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| A young Khrushchev [left] works with Joseph Stalin [right] circa 1940s |
‘Stalin, who absolutely did not tolerate collegiality in leadership and in work, acted not through persuasion, but by imposing his concepts and demanding absolute submission to his opinion. Stalin originated the concept "enemy of the people". This term automatically made it unnecessary that the ideological errors of a man be proven. It made possible the use of the cruelest repression, against anyone who in any way disagreed with Stalin, against those who were only suspected of hostile intent, against those who had bad reputations.’
This
speech was delivered to the 20th congress of the Communist party of the USSR in
Moscow on February 25 1956
Nikita Khrushchev
guardian.co.uk, Thursday 26 April 2007
Comrades!
In the party central committee's report at the 20th congress and in a number of
speeches by delegates to the congress a lot has been said about the cult of the
individual. After Stalin's death, the central committee began explaining that
it is foreign to the spirit of Marxism-Leninism to elevate one person, to
transform him into a superman possessing supernatural characteristics, akin to
those of a god. Such a man supposedly knows everything, sees everything, thinks
for everyone, can do anything, is infallible in his behaviour.
Such a
belief about a man, and specifically about Stalin, was cultivated among us for
many years. The objective of this report is not a thorough evaluation of
Stalin's life and activity. Concerning Stalin's merits, an entirely sufficient
number of books, pamphlets and studies had already been written in his
lifetime. Stalin's role in the execution of the socialist revolution, in the
civil war, and in the construction of socialism is universally known.
At present,
we are concerned with how the cult of Stalin has been gradually growing, the
cult which became the source of a whole series of exceedingly serious
perversions of party principles, of party democracy, of revolutionary legality.
The central committee considers it absolutely necessary to make material
pertaining to this matter available to the 20th congress.
‘The cult of the individual brought about rude violation of party democracy, sterile administration, deviations of all sorts, cover-ups of shortcomings, and varnishings of reality. Our nation bore forth many flatterers and specialists in false optimism and deceit.’
The great
modesty of the genius of the revolution, Vladimir Ilyich Lenin, is known. Lenin
always stressed the role of the people as the creator of history. Lenin
mercilessly stigmatised every manifestation of the cult of the individual.
Lenin never imposed his views by force. He tried to convince. He patiently
explained his opinions to others.
Lenin
detected in Stalin those negative characteristics which resulted later in grave
consequences. Fearing the future fate of the Soviet nation, Lenin
pointed out that it was necessary to consider transferring Stalin from the
position of general secretary because Stalin did not have a proper attitude toward
his comrades.
In 1922
Vladimir Ilyich wrote: "After taking over the position of general
secretary, comrade Stalin accumulated immeasurable power in his hands and I am
not certain whether he will be always able to use this power with the required
care."
Vladimir
Ilyich said: "I propose that the comrades consider the method by which
Stalin would be removed from this position and by which another man would be
selected for it, a man who, above all, would differ from Stalin in only one
quality, namely, greater tolerance, greater loyalty, greater kindness."
Comrades!
The party congress should become acquainted with new documents, which confirm
Stalin's character. In March 1923, Lenin sent Stalin the following letter:
"Dear comrade Stalin! You permitted yourself a rude summons of my wife to
the telephone and a rude reprimand of her. Despite the fact that she told you
that she agreed to forget what was said, I have no intention to forget so
easily." Comrades! I will not comment on these documents. They speak
eloquently for themselves.
As later
events have proven, Lenin's anxiety was justified. Stalin, who absolutely did
not tolerate collegiality in leadership and in work, acted not through
persuasion, but by imposing his concepts and demanding absolute submission to
his opinion. Stalin originated the concept "enemy of the people".
This term automatically made it unnecessary that the ideological errors of a
man be proven. It made possible the use of the cruellest repression, against
anyone who in any way disagreed with Stalin, against those who were only
suspected of hostile intent, against those who had bad reputations.
On the
whole, the only proof of guilt actually used was the "confession" of
the accused himself. "Confessions" were acquired through physical
pressures. Innocent individuals - who in the past had defended the party line -
became victims. Mass arrests and deportations of many thousands of people,
execution without trial and without normal investigation created conditions of
insecurity, fear and even desperation.
Vladimir
Ilyich demanded uncompromising dealings with the enemies of the revolution.
Lenin used such methods, however, only against actual class enemies and not
against those who blunder. Stalin, on the other hand, used extreme methods and
mass repressions at a time when the revolution was already victorious. During
Lenin's life, party congresses were convened regularly. Lenin considered it
absolutely necessary that the party discuss at length all questions bearing on
the development of government. After Lenin's death, Stalin trampled on the
principle of collective party leadership. Of the 139 members and candidates of
the central committee who were elected at the 17th congress, 98 persons, 70%,
were arrested and shot. It is inconceivable that a congress so composed could
have elected a central committee in which a majority would prove to be enemies
of the party. Delegates were active participants in the building of our
socialist state; many of them suffered and fought during the pre-revolutionary
years; they fought their enemies valiantly and often nervelessly looked into
the face of death.
How, then,
can we believe that such people had joined the camps of the enemies of
socialism? This was the result of the abuse of power by Stalin. On the evening
of December 1 1934 on Stalin's initiative, the secretary of the presidium
signed the following directive: "1. Investigative agencies are directed to
speed up the cases of those accused of acts of terror; 2. Judicial organs are
directed not to hold up execution in order to consider pardon; 3. The organs of
the commissariat of internal affairs are directed to execute the death
sentences immediately after the passage of sentences." This directive
became the basis for mass acts of abuse. The accused were deprived of any possibility
that their cases might be re-examined, even when they stated before the court
that their "confessions" were secured by force.
Lenin
taught that the application of revolutionary violence is necessitated by the
resistance of the exploiting classes, and this referred to the era when the
exploiting classes existed and were powerful. As soon as the nation's political
situation had improved, when in January 1920 the Red Army took Rostov, Lenin
gave instructions to stop mass terror and to abolish the death penalty. Stalin
deviated from these precepts. Terror was actually directed not at the remnants
of the defeated exploiting classes but against the honest workers of the party;
against them were made lying, slanderous and absurd accusations. Mass repressions
contributed to the spreading of unhealthy suspicion, and sowed distrust among
communists.
Stalin was
a very distrustful man, sickly suspicious. He could look at a man and say:
"Why are your eyes so shifty today?" or "Why are you turning so
much today and avoiding to look me directly in the eyes?" The sickly
suspicion created in him a general distrust. Everywhere and in everything he
saw "enemies", "two-facers" and "spies". Stalin
dispatched a coded telegram on January 20 1939 to the committee secretaries of
provinces and regions. This telegram stated: "It is known that all
bourgeois intelligence services use methods of physical influence against
representatives of the socialist proletariat. The question arises as to why the
socialist intelligence service should be more humanitarian against the mad
agents of the bourgeoisie. The central committee considers that physical
pressure should be used obligatorily against known enemies of the people."
Thus, Stalin sanctioned the most brutal violation of socialist legality,
torture and oppression.
The power
accumulated in the hands of one person, Stalin, led to serious consequences
during the great patriotic war. When we look at many of our novels, films and
historical-scientific studies, the role of Stalin in the patriotic war appears
to be entirely improbable. Stalin had foreseen everything. The epic victory is
ascribed as being completely due to the strategic genius of Stalin. What are
the facts of this matter? Stalin advanced the thesis that our nation experienced
an "unexpected" attack by the Germans. But, comrades, this is
completely untrue. As soon as Hitler came to power he assigned to himself the
task of liquidating communism. The fascists were saying this openly. They did
not hide their plans.
Despite grave
warnings, the necessary steps were not taken to prepare. We paid with great
losses - until our generals succeeded in altering the situation. Stalin tried
to inculcate the notion that the victories gained by the Soviet nation were all
due to the courage, daring, and genius of Stalin and of no one else. Let us
take our military films. They make us feel sick. Let us recall The Fall of
Berlin. Here only Stalin acts. He issues orders in a hall in which there are
many empty chairs. And where is the military command? Where is the politburo?
Where is the government? What are they doing, and with what are they engaged?
There is nothing about them in the film.
Stalin
acts for everybody, he does not reckon with anyone. He asks no one for advice.
Everything is shown to the people in this false light. Why? To surround Stalin
with glory - contrary to historical truth. Not Stalin, but the party as a
whole, the Soviet government, our heroic army, its talented leaders and brave
soldiers, the whole Soviet nation - these are the ones who assured victory in
the great patriotic war. The magnificent, heroic deeds of hundreds of millions
of people of the east and of the west during the fight against the threat of
fascist subjugation which loomed before us will live for centuries, for
millennia in the memory of thankful humanity.
Comrades!
The cult of the individual acquired such monstrous size chiefly because Stalin
himself supported the glorification of his own person. The edition of his short
biography, which was published in 1948, is an expression of the most dissolute
flattery, approved and edited by Stalin personally. He marked the very places
where he thought that the praise of his services was insufficient. Here are
some examples characterising Stalin's activity, added in Stalin's own hand,
"The guiding force of the party and the state was comrade Stalin".
Thus writes Stalin himself! Then he adds: "Although he performed his tasks
as leader of the people with consummate skill, Stalin never allowed his work to
be marred by the slightest hint of vanity, conceit or self-adulation."
Where and when could a leader so praise himself?
Comrades!
The cult of the individual brought about rude violation of party democracy,
sterile administration, deviations of all sorts, cover-ups of shortcomings, and
varnishings of reality. Our nation bore forth many flatterers and specialists
in false optimism and deceit.
Some
comrades may ask us: Where were the members of the politburo? Why did they not
assert themselves against the cult of the individual in time? And why is this
being done only now? First of all, members of the politburo viewed these
matters in a different way at different times. Initially, many backed Stalin
actively because he was one of the strongest Marxists and his logic, his strength
and his will greatly influenced party work. After Lenin's death, especially
during the first years, Stalin actively fought for Leninism against the enemies
of Leninist theory and against those who deviated. At that time the party had
to fight those who tried to lead the country away from the correct Leninist
path. It had to fight Trotskyites, Zinovievites and rightists, and bourgeois
nationalists. This fight was indispensable. Later, however, Stalin began to
fight honest Soviet people. Attempts to oppose groundless suspicions and
charges resulted in the opponent's falling victim to the repression.
Comrades!
So as not to repeat errors of the past, the central committee has declared
itself resolutely against the cult of the individual. We consider that Stalin
was extolled to excess. However, in the past Stalin undoubtedly performed great
services to the party, to the working class and to the international workers'
movement. Comrades! Lenin had often stressed that modesty is an absolutely
integral part of a real Bolshevik. Lenin himself was the living personification
of the greatest modesty. We cannot say that we have been following this
Leninist example in all respects. We must correct this. But this should be done
calmly. We cannot let this matter get out of the party, especially not to the
press. It is for this reason that we are considering it here at a closed
congress session. We should not give ammunition to the enemy; we should not
wash our dirty linen before their eyes.
Comrades!
We must abolish the cult of the individual once and for all. We must correct
the views connected with the cult in history, philosophy and sciences, and
continue systematically the work done by the party's central committee during
the last years, a work characterised by collective leadership and
self-criticism.
Comrades!
The 20th congress of the Communist party of the Soviet Union has manifested
with a new strength the unshakable unity of our party, its cohesiveness around
the central committee, its resolute will to accomplish the great task of
building communism. And the fact that we present in all their ramifications the
basic problems of overcoming the cult of the individual is evidence of the
great moral and political strength of our party. We are absolutely certain that
our party, armed with the historical resolutions of the 20th congress, will
lead the Soviet people along the Leninist path to new successes, to new
victories. Long live the victorious banner of our party - Leninism!
**************
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