The Economic Situation of the Soviet Union and the Policy of the Party

Stalin’s report to the active of the Leningrad Party Organization on the Work of the Plenum of the C.C. of the C.P.S.U.(B) on April 13, 1926. It was first published in Pravda issue No. 89, April 18, 1926. The Chinese translation is included in Vol. 8 of the Complete Works of Stalin.

The report covers ten issues, the first to the fourth concerning the economic situation of the Soviet Union, the fifth to the ninth concerning the policies adopted by the Party in response to this economic situation, and the tenth part is the conclusion part.

On the economic situation of the Soviet Union, Stalin stressed: Firstly, the Soviet Union has entered the second period of the New Economic Policy. Compared with the first period, the focus has shifted to the industrial aspect. Industry is the foundation of socialism and the leading force to guide the whole national economy forward. Secondly, the center of Soviet industrialization is the development of heavy industry. We must take the policy of giving priority to the development of heavy industry, put the production of means of production in the first place, and always attach importance to the domestic machinery manufacturing industry. Only in this way can we guarantee the economic independence of the Soviet Union. Thirdly, we should take the road of self-reliance and relying on our own economy to develop industry. Stalin compared different methods of industrialization in history, such as the British way of plundering colonies, the German way of relying on war reparations and the old Russian way of granting management rights to obtain loans. Soviet Union could not follow these paths. There remains a fourth road to industrialization. That is to find funds for industry out of our own savings, the way of socialist accumulation. The Soviet Union had sources sufficient to guarantee the accumulation of industrialization. As a result of the October Revolution, the abolition of private ownership of the land, mills, factories, etc., and their conversion into public property represents a fairly substantial source of accumulation. Fourth, we should not only be limited to accumulation, but also be good at using accumulation reasonably and economically, and establish a strict system of saving, so that accumulation is mainly used to meet the most urgent needs of the industrialization of the Soviet Union. Stalin pointed out that the necessary conditions for rational and economical use and accumulation are: (1) To formulate industrial plans correctly and reasonably so as to make them conform to the actual situation of national economy and national resources; (2) To simplify and improve state institutions from the bottom up; (3) To resolutely oppose all kinds of debauchery, extravagance and waste, and cherish state property; (4) To constantly fight against all kinds of theft; (5) To eliminate absenteeism, improve labor productivity and consolidate labor discipline

Stalin proposed that in order to realize the industrialization policy, the following five changes should take place in the Party’s policy.

Firstly, we should create cadres of builders of industry, especially so great a task as the industrialisation of our country, can be accomplished without human beings, without new people, without cadres of new builders, including excellent industrial command cadres, factory managers, trust leaders, business personnel and industrial construction planners. They are the direct executors of the industrialization policy. They should not only be selected and cultivated from workers and Soviet intellectuals, but also be given important positions and provided with help to provide trust and support for economic workers.

Secondly, we should increase the enthusiasm and activity of the working class. Without the support of the masses of the working-class, we cannot solve the problems of increasing industrial productivity and socialist accumulation of funds. Stalin stressed that the “inestimable service in this respect could be rendered by production conferences. They must be revived at all costs”.Only when the basic problems of industrial construction are raised at the production conferences can the enthusiasm of the working-class masses be raised.

Thirdly, we should strengthen the alliance of the workers and peasants. The alliance of the working class and peasantry is the basic principle of the dictatorship of the proletariat. That we must not forget. It is necessary to attach importance to the position of the peasants in the construction and adhere to the leading position of the working class in the alliance of workers and peasants. This is the guarantee for the victory of the socialist revolution and construction.

Fourthly, in order to raise the activity of the working class, and promote the task of drawing the vast masses of the working class into the work of building our economy, into the work of building our industry. For all these tasks, it is necessary to make the party itself active, the Party itself must firmly and resolutely adopt the course of inner-Party democracy, thus to attract the masses of party members to participate in the discussion of the basic problems of building our country.

Fifthly, the unity of the party and the unity in its ranks should be protected and consolidated, and conscious proletarian discipline within the party should be strengthened. A distinction should be made between inner-party democracy and the freedom of factional groups. Intra-party democracy is to increase the enthusiasm of the masses and strengthen the unity of the party, and to strengthen the conscious proletarian discipline within the party. Freedom of factional groups means disintegrating the Party ranks, splitting the Party into separate centres, weakening the Party, weakening the dictatorship of the proletariat. Strengthening the unity of the Party, strengthening conscious proletarian discipline in the Party and disintegrating the Party ranks, splitting the Party into separate centres, the two are strictly different.

In the conclusion part, Stalin reiterated the above problems and put forward that there are all conditions to overcome the difficulties and realize the great victory of industrialization. This report played a role in promoting the industrialization of the Soviet Union.

This report played a role in promoting the industrialization process in the Soviet Union. The policy of giving priority to the development of heavy industry played a positive role in establishing an independent and autonomous industry in the Soviet Union, which was under capitalist encirclement, without becoming an appendage of the capitalist economy, but the Soviet Union’s later one-sided emphasis on giving priority to the development of heavy industry had serious consequences in the form of dissonance between heavy industry, light industry and agriculture.