STALIN and STALIN'S LEADERSHIP
V. MOLOTOV
FOREIGN LANGUAGES PUBLISHING HOUSE
M o s c o w 1 9 5 0
It is now particularly clear how exceedingly fortunate it was for our country and for the cause of Communism generally that, after Lenin's death, the Communist Party of the U.S.S.R. was headed by Comrade Stalin, under whose guidance the Soviet Union has already for more than a quarter of a century been victoriously building . communist society. In this historic period our country has grown to f ull maturity as a socialist land, and a,t the same time it has become the decisive factor in the mighty upsurge of all the progressive forces of humanity. This is the consummate achievement of Comrade Stalin, of Stalin's leadership, which ensured the ideological unity of our Party on the basis of the principles of Marxism Leninism and the undeviating advance of the Soviet people along the road mapped out by the great Lenin.
* * *
Already at the end of 1936, in his Report on the Draft Constitution of the U.S;S.R., Comrade Stalin said:
". . .we now have a fully formed multinational Socialist State, which has stood all tests, and whose stability might well be envied by any national state in any part of the world."
As we know, the Stalin Constitution set the stamp and seal on this general outcome and became the basis for the further progress and the further all-round development of the forces of our state.
In 1946, summing np the results of the second world war, and outlining new tasks of socialist construction Comrade Stalin . spoke of the world historical significance of the victory of the Soviet Army in this war. He said that "our Soviet social system was victorious" in this war, having demonstrated that it is "a better form of organisation of society than any non-Soviet social system," and that, furthermore, "our Soviet state system was victorious" in_ this war, having demonstrated that "the Soviet state system has proved to be a model multinational state, that the Soviet state system is a system of state organization in which the national problem and the problem of the collaboration of nations have found a better solution than in any other multinational state."
It is quite obvious that we could not have scored this victory if it had not been preceded by the great successes achieved by the Soviet people, under the guidance of our Party, in promoting the political and economic progress of the Soviet State. Without this, we would not have had that economic might of our country' that solid rally in nci
of the working class and of all the working people around the Party, around Comrade Stalin, and that selfless readiness of the people to defend the Soviet State against its foreign enemies, which were the ·decisive factors in deter mining the victorious outcome of the war.
This great victory was made possible by the socialist successes achieved by our people in the years preceding the Great Patriotic war. -
It was necessary, first of all, to lay the economic foundation of Socialism; and thereby put on a firm footing the state system of the dictatorship of the proletariat which is based on an alliance between the working class and the labouring peasant masses. This was the purpose of the policy of socialist industrialization of the country, which · found expression in the.celebrated Stalin five-year plans. ln these years many thousands of factories and mills were built and many new industrial dties ·and areas grew up. This policy ,strengthened and enhanced the leading role of the working class in the Soviet Union. Thanks to the Stalin industrialization policy, which made possible the technical reconstruction of our .entire national economy, we were able to ensure an uninterrupted and steadily increasing rate of expansion of Soviet industry especially heavy industry, to make our national economy independent of capitalist countries, and continuously t improve the welfare and culture of the working class and of all the working people of our country.
It was further necessary to solve the problem, posed for the first time in history, of inducing the millions of small and backward peasant farms to adopt large-scale collective farming, equipped with modern machinerv. Comrade Stalin's theory of collective-farm organization_:: which was made the basis of the celebrated Rules of the Agricultural Artel, with its wise principle of harmonizing the personal interest of the collective farmer with the paramount interest of the common collective-farm economy and Stalin's personal direction of the mass collective-farm movement which developed, ensured the successful accomplishment of this historic task, resulting in the elimination of the kulaks and of all other still surviving capitalist elements, and in laying the foundation for the socialist organization of the entire national economy of the U.S.S.R. It was only after the collectivization of the peasant farms had been accomplished, permitting the application on an unprecedented scale of uptodate ma chinery and agricultural science in the big collective farms that had been formed, that agriculture ceased to be a brake on the progress of the national economy, and that boundless prospects of economic and cultural advancement opened up before the collective-farm peasantry. And only this can explain why it has now become possible for us to implement such new iPans as that adopted iast year', the majestic plan outlining measures to ensure high and stable harvests in the steppe and forest-steppe areas of the European part of our country-which is something absolutely beyond the capacity o:f any capitalist state.
The Policy of industrializing the country and the policy of collectivizing peasant farming, as well as the mass shock-work and socialist einulation movement which developed under the Stalinist Party leadership, transformed the face of our country. Capitalist elements were com pletely eliminated. From an exploited and oppressed class, our working class became the leading force in the Soviet State, heading the Soviet people in the building of Socialism. Having built collective farms enjoying all the advantages of modern large-scale agriculture, the Soviet peas ants definitely liberated themselves from the vampires that preyed upon the countrys·de the kulaks, profiteers, usurers and other exploiters and began to lead a new, prosperous and cultured life. The present Soviet intelligen tsia are not the intelligentsia of old; they are a new,:people's, socialist intelligentsia, the bulk of whotm also come from the workers, peasants and oher labouring sections, and who serve their people willingly and devotedly. A socialist society has been founded and is already firmly established in our country, a society without capitalists and without exploitation of man by man; and at the same time the roots of a possible restoration of capitalism have been irrevocably extirpated.
\¥hat lends particularly great significance to the fundamental social changes t!hat have taken place in the U.S.S.R. i:s the fact that ours is a multinational state, and that all the peoples of the Soviet Union, notwithstanding all the differences in their historical past, and often in their present ways of life, are following one and the same socialist path of development. And one of the most remarkable achievements of Stalin's leadership is that great friendship, that fraternal cooperation and mutual asisistance which have been attained among the peoples of our country under the banner of socialist internationalism, and which are growing stronger from day to day.
These socialist successes in the U.S.S.R., and their great progressive significance, which is becoming more and more apparent, attract the attention of other peoples all the more, because the general crisis of the capitalist system is patently growing more and more. acute: more and more countries are dropping out of this system, capitalism has no 1onger any prospect of a general upward movement, while the stronger capitalist powers are feathering their ne,sts by ruthlessly plundering and weaken ing other capitalist and dependent countries, and, above all, by brutally exploiting the working masses of these countries. It can now no longer be concealed that a new economic crisis is gathering in the countries of America and Europe and that the vast army of unemployed and semi.-employed is growing. The Soviet Union, on the other hand, where there are no crises and no unemployment, is confidently advancing along the road of economic prog'"ress and prosperity.
In spite of the predictons of our enemies in the capitalist camp that a prolonged period of economic depression would he inevitable in the U.S.S.R. after the second world war, our country is coping successfully with the severe consequences of war and enemy occupation, and is promoting the all-round development of its national economy, and, what is more, our industry is already producing at a far higher level than before the war. The workers, peasants and intellectuals of the Soviet Union see that they are today living better than, yesterday, and are sure that tomorrow they will live better than today. They are confident in their future, because they see for themselves that the U.S.S.R. grows stronger and more prosperous from year to year. They know that they have a reliable guide, the Communist Party, and a wise leader, the great Stalin.
It is the supreme merit of Comrade Stalin that in all these years, no matter what difficulties we encountered on our path, the Bolshevik Party has always held high aloft the stai1dard of battle for the victory of Socialism in the U.S.S.R.
There were plenty of trotskyites, Rights and every other brand of traitor and alien element in the Party who sowed disbelief in the possibility of the victory of Socialism in the U.S.S.R., surrounded as it was by a capitalist encirclement. After the death of Lenin, every spedes of agents of the class enemy sharply intensified their attacks on the Party and its policy of building .Socialism. Comrade Stalin Upheld and developed Lenin's theory of the possibility of the victory of Socialism in one, separate country, of the possibility of the victory of Socialism in the U.S.S.R.
To argue about the scientific correctness of this theory and to show that, in view of the uneven development of the capitalist countries' in the epoch of imperialism, Social ism cannot triumph simultaneously in all countries, but can only triumph at first in individual countries, is entire ly unnecessary nowadays, since the possibility of the victory of Socialism at first in one, separate country has already become a reality in the victory of the socialist system in tlhe U.S.S.R., where the fPJ:emises are already being successfully created for the transitiollJ to the high er phase of Commll!Ilism. Thus all the talk borrowed from reactionary bourgeois1 and Social-Democratic ideo logical sources, that Socialism could not be built in 1such a technically and economically backwai:id country as Rus sia has been refuted not only theoretically, but by the actual fact that Socialism has triumphed in our country.
But it must not be forgotten that the Party could not have scored this victory, which demanded self-sacrificing strug gle, if it had not been armed with profound confidence in the possibility of this: victory, if the Party had not con founded the sceptics and waverers in its own ranks, if the Party, guided by Comrade Stalin, had not inspired and led the working class of our country in boldly and resolutely eliminating all and every anti-Leninist vacil lation, in a steadfast struggle against the clas:s enemy and his agents among the working people and within the Party itself.
This historic achievement of Stalin's leadership is .ali the greater, because it is of supreme international signifi cance, inasmuch as it deals a crushing blow to the Social Democmtic disbelief in the victory of Socialism, a dis belief which all Communist ,parties have to encounter within their own ranks. The victory of Socialism in our country has manifestly demonstrated that the so-called "objective premises" for the victo:ry of Socialism have long ago matured in all countries of Europe, and not only of Europe, and that, in view of this, it is one of the chief ta.sks of all honest supporters of So:cialism resolutely to eliminate the reactionary influence of the bourgeoisiefied Social-Democratic bureaucrats and the split they are causing in the working-class movement.
Everyone can now see that our country has been transformed into a Sodalist State, tlbiat the victory of So cialism in the U.S.S.R. provides all the requisites for the further and still more powerful economic progress of the country and the steady improvement of the welfare of the Soviet people, arid that the international situation has already largely chan ged in favdur of Socialism and peo ple's democracy. The innumerable millions of people of tihe Soviet Union, having in the years of Soviet rule made a _gigantic advance in their cultural development, are solidly and actively participating in the work of socialist construction in town and countryside, imbued with a prn found consdousness of the rightness of their cause and with deep confidence in the wisdom of Stalin's leadership. We are suocessfu1ly advancing the consolidation of the socialist system and the socialist re-education of the Sov1iet ipeople, and his finds expression in siuch an enhancement of the moral and political unity of Soviet society and in such an upsurge of Soviet patriotism, that there is now no force on earth capable of turning our peo ple back to capitalism.
That is the ·Chief outcome of the socialist development accomplished by our country under the Stalin leadership of the Bolsihevik Party.
* * *
As to the relations of the U.S.S.R. with other coun tries and the internati,onal situation generally, in this field too, important ·Changes have taken place in the past few years.
Until very recently the Soviet Union was the only
existing Socialist State, and was surrounded by a hostile capitalist encirclement. Everyone knows 1how many at tempts the imperialist powers1 made by direct military in tervention, economic blockade and every despicable means, including plots and the assassination of Soviet rep resentatives, wrecking and sabota.geto put an end to the existence of the first Socialist State. The chief task confronting the foreign policy of the Soviet Government was to ensure the external conditions for the peaceful de velopment of the U.S.S.R. This likewise entailed constant and vigilant ·concern to enhance the strength of the Soviet Army and its readiness to defend the country against at ta:ck. The fact that from 1921 to 1941 our country was able, by pursuing an independent Soviet foreign policy, to secure peacef ul conditions for itsi development is an im mense achievement of the Stalin foreign policy-the pol icy of peace. The Stalin foreign policy, backed by the successes in building Socialism and the growing might of the com1try, enabled us to extend the prewar rreriod of peace into twenty years of peace, and this solved the prob lem of converting the U.S.S.R. into a mighty socialist pmver, which stood all the trial<> of the las,t war with credit.
The second world war ended in complete vktory for the U.S.S.R. andJ the allied states over the fascist aggres,.. sors. It stirred the Soviet people to a tremendous exertion of eff ort and at the same time demonstrated to the whole world the economic might of our country and the un breakable unity of the 1pieoples of the U.S.S.R. built up under Stalin's, leadership of the Party in the years preced ing the war. By their self-sacrificing struggle, the Soviet people "saved the c:ivilization of Europe from the fascist pogrommongers" (J. Stalin) . The unexampled exploits of the Soviet Army in this war surrounded our Motherland with glory. Everyone knows what an unestimable role was played by Comrade Stalin in organizing the great victory. .
In order to organ[ze victoo:y, Comrade Stalin himself took over the political and economic direction of the country, as well as the military direction, himself assum ing command of the country's armed forces, which in s[piired the army and tlhe whole people to self-sacrificing and heroic struggle. This ensured the rapid conversion of the country's economy to tlhe needs of war. The gigantic Soviet Army created in the war under the person:al direc tion of Comrade Stalin was built on the princi!ples of th(' Stalin military science and became the finest army of mod· em fones. All this made it possible to bring about a rad ical change in the course of the war and ensured tbe victorious realizat1ori of Stalin's strategical plans for the defeat of the enemy. The delay in opening the second front in Europe made it clear to the whole world that the honour of vanquishing fascism in Europe, and then in the Far East, belongs first and foremost to the Soviet Army and its inc:om:i/parable Stalin leadership. This world histor ical victory actded to tlhe glory of our country, the Soviet Army and ·its great commander, Joseph Vissar1onovich Stalin.
At the sanie time, we know what an important part in the def eat of the armed forces of tihe Axis powers was played by the formation of the anti-fascist coalition of the Soviet Union, the United States of America, Great Britain and other allied stateis. hanks to the Stalin for eign policy, which had succeeded in preventing the forma tion of a united front of capitalist states against tlhe
U.S.S.R. in the period ,preceding the second world war, the aggressive fascist states found themselves isolated, while the Soviet Un1on occupied the place it deserved in the mighty anti-fascist coalition. Here, too, Comrade Stalin's pel'sorial influence on the whole course of develop ments was immense. His profound knowledge of the history of nations, Ibis rich and varied experience as leader of t h 2 international communist movement, his faculty of piercing and promptly divning the strategical plans and tactical moves of individual states, his boldness1 and flex ibility of decision in complicated international questions all these features that are so characteristic of Comrade Stalin determined the decisive successes of the Soviet Union's foreign policy.
For the anti-Hitler coalition of the three power:s . to have arisen during the war, it was first necessary to foil the anti-Soviet plans of tbe governments of Britain and France and of the imperialist circles standing behind thm, the aim of which was to eg Germ::i.ny into war with the Soviet Union and then to profit at their expense, particularly at the ex1pense of he U.S.S.R. The Soviet Union was even constrained to conclude a pact of non aggression with Germany, when it became definitely clear that all the eff orts of the Soviet Government to form a UJnited front with other European states against .the gnow ing fascist aggression of the Axis countries had been frustrated by the British and Frendh governments because of their blind hatred of the Soviet workers' and peasants' state. The perfidious intent of the intrigues the British and French were then weaving against the Soviet Union was divined by Comrade Stalin in time, and this made it possible not only to remove our Motiherland from im mediate jeopardy by postponing Hitler Germany's attack on the U.S.S.R., but so to shape deve101pments as to bring about a state of aff airs in which the governments of Brit ain and the United States found themselves compelled to form an Anglo-Soviet-American · anti-fascist coalition, wh1ch conformed with the interests of all peace-loving Nations
The changes in i!he international situation· following· from the second world war and the enhanced role of the U.S.S.R. speak for themselves.
We have such a s,ignificant fact above all, as the for mation in Europe and As1a of a number of People's De mocracies, which are now confidently embarking on the building of Socialism. Only !hopeless reactionaries can to day cherish absurd and utopian illusions of restoring the peoples of Poland, Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Rumania, Bulgaria, Albania and Korea, not to SIPeak of the Mon golian People's Republic, to their old conditions, to the· status of meek slaves of the landlords and bourgeoisie. The world-wide significance of the establishment of the People's Republic of China, wihich has undermined ·the foundations of imperialism in Asia, cannQt ..!f;i,(l dgzyied.
New roads to freedom and happiness have opened for the great Chinese people, and, what is !Particularly important, they have now a reliable leader in the shape of the Com munist Party of China. Comrade Stalin defined the im mense significance of the establishment of the German Democratic Republic in words which have reverberated throughout the whole world: "The establishment of a peace-loving German Democratic Republic," he said, "con stitutes ,a turning point in the history of Europe. There can be no doubt tlhat the existence of a peace-loving democratic Germany, together with the existence of the peace-loving Soviet Union, 1precludes the possibility of new wars in Europe, puts an encl to bloodshed in Europe and renders impossible the enslavement of European countries by the world imperialists."
Today, all the people's democratic states are in one camp with the Soviet Union, u1pholding the cause of peace and democracy. Imperialist ambitioITTs and policies of ag grandizement are as alien to tJhe people's democratic states as they are to the Soviet Union. They are vitally interested in .ensuring their peoples, who have won their liberty, durable conditions of peace and the establishment of friendly and equal relations with other peoples.
We must not, however, fmget that tJhere is another camp.
Although the second world war ended only so very recently, the imperialist countries, and above all the ruling circles of the United States and Great Britain, are again feverishly preparing for a new war. Pos1sessed by lack of faith in their own internal strength, they keep on weav ing new aggressive plans, inflating their war budgets, and creating military bases and off ensive military alliances and blocs, thereby revealing how dangerous to the peace of the peoples is the present policy of the im1p1edalist pow ers, which breeds all sorts of adventuristic plans for the estahlishment of world supremacy with the help of any and every means of aggression, including atomic wavfare.
But times !have changed.
Of immense significance is the fa.ct that among all the peoples of the earth activity in the struggle ti0 'safeguard peace is continuously growing, and with it the realization that enduring 1peace cannot be ensured by pious pacifist wishes. The movement of the supporters of peace, whicih has spread all over the world, is one of the most graphic expressions of the desire i0f the peoples for world-wide peace. This movement embraces hundreds of millions of workers by hand and brain, and includes all the demo cratic trade unions, as well as the democratic organizations of women, youth and intellectuals, with their many mil lions of members, which have sprung u1pi since the war. We know that this broad movement in defence of peace, democracy and progress· looks upon the U.S.S.R. a1s its chief support and hope, and that Stalin's name is its great banner.
In the light of these facts, the enhanced role of the Communist and "\Vorkers' ·parties in many countries is understandable; iin spite of persecution and election chi canery on the part of reactionary governments, these par ties are growing in numbers and ideological firmness as Marxist-Leninist parties. During the war, the prestige of 11he Communists a:mong the masses increased unprece dentedly, since it was from the ranks of the Communists that came the most devoted fighters against fascism and champions of the rights and liberty of the people. T:oday no governnient that wants to enjoy real authority among its people can ignore the tremendous spread of tihe in· fluence of communist ideas among the masses. As we know, in order to climb to power in Yugoslavia, the Tito clique also had to rpo:-etend to be friends olf the U.S.S.R. and to pose as Communists. But the time is not far off when the traitorous Tito clique, who have become a gang of hired assassns and spies in the service of foreign im perialist governments, and whose hostile plans against the Solviet Union and their own people have been exposed, will suffer the ignominious fate of unsorupulous mercen aries of imperialist reaction
All this signifies that since the second world war the alignment .of international forces has substantially changed.
In place of the old situation, where there was only one Socialist State, the U.S.S.R., existing in the midst of a ca1piitalist encirclement, a new situation has arisen, in which the Soviet Union is no longer internationally iso 'lated-and this must be regarded as a supreme achieve
ment of Stalin's leadership. Today the U.S.S.R. is not . alone in defending worM peace. Together with the Soviet Union, the People's Democracies, and the entire inter national camp of peace supporters wihich has now arisen, are upholding this cause. Two camps1 have formed: the democratic cam1pi, headed by the U.S.S.R., which fights the instigators of a new war in defence of universal and stable peace, and the opposite, imperialist camp, headed by the ruling circles of the U.S.A. and Great Britain, which is pursuing a policy of preparing another war, but which is unable to stop the cumulative growth of the interna tional peace movement. The situaUon is, such that if the imperialists unleash another world war, they will inevit ably meet with such a universal rebuff from the peace loving peo ples and the entire democratic camp as will lead not merely to the defeat of individual aggriessive powers, as in the past, but to the liquidation of the entire world imperialist system.
This is1 the main conclusion that follos from tlhe changes in the international situation, changes which sig· niify that today the destinies of the peace-loving 1p:eoples and the interests of all progtesisive hmiumity are insepa rably bound up with the contmued successes of the Soviet Union and of the world democratic camp, headed by its acknowledged leader, the gr'eat Stalin,;
* * *
An edition of J. V. Stalin's Collected Works is1 now he
in1g published, beginning with his writings of 1901. The theoretical and political J:mportance of this edition cannot he overestimated.
Stage by stage, there unfolds before our eyes tihe creative ,genius of the great Stalin in all its copious variety and intellectual profusion. They illumine with the light of Marxist-Leninist ideas the most diverse practical prob lems in the work of the Bolshevik Party and the inter national communist movement, as well as complex scien tific problems of history and philosophy; they explain highly acute problems of domestic and foreign policy and root 1p1roblems relating to the economy of the U.S.S.R., as well as various periods in the ,development of the countries of the capifalist world; they disclose the nature of big problems of socialist culture, in its diverse national forms, arid reveal the significance of the military problems that have time and again faced the Soviet State--"and as we read it we become clearly aware of the exceptional .role played by Comrade Stalin personally, beginnirig \vith the first years of Soviet rule, in the defence of our Motherland against foreign enemies, as well as fo the consistent imple mentation· of the Soviet policy of 1p:eace, which has always been and continues to be, the chief task of the foreign policy of the U.S.S.R.; and much else besides testifying to the great historic deeds o.f our Party and its Stalin leadership.· · ·
A great creative ·Marxist, Comrade Stalin has done much to develop the Leriinist .strategical and tactical principles of our Pa.rty, which is excepHonaiiy hnp·ortant to the communist movement in all countries. Above all, mention should be made of the problem of the vctory of Socialsrn in one, separate country, which wa:s first raised by Lenin, and which in the works of Comrade Stalin finds prnfound scientific treatment. Comrade Stalin has also illumined with the idea of Marxism- Leninism and has theoretically developed other major P'roblems that oonfronted our Par ty and the Soviet State, as, for instance: the Communist Party as a revolutionary party of a new type, and, ill' particular, the question of its leading role in the system of the dictatorship of the proletariat; the socialist industrialization of the U.S.S.R. and its decisive significance in strengthening the Soviet State; the collec tivization of the millions of peasant farms and the liqui dation of the last of the exploiting classes, the kulaks, as the consummation of the socialist transformation of the foundations of the entire national economy of our coun try; the problem of strengthening the Socialist State to the utmost in the midst of a ca1piitalist encirclement, and the question of the conditLons for the withering away of the state; the national question in the period of the bour geois-democratic revolution and the national and colonial question in the conditions of Soeialist Revolution, and, in particular, the question of socialist nations; as wel1 as many other highly important questions of present-day times. The elaborafion of these and other problems in Stalin's sdentific works is under present conditions of supremely vital importance not only to the U.S.S.R., but to other countries as well, especially to the countries which have adopted the 1path of Socialism or are conducting a strug gle for national liberation.
For all that, it must- be borne in mind, that no collec tion of works, however full, can adequately reflect the immensity of the work, so inspiring to our Party and the Soviet people, which Comrade Stalin daily performs in posing new problems and oonfinuously elaborating ever new gigantic plans for our socialist construction, in formulating the major pronouncements of the Party and Government, including basic diplomatic documents, in all tihe various aff airs connected with organizing the prachcal realization of adopted decisions and so forth-yet without which it is irnpos1S1ible to conceive the actual scope and ideological significance of Stalin's leadership.
As the great continuier of the cause of the immortal Lenin, Comrade Stalin heads all our work of :so1cialist
construction, welding the family of Soviet nations, direct ing the working people of town :and country towards the one great common goal, mobilizmg Communists and non Communists for the building of Communism in our coun try, and inspiring the struggle of the working class and oppressed peo1ples of the world. Stalin's leaderiship is imbued with a profound consdo'Usness of the momentous ness of the historical mission of the Bolshevik Party, the Soviet Stale and of our entire cause. Critical verification of work peirf ormed, regardless of rank or past services; persistent development of Bolshevik self-criticism; un flagging vigilance with respect to the class enemy and the schemes of his agents, who are still active; promotion of new, ideologically staunch cadres who have been tested in action, and encouragement of young talent; utmost develo1piment of socialist emulation and of all other forms of active participation by the broad masses in the build ing of Communism, and the continual advancement of new measures for promoting the culture aud communist education of the Soviet people-these are some of the most potent features of Stalin's leadership of our Party. Facts of historic significance bear witness to the invariable success with which the Party, under Comrade Stalin's leadership, has coped, and is coping, with these 1piaramount tasks.
In his remarkaJble article, "On the Question olf the Stra tegy and Tactics of the Russian Communists," written in 193, omrade _Stalin clearly defined three historic turning pomts m the history of our revolution and the three cor responding strategical plans of our Party. Regarding Vhe third, the last, turning point, Comrade Stalin wrote:
"The third turning point began with the October RevolutiJon, when the mortal conflict between the two imperialist groups: of the West had reached a climax· when a revolutionary ,crisis was obviously brewing i the vVest; when bourgeois ru1e in Russia, hankru1p,t and entangled in contradichons, fell under the blow of the proletarian revolution; when the victorious pro letarian revolu tion, having broken with imperialism and retired from the war, acquired sworn enemies in the shape of the imperialist coalitions of the Wesit; when the decrees of the new Soviet Government on peace, the confiscation .of the landed estates, the ex propriation of the capitalists and the emancipation of the 01pipressed nationalities won it the confidence of millions of working people all over the world. This was a turning point of international significance, for the international front of capital was broken for the first time, and for the first time the question of the overthrow of capitalism was placed on a practical foot ing. This turned the October Revolution from a na tional, Russian, f orce, into an international force, and the Russian workers from a backward detachment of the international proletariat into its vanguard, which, by its self-sacrificing struggle, was awakening the workers of the West and the oppressed countries of the East. This turning point had not yet achieved its ultimate development, because it had not yet unfolded on an international sca:e, but its substance and general direction were already sufficiently clearly defined." (J. V. Stalin, Collected vForks, Vol. 5, pp. 178-79.)
The profound meaning and prophetic character of these words of Stalin rure dear to us. And all can now see how far our country has advanced, and how profoundly the international situation has since changed precisely in the way of which Comrade Stalin wrote. This is partic ularly clear today, when the U.S.S.R., the countrv of Socialism victor1ous, with its gigantic political, econmic and cultural progress, together with its friends, the Peo ple's Demooracies, is confidently marching forward, while the capitalist countries,--both big and small-are more and more losing c.onfidence in the future, unable to find a way out of the mounting ecnnomic ,and political contra dictions, and continually stricken with new economic dis asters.
In distinction to the capitalist countries, where blind laws of elemental economic development prevail and set the general tone, with the inevitable periodical crises and growingly acute social antagonisms consequent thereon, the Soviet State is built on entirely diff erent principles. In ouir coun,try, thanks to the Socialist Revolution and the abolition of the exploiting classes which followed it, the 1progress of the entire national economy is organized on planned lines, which is something no capitalist state can dream of. In the Soviet Union not only is the economic progress of the country organized in accordance with a single long-range plan, but the planning element is, intro duced into all other branches of social lif e, with the pur pose of accelerating the general and all-round progrress of the culture of the peoples of the U.S.S.R., and the IP,rogress and thriving of the sciences and arts. Only under standing this, can one understand t:he growing successes of Soviet science and technology, including the well- known achievements in mastering atomic energy, which so amazed and disconcerted all the various enemies of the
U.S.S.R. Every day brings out more clearly the profound fundamental and practical significance of the struggle against pseudo science launched by the scientists of the Soviet Union, armed with the method of materialist dialectics. Our literature and art are more and more becoming the standard bearer of our Stalin epoch, greatly contributing to the successes of the Soviet people, inspiring them iri their work and struggle, and extending Soviet influence far beyond the borders of our Motherland.
Tasks, of such grandeur have never faced any other state. The narrow bourgeois outlook is altogether incapable of conceiving problems of such magnitude. Only a mature socialist society could tackle such tasks as the introduction of fundamental scientific principles into all spheres of the country's economic and cultural life and into the ideological education of the people in the spirit of Communism, which is doing so much to multiply our forces, and which raises the U.S.S.R. :head and shoulders above any country in; the capitalist camp. This also explains the unparalleled growth of the moral and political prestige of the U.S.S.R. among the peoples of the entire globe.
It is not fortuitous that these majestic tasks fell to a Party which gave our people and all mankind such great leaders, such titans of theoretical thought and revolutionary deeds, as Lenin and Stalin. If, after Lenin's death, the Soviet people triumphantly solved their internal and external strategical and tactical !Problems, and made their state so mighty and, at the same time, so spiritually near and comprehensible to the working people of the whole world, the Supreme and historic credit for this belongs in the first place to the great leader of our Party, Comrade Stalin, to Stalin's leadership.
it is because of this that the confidence of the working people of our country in Stalin's wise leadership is so boundless, that their faith in Stalin's genius is so strong, and that the love of the Soviet People and of the working people of the whole world for Comrade Stalin is so deep.
Today, on his seventieth birthday, we once again wish our great and dear Stalin, o:ur leader, teacher _and friend, good health and long years of life for the benefit and glory of our people, and for the happiness of all progressive mankind.
Printed in the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics
.jpg)
