The Inextricable Role of Comrade Stalin for Leninism

December 15, 2021
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The Inextricable Role of Comrade Stalin for Leninism

“Comrade Stalin developed Marxist-Leninist theory in a comprehensive and epoch-making way and propelled the development of Marxism to a new stage.”

– Mao Zedong, ‘The Greatest Friendship’, Renmin Ribao (People’s Daily), March 9th 1953

“…no one can deny his enormous role and no one can take away his status as head of the international proletariat for decades, his great defence of Leninism, it was he who defined it and imposed it on the world.”

– Declaration of the Peru People’s Movement on the 172nd Anniversary of the Manifesto of the Communist Party¹

Basing ourselves on Lenin’s thesis on the relation between masses-classes-parties-leaders, we uphold that in every process of development, in every revolution, a group of leaders are generated, and that this occurs due to both historical necessity and historical coincidence. These vanguard representatives, the political leaders of the class, are the highest personified expressions of the revolution. They are forged in the heat of the class struggle, in the depths of the sharpest two-line struggle. Every revolution generates this group of leaders, and a leader of leaders, a Great Leadership inextricably tied to a Guiding Thought, born out of the fusion of the all-mighty universal ideology of the proletariat with the concrete conditions of the given revolution.

The Great Socialist October Revolution was no exception – but of exceptional importance. In the group of leaders generated in the Russian revolution was in first line the Great Lenin, seconded by Comrade Stalin, followed by Sverdlov and others. The Great Leadership of Lenin was strengthened, and after his death carried on by, Comrade Stalin. It was this Great Leadership that guaranteed the victory of the revolution, and as it confronted uncharted conditions, gave rise to qualitative leaps of universal validity in the realm of theory.

In the application of Marxism to these uncharted conditions, the fusion of the universal ideology of the proletariat with the concrete practice of the Russian revolution generated the Thought of Lenin. This mighty Thought of monumental historical significance, the result of the strength of the Bolshevik Party, the firm adherence to the Great Leadership – the result of historical necessity, constituted the basis of the second stage of the development of our ideology.

A great qualitative leap in Marxism as a whole – in all of it’s three integral parts (Marxist philosophy, Marxist political economy and scientific socialism) – had occurred, and it was Comrade Stalin who declared it: We had entered the stage of Leninism. It was the Great Lenin who conceived of the fundamental framework, who developed the theoretical foundation for this second stage of our ideology, and it was Comrade Stalin who grasped this. It was Comrade Stalin who distilled these truths, who defined them, who concretizised them, who synthesized them, and moreover – embodied them.

Comrade Stalin identified in particular six vital aspects in which Lenin greatly contributed to the development of the all-mighty ideology of the proletariat: 1) the comprehension and definition of monopoly capitalism, of imperialism as the last and highest stage of capitalism, 2) expanding and developing the theory of the dictatorship of the proletariat, 3) illuminating the path of building socialism in the period of transition from capitalism to socialism, in a country surrounded by capitalist states, 4) asserted the rightful and essential hegemony of the proletariat in the socialist revolution, and as we entered the age of imperialism also in the democratic revolution, 5) established the national and colonial question, and finally 6) established the theory of the party.²

Moreover, Comrade Stalin creatively contributed to, and developed Lenin’s theories regarding: 1) the law of uneven development of capitalism, 2) the theory that it is possible to build socialism after achieving victory in one country, 3) the theory of the general crisis in capitalism, 4) the theory of building socialism and advancing on the road to communism as applied in the Soviet Union, 5) the theory of the fundamental economic laws of monopoly capitalism, and of socialism, 6) the theory of revolution in the colonies and semi-colonies, 7) the theory of the construction of the party.³

As Chairman Mao pointed out: “All of Comrade Stalin’s writing are immortal documents of Marxism. His works, The Foundations of Leninism, The History of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union [Bolshevik], and his last great work, Economic Problems of Socialism in the USSR, constitute an encyclopedia of Marxism-Leninism, a synthesis of the experience of the world Communist movement of the past hundred years. His speech at the Nineteenth Congress of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union is a precious last testament bequeathed to the Communists of all the countries of the world.”⁴

As the Communist Party of Peru points out, Marxism has never taken a single step forward in life without struggle. This is evident in the relentless struggle to impose and defend Leninism, which was successfully carried out through the Leadership of Comrade Stalin. Through hard two-line struggle he successfully fought off the opportunist, so-called “left”, and right deviations of Trotsky, Zinoviev and Kamenev. Furthermore, as the Communist Party of Peru points out: “… when Comrade Stalin justly and correctly stated that we had entered the stage of Leninism as the development of Marxism, there was also opposition by those who rend their garments in a supposed defence of Marxism. There were also those who said that Leninism was only applicable to the backward countries. But, in the midst of struggle, practice has consecrated Leninism as a great development of Marxism, and thus the proletarian ideology shone victoriously in the face of the world as Marxism-Leninism.”⁵

In synthesis, the Russian revolution generated the Great Leadership of Lenin, and the fusion of the all-powerful, since true, ideology of the proletariat with the concrete practice of the Russian revolution generated the Thought of Lenin. As Marxism in this process confronted hitherto uncharted conditions, this fusion gave rise to great qualitative leaps. It was Comrade Stalin who conceived that this leap had occurred in Lenin’s theoretical contributions to Marxism, and that this elevated it to a higher stage. It was Comrade Stalin that concretizised and synthesized Leninism. It was through the Leadership of Comrade Stalin that this new stage of Marxism was defended and imposed on the world, at a juncture in the historical world situation of the age of imperialism and proletarian revolution. Therefore, we reaffirm and proclaim: Without Comrade Stalin there would be no Leninism. Comrade Stalin assumed and fulfilled the historical role of synthesizing the second stage of our ideology, of historical necessity and coincidence, but of his merit nonetheless. Therefore, we say that Comrade Stalin cannot be separated from Leninism, for they are inseparably and inextricably interlinked. Hence, the defence of the Leadership Comrade Stalin is inextricably tied to the historical struggle for Leninism.

Already we can see the parallels to the contemporary context. As the Communist Party of Peru proclaimed: “Today, Maoism faces a similar situation, and just as the new and Marxism have always made their way through struggle, so too Maoism will prevail and become recognised.”⁶ Furthermore, we reaffirm that it was Chairman Gonzalo who conceived that – in the fusion of Marxism-Leninism with the concrete practice of the Chinese revolution, and the generation of the Great Leadership of Chairman Mao and Mao Zedong Thought – there had taken place significant qualitative leaps within all three integral parts of Marxism, and that this constituted a new stage. It was Chairman Gonzalo who assumed and fulfilled the historical task of synthesizing Maoism as the new, third and superior stage of the all-mighty ideology of the proletariat – Marxism in the period of the strategic offensive of the world revolution, the period of the 50-100 years where imperialism and reaction will finally be swept away from the face of the earth. Therefore, it is obvious that the struggle for Maoism is inextricably linked to the campaign for Chairman Gonzalo. Without Comrade Stalin, there would be no Leninism. Without Chairman Gonzalo, there would be no Maoism.

Comrade Stalin is immortal in the hearts of the international proletariat, the peoples of the world and each and every communist. Comrade Stalin conquered everlasting laurels of victories: being a leader of the Great Socialist October Revolution, defining, upholding, defending and applying Leninism, the construction of socialism in Soviet Union, being the acknowledged leader of the international proletariat and the International Communist Movement for decades, creating, constructing and leading the antifascist world front, being the leader of the great partiotic war and defeating fascism, just to mention the most significant. We once again raise the battle-cry:

LONG LIVE COMRADE STALIN, NIGHTMARE OF THE FASCISTS, BOURGEOIS AND ALL THE FALSE COMMUNISTS!

References

1. DECLARACIÓN DEL MOVIMIENTO POPULAR PERÚ POR EL 172º ANIVERSARIO DEL MANIFIESTO DEL PARTIDO COMUNISTA, our translation.

2. As referenced in Regarding the thought of Lenin, published in the second issue of the magazine El Maoísta, dated October 2018.

3. As referenced in The Greatest Friendship by Mao Zedong, published in Renmin Ribao, March 9th 1953.

4. Ibid.

5. On Marxism-Leninism-Maoism, 1988

6. Ibid.