85, 99, 105, 130, 151, 152
-in the USSR 14, 53, 73, 145 Developing countries-19, 59, 61,
144, 146, 153, 180 Dictatorship of the proletariat -15, 83, 85, 105, 106, 138, 139
Disarmament-32, 33, 36, 38, 62-- 63, 136, 141
42, 52, 56, 74, 75, 77, 81, 82, 99, 174
-influence ot the ideas 20--21, 23
-international impact on the progress of mankind 50, 71, 74, 90, 92, 94, 100, 105, 121, 122, 125, 136, 140, 141
H
Helsinki Final Act-58, 145 Human rights-19, 26, 30, 34,
36, 64, 106, 108, 110, 128,
146. 183 Hungarian Socialist Workers'
Party-99
International working-class movement-11, 20, 22, 28, 29, 39, 72, 103, 137, 140, 167, 174, 188
Internationalism: 20, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 127, 168, 172
-proletarian 20, 46, 47, 49, 65, 67, 75, 116, 141, 144, 147, 161, 162, 175, 177, 189 -socialist 46, 49, 87
Leninism-n8, 119, 139, 166 M
Marxism-Leninism: 13, 14, 17, 21, 24, 40, 42, 52, 53, 55, 73, 74, 77, 78, 79, 82, 83, 84, 96, 97, 121, 127, 135, 137, 141, 144, 146, 147, 158, 162, 164, 189
-creative application (of the general principles of scientific socialism) 17, 21, 22, 62, 73, 74, 149, 153, 163 Meeting of Communist and
Workers' Parties, 1969--46 Mongolian People's Revolutionary Party-156, 157, 158, 159, 161, 162
``Eurocommunism"-^, 81
Imperialism: 34, 37, 43, 44, 51, 57, 63, 64, 67, 69, 70, 91, 93, 94, 95, 117, 121, 133, 153, 164, 181, 185, 187
-collapse of the imperialist colonial system 11, 46, 55, 61, 104--05, 110, 133 -German 58, 176 -world 19, 48, 51, 52, 57, 67, 150
-struggle against imperialism 47, 51, 68, 187, 190 -United States 68, 116 lntelligentsia-16, 25, 89, 97, 113,
124, 160, 168, 184 International communist movement-n, 20, 22, 29, 39, 43, 48, 50, 59, 65, 66, 71, 72, 74, 102, 137, 140, 146, 147, 157, 158, 162, 164, 167, 188, 190 International:
-Second 96, 164, 165 -Third 166. See also Comintern
Fascism: 24, 43, 93, 108, 109, 115, 155, 163
-German 11, 56, 110,163 -in Latin America 44, 169 French Communist Parfy-132, 134
Great October Socialist Revolution :-9, 10, 17, 71, 77, 88, 92--93, 99, 103, 107, 114, 118, 120, 122, 135, 154, 163, 183 -historic significance 9-- 11, 22, 30, 71, 89, 91, 100, 105, 121, 157, 175, 178, 179 -historical experience 28,
N
National liberation movement- 24, 39, 44, 50, 51, 55, 61, 72, 74, 109, 154, 174, 179, 185, 190
NATO-33, 35, 64
Neo-colonialism-51, 89, 185, 186, 187
Nuclear weapons-30, 32, 33, 34, 36, 55, 110
195Peaceful coexistence of states with different social systems-30, 31, 58, 110, 131, 136, 141, 145, 153, 166
Peasantry-25. 113, 184
Polish United Workers' Party -120
Programme of further struggle for peace and international co-operation, and the freedom and independence of the peoples-IS, 31
153, 154, 155, 156, 157, 159, 163, 175, 182, 184, 185, 189 -developed 10, 14, 24, 26, 59, 84, 106, 116, 130, 166 -different forms and ways of accomplishing the transition to socialism 26, 40--41, 62, 76--77, 78--79, 105, 135, 154, 164, 170 -existing (real) 13, 15, 17, 18, 24--25, 26, 28, 38, 64,
74, 77, 80, 82, 120, 126, 129, 179, 183 -general laws of socialist construction 43, 75, 85, 101, 126, 139, 157, 160, 169
-models 77--78, 79, 80-- 81, 158
-``national'' 77, 78, 81 -scientific 14, 26, 73, 118, 139, 146, 149, 153, 158 -world 18, 57, 58, 74, 79, 174
Socialist countries-T.7, 35, 38, 45,
46, 52, 57, 58, 59, 74, 86, 87,
89, 99, 103, 110, 130, 144,
161, 175, 177, 180, 181
Socialist economic integration
-127, 185
Socialist Croup of Havana-96 Socialist International-^) Socialist orientation-ll, 25, 46,
52, 189
Socialist revolution: 9, 10, 21,
71, 74, 75, 76, 80, 81, 112,
118, 130, 140, 149, 160, 164,
165, 166, 167, 176, 202
-general laws 41, 43, 72,
75, 76, 78, 80, 81, 89, 122, 126, 140, 189
-specific national conditions 41, 76, 77, 78 Socialist state of the whole people-15, 85, 177
Socialist revolution in Bulgaria on 9 September 1944--83
Socialist Unity Party of Germany (SUPG)-56, 57, 59, 60,63, 66
Socialist way of life-25, 86, 130, 161, 177, 178
Soviet Army 56, 83, 100, 125, 155
Struggle between capitalism and socialism-17, 18, 62, 101
Struggle for peace-18, 31, 38 46, 50, 52, 62, 65, 142, 179
-psychological warfare 36, 64, 129
-Second World 24, 83, 100, 115, 135, 180 Warsaw Treaty Organisation-33.
34 Workers' Federation of Havana
-96 Working class: 41, 47, 72, 113,
144, 178, 186, 187, 188, 190 -its allies 16, 24, 86, 183, 184
-leading role of the working class in carrying out socialist revolution 11, 15, 43, 60, 76, 86, 139, 161, 177, 188 -struggle of 20, 63, 94, 105, 106, 108, 109, 110, 120, 121, 134, 178 World revolutionary process-W,
17, 20, 24, 39, 41, 50, 55, 62,
65, 67, 68, 69, 73, 74, 126,
141, 168, 174, 180 World socialist system-11, 46,
50, 55, 102, 103, 113, 116,
131, 175, 180, 181, 182
Revolution: 42, 60, 73, 94, 167, 170
-bourgeois 133 -cultural 75, 160, 161 -national liberation 63, 167, 179
-people's democratic 83, 179
-social 74, 80, 180, 182 -socialist 9, 10, 21, 72, 75, 76, 77, 78, 81, 82, 83, 117, 122, 130, 139, 149, 160, 164, 165, 167, 170,175
Revolutionary-democratic parties-52. 158
Romanian Communist Party -148, 149, 150, 154, 155
Scientific and technological revolution-^, 85, 86, 151, 166, 168, 179, 180, 181, 182
Socialism: 9, 10, 14, 15, 16, 18, 19, 23, 28, 29, 30, 37, 42, 45, 52, 60, 61, 63, 64, 65, 95, 105, 106, 110, 114, 115, 116, 117, 119, 126, 127, 129--30, 142, 143, 144, 146, 149, 150, 152,
196U
tW-30, 33
W
War: 37, 38, 39, 49, 53, 176 -cold 31, 35, 55, 153 -First World 90, 180 -nuclear 34, 35, 36, 62, 176
[197] __ALPHA_LVL1__ INDEX OF GEOGRAPHICAL NAMESAfrica-24, 51, 61, 62, 90, 113,
117, 189
Angola-65, 98, 109 Asia-10, 24, 61, 90, 95, 149, 189
Bolivia-109 Brazil-44, 108, 109 Bulgaria-82, 83, 84, 85, 86, 87
Cambodia-145
Chile-44, 98, 106, 108, 109
China-65, 90, 91, 98, 103, 104,
171 Cuba-65, 88, 90, 91, 92, 95, 96,
97, 98, 133 Czechoslovakia-137, 138, 139,
140, 141, 142
Eastern Europe-83 Europe-10, 24, 33, 56, 95, 97, 110, 124, 133, 136, 145, 149
Federal Republic of Germany, FRG-43, 57, 58, 65, 173, 174 175, 176, 177
Finland-91
France-134, 135, 136
German Democratic Republic,
GDR-54, 56, 57, 58, 59, 63,
176Germany-57, 83, 107, 124 Greece-109 Guatemala-98 Guinea-Bissau-98
Hungary-99, 100, 101, 102
India-90, 143 Indochina-65, 68, 94 Indonesia-109 Italy-77
Japan-65, 92
Laos-145
Latin America-10, 24, 44, 61, 66, 90, 108, 149, 169
Middle East-113, 145 Mongolia-23, 156, 157, 158, 160,
161Mozambique-98 Namibia-51, 98, 108 Nicaragua-98
Paraguay-98
198Poland-121, 122, 123, 124, 127,
128 Portugal-109
Rhodesia-108
Romania-148, 151, 152, 153,154,
155 Russia, RSFSR-81, 96, 106, 115,
122, 123, 134, 143, 178
South Africa-51, 98, 108
South Korea-109
Southern Africa-51
Soviet Union (USSR), Soviet land-10, 14, 15, 18, 22, 27, 28, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 36, 38, 43, 45, 54, 55, 56, 63, 84, 87, 94, 96, 97, 99, 100, 101, 102,
103, 104, 105,
107, 110,
111,
115, 116, 120,
124, 125,
126,
127, 130, 131,
132, 133,
140,
144, 145, 155,
156, 161,
162,
175, 176, 177,
181, 182,
183, 185, 189, 190 Spain-95, 109
Thailand-109 Turkey-91
United States of America-65,
68, 69, 70, 94 Uruguay-44, 98, 108, 109, 163
Vietnam-98, 111, 112, 116, 133,
145Zimbabwe-51, 98
[199] __ALPHA_LVL0__ The End. [END] Emacs-File-stamp: "/home/ysverdlov/leninist.biz/en/1978/TOLI198/20070620/201.tx" __EMAIL__ webmaster@leninist.biz __OCR__ ABBYY 6 Professional (2007.06.20) __WHERE_PAGE_NUMBERS__ bottom __FOOTNOTE_MARKER_STYLE__ [*]+ __ENDNOTE_MARKER_STYLE__ [0-9]+REQUEST TO READERS~
Progress Publishers would be glad to have your opinion of this book, its translation and design and any suggestions you may have for future publications.
Please send all your comments to 17, Zubovsky Boulevard, Moscow, USSR.
[200]An international scientific conference, "The Great October Revolution and the Present Epoch'', was held in Moscow under the auspices of the USSR Academy of Sciences, and the Institute of MarxismLeninism, Academy of Social Sciences, and the Higher Party School, all three of the CC CPSU, on 10--12 November 1977. Among its participants were prominent Soviet and foreign scholars and public leaders, and representatives of more than 70 Communist, Workers', and nationaldemocratic parties.
Progress Publishers present the proceedings of the conference in four books: "Triumph of Lenin's Ideas'', " International Significance of the Great October Revolution and the Building of Socialism and Communism'', "Socialist Society in the Present Stage'', and "The October Revolution and the Working-Class, National Liberation, and General Democratic Movements''.
This book contains contributions of representatives of Communist parties at the plenary session of the conference. They show the historic significance of the October Revolution for the whole world, the achievements of the socialist countries, and socialism's growing role in the development of the world, and examine topical aspects of the struggle for peace and international co-operation. Much attention is devoted to strengthening the internationalist solidarity of Communists and to the question of combatting anticommunism.
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