On the Death of Lenin

Stalin’s speech delivered in memory of Lenin at the first session of the Second All-Union Congress of Soviets on January 26, 1924. It was first published in Pravda issue No. 20 on January 30, 1924. The Chinese translation is included in Vol. 6 of the Complete Works of Stalin.

Lenin died on January 21, 1924. From January 26 to February 2, the Second All-union Congress of Soviets was held in Moscow. The first part of the Congress was Lenin’s memorial service. Stalin presided over this gathering and made an oath on behalf of the Bolshevik party to faithfully observe and implement Lenin’s will.

In his speech, Stalin swore that he will honor Lenin’s will in accordance with his deathbed instructions: (1) “To hold high and guard the purity of the great title of member of the Party.” (2) “To guard the unity of our Party as our eye.” (3) “To guard and strengthen the dictatorship of the proletariat.” (4) “To strengthen the alliance of the workers and peasants.” This is the first and fundamental basis of the Republic of Soviets. (5) “To strengthen and extend the union of republics.” The second basis of the Republic of Soviets is the union the working people of the different nationalities. (6) “Spare no effort to consolidate our Red Army and our Red Navy” is the third basis of the dictatorship of the proletariat. (7) “To remain faithful to the principles of the Communist International” and “to strengthen and extend the union of the working people of the whole world – the Communist International”.

This speech expressed Stalin’s attitude of inheriting Lenin’s will and adhering to the basic principles of Leninism after Lenin’s death. This attitude played a positive role in unifying the thought of the whole party at that time. At the same time, several aspects of the implementation of Lenin’s will mentioned by Stalin also became the guiding ideology of Stalin’s socialist construction in the future.