A few Speeches by J. Stalin

Joint Plenum of the Central Committee and Central Control Commission of the C.P.S.U.(B.) July 29  –  August  9,  1927

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Preface

Why Joint Plenum of the Central Committee and the Central Control Commission of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union? Why Stalin’s speeches? The speeches of someone whose name has become synonymous with epithets such as “dictator”, “tyrant”, “autocrat”, “bloodthirsty”, “authoritarian”, “totalitarian”, “genocidal”, “madman”, “narcissist” and…? Someone who is detested not only by the Right but also by the “Left”, many of whom even consider him the cause of the failures and setbacks of the world communist movement.

But do the above characterizations and claims really correspond to reality? Does the character created of Stalin really correspond to the real person? How can one determine the truth or falsehood of what has been said about Stalin? By what criteria and relying on what facts can one reach the truth of the matter? Can the causes and factors of the failure of socialism in the Soviet Union or the subsequent failures in the international communist movement really be attributed to Stalin? How can this be proven?

It is precisely in order to answer these questions that one should refer to the historical documents and evidence left from that era, delve into them, and make a judgment. The present document is one of hundreds, if not thousands, of documents through which one can gain a more precise and tangible understanding of the process of class struggle in Soviet society—that is, of the conditions, issues, and problems that the young October Revolution faced—and, with the help of these documents and based upon them, understand Stalin’s role within that set of conditions.

In principle, and especially from the perspective of Marxism, social phenomena (in this case Stalin) must be traced and comprehended within the context and set of socio-historical conditions from which they emerge and play a role. Otherwise, the study and examination of these phenomena, and the understanding of history in general, would be reduced to a superficial, biased and unrealistic one. 

In addition to Stalin’s views and statements, this document also reveals the views and actions of some other actors on the socio-political scene in the Soviet Union at that time – figures such as Trotsky, Zinoviev, and Kamenev, who were prominent personalities of the opposition, both within the Communist Party of the USSR and within the framework of the Communist International (Comintern), and who left behind a multitude of deviations, errors, breaches, and betrayals in their political career for over three decades. The document reveals and recalls shocking manifestations of these deviant and harmful views and actions, and by doing so, provides the opportunity to observe and test Stalin not in a vacuum but rather in confrontation with his opponents and in the organic process of class struggle. Through the discussions, documents, and viewpoints that Stalin raises during these speeches in exposing these tendencies, as well as to his method and character in dealing with them, one is able to better grasp and compare both Stalin himself and his opposition in a real and tangible manner.

Furthermore, this document demonstrates as to how the deviant elements and tendencies of both Left and that of the Right- not only during the revolution but also after its victory- placed all kinds of obstacles and problems in the path of the working class and its revolutionary struggle, and in doing so  they did not hesitate to resort to any and every action. In my opinion, this point can perhaps be considered the most important and greatest lesson that the study of this document offers the reader: the class struggle in socialist society does not cease, but on the contrary, it is diversified and intensified in other forms.

In other words, although a victorious socialist revolution overcomes the bourgeoisie and overthrows it from power, yet later on, in the course of building a socialist society, in addition to external enemies, it also faces various layers of the petit bourgeoisie and petit-bourgeois intellectual tendencies within that society. Since basically this nascent society is still, and as a whole, struggling with all kinds of mental remnants and sediments of class tendencies left from previous class relations. In fact, it is as if the revolution will inevitably always inherit the marks and seeds of a counter-revolution in its lap, which it must confront. The process of the intense class struggle that was going on in the heart of socialist society in the Soviet Union at that time, and for many years onwards, also showed in practice that these layers would not voluntarily sacrifice their class interests and tendencies for the building of socialism. On the contrary, they would, in accordance with their class instincts, practically pursue their own selfish and profit-seeking tendencies, and resort to any means and any vice to achieve them. Thus a turning point at which either the revolution will triumph over the counter-revolutionary forces or, otherwise, it will be defeated by its enemies and will be destroyed. There is no other option.

The document presented here contains the text of Stalin’s speeches on the 1st, 5th, and 9th of August 1927. The text of these speeches is so telling and enlightening that there is no need to dissect the topics discussed in them. The only condition for grasping and comprehending them is to avoid blind and one-sided prejudices, and to employ a communist political conscience.

A. Behrang

February 2025

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