Selected Speeches and Writings

302 Pages·1982·13.929 MB·English

by  Konstantin Chernenko (Auth.)

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Selected
Speeches and Writings
by
KONSTANTIN CHERNENKO
Translated by
Y. S. Shirkov
PERGAMON PRESS
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Selection, arrangement and translation copyright ©
1982 VAAP, Moscow
All Rights Reserved. No part of this publication may be
reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted
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First edition 1982
British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data
Chernenko, Constantine
Selected speeches and writings.
1. Russia—History—1953—Sources.
2. Russia—Politics and government—1953.
—Sources.
I. Title
947.0853 0924 DK274
ISBN 0-08-025848-4
Printed in Great Britain by A. Wheaton & Co. Ltd., Exeter
Preface
I MUST admit that on learning of Pergamon's request that I write a
preface to their edition of my selected speeches and writings, I first
thought it would hardly be necessary. What I wanted to convey in my
writings now addressed to the British reading public was there after all.
The main aspects of Soviet home and foreign policies need no special
'export' packaging, so to say. My public statements express to a varying
degree the Soviet concepts, ideals and objectives.
On reflection, however, I thought better of it. Indeed, my articles and
speeches were originally addressed to Soviet audiences, so a foreign
reader may really want a few encouraging words from the author to
guide him when he opens this book. I also considered the fact that in
Britain today the Soviet stance on various issues is often depicted to the
public in a distorted light, to put it mildly.
So I finally took up the Publisher's kind offer and wrote this short
preface.
The Soviet people and the Soviet Communist Party harbour no secret
intentions or malicious designs. We are open to the world, and, for our
part, we are looking at the world with open eyes.
Naturally, we are mainly concerned with our home affairs. We are
concentrating on constructive tasks, such as advancing socialist
democracy, developing industry, science and technology, agriculture
and culture. Our progress in these fields is truly spectacular. Contrary to
our ill-wishers' talk about a 'decline of communism', we take a long
stride forward every year. As far as its economic and intellectual
potential is concerned, the Soviet Union of the eighties differs strikingly
not only from the young revolutionary Russia of the twenties but even
from what it was twenty to thirty years ago.
vii
viii PREFACE
This is not to say that we have no difficulties. They do exist, and the
Communist Party frankly admits them. This, incidentally, is what helps
the Soviet Union to cope with them successfully and to scale one summit
after another in its progress.
My country is getting richer and more advanced culturally, and its
people have a higher standard of living than ever before. These are the
fruits of the Soviet people's work for themselves and for society in
conditions of freedom.
In its foreign policy the Soviet Union attaches top priority to
safeguarding and strengthening peace and is determined to end the arms
race, for a negotiated settlement of international conflicts, for mutually
beneficial cooperation among nations on a basis of equality. It has in fact
taken a constructive stand, without prejudice, on all vital international
issues. We are in favour of an active and fruitful dialogue with nations
living under a different social system to ours, the United States and
Great Britain in particular. To work patiently so as to create a climate of
trust and accord on earth is what my country is calling on other nations
to do.
The bitter experience of war-time ordeals has taught us to be vigilant.
The Soviet Union has great military might. As President Brezhnev has
stated repeatedly, we are capable of meeting any challenge effectively.
We hope, however, that nobody will be tempted to test the Soviet
Union's strength again. We are not seeking military superiority, of
course, but we will not concede to any nation gaining such superiority
over us.
What the Soviet people expect from the eighties is described in the
Peace Programme General Secretary Brezhnev proclaimed at the 26th
Congress of the Soviet Communist Party. The Soviet Union is
unswervingly following this line.
The USSR and the USA have much to divide them. They adhere to
opposite ideological views. In the trying years of the Second World War,
however, this fact did not prevent the Soviet, the American and the
British people becoming staunch allies in the fight against the Axis
powers. The Soviet-American dialogue in the seventies was a major
component of the process of détente. Whether the coming years will see
cooperation or stiff confrontation between the two great powers is now
up to the United States.
PREFACE ix
Our implicit faith in communist ideals is rooted in social reality. Of
course, every Soviet citizen has a life path unmistakably his or her own.
In one common area, however, the experience of millions of individuals
is identical : socialism, a dynamic and strong social system, as it is, is also
a fair system, which brings education and culture within reach of all,
offers everyone a job of his choice and excellent opportunities for
advancement.
My own life story is an example in point. I shall tell it in brief as the
Publisher asked me.
I was born into a large and poor peasant family in the Krasnoyarsk
region of Siberia in 1911.1 lost my mother when I was a young boy. At 12
I went to work for a wealthy master to earn my living. New Soviet life
was just coming into its own, and I felt its fresh winds when I had joined
the Young Communist League. That was back in 1926. We studied and
held down our jobs at the same time. We were underfed and poorly
clothed, but the dream of a radiant future for all fascinated us and made
us feel happy.
That was a time of tension. Now and then there were press reports
about conflicts with foreign intruders raiding Soviet borders. So I
volunteered to join the border guards. After some delay my request was
granted. I joined the Communist Party in 1931 during my term of service
with border troops and was soon elected a Party secretary. Party work
demands energy and creativity. It means mingling with people all the
time and dealing with a host of interesting problems. I was wholly
engrossed in my new duties.
Nazi Germany's attack on my country found me in the post of
secretary of the Krasnoyarsk Territorial Party Committee. I im-
mediately volunteered for front-line duty, but all my requests were
turned down. Siberia became one of the nation's arsenals in war time.
Industrial plant evacuated from areas threatened by Nazi invasion had
to be promptly brought back into production and geared to the war
effort. Thousands of refugee families arrived in Siberia. All had to be
accommodated, given jobs and encouragement. We made every effort to
relieve their plight.
The year 1943 turned the tide of hostilities in the Soviet theatre of war.
After the Battle of Stalingrad and the debacle of the Nazi crack forces in
the Battle of the Kursk Bulge, victory came into clearer view on the far
SSW - A'
χ PREFACE
horizon. It was time the Party gave attention to peace-time problems,
which were bound to be quite formidable in a country devastated by war.
I was sent to advanced training courses for Party functionaries under the
CPSU Central Committee. Later I served as secretary of the Penza
Regional Party Committee and as chief of the Propaganda Department
at the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Moldavia.
The Soviet people's great exploit of economic recovery is vividly
described in Leonid Brezhnev's book of memoirs Reconstruction well
known to the world's reading public.
For over two decades now I have served in top Party and government
jobs in Moscow.
What I wish to say in conclusion of this preface is an expression of not
only my view, but the view of the Communist Party and the entire Soviet
people. Today it is more important than ever before to multiply our
efforts towards mutual understanding. The imperative need to preserve
peace and to guarantee every nation the right to free and independent
development has priority over everything else.
I would like the peoples of the Soviet Union and Great Britain to be
partners in making progress towards these goals.
KONSTANTIN CHERNENKO
1.
Following Lenin's Behests
Report at a commemorative meeting in Moscow on the
occasion of the 111th anniversary of Lenin's birth, 22
April 1981
Dear comrades,
We have assembled here today to honour the memory of Lenin. It is now
the 111th anniversary of his birth.
This anniversary comes in an eventful period in the life of the Party
and country when the Communists and all Soviet citizens have got down
to work with enthusiasm and determination to implement the resolu-
tions of the 26th Congress of the Soviet Communist Party.
The Congress was a forceful demonstration of the triumph of Lenin's
theory in the practical work and plans of the Soviet people. Everything
that the Congress discussed, its guidelines on the theoretical and
practical problems of communist construction, for advancement of the
political system, the economy and culture, its assessments and conclu-
sions concerning the world revolutionary process and foreign policy—
all these are inseparably linked with Lenin's teaching. All these are an
expression of the transformative power and revolutionary spirit of
Leninism. This is why we say, "Lenin is with us!"
Lenin was a great thinker and theorist. This, however, is by no means
enough to make his portrait complete. Lenin merged revolutionary
theory into revolutionary action. He founded the Bolshevik Party, a
party of like-minded Communists, who followed the lodestar of
Marxist-Leninist theory and led the Soviet people to historic ac-
complishments of worldwide significance.
ι
2 SELECTED SPEECHES AND WRITINGS
It has long been known that great heroes who make history have
unusual power over time. Decades and centuries that pass throw into
ever more salient relief their role in history, and their influence on the
destiny of mankind is ever more clearly appreciated. In the galaxy of
such stars of the first magnitude Lenin, a great son of Russia, occupies a
distinctive, one might say unique, place.
An unusually talented man, a genius in the true sense of the word,
Lenin amazes one by the wealth of his creativity and individuality. It is
visible in every trait of his character : his manner of thinking and political
activities, his wide and varied interests, the inimitable combination of
his qualities as a thinker and as a professional revolutionary.
Lenin's brilliant mind absorbed the finest achievements of world
culture and gave a powerful impulse to the all-round development of
Marxism. His fiery heart beat in unison with the hearts of millions upon
millions of oppressed people longing for freedom and justice. And Lenin
applied his willpower, all his knowledge, and his hatred of the exploiters
to the achievement of one goal : to demolish the old world and to build a
new world of freed labour.
Lenin and the party he had founded performed this titanic task.
Lenin's doctrine, his vigorous dedicated activities as a revolutionary
brought about an epoch-making turn in the history of social relations :
the Great October Socialist Revolution. The entire history of this
socialist country is linked with Lenin's name and teaching. "Lenin was
with us in the stormy years of the early Five-Year Plans. Lenin was with
us in the battles of the Great Patriotic War. Lenin is with us today, when
the peoples of the Soviet Union have advanced to new historical
frontiers and are handling the tasks of communist construction"—this is
what Leonid Brezhnev said of Lenin. A precise and meaningful
statement indeed.
Lenin was destined to live less than 54 years. And what years they
were! Imprisonment, exile, the time of emigration—"a hell of a time", as
he used to say, the bitterness of defeats, and endless struggle, endless
work for revolution, for victory.
The revolution had won at last. Lenin stood at the helm of the world's
first socialist state. And again a period of severe trials began: the Civil
War, the foreign military intervention and economic blockade, econ-
omic ruin, and acts of terrorism. Superhuman strain and superhuman
FOLLOWING LENIN'S BEHESTS 3
efforts As they say, however, a great goal gives birth to great energy.
For all the difficulties and obstacles in the path of revolution Lenin
believed as long as he lived in the inevitable liberation of the proletariat.
Lenin was thoroughly familiar with the thoughts, sentiments and
aspirations of the people. He was invariably among the people and his
Party comrades. And not only because that was required by his main
profession as a proletarian political leader and revolutionary. That was a
dictate of his nature.
Lenin was a sociable, lively and kind-hearted man, loyal in friendship,
an attentive and responsive listener. No self-admiration, no exultation in
his own significance, no affectation. This is how Lenin is remembered by
his associates, his friends, and even his enemies. This is what he really
was—a truly popular leader of the broadest popular movement in
history.
The heritage Lenin left us is truly enormous. This is our state: the
Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. This is the battle-hardened
Communist Party of the Soviet Union. This is the time-tested theory and
methods of revolutionary remaking of society.
Lenin's heritage has produced and is producing today a tremendous
impact on the whole world, on our epoch. Just take a look at the present
alignment of world forces, at the main world contradictions, at the most
vital problems of the liberation movement. They are rooted in those
unforgettable years when Lenin and the Leninists made the first breach
in the worldwide system of imperialist exploitation.
It is now over six decades since then. The emergence of a new world is a
difficult, at times agonizing process. But the wind of revolution, of
Lenin's ideas continues to fill the sails of the ship of social progress. And
in this lies the hope for mankind.
The Party's Leninist Strategy in the Decisions of its 26th
Congress
IT IS less than two months since the 26th Party Congress came to a close.
Its historic significance will indisputably be more and more clearly
realized as the plans outlined by the Party are implemented. Already
today, however, there is every reason to say that by developing the
strategic line charted by the 24th and the 25th Congresses the 26th