BACK in the USSR: the Past Catches Up

12 March 1985 Marxism Today The USSR is confronted with far more profound problems today than it was 25 years ago. The key is democratisation. But the prospects for this are uncertain. BACK IN THE USSR: The Past Catches Up Monty Johnstone A QUARTER OF A CENTURY AGO the try is now beginning.' This formulation of socialist countries were making an impact the issue, he claims, 'enjoys unconditional on the world with their impressive rates of support' from the Soviet public. To the economic and social progress. Extrapolat question whether this is not postponing ing from them the 22nd Congress of the the communist perspective, he says some Soviet Communist Party in 1961 adopted a what confusingly: 'The answer is a simple new programme which stated that by 1970 and unequivocal: of course not.'3 However the USSR would surpass the USA in his perspective now appears blurred and Joseph Stalin. production per head of population. By distant. Whilst Chernenko speaks in 1980 Soviet labour productivity would general terms about the importance of exceed that of the USA by roughly 100%, developing a 20-year economic-technical there would be 'an abundance of material programme for the USSR for 1986-2005 and cultural values for the whole popula and looks forward to 'ultimate' success in tion' and 'a communist society will in the 'peaceful economic competition' with main be built in the USSR.'1 capitalism, he does not give any dates for Since then, the socialist countries, in this, remarking that 'it is not desirable to most cases preserving full employment in overburden it (the re-edited programme) 4 contrast to the capitalist countries, have with details.' No self-critical analysis is continued on the whole to advance more made of the previous perspective unani this worsened image. They include the rapidly than the latter and to expand rather mously adopted by a party congress - as detention of dissidents in prisons and than cut their social services and educa the new draft will no doubt be at the next - psychiatric hospitals, the invasions of tion. However there has been a pro and for many years proclaimed by its Czechoslovakia and Afghanistan, the Sino- nounced decline in rates of growth in the leaders past and present to be the 'bluep Soviet conflict, and martial law and the European socialist countries from 10% in rint of communism'. suppression of trade union freedoms in the 1950s to 7% in the 1960s, 5% in the Unfulfilled expectations and the con Poland, along with growing economic 1970s, down to a planned rate for 1981-85 trast between promise and performance in problems. These things were not created of around 3.5% annually. The share of the the USSR and other socialist countries by anti-communist propagandists, socialist countries in world industrial pro have led, internally, to growing signs of although they certainly play into their duction, which rose from 20% in 1950 to apathy, malaise and dissatisfaction, which hands. They are structural rather than 36% in 1960, has since then only risen to its have from time to time in different coun conjunctural and arise from an authorita present level of 40%. Soviet industrial tries assumed critical proportions. Exter rian and bureaucratic form of socialism, production has only risen since 1970 from nally, they have invalidated the conception whose roots lie in the Stalin period. 65% to 67% of the US level. Labour of the socialist countries exerting 'an ever- productivity in Soviet industry has since increasing influence on the struggles of the Stalinism 1976 been officially listed each year as peoples in the capitalist countries' and 'by The Russian Revolution of October 1917 'more than 55%' and in agriculture as the force of example. revolutionising blazed the trail that has led to the over 'about 20-25%' of the US level. The heady (their) thinking.'5 Paradoxically, after a throw of capitalism and the building of targets of the 60s have long since been decade of world capitalism's worst econo socialism in 15 countries. But the character consigned to oblivion. mic crisis for half a century, the attractive of that socialism has been deeply marked The Soviet Communist Party has now power of the socialist countries has dimi by the condition of backwardness in which indicated that the most important feature nished. Every socialist in Britain who is it had to be built first of all in the Soviet of its next congress, due in 1986, will be not completely isolated or blinkered Union and later in most of the other the adoption of a new edition of the party knows this from his or her own experience. socialist countries. This backwardness programme. Avoiding reference to the In the case of France statistical confirma contrasted strikingly with the high levels present programme's concluding words of tion has come in a survey which shows that of economic, social and cultural develop 24 years ago - 'The party solemnly proc in the last decade the proportion of the ment which Marx considered the prere laims: the present generation of Soviet population holding a negative opinion ab quisites for socialism and which he saw in people shall live in communism'2 - General out the functioning of the socialist system his time only in the advanced Western Secretary Chernenko now says that 'ex in the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe capitalist countries. For the USSR the perience shows- that before tackling the has risen from 43% to 69%, whilst those conditions were particularly unfavourable. tasks directly connected with the building expressing a positive one has declined from Firstly, it was isolated and forced to carry of communism, it is necessary to pass 28 to 11%. Among young people the through an industrial and cultural revolu through a historically long stage of de negative view is even higher.6 tion with its own limited resources and veloped socialism, a stage which our coun A variety of factors have contributed to with enormous material shortages, condi- March 1985 Marxism Today 13 tions in which, as Marx and Engels wrote, execution, sometimes after confessions ex Partly it resulted from resistances at all want is generalised and 'all the old crap' is tracted by torture. levels in the party and state apparatus, restored.7 Secondly, until three years after which were checked but not eliminated the revolution it was forced to wage war The Khrushchov years with the ousting in 1957 of the 'anti-Party against counter-revolutionary forces and Stalin's death in 1953 opened up a new group' of Molotov, Kaganovich and invading armies from 14 capitalist states, period in the history of the Soviet Union Malenkov, who had sought to remove and after that to prepare itself for another and most other socialist countries. As Isaac Khrushchov as first secretary. invasion, which inflicted the most enor Deutscher, the most perceptive Marxist Although calling for democratic initia mous losses on it from 1941 to 1945. analyst of Soviet development, showed tive, Khrushchovite de-Stalinisation can Thirdly, under conditions of Tsarist abso not be seen as proper socialist democratisa- lutism, which existed until 1917, Russia tion, since the working people remained had only developed a 'primordial and Brezhnev. .was even excluded from the decision-making pro gelatinous' civil society (Gramsci), in con awarded a prize for literature cess. (Nor indeed, as we shall see, was it a trast to Western countries where voluntary full de-Stalinisation.) From being effec organisations can play an autonomous role tively exercised by one man who could not and give expression to a diversity of demo already at that time, Stalinism had been be removed even by the Political Bureau or cratic and social aspirations. undermined by its very success in carrying Central Committee of the Party,9 central Despite everything the Soviet Union through a major industrial and cultural political power now came to be exercised performed the tremendous task of carrying revolution. The needs and aspirations of a collectively by the Political Bureau through its plans of socialist industrialisa great industrial state with an expanding answerable to the larger Central Commit tion, becoming the world's second indust planned economy, an increasingly edu tee. However the unanimity, which had rial power and driving back the invading cated population and an avowed commit been the hallmark of congresses of the armies. But the conditions under which ment to Marxism conflicted with despot Party, the Soviets and the trade unions ism, arbitrary mass terror and the 'primi this had to be undertaken favoured the 8 under Stalin, continued as before. This development of an extremely centralised tive magic' of Stalinist ideology . precluded the open debate which had political and economic state system with a Deutscher's prediction that this would characterised congresses in Lenin's time, high degree of bureaucratisation and mili set in motion a process of de-Stalinisation even when the young Soviet state's internal tarisation. Effective power at a national was amply borne out in the period from and external position had been extremely level came to be concentrated more and 1953 with the restoration of socialist legal precarious, and without which it is not more, after Lenin's death in 1924, in the ity, the dismantling of the apparatus of possible to speak of genuine democratisa- hands of Stalin, whose mass terror caused terror and the return of vast numbers of tion. Thus no dissenting voice was heard at the deaths of many millions of Soviet political prisoners from Stalin's labour the 20th Congress and the Party was not citizens, including a very high proportion camps. It also involved the replacement of informed until after the defeat of the of the communists who had built up the Stalin's one-man rule by a collective lead 'anti-Party group' that its members had Soviet state in its early years.

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