Stalin on history, historical parallels and heroes, from an interesting interview

” It is people who make history, but they do so only to the extent that they correctly understand the conditions that they have found ready-made, and only to the extent that they understand how to change those conditions.”

Ludwig: (—) Today, here in the Kremlin, I saw some relies of Peter the Great and the first question I should like to ask you is this: Do you think a parallel can be drawn between yourself and Peter the Great? Do you consider yourself a continuer of the work of Peter the Great?

Stalin: In no way whatever. Historical parallels are always risky. There is no sense in this one.

Ludwig: But after all, Peter the Great did a great deal to develop his country, to bring western culture to Russia.

Stalin: Yes, of course, Peter the Great did much to elevate the landlord class and develop the nascent merchant class. He did very much indeed to create and consolidate the national state of the landlords and merchants. It must he said also that the elevation of the landlord class, the assistance to the nascent merchant Class and the consolidation of the national state of these classes took place at the cost of the peasant serfs, who were bled white.

As for myself, I am just a pupil of Lenin’s, and the aim of my life is to be a worthy pupil of his. The task to which I have devoted my life is the elevation of a different class-the working class. That task is not the consolidation of some “national” state, but of a socialist state, and that means an international state; and everything that strengthens that state helps to strengthen the entire international working class. If every step I take in my endeavor to elevate the working class and strengthen the socialist state of this class were not directed towards strengthening and improving the position of the working class, I should consider my life purposeless.

So you see your parallel does not fit.

As regards Lenin and Peter the Great, the latter was hut a drop in the sea, whereas Lenin was a whole ocean.

Ludwig: Marxism denies that the individual plays an outstanding role in history. Do you not see a contradiction between the materialist conception of history and the fact that, after all, you admit the outstanding role played by historical personages?

Stalin: No, there is no contradiction here. Marxism does not at all deny the role played by outstanding individuals or that history is made by people. In Marx’s The Poverty of Philosophy and in other works of his you will find it stated that it is people who make history. But, of course, people do not make history according to the promptings of their imagination pr as some fancy strikes them. Every new generation encounters definite conditions already existing, ready-made when that generation was born. And great people are worth anything at all only to the extent that they are able correctly to understand these conditions, to understand how to change them. If they fail to understand these conditions and want to alter them according to the promptings of their imagination, they will land themselves in the situation of Don Quixote. Thus it is precisely Marx’s view that people must not be counterposed to conditions. It is people who make history, but they do so only to the extent that they correctly understand the conditions that they have found ready-made, and only to the extent that they understand how to change those conditions. That, at least, is how we Russian Bolsheviks understand Marx. And we have been studying Marx for a good many years.

Ludwig: Some thirty years ago, when I was at the university, many German professors who considered themselves adherents of the materialist conception of history taught us that Marxism denies the role of heroes, the role of heroic personalities in history.

Stalin: They were vulgarizers of Marxism. Marxism has never denied the role of heroes. On the contrary, it admits that they play a considerable role, hut with the reservations I have just made.

(Works, volume 13, pp. 106-7)

Thanks to comrade Lennart Tangen, who posted this in the group Stalin Today

 

Advertisements

In Cold War, U.S. Spy Agencies Used 1,000 Nazis

“In all, the American military, the C.I.A., the F.B.I. and other agencies used at least 1,000 ex-Nazis and collaborators as spies and informants after the war, according to Richard Breitman, a Holocaust scholar at American University who was on a government-appointed team that declassified war-crime records.”

(From https://www.nytimes.com/2014/10/27/us/in-cold-war-us-spy-agencies-used-1000-nazis.html written in 2014)

Open and hidden war by the imperialist capitalists against institutions, states, parties, thoughts working for the proletarian class in any form.
They have learnt more than us after Bolshevik Revolution, how to destroy us, be proactive against our very thought, revolutionary ideology, how to penetrate into it and dilute our ideology, leadership, rank and file, party, how to sabotage and when needed how to liquidate us physically!
Nonetheless, that gives us more armanant in our tactics and strategy, in preparing and strengthening the revolutionary party, the instrument of revolution, open and underground, with all its mass front to train the working class, peasants, unite and lead them for the final goal, proletarian dictatorship.
We will be victorious and not in far distant!
Comrades, learn the art and science of the revolution! Beware of saboteurs, revisionists!
Long live revolution!

The Finnish Communist Revolution (1918) PART 1: Finnish Independence

When the government is of and by the proletarian class, profit is not the aim of production any more, the subjugation of another nation becomes absurd.
It upholds and promotes the true meaning of “Workers of the world unite” in its spirit!
An excellent example of the culture and politics of the proletarian class, whose sole aim is to annihilate the exploiting class and itself, in due course, to ensure no exploitation of a man by another in any fashion!

ML-Theory

In 1917 Finland was part of the Russian empire. Finland was a protectorate of Russia, meaning it didn’t have a military of its own, had no independent foreign policy or economic policy and was ruled by a Russian governor general.

However in the 1905-06 revolution Finland had gained itself some limited democratic rights and some nominal autonomy, its own parliament and senate although they were still under the power of Russia.

It had been recognized by progressive elements for at least a century that Finland had developed into a nation of its own and deserved independence. The Finnish people had their own language, culture and history. There was also the push for more democratic rights and the struggle against monarchist absolutism. The 1905-06 uprisings and demonstrations were a prime example of this.

Although some Finnish capitalists and especially small owners supported independence, as time went on it was more and…

View original post 3,066 more words

J.V. Stalin on the Final Victory of Socialism in the U.S.S.R.

Stalin’s reply to Ivan Philipovich Ivanov on question of final victory of Socialism in one country, that is, USSR in 1938.
“It follows that this question contains two different problems :

1. The problem of the internal relations in our country, i.e., the problem of overcoming our own bourgeoisie and building complete Socialism; and

2. The problem of the external relations of our country, i.e., the problem of completely ensuring our country against the dangers of military intervention and restoration.”
Brilliant dialectical understanding of the situation. Stalin not only replied to the pertinent question but even did justice to Ivan and restored him as Chief Propagandist, from where he was removed!

The Espresso Stalinist

Ivan Philipovich Ivanov, staff propagandist of the Manturovsk District of the Young Communist League in the Kursk Region of the U.S.S.R., addressed a letter to Comrade Stalin requesting his opinion on the question of the final victory of Socialism in the Soviet Union.

IVANOV TO STALIN

Dear Comrade Stalin,

I earnestly request you to explain the following question : In the local districts here and even in the Regional Committee of the Young Communist League, a two-fold conception prevails about the final victory of socialism in our country, i.e., the first group of contradictions is confused with the second.

In your works on the destiny of Socialism in the U.S.S.R. you speak of two groups of contradictions – internal and external.

As for the first group of contradictions, we have, of course, solved them – within the country Socialism is victorious.

I would like to have your answer about the…

View original post 2,403 more words

Is Karl Marx relevant today?

Question in different Social Media:Why is The Communist Manifesto by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels still preferred as a classic read? Is it even relevant to consider communism in the 21st century where in demand for utopian society is high due to digitalization?

 Answer:

Digitalisation, robotisation, super technology, etc has further brought capitalism, based on private property & wage slavery, on the brink of fascism.

Fascism means the most rotten and violent form of capitalism, to save itself! Capitalism, more than 250 years old, has lived its life, has over done its progressive work of defeating feudalism or monarchy system and now is diseased and living on the working class sweat, blood & flesh.

Gigantic development of the progressive forces and accumulation of astronomical wealth, close to 500 Trillions USD, has made 90% of the humanity almost pauper, remain in perpetual fear of losing employment and the life itself, despite working for 10–12 hours/day, slaves to further create Surplus Value for less than 1%!

To free the productive forces, to free the working class, peasants and the mankind itself from the yoke of capital, to free them from the beastial long working hours, manual works and yet live like beasts, capitalism must be buried and next economic, social, political order must be brought in, from the womb of capitalism, which itself is product of the womb of feudalism.

New human society must be on the common or social ownership of the means of production, means of subsistence, the natural & public wealth of the society and distribution. This and only this will free the mankind from the bestial lives, rotten minds based on religion, caste, colour, region. This will ensure end of parasitism as well as enough time for all the individuals to work for oneself to participate in cultural, spiritual, artistic or scientific hobbies.

In short, a society where all working hands must work, all humans must get free education and health services, remain in a progressive and scientific environment, free of coercion and fear and finally live like a human, is inevitable.

Yes, Marxism Leninism is a science, a method to work to bring out the necessary historical event, revolution and is more relevant than before!

Corruption in Capitalism

News: India’s Corruption Index Rank has been falling since last 3 years!

 

Analysis : The Corruption Index Rank is a relative term. The corruption in our country vs rest. That means, the least corrupt country, may have become more (or less) corrupt than in the past but yet may remain least corrupt, compared to the rest! We can understand this and also know well that corruption (as well as crime, colour/caste/religious discrimination, terrorism, war, unemployment, etc) has risen manifold, since 2008, after the longest economic crisis, started in US and spread the world over. This phenomenon is the by-product of degeneration in capitalism.

Yes, capitalism is old, terminally diseased, unable to meet the need of 90-95% of the population of any country, it’s own profit rate is down miserably despite most modern productive forces, technology. Even throwing workers back to streets, reducing wages, terrorism, war, forcibly taking over the land of the natives, looting people’s money “legally” through inflation & tax system, etc is not sufficient to solve the deep contradictions in capitalism.

Contradiction in capitalism has many manifestations. Like, rising wealth but rising unemployment and poverty, more scientific discoveries and yet rising superstition & ignorance among the masses due bourgeois education system, gigantic production capacity but falling profit due massive unsold products, rising commotion among the workers and farmers, etc. So, in short, the corruption is another, small symptom of capitalism, which gives it’s birth. It also emanates due cut throat competition among the bourgeois class to remain afloat in the market!

It’s impossible to weed out unemployment, corruption from a capitalist society.

Solution : Class unity and struggle to overthrow the hegemony of capitalist class and establish hegemony of the working class and construct Socialism! Do away with wage slavery and class division in the society!

Turkey’s decision to remove Darwinist evolution from curricula is divine idiocy: Lehmann — nsnbc international

Fascism is rising in all countries! Resistance of fascism is only through proletarian class unity and struggle.

Fascism is the most rotten and violent form of capitalism. So, the resistance must continue to dismantle bourgeois class, its state and all machinery, its all production relations to establish socialism.

Fahwad Al-Khadoumi (nsnbc) : Alparslan Durmus, head of Turkey’s national board on education, said in an online statement earlier this week that a chapter entitled “Beginning of Life and Evolution” will be deleted from the standard biology textbooks and the material will be available only, to students who go on to university studies from age…

via Turkey’s decision to remove Darwinist evolution from curricula is divine idiocy: Lehmann — nsnbc international