One of the most important regularities in the formation of communist society is the growing role of the Communist Party as a political organizer and leader of the working masses who have risen to great historical creativity. The most profound revolutionary processes that have already taken place and are now taking place in the USSR confirm the teaching of Marxism-Leninism about the world-historical role of the working class and its vanguard, the Communist Party.

V. I. Lenin emphasized that in the transition period from capitalism to socialism, "the dictatorship of the proletariat is impossible except through the Communist Party." 1 "As a matter of principle, there can be no doubt that the Communist Party should prevail...," 2;"Only the advanced part of the working class, only its vanguard, can lead its country," 3 V. I. Lenin pointed out.

All practical experience of socialism as a world system shows that the leadership of a working-class party is an indispensable and decisive condition for the revolutionary transformation of society. This truth is well understood by tens of millions of wrestlers around the world. It is also perfectly understood by the enemies of communism. That is why the question of the leading role of the Communist Party (as well as the question of the dictatorship of the proletariat and the proletarian state) has been at the center of the fiercest theoretical and political struggle for many decades, and especially in modern conditions.

Bourgeois ideologues and the revisionists who follow them, under the banner of developing democracy, oppose the leading role of the Communist Party. At the same time, they try to embellish the bourgeois system and slander the socialist system by juggling such formal attributes as a multi-party system, the presence of opposition parties in parliaments, etc .4 The speculative nature of such attempts is obvious. An indicator of the democracy of a given political system is not really the number of parties that exist in it, but its class nature. The practice of a bourgeois multiparty system has long since dispelled the myth of the" democracy " of the bourgeois political system, and has shown that its essence is determined by the ruling exploiting classes. And if the lawyers of the bourgeoisie still raise bourgeois multi-party system to the shield, this is done for the sake of deceiving the working masses.

1 V. I. Lenin. PSS. Vol. 43, p. 42.

2 V. I. Lenin. PSS. Vol. 41, p. 404.

3 V. I. Lenin. PSS. Vol. 39, p. 360.

4 See A. Mayer. The Soviet Political System. An Interpretation. N. Y. 1965, pp. 105 - 106; W. Ebenstein. Two Ways of Life. The Communist Challenge to Democracy, N, Y. 1962, p. 158; J. Dru. De l'Etat socialiste l'experience sovietique. P. 1965.

page 6

The new" modelers " of socialism are the Austrian revisionists E. Fischer and F. Marek, who also deny the leading role of the working class party .5 The claims of the preachers of" new models "of socialism that only" a combination of competing political forces" in socialist countries is a guarantee of a" democratic mechanism of governance", their attempts to impose" political pluralism " are methodologically untenable and extremely harmful. They forget the truth that the formation of a political system - one - party or multi-party-after the victory of the socialist revolution is determined by the correlation of political forces and the development of the revolutionary process.

The conditions and peculiarities of the revolutionary struggle in our country determined the one-party nature of our political system. The Communist Party assumed full responsibility for the leadership of society; all other political parties discredited themselves and withdrew from the political arena with their anti-people policies during the revolution and civil war. V. I. Lenin emphasized that the leaders of the petty-bourgeois parties "politically killed themselves and their parties, the Mensheviks and socialist revolutionaries."6
The situation was different in a number of socialist countries (Czechoslovakia, Poland, the GDR, etc.). Here, along with the party of the working class, the parties of the non-proletarian strata of the working people were preserved. But the multi-party system in bourgeois and socialist countries is qualitatively different in its class essence and the form of relations between the parties. The bloc of communist and democratic parties in socialist countries is the political expression of a class alliance of workers, peasants, intellectuals, and other strata of the working people. The democratic parties, recognizing and approving the socialist path of development, join together with the Communist Party and other organizations in the united People's Front, whose goal is to build socialism and take care of the interests of the people. The democratic parties are allies of the communist and workers ' parties, and not some kind of opposition on the model of bourgeois parliamentarism.

Proponents of" political pluralism", to justify their actions, claim that" stabilization of the political system "in a developed socialist society will sooner or later lead "to the emergence of more political groups" and that this will be "a normal phenomenon in the process of social development after the revolution." Such" theoretical " conjectures are persistently put forward by the detractors of scientific communism. The real processes and patterns of the construction of socialism and communism show that socialist transformations do not create, but eliminate the social basis for the multiplication of political parties and groups. In the course of the construction of socialism, first the advanced representatives of the non-proletarian strata of the working people, then all the others take the position of the working class, accept and fully share its ideals. Naturally, this has a positive impact on the development of political parties that make up the multi-party system in socialist countries. The social base of the working class party is being expanded, and conditions are being created for bringing the political parties of the non-proletarian working masses closer to the party of the working class.

Despite the variety of forms of building socialism in one or another socialist country, the presence of a one-party or two-party system in the country is not always possible.

5 E. Fischer und F. Marek. Was Lenin wirklich sagte. Wien - Munchen - Zurich. 1969, S. 27 - 34.

6 V. I. Lenin. PSS. Vol. 31, p. 186.

page 7

In a multi-party political system, the leadership role of a communist or workers ' party is historically necessary for all socialist countries. The theses of the Central Committee of the CPSU "On the 100th anniversary of the birth of V. I. Lenin "state:" The leading and organizing activity of the Marxist-Leninist party is the main condition for the decisive influence of the working class on the development of a new society. " 7 V. I. Lenin warned and practice confirms that attempts to weaken the leading role of the party are fraught with unleashing an anti-socialist element, the threat of restoring the capitalist order. The Communist and workers ' parties of the socialist countries, by all their activities, ensure the inviolability of the socialist development of society, and act as the true guarantor of this development.

Various kinds of "technocratic theories"serve the same idea of denying the leadership role of the Communist Party. For example, R. Garaudy, who was recently expelled from the ranks of the French Communist Party, perversely interprets the world - historical mission of the working class in his writings .8 He replaces the Workers 'and Peasants' Union with a "new historical bloc", and the leading role of the proletarian party with the function of electronic computers, which, in his opinion, "will take the place of political parties". He claims that thanks to the new technology, it is possible to create " a kind of permanent assembly of the entire people, which at any time can take into account each individual opinion, summarize it, draw lessons from it; create an assembly where every information will be programmed and disseminated." It is not difficult to understand that the technocratic terminology here conceals essentially liquidationism, the nullification of the vanguard role of the revolutionary party in society. It is no accident, therefore, that R. Garaudy openly declared it a mistake of the French Communists that they did not create "a party that was different from the Leninist party."

Modern revisionists maintain that the leading role of the party and its increasing importance are necessary only before the revolution. Meanwhile, the growing role of the party of the working class is a single process that encompasses all stages of the struggle of the working class and the working masses for the socialist revolution and the construction of socialism and communism. Once the working class has won power, its party becomes the ruling party. It is designed to guide the process of political, economic and cultural construction, to ensure the construction of socialism. The party's foreign policy objectives, which follow from Lenin's strategic line, are growing: to carry out "the maximum practicable in one country in order to develop, support, and awaken the revolution in all countries." 9
The Communist Party of the Soviet Union had to be the first to pave the way to socialism, having no experience, in an environment of capitalist encirclement and fierce resistance of the internal class enemy, as well as various anti-party trends. The party overcame all difficulties and paved the main road to socialism thanks to the dictatorship of the proletariat established during the revolution. This powerful weapon allowed it to have a decisive impact on the development of the entire social life. The leadership of the Communist Party ensured the complete and final victory of socialism in our country, and led to such milestones in the development of the productive forces and socialist social relations, on the basis of which the Soviet people began to build the highest phase of communism.

7 "To the 100th anniversary of the birth of Vladimir Ilyich Lenin". Theses of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, Moscow, 1970, p. 26.

8 See R. Garaudy. Pour un modele Francais du Socialisme. P. 1968; ejusd. Le grand tournant du Socialisme. P. 1969.

9 V. I. Lenin. PSS. Vol. 37, p. 304.

page 8

The question of the place and role of the Communist Party in the revolutionary movement, the construction of socialism and communism is constantly in the field of view of Soviet historians. This is primarily due to the needs of the country's internal development. What are the trends and patterns of this development, what role should the party play in this process, what specific forms and methods of its work should it influence social processes, how to modify its own organization and internal life - all these questions require scientific analysis.

At first, the authors of books and pamphlets on the leading role of the Communist Party mainly sought to show the impact of the socio-economic and cultural transformations carried out on the basis of the complete and final victory of socialism on the development of the party, and to understand the circumstances that caused its role to increase during the period of building communism .10 In the future, the researchers ' attention is drawn to a wider range of problems. There are fundamental works that deal in detail with the patterns of increasing the role of the CPSU, the principles of party leadership, its forms and methods in various areas of public life, the conditions that determine the success of the party's activities, and others. 11 In recent years, the Soviet socio-political literature has been increasingly exposing bourgeois and revisionist perversions of the CPSU's guiding principles, party building, and internal party democracy .12 The efforts of our country's scientists in this regard are combined with the efforts of scientists from other socialist countries .13 The question of the vanguard role of Marxist-Leninist parties in the revolutionary transformation of society was discussed at the international scientific and theoretical conference "The Growing Role of Communist Parties in the Revolutionary Process of Building Socialism and the Communist World".-

10 See V. Ivanov, V. Pchelintsev, and M. Sakov. The growing role of the party in the construction of communism. "Kommunist", 1959, N 17; G. E. Glezerman. The growing leadership role of the party in the period of extensive construction of communism. "Questions of the history of the CPSU", 1959, N 3; G. D. Obichkin. The growing leadership role of the party in the period of extensive construction of communism. "Questions of the History of the CPSU", 1959, N 11; N. F. Shitov, S. S. Khromov. The growing role of the CPSU in the period of extensive construction of communism. "Scientific notes" of the Department of History of the CPSU of the Higher School of Economics under the Central Committee of the CPSU. Issue 2, 1960; A. S. Logachev. The growing role of the Communist Party is the most important pattern of the transition from socialism to communism. Moscow, 1961; S. L. Titarenko. The CPSU is the vanguard of the Soviet people. "Questions of the history of the CPSU", 1961, N 5; F. D. Kretov. Nekotorye voprosy leninskogo uchenii o partii [Some Questions of Lenin's doctrine of the Party]. Moscow, 1962; V. M. Donskoy. Voprosy istorii CPSU, 1963, No. 11, et al.

11" Voprosy teorii i zhizn "[Questions of Theory and Life], Moscow, 1967; "V. I. Lenin-the Great Theorist", Moscow, 1966 (reprinted in 1970);" Politicheskaya organizatsiya sovetskogo obshchestva", Moscow, 1967; P. A. Rodionov. Collectivity is the highest principle of party leadership. M. 1967; "Increasing the leading role of the CPSU during the construction of communism". M. 1968; "Organizational and party work". Issue 1. Moscow, 1969; A. K. Kolesnikov. Lenin's Principles of Unity of Policy and organizational leadership of the Party "Voprosy istorii CPSU", 1969, N 7; A. I. Ermolaev. Increasing the role of the CPSU in scientific management of the development of society during the construction of communism. Moscow, 1969; V. P. Stepanov. CPSU-Party of Creators, Moscow, 1969; " Development of Lenin's doctrine of the Party (in the post-October period)", Moscow, 1970; "Lenin's Doctrine of the Party", Moscow, 1970; "The Vital Force of Lenin's principles of Party Construction".

12 A number of articles on this topic, published in 1968-1969, were later included in the collections: "Marxism-Leninism - a single international doctrine". Vol. 1-6. M. 1968-1969; "Dangerous course". Vol. 1. M. 1969; see also F. Gumerov. Fictions and Reality, Moscow, 1967; M. N. Perfilyev. Critique of Bourgeois Theories about the Soviet Political system, L. 1968; N. Lomakin, N. Petrovichev. Renunciation of the principles of Marxism-Leninism. Concerning the Party Charter adopted at the IX Congress of the Communist Communist Party of China, 1970, No. 4, etc.

13 Scientific papers on this problem have appeared in recent years in Bulgaria, Hungary, the GDR, Poland and other socialist countries.

page 9

Munizma", held in Berlin in June 1970 14 . Nevertheless, the practice of communist construction requires further development of this problem.

The CPSU program justifies the growing role and importance of the party at the present stage by a combination of the following objective conditions: the growing scale of communist transformations that require a higher level of political and organizational leadership, the rise of creative activity of the masses, the involvement of new millions of people in the management of state affairs and production, the further development of socialist democracy, the increasing role of public organizations, and the expansion of the rights of the union republics the growing importance of the theory of scientific communism, the need to strengthen the communist education of workers and the struggle to overcome the remnants of the past in the minds of people. We must also take into account the intensification of the class struggle in the international arena, in which the Soviet people, led by the party, are participating together with other revolutionary forces opposed to imperialism. The increasing leadership role of the party is also connected with the peculiarities of the formation of the highest phase of communism. The process of building communism is carried out systematically, with the active and conscious creativity of the masses.

The socialist system is the first social system in history in which economic, social, and spiritual transformations are carried out according to a scientifically based program. The leading role of the party is the highest form of manifestation of the conscious principle in social development, in the formation of communism. The party leadership should cover all spheres of public life: economic, political and ideological. Only such a comprehensive approach makes it possible to avoid spontaneous moments, poorly thought-out and ineffective decisions in the development of society, and to accelerate social progress. Any other understanding of the leading role of the party (reducing it only to educational, educational tasks or organizational work) inevitably leads to a weakening of the party's influence in the social process. It is clearly untenable that after the proletariat has won State power, and even more so after the victory of socialism, the party, as one of the "socialist forces", along with trade unions and cultural and educational organizations, should narrow the scope of its leading activities and act only as an "ideological force" or "vanguard of public consciousness". The leading role of the party does not remain unchanged, but is improved with each new stage in the development of society on the path to communism. However, the improvement of the party's leadership role under socialism is not going in the same direction as the proponents of "democratizing socialism" talk about, who want to narrow the party's sphere of activity and influence in one case under the pretext of "separating it from power", and in the other - instilling "political pluralism"for the sake of an imaginary democracy.

The main thing that determines the leading role of the Marxist-Leninist party in a developed socialist society is that its leadership of all aspects of public life is based on a holistic approach to the development of society as a single social organism, and is complex in nature. Strict and comprehensive consideration of this feature is an indispensable condition for the effectiveness and success of the party's leadership in building communism. The development of each and all spheres of socialist society separately and taken together does not only bring to life a new general historical situation in comparison with the capital of the USSR.-

14 "Problems of peace and socialism". 1970, N 8.

page 10

socialism and a society in transition from capitalism to socialism, which contributes to the integral, integrated development of the social organism, but also defines a new stage in the life and leadership of the party, which is constantly developing in "indissoluble connection with the process of building a new society"15 .

In a developed socialist society, the Party is better able to rely on the conclusions of science, on all practical experience in building socialism, and on the increasingly conscious initiative of the working class and all working people. The Party is increasingly drawing the attention of party organizations to the main, promising problems. This is very important, since the party's comprehensive approach to managing social processes does not exclude the need to identify and justify the main link in the development of society as a whole, as well as in certain areas of public life, be it economic, political, ideological or organizational work. V. I. Lenin considered the ability to determine scientifically the main link in the chain of social phenomena, to separate the main from the secondary, and to focus the efforts of Communists and all working people on solving fundamental problems to be the most important indicator of the party's ability to properly and effectively lead society. Choosing the main link is an important and complex matter. Here, a scientific approach is necessary, taking into account all the circumstances, far-fetched, haste,and subjectivism are dangerous and harmful.

The governing activities of the ruling Communist Party primarily cover the economy , which is a crucial area in the development of society. To lose control, a dominant position here, means to lose influence in all other spheres of public life. The leadership of the national economy is the main and fundamental task of the proletarian State and the Communist Party. Economics, in Lenin's words, is "the most interesting policy for us." 16 Any statements that challenge in any form the need for the leadership of the Communist Party in the economic sphere are illegitimate and harmful. As you know, the revisionists are very zealously opposed to such leadership. They advocate a system of socialism based on the "splitting of economic power", advocate various concepts of "market socialism", "self-regulating socialist economy", theories that deny the need for planned intervention of state power in areas "that do not belong to it", such as economy, science, culture, etc. d. Practice shows that attempts to implement such views in practice usually lead to undermining the economic basis of socialism, and in the long run threaten the fundamental foundations of socialism in general. The Communist Party of the Soviet Union, proceeding from the objective needs and regularities of the development of the socialist mode of production, considers state centralized planning, combined with a broad initiative of local state authorities and the workers themselves, to be the main lever for managing the economy.

The main task of the period of construction of the highest phase of communism is to create a material and technical base. The party's program characterizes it as the main economic task of this period. Ultimately, the result of all the work on forming communist social relations and creating a person of a communist future depends on its solution. Scope and complexity of what is being done and what needs to be done to address the main economic challenge,

15 "50 years of the Great October Socialist Revolution". Resolution of the Plenum of the Central Committee of the CPSU. Theses of the Central Committee of the CPSU, Moscow, 1967, p. 42.

16 V. I. Lenin. PSS. Vol. 43, p. 330.

page 11

grandiose. And the solution of this problem is carried out in stages. The main thing in the party's activity after the XXIII Congress of the CPSU is the struggle for the successful implementation of the new five-year plan, which unfolded in the context of the transition of enterprises to a new system of planning and economic incentives. Considerable progress has been made on this path. Over the four years of the current five-year plan, the volume of industrial output has increased by 39% 17 . Electricity generation increased from 507 billion kW. - an hour in 1965 to 689 billion kW.- hour in 1969, oil production-from 243 to 328 million tons, steel production - from 91 to 110 million tons 18 . Mechanical and instrument engineering, oil and gas production, and the chemical industry developed rapidly; automation and integrated mechanization of production were successfully implemented; telemechanics and electronics were introduced, and the pace of scientific and technological progress was increasing. Agricultural production developed steadily. In 1966-1969, the average annual output of agricultural products was 79 billion rubles, or 12.7 billion rubles more than in 1961-1965. The average annual grain harvest for four years amounted to 162 million tons, which is 32 million tons more than in the previous five years19 .

At the present stage, out of the total sum of issues of economic construction, the party highlights as priorities: increasing the efficiency of social production and its intensification, systematically increasing labor productivity based on the widespread use of the achievements of the modern scientific and technological revolution. The Party sees this as a means of continuously increasing the economic power of the country, strengthening its defense capability, steadily increasing the people's welfare, and strengthening the international positions of socialism and communism.

During the period of building communism and especially after its XXIII Congress, the CPSU persistently introduced new principles and methods of economic management. First of all, we should keep in mind the measures related to economic reform. The transition to a new system of planning and economic incentives in industry and transport is being completed. By mid-1970, over 40,000 industrial enterprises were operating under the new system of planning and economic incentives, accounting for 92% of the total industrial output .20 State farms, trade, and capital construction are being reformed. In this regard, there is an increasingly urgent need to further improve the structure of branch management bodies, improve their working style, simplify and reduce the cost of the management apparatus. The Party is taking serious steps in this direction.

The party is doing a great deal of work to develop social relations in the countryside, especially in the collective farm system. In this respect, the decisions adopted by the Third All-Union Congress of Collective Farmers and especially by the July 1970 Plenum of the Central Committee of the CPSU, which considered and defined the party's next tasks in the field of agriculture, are invaluable.

Since the XXIII Congress, the party has also made significant progress in improving the material and cultural well-being of the people. The national income of the country in 1966-1969 increased by 31%, real income per capita - by 26%, the average monthly salary of workers and employees - by 21%, and the remuneration of collective farmers - by 35%.

17 Pravda, 16. V. 1970.

18 "National economy of the USSR in 1968". Statistical Yearbook, Moscow, 1969, pp. 190-191; Pravda, 25. I. 1970.

19 "The party's next tasks in the field of agriculture". Resolution of the Plenum of the Central Committee of the CPSU of July 3, 1970 "Kommunist", 1970, No. 10, p. 3.

20 "Pravda", 22. VII. 1970.

page 12

Payments and benefits from public funds have increased. 44 million Soviet people celebrated a housewarming party. Since 1968, the minimum wage has been raised to 60 rubles. Pension provision has improved. Per capita consumption of food products has increased. Health care and public education were successfully developed 21 .

Further development of the construction of the highest phase of communism requires new, even greater steps in the area of raising the material and cultural well-being of the people. They are possible only on the basis of steady and continuous growth of all branches of the national economy, and especially agriculture, while maintaining the leading role of heavy industry and on the condition that the sectors producing consumer goods are brought up to the material, technical, technological and organizational level that is characteristic of heavy industry at the fastest pace. Although all possibilities are now available for solving this problem, it can be carried out in the most effective way only with the intensive and daily work of the party organizations.

The party also needs to pay special attention to the complex processes of forming communist social relations. On the road to communism, it is necessary to ensure: the merging of two forms of socialist ownership - collective - farm - cooperative and national (state) ownership-into a single communist property; the elimination of essential differences between town and country, between intellectual and physical labor; the development of socialist statehood into public communist self-government.

In the process of building communism, the party faces new important tasks related to the formation of a scientific, Marxist-Leninist worldview among all Soviet people, with the solution of other problems of communist education, the organization of spiritual life on a communist basis. Lenin's position that the task of persuading the masses "will always be among the most important tasks of government"22 was and still is very relevant . Without this, it is impossible to count on the success of communist construction either in the field of economics, politics, or culture.

All the processes taking place in the economic, political and spiritual spheres on the way to the highest phase of communism are subject to deep internal laws, have their own characteristics, require one or another approach, different forms of work. The desire to increase the scientific validity of the leadership obliges the party and all its organizations to take more care of the development of science, to use it as a reliable tool for transforming the world. In recent years, the network of scientific institutions has been expanded and their base has been strengthened. Measures have been taken to intensify the development of the most important areas of Marxist-Leninist theory and all social and natural sciences. The number and qualification of scientific personnel is growing rapidly. Only in 1966-1968, the number of researchers increased by 158.3 thousand people, including the number of doctors of sciences increased by 3.4 thousand, candidates of sciences-by 34 thousand people .23 The development of various branches of knowledge about nature and society creates favorable conditions for the party's activities in any direction to be based on a solid scientific basis.

In the development of science, national education, and culture, the party sees a way to arm all Soviet workers consistently.

21 Pravda, 4, 10 and 13. VI. 1970.

22 V. I. Lenin. PSS. Vol. 36, p. 127.

23 See "National Economy of the USSR in 1968", p. 695.

page 13

the Marxist-Leninist worldview, the way to form and consolidate their high moral qualities. Thus, the problems of ideological order also require strengthening the role of the Communist Party as the bearer of the theory of Marxism-Leninism with no less force than material-economic or socio-political factors.

As early as 1921, V. I. Lenin emphasized that the Communist Party "did not immediately, but in the course of 25 years, win over the Communist Party by its own actions, which are purposeful, conscious, and highly organized." the role, rank, and strength of the vanguard of the only revolutionary class " 24 . Political leadership is the main thing in the party's activities. Pointing out the need to develop a correct policy, V. I. Lenin said that we will successfully play a leading role, and the masses will be for us, "if we are smart and conduct a correct policy in our class." 25 Politics, being a concentrated expression of economics, has at the same time a high degree of independence and can actively, and often decisively, influence the economy, as well as all other aspects of social relations. The policy of the party and the socialist state is the vital basis of the Soviet system, a powerful lever of social development under socialism.

The development of a scientifically based policy by the party as one of the aspects of increasing its leadership role, a truly scientific approach of the party to the management of social processes is carried out on the basis of Marxist-Leninist theory, taking into account the laws of social development. At the same time, this work urgently requires comprehensive consideration of positive experience, identification of the best models in various spheres of economic, social and cultural life, well-established objective information, and experimentation. This was repeatedly emphasized by V. I. Lenin. In particular, at the Eighth Congress of the RCP(b), he said:: "We acted according to what Marxism taught us. At the same time, the political activity of the Central Committee in its concrete manifestations was entirely determined by the absolute requirements of an urgent and urgent need... We had no doubt that we would have to... experiment, make experience " 26 . Based on this Leninist position, the XXXX Congress of the CPSU pointed out the need to generalize and use best practices. And the party organizations carry out these instructions of the Congress.

With the formation and strengthening of the world socialist system, the question of using the positive experience of fraternal socialist countries and actively exchanging the accumulated knowledge between them became particularly important. The ability to correctly compare the practice of socialist construction in one's own country with the practice of other socialist countries is considered by the CPSU and the fraternal Communist and Workers ' parties as one of the most important duties arising from the responsibility of each party for the development of the socialist community. Of course, the experience of other countries is applied creatively, taking into account specific historical conditions and national traditions. The experience of the CPSU is no exception in this respect. However, its great value is determined by the fact that the Soviet country was the first to pave the main road to socialism, revealing the strength and vitality of the basic laws and principles of building a new society. With this in mind, V. I. Lenin said that the Soviet experience

24 V. I. Lenin. PSS. Vol. 44, p. 107.

25 V. I. Lenin. PSS. Vol. 42, p. 249.

26 V. I. Lenin. PSS. Vol. 38, p. 138.

page 14

it will not be forgotten, "it went down in history as the conquest of socialism, and on this experience the future international revolution will build its socialist edifice"27 . Now to the vast experience of the CPSU is added the interesting and extremely important experience of other communist and workers ' parties in socialist countries. All this represents the most valuable achievement of all the revolutionary forces, serves as the basis for new important theoretical conclusions, the basis for practical social transformations. The CPSU highly values the experience of fraternal parties and the achievements of theoretical Marxist-Leninist thought in other socialist countries and makes extensive use of them in developing its policies.

Leadership is just beginning to develop the right policy line. It is necessary to achieve successful implementation of this line. And a correct policy can turn out to be a dead scheme if it is not supported by the daily organizational, political and educational work of the party, its ability to concentrate its forces and the forces of the entire people on the practical solution of key economic, political and ideological problems. The creativity of millions is a great force. It should be organized and directed according to a well-thought-out plan. The forms of the party's organizational work among the masses are extremely diverse and mobile. The Party achieves considerable success because it is proficient in these forms and skillfully maneuvers them according to the situation.

The most important Leninist principles, the implementation of which allows the party to successfully fulfill its leadership role, are the combination of political leadership with organizational work, the ability to take a Leninist approach to the selection, placement and education of cadres, and the organization of verification of performance. The experience of building socialism shows that the weakening of the influence of the party or its organs on the solution of personnel policy issues or the violation of Lenin's principles of personnel selection (the promotion of people who are ideologically and politically immature and poorly knowledgeable in their work) negatively affects its activities. The CPSU has always firmly followed Lenin's dictum that " the political cannot be mechanically separated from the organizational," that "politics is conducted through people," and that the Central Committee "cannot direct politics"if it is" deprived of the right to control the distribution of people. " 28 Following the decisions of the XXIII Congress of the CPSU in the field of personnel policy, the Central Committee in recent years has reviewed the state of work with personnel in a number of regional, city, district, and primary party organizations. The measures taken by the Central Committee of the party are aimed at establishing a scientific approach, systematic and purposeful work with cadres, developing the initiative of workers, and combining respect and trust in cadres with high demands on them. The selection and placement of personnel takes into account more fully than ever before such important criteria as the employee's connection with the team, his political, industrial and moral integrity; the principle of combining "new" and "old" employees is strictly implemented. In its work with cadres, the party is increasingly using democratic methods of appointing and electing them.

The CPSU is not only an unsurpassed organizer, but also a caring political educator of the masses. Here, too, our party has a rich arsenal of forms and methods of work, a well-developed system of ideological and political education of the masses, tested by many years of practice, and such powerful levers of influence on the masses.

27 V. I. Lenin. PSS. Vol. 36, p. 383.

28 V. I. Lenin. PSS. Vol. 45, p. 123.

page 15

By continuously improving the forms, methods, and means of ideological and educational work among the masses, the CPSU strives for its closest connection with all its organizational and political activities and with the tasks of communist construction.

Success in the party's activities is determined to a decisive degree by the degree to which the most important principles of party construction are consistently implemented in practice, and how Leninist norms of internal party life are observed. A characteristic feature of our party is its consistent implementation of the fundamental principle of organizational structure and all its activities - the principle of democratic centralism. The CPSU remains unshakably loyal to it, exposing the revisionist claims that this principle in its Leninist understanding no longer meets modern conditions and requirements. The CPSU clearly observes both components of the principle of democratic centralism-centralism and democracy. The experience of the world communist movement shows that the rejection of centralism, the substitution of party democracy as the will of the majority for the boundless anarchist "freedom of criticism" and fruitless discussions ultimately lead to a distortion of the internal life of the party, and worse, they give rise to factionalism. At the same time, perversions towards bureaucratic centralism negate internal party democracy, undermine close ties with the masses, and lead to sectarianism. Both are equally harmful to the party's leadership role. The CPSU is firmly committed to improving the democratic foundations of internal party life, which is the most important condition for increasing its leadership role. In accordance with the decisions of its XXIII Congress, the party activates the Communists, increases the combat effectiveness of party committees at all levels, does much to activate the work of primary organizations, and constantly strives to make the party leadership more creative and efficient.

The most important element of internal party democracy is the full development of criticism and self-criticism. This powerful weapon allows the party to deeply analyze the results of its activities, soberly assess achievements, deeply reveal shortcomings and mistakes, and critically review certain decisions and actions. The Central Committee of our Party provides an example of a truly Bolshevik application of criticism and self-criticism. An in-depth analysis of the state of affairs in the party and the country, carried out by the October and November (1964), March and September (1965), subsequent Plenums of the Central Committee of the CPSU, the XXIII Congress, and in recent months - the December (1969) and July (1970) Plenums of the Central Committee of the CPSU, allowed the party to consolidate a new approach to to implement its general line, which excludes subjectivism, voluntarism, project planning, and ill-considered actions that contradict the principle of scientific leadership of society.

The success of a party's revolutionary and transformative activities is directly related to how strong the unity and cohesion of its ranks are. Any weakening of the unity of the party ranks means ultimately undermining its leadership role. During the construction of socialism, the unity of the ranks of our party was strengthened in the struggle against the actions of various opposition groups - Trotskyists, right-wing deviators, nationalists and other oppositionists. With the victory of socialism in the USSR and the formation of the socio-political and ideological unity of society, the social basis for the emergence and existence of organizationally formed opportunist deviations and trends with their own ideological platforms disappeared. Now the CPSU is a cohesive, monolithic collective. Nevertheless, the issue of strengthening the unity of the party and the purity of its ranks has not lost its relevance even now. In modern settings

page 16

In these conditions, strengthening the unity and cohesion of the party means, first of all, raising the ideological and political level of its members, their organization and efficiency, means irreconcilability to manifestations of apoliticalness, indifference, philistine philistinism, bureaucracy, and indiscipline. We must also take into account the fact that the acuteness of the class struggle in the international arena, bourgeois propaganda, manifestations of nationalism, parochialism, and dogmatic thinking may give rise to opportunistic vacillations of unstable elements in the party. Strengthening the ideological and organizational unity of the party is an essential requirement of the CPSU Charter.

The CPSU has all the real conditions for further enhancing its role in society. It represents a mass of more than 14 million Communists, has the necessary highly qualified, ideologically trained personnel in all branches of knowledge and production, and is therefore able to deeply understand the complex phenomena of public life. The CPSU is able to exert its guiding influence to an ever-increasing extent on all social groups of the population, all nations and nationalities, since it concentrates in its composition the best, most advanced part of the working class, the collective-farm peasantry, and the Soviet intelligentsia. It unites representatives of over 130 nationalities of the USSR.

The possibilities of the party's influence on all spheres of society's life directly through its organizations can be judged by the way the network of these organizations is developed, and how the party's forces are positioned in crucial areas. Currently, the CPSU includes 14 communist parties of the Union republics, 6 regional and 135 regional, 10 district, 753 city, 441 district city and 2775 rural district party organizations .29 After the XXIII Congress of the CPSU, these organizations were significantly strengthened. Much attention is paid to improving their structure. Party organizations have numerous assets. The core of the asset is members of elected party bodies. Their total number is now more than 3 million Communists. Among them are workers, collective farmers, specialists in various branches of the national economy, scientists, cultural figures, artists, employees of party, Soviet, economic bodies and public organizations.

Primary party organizations play an important role in the implementation of the party's leadership role, in the implementation of its policies, in strengthening and expanding ties with the masses, and in the communist education of the working people. By the beginning of 1970, the network of them amounted to almost 360 thousand. Within the primary party organizations, the number of guild party organizations and party groups has grown rapidly in recent years. Currently, there are 330,000 guild party organizations and over 400,000 party groups .30 It is this extremely extensive and developed network of local organizations and their committees, primary and guild party organizations and groups that allows the party to strengthen its leadership influence in all spheres of public life.

The CPSU increases its leadership influence not only through its own organizations, but also through the extensive political system of socialist society, which includes both state and public organizations: trade unions, Komsomol, cooperation, various creative unions, scientific and technical societies and other mass organizations. Our party is the organizing core, the leading force in this system. With its help, huge masses of people are set in motion. So, in the last elections to the Supreme Soviet

29 "Party construction", Moscow, 1970, p. 121.

30 Ibid., p. 171.

page 17

Almost the entire adult population of the country - more than 153.2 million people-participated in the USSR 31 . Trade unions, such as the school of management, the school of economic management, and the school of communism, unite more than 90 million workers .32 Komsomol is the party's combat assistant, with 27 million members .33 The consumer cooperative has 60 million shareholders .34 About 8 million workers make up the army of People's comptrollers35 . Many millions of Soviet people are members of various creative unions and societies. The Party insists on improving the functioning of such forms of self-government that operate directly in production, such as workers ' meetings and permanent production meetings .36
As a leading force, the CPSU builds its relations with state and public organizations on the principles of genuine democracy. The substitution of party organs for State and public bodies is resolutely rejected as fundamentally contrary to the nature of socialist social relations. The party exercises its influence in the crucial spheres of politics, economy, and culture not apart from them, but with their fullest involvement. The Party develops a common political line, strategy and tactics for the entire political system, and on its basis, specific instructions and directives for certain organizations and institutions. State and non-governmental organizations and institutions perceive the political line developed by the party, its directives, decisions and instructions as a guide to action. V. I. Lenin once noted that "no important political or organizational issue is resolved by any state institution in our republic without the guidance of the Central Committee of the party"37 . This procedure is still followed.

Of course, every institution and every organization has such cases and issues that they must solve independently. And the party wants all state and non-governmental organizations to take the initiative and take responsibility for their decisions. But they must proceed from the requirements of the party's policy. The perception of the political line of the party by all these organizations and its unwavering adherence are facilitated precisely by the fact that they all participate in one form or another in the elaboration of the main provisions of this line. The Party influences the work of state and public institutions through communists working in state and public organizations, through the best representatives of the working people, who, although not members of the party, fight for its goals and interests as if they were their own. At the same time, the party uses a variety of methods: it nominates candidates during elections to state and public bodies, delegates or sends its representatives to work in various institutions, recommends comrades who enjoy the confidence of the masses for appointment to various positions, and so on.

The Party coordinates the work of all organizations and institutions included in the system of political organization of society. It solves this most important task based on the specifics of each organization, from the range of problems that work on these specifics corresponds to. It seeks a clear delineation of the functions of all organizations.-

31 Pravda, 17. VI. 1970.

32 "Kommunist", 1970, N 10, p. 55.

33rd place. Tyazhelnikov. Report of the Central Committee of the Komsomol and the tasks of the Komsomol to educate young people in the spirit of Lenin's precepts. Report and final speech at the XVI Congress of the Komsomol. Moscow "Molodaya Gvardiya", 1970, N 3.

34 Pravda, 25. VIII. 1970.

35 Ekonomicheskaya Gazeta, No. 37, IX. 1969, p. 4.

36 Currently, 141,000 industrial meetings are held, with more than 5 million members elected (see "Party Building", p. 269).

37 V. I. Lenin. PSS. Vol. 41, pp. 30-31.

page 18

organizations and institutions, establishes interaction and interrelationships of all state and public organizations and institutions.

Experience shows that only with the correct implementation of all these measures can fruitful and effective work be carried out in every organization of the political system of our society as a whole. Incorrect assessment of the specifics of organizations, confusion of functions, lack of proper interaction and necessary relationships threaten harmful parallelism in work, waste of time, waste of people's energy and resources. That is why our party, from the very first years of Soviet power, began to pay the closest attention to these issues. They are particularly important now because the rise of the creative activity of the builders of communism gives birth to new social institutions and infuses life-giving energy into all spheres of activity. The Party resolutely combats the facts of inconsistency in the work, duplication of functions of state and public organizations and institutions. It seeks to make the activities of public organizations as purposeful as possible, defining their direction in work, without patronizing them, without interfering in their activities on each issue. Communists gain confidence in mass organizations not by their ranks, but by their moral and political influence. The Party seeks to carry out its policy in state and public organizations not by granting its members any privileges, but by practical, everyday, selfless work of communists in these organizations.

The CPSU rejects all attempts to belittle the role of state and public organizations, and considers that the interests of developing the political system of socialist society, the needs of developing its economy, and not least the demands of the ongoing class struggle, the sharp edge of which is turned outward, call for the full development and improvement of the entire system of state and public organizations in our country. At the same time, without further development and improvement of this system, it is impossible to seriously count on the actual strengthening of the party leadership in society. That is why the party pays the closest attention to the consistent development and strengthening of the role of Soviets, trade unions, Komsomol, cooperatives, and other public organizations, including self-government institutions operating directly in production.

The revolutionary and transformative activities of the CPSU have an increasingly powerful impact on the course of world development. The modern era is characterized by the growth of a powerful world revolutionary stream, in which the ever-expanding communist construction in the USSR and socialist construction in a number of other countries, class battles in the countries of capital, and the national liberation movement merge. Under these conditions, the role of the world communist movement as the leading revolutionary force of our time is growing immeasurably. The CPSU, as an integral part of the world communist movement, has made and continues to make its contribution to the development and strengthening of this movement, to the development of the world revolutionary process, and in particular to the establishment of international cooperation within the framework of the world socialist system.

At present, among the problems of the communist movement, the question of the unity and cohesion of its ranks on the basis of the principles of Marxism-Leninism and proletarian internationalism has become particularly acute. An important step towards strengthening the unity of Communists around the world was the Meeting of Communist and Workers ' Parties held in Moscow in 1969, in the preparation of which the CPSU took an active part. The meeting discussed important issues

page 19

questions of strategy and tactics of the struggle of the communist and workers ' parties against imperialism, questions of coordination of the actions of Communists all over the world. The Meeting stressed that "the Communist Party acts as the vanguard of the entire socialist society", that socialist transformation and the construction of a new society are a complex and lengthy process, and that "first of all, the communist and workers' parties that are in charge, and their ability to solve the problems of socialist development in a Marxist-Leninist way, depend on the use of enormous opportunities, open with a new system " 38 .

Historical experience shows that the Communist and workers ' parties exercise their leading role in spite of the fierce attempts of the open and hidden enemies of the working class to prevent this. All experience also shows that the efforts of those who seek to discredit the Communist parties and belittle their role, those who in one form or another deny the need for the Communist Party to lead the entire struggle for the revolutionary renewal of the world, are futile from a historical perspective. This can be stated with complete confidence. Nevertheless, at certain stages, attempts of this kind can (and, as practice shows, do) have a certain impact on the course of revolutionary transformations. To deny or even belittle the leading role of the Marxist-Leninist Party is fraught with serious danger for the working class, for all working people, and for the cause of communism. Therefore, the most irreconcilable struggle against such attempts, the most relentless exposure and overcoming of the diversions, perversions and delusions associated with them, is an indispensable condition for the success of the working class in its struggle against capital. Real Communists remember the precepts of V. I. Lenin. Lenin: any refusal to lead the struggle is tantamount to handing over the leading role to bourgeois democracy; " a revolutionary party deserves its name only when it actually leads the movement of the revolutionary class."39
"The time that has passed since the XXIII Congress," General Secretary of the Central Committee of the CPSU L. I. Brezhnev noted in his speech at the solemn meeting dedicated to the 50th anniversary of the Azerbaijan SSR, " was a period of further strengthening the power of our country, increasing the leading role of the party, and even closer unity of the party and the people."40 . The party is now preparing for its XXIV Congress. It goes to him, enriched by the experience of solving a number of major economic and social issues, confident in the correctness of its line, and undivided support for it by the entire Soviet people. The XXIV Congress of the CPSU, which will mark the most important milestone in the struggle for communism, will take such decisions and outline such measures, the implementation of which will raise even higher the authority of the party, its leading and guiding role in the construction of communist society.

38 See "International Conference of Communist and Workers 'Parties". Documents and materials, Moscow, 1969, pp. 302, 303.

39 V. I. Lenin. PSS. Vol. 6, p. 385.

40 Pravda, 3. X. 1970.

page 20

Permanent link to this publication: