On April 9, 1971, the XXIV Congress of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union ended its work, which was a major event in the ideological and political life of our country, the socialist countries, and the entire world communist, workers', and national liberation movement. The XXIV Congress of the CPSU has now become the property of world history. This is quite natural, because the congresses of our party are epochal events in the history of our people and the entire world communist movement. The good memory of the people preserves grateful memories of each of our party's congresses. Our congresses, like giant searchlights, illuminate the great road from the capitalist past to the socialist present and the communist future.

The Congress delegates, all Soviet people, and the foreign public were focused on the Report of the Central Committee of the CPSU, which was delivered by the General Secretary of the CPSU Central Committee, Leonid Brezhnev. The report gave a deeply scientific Marxist-Leninist analysis of the most important problems of our time, the laws of development of Soviet society, the world socialist system, and ways to further build communism. The report emphasized with particular force the growing role of the Communist Party in organizing and directing the efforts of the Soviet people in their struggle to build communism. The report dealt comprehensively with the international situation and foreign policy of the Soviet state, the current stage of the general crisis of capitalism, highlighted a number of important issues of the party's economic policy, the problems of developing the theory of Marxism-Leninism, and in this connection clearly outlined the main tasks of social sciences.

A. N. Kosygin's report covered in detail the grandiose picture of the country's socio-economic development at the present stage, scientifically justified and defined the main tasks of the ninth five-year plan for the development of the national economy of the USSR, the successful implementation of which will mark a new major step in communist construction.

The Congress noted in its decisions that the reporting period was characterized by the intensification of ideological and theoretical activities of the party. Deep generalizations of the experience of building socialism and communism and the world revolutionary movement are contained in the decisions of the Central Committee plenums, party documents dedicated to the 50th anniversary of the Great October Socialist Revolution, the 100th anniversary of the birth of V. I. Lenin, the 150th anniversary of the birth of K. Marx and F. Lenin. Engels. The theory of Marxism-Leninism has been enriched with new conclusions and provisions on such important problems as ways to create the material and technical base of communism, forms of managing the national economy, and issues of agrarian policy at the present stage. They worked out fundamental questions of the development of the world system of socialism, and studied new phenomena in the development of modern capitalism. A lot of attention was paid

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The article focuses on the development of the doctrine of the party, its leading role in the construction of socialism and communism. An offensive struggle was launched against the ideology of anti-communism, various bourgeois and revisionist concepts.

The reports of L. I. Brezhnev and A. N. Kosygin, the speeches of delegates and heads of delegations of fraternal communist and workers', national-democratic and left-wing socialist parties, and the resolutions of the Congress are the richest material, a guide to action for the Communists and all the working people of our country. The XXIV Congress of the CPSU will also be an important milestone in the development of Soviet historical science.

Soviet historians came to the congress with serious achievements in various fields of studying the process of social development. The period between the XXIII and XXIV Congresses of the CPSU was marked by an increase in the creative work of Soviet scientists, success in the development of many important scientific, theoretical, ideological and political problems of national and world history. The congress highly appreciated the contribution of Soviet scientists to scientific Leniniana-the publication of fundamental works that more fully reveal the role of V. I. Lenin as the leader of the greatest revolution, its theorist, as the creator of the party of the working class, the founder of the world's first socialist state. In recent years, the scope of historical research has significantly expanded, its forms and methods have been further improved, and the organic connection of historical science with the practice of communist construction and the tasks of the current stage of the ideological struggle has strengthened. A well-known indicator of these achievements can be found in the speeches of Soviet scientists at various international forums. Soviet historians represented Russian science with honor at the XIII International Congress of Historical Sciences in Moscow and the V International Congress of Economic History in Leningrad in August 1970, convincingly demonstrating the superiority of the Marxist-Leninist methodology for studying historical processes.

The main tasks in the field of social sciences, including history, are clearly formulated in the Report of the Central Committee of the CPSU. "During the reporting period," L. I. Brezhnev said at the congress, " the Central Committee of the CPSU adopted a special detailed resolution on this issue. The tasks of the Institute of Marxism-Leninism and the Academy of Social Sciences under the Central Committee of the CPSU have been expanded and clarified. In recent years, the Academy of Sciences has created a number of new humanities institutes, which has allowed us to strengthen the study of the problems of socio-economic development of the USSR and foreign countries, the world revolutionary process, and improve scientific information. An increasingly decisive shift in the social sciences towards developing problems relevant to the present and future is what we need. " 1
In the light of this instruction of the party, Soviet historians are even more responsibly aware of the importance of their work for the development of Marxist-Leninist theory, the ideological and political education of the working people, and the formation of a new man-the builder of communism. In all scientific institutions, educational institutions and other organizations dealing with the problems of history, the materials of the congress should be thoroughly studied, the state of research work should be analyzed, specific tasks and prospects for the development of historical science and the promotion of historical knowledge arising from the decisions of the congress should be outlined.

The most important and primary task for Soviet historians is to work out the problems of the development of Soviet society, to study its history.-

1 L. I. Brezhnev. Report of the Central Committee of the CPSU to the XXIV Congress of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, Moscow, 1971, p. 108.

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a summary of the experience of the Communist Party's activities under the conditions of building socialism and communism in our country, showing the international significance of this experience. The significance of this work for the practical activity of our party and State is enormous. Based on a scientific analysis of more than half a century of glorious struggle and victories of the Soviet people, the current stage of development of society, the Communist Party determines the direction of our country's further progress towards communism. "Summing up the accumulated experience of communist construction," L. I. Brezhnev stated at the congress, "the party has worked out a principled, realistic policy course, which was met with approval and unanimously supported by the entire Soviet people." 2 The General Secretary of the CPSU Central Committee specifically noted that "during the reporting period, the party has made serious progress in studying and understanding a number of the biggest and most complex issues of its economic policy." 3 Representatives of all the social sciences of our country have contributed to the study of the processes of socio-economic development of the Soviet Union; historians have a place of honor in this important work. Now, after the XXIV Congress of the CPSU, which gave such a high assessment of the degree of scientific generalization of the experience of communist construction, including economic policy, historians should undoubtedly increase the activity of research in this direction.

The materials of the XXIV Congress of the CPSU, its resolutions, and the Report of the Central Committee of the CPSU contain fundamental assessments of the most important historical phenomena and processes. First of all, this concerns the problems of the history of our Motherland.

Leonid Brezhnev pointed out the distinctive features of the current stage of development of Soviet society. Recalling that socialism won in our country in the second half of the 1930s, he stressed: "Our economy of that period and the modern economy are based on the same type of production relations, on the same economic laws - the laws of socialism. At the same time, it is impossible not to see important new points that distinguish the modern economy from the economy of the late 1930s."4 This is also the new scale of the national economy, when almost 2 billion rubles of social product is produced per day, or 10 times more than at the end of the 1930s; it is also a much broader range of tasks currently facing the economy. The rapidly developing scientific and technological revolution has made major changes in the country's economy and put forward its own demands. Now we need to plan and manage the economy in a different way, and we need new methods of economic work that will strengthen the interdependence of all parts of the economy. The scientific and technological revolution, the Report of the Central Committee of the CPSU notes, is "a huge force that favors socialism, but it must be truly mastered." 5 "Comrades," L. I. Brezhnev said at the congress, "We have before us a task of historical importance: to combine the achievements of the scientific and technical revolution organically with the advantages of the socialist system of economy, and to develop more widely our own forms of combining science and production, which are inherent in socialism." 6
Soviet historians will have to study and comprehend all the diverse socio-economic processes that are developing in our country and abroad in connection with the scientific and technological revolution. The XXIV Congress of the CPSU specifically pointed out, in particular, that the economic, scientific and technical competition between the two world systems is a sphere of economic development.

2 Ibid., p. 4.

3 Ibid., p. 46.

4 Ibid., p. 47.

5 Ibid., p. 48.

6 Ibid., p. 71.

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the class struggle between socialism and capitalism, and that the role of this sphere has now increased dramatically. The successful implementation of the new five-year plan will be the contribution of the Soviet people to the common cause of strengthening the economic power of the socialist countries and strengthening their positions in the economic competition between the two world systems. This implies the great importance of a detailed study of these processes.

The study of the history of the class struggle, the laws and forms of its development, has always been and remains the main task of Marxist-Leninist historical science. But in order to study the class struggle at the present stage, the struggle between the two systems, their economic and scientific and technical competition, it is necessary to turn the attention of historians to the study of the development of productive forces, the processes of the scientific and technical revolution. The study of the history of science and technology should play an important role in the plans of historians. The moment has come when it is time to finally close the gaps that still exist both in the historical literature and in the teaching of history in this regard. If issues of the development of science and technology are still reflected in works on the history of the ancient world, antiquity, and the Middle Ages, then in the literature concerning the problems of modern times, they are usually much less covered. The situation is even worse with the development of materials on the history of science and technology in modern times. Of course, studying the history of science and technology in modern and contemporary times is not an easy task, especially in the context of the rapid growth of various fields of natural and technical sciences. For this purpose, there are special institutions in the system of the USSR Academy of Sciences, including the Institute of the History of Natural Science and Technology, which conducts great and useful work. However, historians who study the problems of modern and contemporary history, and especially modern processes, still poorly cooperate with historians of individual sciences and with those philosophers who study general problems of the development of science. At the present time, when science is turning into a direct productive force, the need for the full development of such a new branch of science, which can be called "science studies" and without which it is impossible to study the laws of the development of science as a whole, or to determine its prospects, is increasingly felt. Science itself now demands a scientifically grounded plan for its development, and in this matter, as in any other connected with social progress, historians are bound to take the most active part.

The time has come to seriously consider the issues related to the study of the scientific and technological revolution, its prerequisites, and its impact on social development. Now it is no longer possible to limit ourselves to a cursory list of the names of scientists or to pointing out the facts of individual discoveries in the chapters and sections of monographs and textbooks devoted to the culture of a particular time. The creation of new studies on the history of Soviet society is unthinkable without a deep analysis of the problems of the scientific and technological revolution. It is obvious that when studying the problems of the more distant past, we should pay more attention to the history of science and technology, reveal their influence on the development and change of socio-economic formations, and thus achieve even deeper and more comprehensive coverage of the laws of the historical development of humanity as a whole.

The Congress drew attention to the fact that the highest goal of social production under socialism - the most complete satisfaction of people's material and cultural needs-is multi-faceted in its tasks. We are talking not only about subjective needs, but also about the requirements that are now dictated by the very development of social production. Now he increasingly needs people with special knowledge, high professional training, and a high general culture. Achieving these qualities by all employees

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social production is possible only with a higher standard of living, with more and more complete satisfaction of the material and spiritual needs of people. That is why, while planning the next, ninth five-year plan to increase the country's national income by 37-40%, the XXIV Congress of the CPSU provided for an increase of one-third of real income per capita. The Communist Party's plans for raising the standard of living of the Soviet people were detailed at the Congress in the reports of L. I. Brezhnev and A. N. Kosygin, and were set out in the decisions adopted on them. Soviet historians have already done a great deal of work to study the policy of our Party and Government in steadily raising the standard of living of the Soviet people. In the future, historians need to study even more closely the process of developing the interdependence between the growth of social production based on scientific and technological progress and the improvement of the level of material well-being and culture of the working people of our country. This is one of the most important patterns in the development of Soviet society. Concerned with raising the standard of living of the people, the Party was somewhat ahead of the pace of growth in the production of consumer goods during the ninth five-year plan. However, such a change in the basic proportions of the development of the national economy does not mean a weakening of attention to heavy industry, the foundation of the country's economic power, and further growth of the people's welfare. The Congress resolution on the Report of the Central Committee of the CPSU specifically emphasizes that"heavy industry - the basis for expanded reproduction, technical re-equipment of the national economy and defense power of the Soviet state-should continue to be developed at a high rate." 7
At the XXIV Congress of the CPSU, attention was also drawn to many other important aspects of the development of Soviet society, including the change in its social structure. Historians are working on this problem, but obviously their work in this area should be intensified.

First of all, this applies to the study of the history of the Soviet working class, which occupies a leading position in the system of socialist production relations and exerts an ever-increasing influence on all spheres of life in Soviet society. It is necessary to study persistently, in particular, the growth of the cultural level of workers, the increase in their political activity at the stage of communist construction, revealing the close relationship between these processes. Of particular importance is the scientific development of data from the latest All-Union population censuses, which reflect the enormous changes that took place in the social structure of Soviet society during the years of communist construction. The growing role of the union of the working class and the peasantry in the modern era requires further research. The rapprochement of the working class, the peasantry, and the intelligentsia is becoming more and more visible in our country, working and living conditions in town and country are gradually becoming closer, and the unity of Soviet society is being strengthened. It is the duty of Soviet historians to show more fully the leading role of the working class in all these processes, in creating the material and technical base of communism, in accelerating scientific and technological progress, in improving economic management, and to study the glorious labor traditions of the Soviet working class.

Of great theoretical importance is the conclusion made in the Report of the Central Committee of the CPSU that "during the years of socialist construction, a new historical community of people has emerged in our country - the Soviet people. In joint work, in the struggle for socialism, in the struggle to defend it, new and harmonious relations were born between classes and social groups, nations and nationalities-relations of friendship-

7 Pravda, 10. IV. 1971.

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support and cooperation. Our people are united by a common Marxist-Leninist ideology, the lofty goals of building a communist society. This monolithic unity is demonstrated by the multinational Soviet people through their hard work and unanimous approval of the Communist Party's policy."8 . Leonid Brezhnev also stressed that " in the history of our state, the formation of the USSR occupies an outstanding place in terms of its political significance and socio-economic consequences. All the nations and nationalities of our country, and above all the great Russian people, have played a role in the formation, strengthening and development of this powerful union of equal peoples who have taken the path of socialism. His revolutionary energy, dedication, hard work, and deep internationalism rightfully earned him the sincere respect of all the peoples of our socialist Homeland. " 9
The study of the formation and development of the Soviet people as a new historical community is a highly relevant task of Soviet historians. It is no coincidence that so much attention was paid to this issue in the speeches of the congress delegates, which directly related to the state of scientific development of this range of problems. First Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Azerbaijan G. A. Aliyev said in his speech: "The CPSU program, based on Lenin's principles, emphasizes that in the development of national relations under socialism there are two interrelated processes: the flourishing of each of the socialist nations and the rapprochement of nations. However, in our opinion, there is a certain one-sidedness in the scientific development of problems of national relations under socialism. Many works have been written at a high level about the rise of individual union republics, nations and nationalities, which, of course, is very important and necessary. At the same time, scientific works do not sufficiently cover the problems of the rapprochement of nations, the formation of a new historically formed community of people - the Soviet people, which includes all the nationalities of the USSR. The appearance of reasoned works on these subjects based on the generalization of extensive factual material would undoubtedly contribute to further strengthening the ideological work of party organizations, the international education of workers, and would be a sharp weapon in the fight against our opponents. " 10 The first secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Kyrgyzstan T. Usubaliyev also spoke about this: "Recently, the country's scientists have done some work to summarize the success of the CPSU's international policy. At the same time, we believe that the role of central research institutions and their scientists is important... It is not yet active enough in promoting the ideas of friendship of peoples. There are still few fundamental scientific works being written on the problems of the development of national relations in our country in the present and future. " 11 First Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Turkmenistan G. Gapurov, referring to various aspects of the active process of rapprochement between the peoples of our country, noted that international features in the field of economy, culture and everyday life are still insufficiently covered in science, literature and periodicals. Meanwhile, a broader theoretical development and coverage of these issues would help to improve the work on the international education of workers .12
Speaking about the development and strengthening of the friendship of the peoples of our country, the creation of a new historical community of people-the Soviet people, many delegates of the XXIV Congress of the CPSU emphasized the outstanding role of the Russian people in these processes. Banner of friendship and brotherhood of peoples,

8 L. I. Brezhnev. Report of the Central Committee of the CPSU to the XXIV Congress of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, p. 95.

9 Ibid., p. 94.

10 Pravda, 2. IV. 1971.

11 Pravda, 4. IV. 1971.

12 See ibid.

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The first secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Uzbekistan Sh. R. Rashidov called the Russian language a powerful accelerator of the process of rapprochement of nations at the congress. He also said: "The Russian people are the elder brother and loyal friend of all Soviet peoples. He deservedly won their warm love and deep respect. The peoples of our country are forever united in a sacred union with the Russian people. And there is no force that can shake this alliance. It is eternal and unbreakable. He is powerful and invincible. It increases tenfold the strength of our people in building communism. "13 T. Usubaliev said in his speech:" Here we note with special gratitude the role of the great Russian people, its heroic working class - the true bearer of socialist internationalism and the brotherhood of peoples. Deep internationalism, great talent, bright mind, generous heart, unselfishness, constant readiness for self-sacrifice and generosity - all these remarkable qualities of the Russian people won him the deepest respect of all Soviet peoples, including the Kyrgyz people. Friendship with the Russian people has always been, is, and will always be the foundation of the fraternal community of all the peoples of our country. " 14 Emphasizing the special importance of the struggle against bourgeois nationalism and the need to oppose it with socialist internationalism, First Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Lithuania A. Y. Snechkus emphasized: "Lithuanian Soviet culture, based on national folk traditions, develops and grows, creatively absorbing the experience of the advanced culture of humanity, the experience of the cultures of fraternal Soviet peoples, first of all, the experience of progressive classical and Soviet culture the Russian people. Intensive exchange of cultural values should continue to be expanded and encouraged in every possible way. " 15
The materials and decisions of the congress set historians the task of deeply and comprehensively studying the development of international relations in the process of forming the Soviet people as a new historical community of people, in strengthening the unity of Soviet society on the basis of socialist interests and communist ideals of the working class. A special place in research on this topic should be occupied by questions of the history of culture, the history of cultural relations, including the history of Russian culture and its influence on the culture of other peoples. Our works should cover the role of the Russian people, and above all the role of the Russian working class, in all spheres of life in the Soviet socialist republics of our country, in the creation of a new historical community of people - the Soviet people, and in the consistent implementation of Lenin's national policy of the CPSU. The resolution adopted by the Congress on the Report of the Central Committee of the CPSU emphasizes the importance of educating all workers in the spirit of Soviet patriotism, " internationalism, intransigence to manifestations of nationalism, chauvinism and national narrow-mindedness, in the spirit of respect for all nations and nationalities."16. The upcoming celebration of the 50th anniversary of the formation of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics is intended for historians to meet with new fundamental works that show the place of this great event in world history, its impact on the fate of the peoples of the USSR, on the course of human development.

The most important problem requiring further study by historians remains the process of developing socialist democracy and improving the political organization of Soviet society. Attention should be increased to the history of the organs of people's power in our country represented by Soviets of all degrees and other state administration bodies-

13 Pravda, 2. IV. 1971.

14 Pravda, 4. IV. 1971.

15 Pravda, 3. IV. 1971.

16 Pravda, 10. IV. 1971.

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on the history of mass organizations of workers, primarily such as trade unions and the Komsomol.

Studying the history of our country has always been and remains a matter of great party and state importance. L. I. Brezhnev spoke about this at the congress, emphasizing that " the party attached great importance to the correct, objective coverage of the history of our state. Some attempts to assess the historical path of the Soviet people from non-partisan, non-class positions and to belittle the significance of their socialist achievements were sharply and justly criticized. At the same time, the party has shown the inconsistency of dogmatic ideas that ignore the great positive changes that have taken place in the life of our society in recent years. The experience of the past years has convincingly confirmed that overcoming the consequences of the cult of personality, as well as subjectivist mistakes, has had a beneficial effect on the general political and, above all, ideological situation in the country." 17
Truly scientific, party-class, and truthful coverage of the history of our country is of great importance for the communist education of the working people and the formation of a new person. Active participation in the patriotic education of the younger generation is the most important task of Soviet historians. With a sense of high civic responsibility, they met the words of the General Secretary of the Central Committee of the CPSU, L. I. Brezhnev, that "in recent years we have done a lot of work to instill in Soviet people a sense of pride in their Homeland, for their people, for their great achievements, and a sense of respect for the worthy pages of the past of their country" 18 .

Soviet historians are on one of the battlefields of the ideological struggle. Under these conditions, it will always be of great importance to strictly adhere to the principles of scientific investigation of social phenomena developed by the classics of Marxism-Leninism. "The party and the people," L. I. Brezhnev declared at the congress,"have not put up and will not put up with attempts, no matter from which side they come, to blunt our ideological weapons, to tarnish our banner." 19 The struggle for the purity of Marxist-Leninist theory, against right and "left" revisionism, dogmatism and subjectivism will always be the first duty of Soviet historians, no matter what period of history they are concerned with.

The Congress strongly condemned any extreme portrayal of Soviet reality. This applies equally to attempts to reduce its diversity "to problems that are irrevocably relegated to the past as a result of the work done by the party to overcome the consequences of the cult of personality", and to attempts to " whitewash the phenomena of the past that the party has subjected to strong and principled criticism, to preserve ideas and views that run counter to the new the most creative contribution that the party has made to its practical and theoretical activities in recent years. " 20
The XXIV Congress of the CPSU provided a great deal of material for studying the current problems of the world communist and labor movement, and first of all the activities of our party in the international arena, the processes developing in the liberated countries, and the current stage of the general crisis of capitalism. The presence at the congress of 102 delegations of communist and workers', national-democratic and left-wing socialist parties from 90 countries of the world was a clear indication of the authority enjoyed by the Communist Party

17 L. I. Brezhnev. Report of the Central Committee of the CPSU to the XXIV Congress of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, p. 128.

18 Ibid., p. 104.

19 Ibid., p. 110.

20 Ibid.

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Of the Soviet Union, the party of the great Lenin, in the world communist, workers ' and national liberation movement.

The speeches of representatives of fraternal parties at the congress contain extensive factual material describing the situation in different countries and parties, help to better understand the current stage of the historical confrontation between socialism and capitalism, and vividly reveal the picture of the revolutionary battles taking place on all continents. Enriched by the ideas of the XXIV Congress of the CPSU, Soviet scientists will conduct even more intensive and in-depth work on the study of the modern world revolutionary process, on the study of new phenomena in the capitalist world. The Congress confirmed the correctness of the analysis of the international situation given by the Moscow Conference of Communist and Workers ' Parties in 1969, as well as the most important conclusion of the Conference, which is that the world system of socialism is the decisive force in the anti-imperialist struggle. "The Central Committee's attention," L. I. Brezhnev said at the congress, " was constantly focused on the further consolidation and development of the world socialist system, relations with the fraternal countries of socialism, with their communist parties. The world system of socialism is a quarter of a century old. From the point of view of the development of revolutionary theory and practice, these years were exceptionally fruitful. The socialist world has given the communist and workers ' movement an experience that is of great, truly historical significance."21 . The study of this experience remains the most important task of Soviet historians.

Special attention should be paid to the question of the economic integration of socialist countries, as well as to the position put forward in the Report of the Central Committee of the CPSU that "success in building socialism largely depends on the correct combination of the general and the national-specific in social development"22 . Soviet scientists are equally obliged to study both the general laws of social development and the various forms of their manifestation that correspond to the specific conditions of each country and its national characteristics. The study of the process of establishing a new, socialist type of interstate relations continues to be an equally serious task. This work should become one of the main components of studying the history of our country's foreign policy and modern international relations.

The Congress strongly emphasized the need for a firm and uncompromising struggle against bourgeois ideology, against nationalism, and against revisionism of all shades. It is precisely nationalist tendencies, as L. I. Brezhnev said at the congress, that bourgeois ideologues are now most willing to bet on .23 The ideological war waged against us by imperialist propaganda, using the most sophisticated methods and all sorts of fabrications, does not stop for a moment. It is the duty of Soviet historians, a fighting detachment of workers on the ideological front , to wage an offensive struggle against bourgeois historiography, to give timely, decisive and effective rebuff to its attacks on the history of Soviet society, on socialist democracy, on the peaceful foreign policy of the U.S.S.R., and to debunk any apology for modern capitalism.

The report of the Central Committee of the CPSU made an important conclusion that "the struggle for national liberation in many countries has practically begun to develop into a struggle against exploitative relations, both feudal and capitalist." 24 Historians are obliged to pay close attention to

21 Ibid., pp. 5-6.

22 Ibid., p. 6.

23 See ibid., p. 25.

24 Ibid., p. 21.

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to study various forms and trends in the modern national liberation movement, to reveal the aggressive nature of American imperialism, to reveal the forms and methods of the imperialist struggle against the countries of socialism, against the world communist, workers ' and national liberation movement.

A significant place in the research of historians, which will be carried out in terms of implementing the decisions of the XXIV Congress of the CPSU, will continue to be occupied by " analysis of new phenomena in the development of modern capitalism, ways and forms of influence of world socialism on the development of the non-socialist part of the world, the study of new processes in the capitalist economy, taking place, in particular, under the influence of the scientific and technological revolution"25 .

The XXIV Congress of the CPSU gave a powerful impetus to the development of major problems of national and world history, and there is no doubt that Soviet historians will make every effort to implement the instructions of the Communist Party in their works, and will continue to cover the past and present of our people from party positions, without embellishing, but also without relishing shortcomings, focusing their attention on the really important problems of communist construction and education of a new person.

This is facilitated, as L. I. Brezhnev said at the congress, by "consolidating the moral and political situation in a country where people can breathe easily, work well ,and live in peace." 26
The Party points out the need to increase the level of demands in the selection of personnel in all spheres of public life, including in the field of science, to eliminate significant shortcomings in the activities of scientific institutions, some employees of which are engaged in issues far from the interests of the development of basic research. "It is necessary to increase the requirements for the selection of personnel for scientific work," the Report of the Central Committee of the CPSU states in this regard. "It is important that every research team has a truly creative environment, an atmosphere of bold search, fruitful discussions, and friendly discernment."27 . Only if these requirements are strictly observed can we continue to successfully "raise the level of work of scientific institutions, achieve a close connection of social sciences with the practice of party and state work, with the solution of specific tasks of communist construction" 28 .

Our party spares no effort and means to ensure the fruitful development of the social sciences. The Leninist Central Committee's daily management of the development of historical science, its unflagging attention to its needs, and determination of its prospects were, are, and will continue to be the key to its new success. "Our plans are real, their implementation depends on the work of each of us, on our perseverance and skill, organization and discipline" 29 - these words from the Congress resolution on the Report of the Central Committee of the CPSU are also addressed to Soviet historians. There is no doubt that they will devote all their energy and knowledge to the realization of the predestinations of the XXIV Congress of the CPSU, the cause of the great Lenin.

25 Ibid., p. 128.

26 Pravda, 10. IV. 1971.

27 L. I. Brezhnev. Report of the Central Committee of the CPSU to the XXIV Congress of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, p. 108.

28 Ibid., p. 129.

29 Pravda, 10. IV. 1971.

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