The Possibility of Building Socialism in Our Country

Stalin’s reply on February 10, 1926, to the letter “on the possibility of building socialism in our country” from Comrade Pokoyev, Chairman of Poblinitz Committee of the Ukrainian Republic. The Chinese translation is included in Vol. 8 of the Complete Works of Stalin.

Stalin first pointed out that Pokoyev misunderstood the disagreements that occurred at the Fourteenth Congress. The difference between the Congress and the opposition is not whether our country has achieved socialism, but whether our country can independently build a socialist society even if there is no victorious revolution in the West to come to its aid.

Stalin also talked about the final victory of socialism. He pointed out that the final victory of socialism means that a full guarantee against the intervention of foreign capitalists and the restoration of the old order in our country as the result of an armed struggle by those capitalists against our country. In order to achieve this, the victory of the revolution in several European countries is indispensable—without this the final victory of socialism is impossible.

Stalin finally stressed that it is one thing to build the country of socialism in the Soviet Union, but it is another thing to ensure that the Soviet Union will not be infringed by international capital. These two problems should not be confused.

This letter deals with the major issue of whether the relatively backward countries in economy and culture can independently build socialism. Stalin insisted on the idea of building socialism in a single country by distinguishing the concept that a single country can pursue and fight to build socialism and the ultimate victory of socialism.