Khrushchev- Revoking his own self-critic letter to Stalin from "grossly mistaken" to "correct"

Source: Stalin I.V. Works. - T. 18. - Tver: Information and Soyuz Publishing Center, 2006, pp. 676–685 

Note section of " Closed letter of the Central Committee of the CPSU (b) on the tasks of collective farm construction in connection with the consolidation of small collective farms", April 2, 1951

Khrushchev's "self-criticism" letter for his article which resulted in the preparation of the "Closed Letter of the Central Committee" by the Central Committee All-Union Communist Party (Bolsheviks) on April 2, 1951

Seven years later, on April 1, 1958 at the  meeting of the Presidium of the Central Committee of the CPSU, it was decided! that Khrushchev was not wrong, but CC and Stalin were wrong. 

Khrushchev's Letter to Stalin

“Dear Comrade Stalin! 

You quite rightly pointed out the mistakes I made in the article published on March 4. speech "On the construction and improvement of collective farms."

Following your instructions, I tried to think more deeply about these issues. After thinking it over, I realized that the whole performance as a whole, is fundamentally wrong. By having published this wrong speech, I made a gross mistake and thereby damaged the party. This damage to the Party could have been prevented if I had consulted the Central Committee. I did not do this, although I had the opportunity to exchange opinions in the Central Committee. I also consider this my gross mistake.

I am deeply upset about this blunder and wondering how best to correct the mistake I made. I decided to ask you to allow me to correct this mistake myself. I am ready to appear in the press and criticize my article published on March 4, to analyze in detail its erroneous positions. If I am allowed to, I will try to think over these questions well and prepare an article in print criticizing my mistakes. I ask you to look at the article in the Central Committee before the publication.

I beseech you, Comrade Stalin, to help me correct the gross mistake I have made and thereby, as far as it is now possible, to limit the damage that I have inflicted on the Party by my incorrect speech.

March 6, 1951

N. Khrushchev

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From the minutes No. 148 of the meeting of the Presidium of the Central Committee of the CPSU dated April 1, 1958.

On the revocation of the Closed Letter of the Central Committee of the All-Union Communist Party of Bolsheviks dated April 2, 1951 "On the tasks of collective farm construction in connection with the enlargement of small collective farms."

The Central Committee of the CPSU notes that in the Closed Letter of the Central Committee of the All-Union Communist Party of Bolsheviks dated April 2, 1951 “On the tasks of collective farm construction in connection with the enlargement of small collective farms”  contains a number of completely incorrect provisions, which have played a negative role, fettering the initiative of the advanced collective farms in the construction of industrial premises, housing for collective farmers and the improvement of collective farms, in the cultural upsurge of the collective farm village.

In this letter, as you know, the main fire was directed against the far-fetched danger of the so-called "consumer approach" to the questions of collective farm construction. The task of constructing industrial buildings for housing on collective farms and housing construction in the countryside was dogmatically opposed to the production tasks of collective farms and was actually removed from the order of the day. At the same time, the provision was ignored that without the construction of production buildings, collective farm production, and primarily the production of livestock products, cannot develop.

In practice, this setting of opposing production to construction led to the dissolution in many places of construction brigades on collective farms, to the liquidation of collective farm and inter-collective farm enterprises for the production of building materials, to a disdainful attitude towards the improvement of the collective farm village, to the construction and repair of dwellings in the village, which, in turn, was one of the reasons for the mass outflow of the population from the village.

The appearance of the Closed Letter of the Central Committee essentially held back the initiative of the collective farms and collective farmers, slowed down construction on the collective farms, and harmed the strengthening and development of the collective farms.

Now that the Party has unleashed a broad initiative of the collective-farm peasantry, it becomes quite clear that the letter of the Central Committee of April 2, 1951, appeared as a result of its initiators' detachment from the life and practice of collective-farm construction, as a result of a failure to understand the enormous opportunities that were available in the advanced regions, districts, collective farms. The issues of building and landscaping on collective farms already in those years were put forward by life itself and were successfully solved by advanced collective farms.

These tasks were correctly and objectively set out in Comrade N.S. Khrushchev's article. "On construction and improvement in collective farms" ("Pravda" of March 4, 1951).

Proceeding from the fact that the amalgamation of collective farms carried out created favorable conditions for a new powerful upsurge in socialist agriculture and a further growth in the prosperity and culture of collective farms and collective farmers, Comrade Khrushchev's article correctly put forward construction and improvement on collective farms as one of the most important tasks for the enlarged collective farms. The article correctly determined the direction of construction, emphasizing that “first of all, public industrial and utility buildings should be built - cattle yards, sheds for storing cars, grain and vegetable stores. At the same time, it is necessary to develop in every possible way cultural, household and housing construction.

The incorrectness of the provisions of the letter of the Central Committee of the All-Union Communist Party of Bolsheviks dated April 2, 1951 is especially obvious at the present time, when the enormous tasks of further developing the collective farm system and reorganizing machine and tractor stations, building on collective farms both industrial premises and dwellings, cultural and amenity premises are being solved in connection with the growth of collective farm economy and the prosperity of collective farmers.

The Central Committee of the CPSU decides:

Revoke the Closed Letter of the Central Committee of the All-Union Communist Party of Bolsheviks of April 2, 1951 “On the tasks of collective farm construction in connection with the enlargement of small collective farms” as incorrect, overturned by life and contradicting those adopted in recent years of decisions of the Central Committee of the CPSU on agriculture.

This resolution is to be sent to the Central Committees of the Communist Parties of the Union Republics, to the regional committees, regional committees, city committees and district committees of the party.

To acquaint the secretaries of the primary party organizations with this resolution.

SECRETARY OF THE CC.

Photocopy of the original.

From the archive of Z. Kireenkova.