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| V.N. Chechensev |
(DANGER – REVISIONISM) Letters of Stalin and Molotov to Yugoslav leaders in 1948 about the danger of revisionism
In the hard struggles, that the progressive forces of world led by Communists are waging against international imperialism, in the first place is the struggle and unmasking of revisionism in the workers and communist movements.
The recently published brochure of Predrag Milichevich "Danger-Revisionism" helps us to learn about the present tragic situation that happened in the USSR, Yugoslavia and other socialist countries on the eve of the 21st century.
Just a few words about the author of this brochure.
Milichevich Predrag Chedomirovich was born in Belgrade, March 22,1926 to a family of teachers. From 13-years-old he went on the revolutionary path in Yugoslavia, taking the torch from his parents. He took part in the organizing of the uprising in 1941 against the fascist German occupiers, and from then on until the end of the Second World War he fought together with the Yugoslav partisans against fascist German occupiers 1941-1945. He was arrested twice by German Gestapo. Upon his eighteenth birthday he became a member of the Communist Party of Yugoslavia.
After the end of the war, Predrag Milichevich became the leader of the Yugoslav komsomol organization. In spring of 1946 he studied at the Moscow Aviation Institute where he designed helicopters, rockets. In spring of 1948 he returned to Yugoslavia.
He was co-opted into the CC YCP and into the Belgrade University, he became an eyewitness of the repressions against Communists, who criticized the line of the Communist Party of Yugoslavia for breaking off relations with the USSR. He was convinced of the mistakes of the Yugoslav party and the harm that it would do to the Yugoslav people. Milichevich became a political immigrant at the end of 1948 and the editor of the newspaper "New Struggle'' being published in Prague, Czechoslovakia.
On the false accusation of the Czechoslovak leadership headed by Slansky, he was arrested by the Soviet state in 1950 as a spy for Tito, accused of terrorist plans and diversionist acts, meaning that he planned to assassinate the leadership of the international Communist parties. In the spring of 1953 he was absolved for wrongful arrest under false pretences. By a direct directive of the CC CPSU under Joseph Stalin, after investigation the revisionist activity in the Communist parties, he was again given a post in the Military Academy in Aeronautics and he graduated in 1957 and got his diploma in rocket launch cosmonautics.
He worked in the defence rocket industry until 1998. H was involved in the design of the latest rocket launchers, MIG fighters, helicopters, TU-144, Soviet cosmic system "Buran" and he was given 31 design registrations as the author of those inventions.
Predrag was a member of the CPSU since 1962. All those years Milichevich did research into the life in Yugoslavia and its departure from Marxism-Leninism, never giving up that Yugoslavia must have a socialist future and fighting against imperialism and revisionism both inside the USSR and Yugoslavia.
The central theme in the brochure is given for the first time in the V. Molotov to the Yugoslav leadership in 1948.
We must say that during the ten years after the death of Stalin the analyses and history of the Yugoslav leadership was not allowed by the policies of Khrushchev revisionism. Predrag points out the facts of how the road to taking over leadership of the Communist Party of Yugoslavia by Tito, Kardely, Dzilas, Piade came about. When the two-faced policies of the Yugoslav leadership were exposed, they then quickly liquidated the party and started the liquidation and jailing of all true Communists, these same Communists who were in the front line in the partisans fighting German fascists and liberating Yugoslavia... they were arrested, fired from their jobs, killed or sent to concentration camps.
As an observer of that situation Milichevich wrote: "During the host spring of 1948 Tito came out with the plan to have a campaign in the party clubs discussions – who is for his position, and who is for the position of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union? In a move that had secret plans behind it, Tito allowed the publishing of the letters of Stalin and Molotov, saying that every member of the party had the "right to state his or her view point." After the party members made their point of view known, a majority of whom favoured relations with the USSR and of Marxism-Leninism, there followed expulsions from the party of all those that sided with the USSR, loss of jobs, arrests and being sent to concentration camps."
In this way, from 285,147 party members at the beginning of 1948, there was expelled, arrested and in concentration camps 218,379 members. Thousands suffered or died in the concentration camps, torture was exposed, thanks to the Soviet Union making all of these terrible details published.
In liquidating the Communist Party of Yugoslavia, the Tito clique formed a new party in 1952 called League of Yugoslav Communists... only those allowed who took a stand against the USSR and the international communist movement which condemned the Tito revisionism. Tito proclaimed the slogan of "Socialism with a human face" and "market socialism."
In his speech in Zagreb, August 2,1952 Tito proclaimed that "the USSR is an imperialist state with only one aim in mind, to conquer the whole world". So, as the author states "Tito's revisionism has intertwined itself with imperialism!"
In the three letters of Stalin and Molotov to Tito and his government, they warned the Yugoslav party about the serious mistakes they are making and the revisionist path that these mistakes will have on the people of Yugoslavia... the complete departure from the dictatorship of the proletariat, the leading role of the Communist party in society, the proletarian internationalism, and the ignoring of the scientific methods of building socialism.
The situation in Yugoslavia after these warnings were given proves beyond the shadow of a doubt the correctness of Stalin and Molotov in their warning. But unfortunately the revisionist policies of Khrushchev and of the CPSU leadership supported the policy of Tito. Thus Tito and his revisionists were able to put the whole blame on the USSR, and Khrushchev in his stupidity proclaimed Tito "a true Leninist." Khrushchev naively thought that through this he would entice Yugoslavia back into the fold of the socialist states. This tactic had the opposite effect by making Yugoslavia's prestige soar high and Tito's revisionism acceptable "Marxism-Leninism." This dealt a blow to the USSR – plus influencing the international communist movement.
The campaign against Stalin and the so-called 'cult of personality" led by Khrushchev, the ideological rebirth of the top leadership of the CPSU – these processes were being promoted in parallel with the Yugoslav model of socialism, expanding the prestige of Tito in the USSR as a real fighter against "Stalinism." We have to admit realistically that in the temporary demise of the USSR and socialism in the Soviet Union and in the East European countries the leading role (together with imperialism – Editor) is the role of "Titoism." Even after this so-called Yugoslav model of "socialism" was soundly criticized by a majority at the international Communist meeting in November of 1960 in Moscow, the poisonous seeds had started to grow in many parties of the world.
This International Communist gathering criticized Titoism, but it did not go any further, since Khrushchev at the international forum proclaimed that "the communist parties have very decisively defeated all revisionists in their ranks who tried to dislodge the parties from Marxist-Leninist teachings"!
This was said at the moment when revisionism was getting stronger in many Communist parties of the world, since they believed in the authority of the USSR.
Regarding Yugoslavia, this proclamation by the Khrushchev leadership that the League of Yugoslav Communists was correct was, according to Milichevich… the main cause of the dismemberment of Yugoslavia and the victory of the bourgeois counter-revolution.
The problems facing the international communist parties are serious entrenchment of revisionism in the midst of the communist parties.
* The Credo of contemporary revisionists, in his time was stated by the General Secretary of the Italian Communist Party, Y. Berlinger, who wrote:
"We think and know that the negative tendency well-hidden under revolutionary words and camouflaged by ideological phraseology, are used by those who have a different position. They try to explain by going around in circles to hide the truth of Marxism-Leninism. This not only leads to confusion, objective truths, real interest that are in their works." (Article by Qleg Shenin "Right Opportunism – the helpers of imperialist globalization," Glasnost newspaper #5, 2001)
As we now can see, contemporary revisionism is becoming more and more aggressive. It not only demands the right to revamp the teachings of Marxism-Leninism, but it demands that there should not be any criticism of revisionists.
Contemporary revisionism speculates on the unity of communists. The theme is in the arsenal of the leadership of the Communist Party of the Russian Revolution (CPRF). But there cannot be unity with the CPRF when the theme is that "Russia has reached its limit of revolutions." Unity around such a theme is only for the benefit of the bourgeoisie who are trying to cement their policies in Russia.
The leadership of the CPRF try to convince all the people that, first, they are dedicated to "Marxism-Leninism as a living science" (according to the report made by V.A. Kuptsov of the CC CPRF in April 2001).
In this report, he outlined the policy of CPRF in the present situation:
"In this situation we can counter our policies to the thoughts of our opponents only by agreement of us gaining a majority of electors in the country... Receiving a majority of our citizens to our policy we can win in the elections only by getting all the peoples movements around the CPRF interested in the mighty left movement. This will be our answer to the present Russian regime..."
Not a word about the role of the working class or the absolute necessity of the class struggles. This is how the CPRF leadership understands Marxism-Leninism.
Underestimating the real dangers of revisionism has cost the international working class and communists very dearly. Only class vigilance and understanding the danger of our class enemy can we defeat revisionists in our midst – thus laying the foundations among all the communists, and assuring our victory. This is one of the main lessons in this excellent brochure written by P. Milichevich.
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