Established as a result of the socialist revolution, the dictatorship of the proletariat played the decisive role in creating the new society, and in the process it, too, underwent changes. With the abolition of the exploiter classes the function of suppressing the resistance of the overthrown exploiters gradually faded away and full scope was given to accomplishing its foremost, constructive tasks. Having fulfilled its historical mission, the dictatorship of the proletariat has evolved into a political power of all working people, while the proletarian state has become a state of the whole people. It is the main tool for perfecting socialism in our country, while on the international scene it performs the functions of upholding the socialist gains, strengthening the positions of world socialism, countering the aggressive policy of imperialist forces and developing peaceful cooperation with all nations.
The CPSU believes that at the present stage the strategic line of development of the political system of Soviet society consists in advancing Soviet democracy and increasingly promoting socialist self-government by the people on the basis of active and effective participation of working people, their collectives and organisations in decision-making concerning the affairs of state and society.
The leading force in this process is the Party, the nucleus of the political system of Soviet society. It exercises guidance over the work of all other parts of this system - the Soviet state, the trade unions, the Young Communist League, the cooperatives and other public organisations reflecting the common and specific interests of all sections of the population, of all the nations and nationalities of the country. Acting within the framework of the Constitution, the CPSU directs and coordinates the work of state and public organisations and sees to it that each of them fully carries out its functions. In all its activities the Party sets an example of serving the interests of the people and observing the principles of socialist democracy.
The Party makes sure that the principles of socialist self-government by the people are consistently applied in the administration of society and the state, that is, that the work of administration is not only carried out in the interests of working people but also becomes naturally, and to an ever greater extent, a direct concern of working people themselves, who, to use Lenin's words, know no authority except the authority of their own unity.
The Party will continue to work to ensure that the socio-economic, political and personal rights and freedoms of citizens are extended and enriched and that ever more favourable conditions and guarantees are created for their full exercise. Soviet citizens have every possibility to express and exercise their civic will and interests and enjoy all the benefits of socialism. Soviet citizens' exercise of their rights and freedoms is inseparable from the performance of their constitutional duties. It is an immutable political principle of socialist society that there are no rights without duties and no duties without rights. The CPSU will continue its persistent efforts to make sure that every Soviet citizen is educated in a spirit of awareness of the indivisibility of his rights, freedoms and duties.
It is a matter of key importance for the Party's policy to develop and strengthen the Soviet socialist state and increasingly reveal its democratic nature as a state of the whole people and its creative and constructive role.
The CPSU makes constant efforts to improve the work of the Soviets of People's Deputies -the political foundation of the USSR, the main element in socialist self government by the people. The Party attaches great significance to perfecting the forms of the people's representation, to developing the democratic principles of the Soviet electoral system and to ensuring free, comprehensive discussion of the candidates' personal and professional qualities so that the most capable and respected representatives of the working class, collective-farm peasantry and the people's intelligentsia of all the nations and nationalities of the country are elected to the Soviets. In order to improve the work of the Soviets and infuse fresh blood into them, in order that more millions of people will go through the school of running the state, the composition of deputies to the Soviets will be systematically renewed at elections.
The CPSU makes a constant effort to facilitate the work of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR and the Supreme Soviets of the Union republics of consistently perfecting legislation, effectively resolving the key problems of home and foreign policy within their sphere of responsibilities, exercising vigorous guidance over the Soviets of People's Deputies and checking on the work done by the agencies under them. The role and responsibility of local Soviets in ensuring the comprehensive economic and social development of their respective regions, in implementing tasks of local significance and in coondinating and checking on the activities of organisations in their areas will continue to grow.
All conditions should be created for the strict fulfilment of Lenin's instructions that the Soviets should be bodies that not only make decisions but also organise and check on their implementation. Soviets at all levels should apply ever more fully democratic principles of work, including collective, free and constructive discussion and decision-making; publicity; criticism and self-criticism; the deputies' regular reporting back to the constituencies and their accountability to them to the extent of being recalled before the expiration of their term of office for having failed to justify the voters' confidence; control over the work done by executive and other bodies; and extensive involvement of citizens in the work of administration.
The Party will unswervingly conduct a policy of democratising administration, the process of working out and adopting decisions of state importance, which ensures selection of optimal solutions and the consideration and comparison of different opinions and proposals put forward by the working people. The range of matters to be decided on only after discussion in work collectives, standing commissions of the Soviets, and trade union, YCL and other public organisations will broaden. The more important draft laws and decisions will be submitted for countrywide discussion and put to a popular vote. The task is to continue to improve the system of summing up and fulfilling mandates given by electors to their candidates in elections and other suggestions and proposals from citizens and of studying public opinion, and to enable the people to be better informed about the decisions taken and the results of their implementation.
Of particular importance is the broadening of the rights and a heightening of the activity of work collectives in all matters of managing production, social and cultural development and in the political life of society. Steps will be taken to enhance the role of general meetings and councils of work collectives and the responsibility of the management for the fulfilment of their decisions, and to introduce the election of foremen, heads of sections and leaders of other production units.
It is a matter of great importance to improve the performance of the state apparatus and all other adimnistrative bodies. The Soviet apparatus serves the people and is accountable to the people. It should be highly competent and efficient. It is necessary to work for a streamlining of the administrative machinery, a reduction of costs and elimination of redundant jobs, persistently to eradicate manifestations of red tape, formalism, departmentalism and parochialism and get rid of incompetent and inert officials without delay. Careless work, abuse of office, careerism, striving for personal enrichment, nepotism and favouritism should be relentlessly rooted out and punished.
The Party considers it necessary to abide strictly by the principle of accountability of the staff of state bodies and extend the system of filling vacancies through election or competition. It is necessary persistently to implement the principle of collective decision-making, with each executive remaining personally responsible for the work done; members of the staff should he judged objectively by their practical work and there should be effective control over the actual fulfilment of the decisions taken.
The CPSU will actively help to raise the efficiency of state and public control. It regards the participation of working people in People's Control bodies as an important way of increasing their political maturity and heightening their activity in protecting public interests, and of fostering a statesmanlike approach to matters and a caring attitude to public property.
It has been and remains a matter of unremitting concern to the Party to strengthen the legal foundation of the life of the state and society, ensure strict observance of socialist law and order, and improve the work of judicial bodies, the work of supervision by agencies of the Procurator's Office, and the work of justice and internal affairs bodies. Relying on the support of work collectives, public organisations and all working people, state bodes are obliged to do everything necessary to ensure the safety and good condition of socialist property, protect the personal property of citizens, their honour and dignity, wage an unrelenting struggle against crime, drunkenness and alcoholism, prevent offences of any kind and remove their causes.
The Communist Party of the Soviet Union regards defence of the socialist homeland, a strengthening of the country's defences and the ensuring of state security as one of the most important functions of the Soviet state.
From the standpoint of the country's internal conditions our society does not need an army. But as long as there exists the danger of imperialism starting aggressive wars and military conflicts, the Party will be paying unflagging attention to enhancing the defence capacity of the USSR, strengthening its security and ensuring the preparedness of its Armed Forces to rout any aggressor. The Armed Forces and the state security bodies should display high vigilance and be always ready to cut short imperialism's intrigues against the USSR and its allies.
The leadership exercised by the Communist Party over the country's military development and the Armed Forces is the basis for strengthening the defences of the socialist homeland. It is under the Party's guidance that the country's policy in the field of defence and security and the Soviet military doctrine, which is purely defensive in nature and geared to ensuring protection against an outside attack, are worked out and implemented.
The CPSU will make every effort to ensure that the Soviet Armed Forces remain at a level that rules out strategic superiority of the forces of imperialism, that the Soviet state's defence capacity continues to be improved in every way and that military cooperation between the armies of the fraternal socialist countries is strengthened.
The Party will continue to make constant efforts to ensure that the combat potential of the Soviet Armed Forces is a firm union of military skill, a high level of technical capability, ideological staunchness, organisation and discipline of the officers and men and their loyalty to their patriotic and internationalist duty.
The CPSU considers it necessary in the future as well to increase its organising and directing influence on the Armed Forces' activities, strengthen the principle of one-man leadership, broaden the role and influence of the political bodies and Party organisations of the Army and the Navy and make sure that the Armed Forces' vital links with the people will become still stronger. It is the duty of every Communist, every Soviet citizen to do everything possible to maintain the country's defence capacity at an adequate level. Defence of the socialist homeland and military service in the ranks of the Armed Forces are an honourable and sacred duty of Soviet citizens.
The Party attaches foremost importance to enhancing the role of public organisations, which are important component parts of the system of socialist self-government by the people.
The CPSU regards it as its task to promote the continued growth of the prestige and influence of the trade unions, which are the most broadly-based organisations of the working people, a school of administration, a school of economic management and a school of communism. The trade unions are to discharge their main functions consistently; to do everything possible to help increase public wealth, improve the working people's working and everyday-life conditions and recreation facilities, protect their rights and interests, be constantly involved in the communist education of the people and draw them into the management of production and the affairs of society, and strengthen conscions labour discipline.
It is the task of trade-union organisations to take an even more active part in promoting socialist self-government by the people and in solving the fundamental questions of the development of the state, economy and culture, interact more closely with the Soviets and other organisations of the working people, raise the standards of the socialist emulation movement and of the effort to disseminate advanced experience and promote its wider application, develop social forms of control over the observance of the principles of social justice and help work collectives exercise the powers vested in them.
The CPSU justly regards as its active helpmate and dependable reserve the All Union Leninist Young Communist League, a public political organisation whose membership of many millions represents the advanced section of Soviet youth. The Party will continue to increase the YCL's role in the education of the younger generation, in the improvement of the work of the Young Pioneer organisation, and in the practical implementation of the tasks of speeding up the country's social and economic development. Exercising guidance over the YCL, the CPSU pays special attention to strengthening its ranks organisationally and politically and enhancing the independent character of the youth league. The YCL should persistently promote the labour and social activity of young people, instill in them a Marxist-Leninist world outlook and high political and moral standards and help them become aware of their historical responsibility for the future of socialism and the world.
The Party helps to improve the work of the cooperatives - collective farms, consumer and home-building cooperatives and other cooperative organisations and associations, regarding them as an important form of socialist self-government and an effective means of developing the national economy.
The CPSU will facilitate a further heightening of the activity of the unions of workers in the arts, of scientific, science and technology, cultural and educational, sport, defence and other voluntary societies and people's social activity bodies. In fulfilling their functions, these organisations are to make an ever greater contribution to furthering the Party's policy and work for the all-round expression and satisfaction of the interests of the working people united in them, and for enhancing the Soviet people's civic initiative and sense of responsibility.
V. Ideological and Educational Work, Public Education, Science and Culture
The Party will do everything necessary for using in full measure the transforming force of Marxist-Leninist ideology to accelerate the country's social and economic development, and will conduct purposeful work for the ideological, political, labour and moral education of the Soviet people and for moulding harmoniously developed, socially active individuals combining cultural wealth, moral purity and a perfect physique.
The CPSU regards it as the main tasks of its ideological work to educate the working people in a spirit of high ideological integrity and dedication to communism, Soviet patriotism and proletarian, socialist internationalism, and a conscientious attitude towards work and public property, to make cnltural and intellectual treasures ever more readily available to the people and to eradicate the morals that contradict the socialist way of life.
The Party preceeds from the conviction that a person's education is inseparable from his practical involvement in constructive work for the benefit of the people, in public life and in solving the tasks of social, economic, and cultural advancement. Detachment from reality and its problems dooms ideological and educational work to abstract instruction and empty rhetoric, leading it away from the pressing tasks of building communism. Ideological work should be characterised by close links with social practice, profound ideological and theoretical content and taking account fully and accurately of the realities of domestic and international life and of the growing intellectual requirements of the working people; it should be close to the people, truthful, well argued and comprehensible.
Unity of word and deed - the most important principle of all Party and state activities - is also an indispensable requirement of political and educational work. Active participation in this work is a duty of all leading cadres, a duty of every Communist.
The Party puts forward the following tasks:
In the Field of Ideological and Educational Work
The shaping of a scientific world outlook. Socialism has given Soviet society's intellectual and cultural life a scientific world outlook based on Marxism-Leninism, which is an integral and harmonious system of philosophical, economic and socio-political views. The Party considers it its most important duty to continue creatively developing Marxist-Leninist theory by studying and generalising new phenomena in Soviet society, taking into account the experience of other countries of the socialist community and the world communist, working-class, national liberation and democratic movements and analysing the progress in the natural, technical and social sciences.
The CPSU will work unremittingly so that all Soviet people can thoroughly study the Marxist-Leninist theory, raise their political awareness, consciously participate in the shaping of the Party's policy and actively implement it.
Labour education. In educational work the Party focuses its attention on instilling in all Soviet citizens deep respect and readiness for conscientious work for the common good, be it mental or physical work. Labour is the main source of society's material and cultural wealth, the principal criterion of a person's social status, his sacred duty and the cornerstone of his communist education. The Party will make continued efforts to increase the prestige of honest, efficient work, encourage labour initiative and innovation and strengthen the principles of the communist attitude towards work.
The affirmation of communist morality. In the gradual advancement towards communism the creative potential of communist morality, the most humane, just and noble morality, based on devotion to the goals of the revolutionary struggle and the ideals of communism, manifests itself ever more fully. Our morality has assimilated both universal moral values and the norms of conduct and norms governing relations between people, which have been established by the popular masses in the course of their centuries-old struggle against exploitation, for freedom and social equality, for happiness and peace.
The communist morality upheld by the CPSU is as follows:
- a collectivist morality, the fundamental principle of which is "One for all and all for one." This morality is incompatible with egoism and selfishness; it harmoniously blends the common, collective and personal interests of the people;
- a humanistic morality, which ennobles the working man, is filled with a deep respect for him and is intolerant of infringements upon his dignity. It asserts truly humane relations between people-relations of comradely cooperation and mutual assistance, good will, honesty, simplicity and modesty in private and public life;
- an active, vigorous morality, which stimulates one to ever new labour achievements and creative accomplishments, and encourages one to take a personal interest and be involved in the affairs of one's work collective and of the entire country, to be implacable in rejecting everything that contradicts the socialist way of life and to be persistent in the struggle for the communist ideals.
Patriotic and internationalist education. The Party will continue to work tirelessly so that in every Soviet citizen feelings of love for the country of the October Revolution where he was born and grew up, and pride for the historic accomplishments of the world's first socialist state are combined with feelings of loyalty to proletarian, socialist internationalism, of class solidarity with the working people of the fraternal countries, with all who are fighting against imperialism, and for social progress and peace.
The CPSU and the Soviet state want to see feelings of friendship and fraternity uniting all nations and nationalities of the USSR, a high standard of relations between nationalities and intolerance of any manifestations of nationalism, chauvinism, national narrow-mindedness or egoism, as well as attitudes and traditions that hinder the communist renovation of life become part of every Soviet citizen.
An important task of the Party in its ideological and educational work continues to be that of providing military-patriotic education and ensuring that everyone is prepared to defend the socialist homeland, to give it all his energies and, if necessary, to sacrifice his life for it.
Legal education. The Party attaches great importance to instilling in people a high sense of civic responsibility, respect for Soviet laws and the rules of socialist conduct, irreconcilability to any violations of socialist legality, and a readiness to take an active part in the maintenance of law and order.
Atheistic education. The Party uses ideological means for the broad dissemination of a scientific materialist world outlook, and for overcoming religious prejudices, while at the same time respecting the feelings of believes. While calling for the strict observance of the constitutional guarantees of freedom of conscience, the Party condemns attempts to use religion to the detriment of society and the individual. A highly important aspect of atheistic education consists in heightening the people's labour and public activity, raising their educational level, and the broad dissemination of new Soviet traditions and customs.
The struggle against manifestation of alien ideology and morals and all negative phenomena, connected with the vestiges of the past in the minds and behaviour of people as well as with shortcommings in the practical work in various fields of public life, with delays in solving urgent problems, is an integral part of communist education. The Party attaches paramount importance to the steady and consistent eradication of violations of labour discipline, embezzlement and bribery, profiteering and parasitism, drunkenness and hooliganism, private-owner psychology and money-gambling,toadyism and servility. It is essential to make full use of both the power of public opinion and the force of law for combatting these phenomena.
Struggle against bourgeois Ideology. The acute struggle between the two world outlooks on the international scene reflects the opposition of the two world systems - socialism and capitalism. The CPSU regards it as its task to tell people the truth about real socialism, about the domestic and foreign policy of the Soviet Union, actively to advocate the Soviet way of life and vigorously to expose in a well-argued manner the anti-popular, inhuman and exploitative nature of imperialism. It will instill in Soviet people a high level of political awareness, vigilance, and the ability to assess social phenomena and uphold the ideals and spiritual values of socialism from clear-cut class positions.
The mass information and propaganda media play a growing role in the life of society. The CPSU will make every effort to ensure that the media analyse trends and phenomena in domestic and international life as well as economic and social phenomena in depth, that they actively support everything new and advanced, and call attention to pressing issues of concern to the people and suggest ways of solving them. The press, television and radio networks should provide people with news coverage and commentary that are politically clear and purposeful, profound, prompt, informative, vivid and comprehensive. The Party will continue to render the press and all other mass media ready assistance and support in their work.
Special attention will be devoted to developing television broadcasting, ensuring that radio and TV programs are increasingly available to the population, making the broadcasts richer in content and more interesting and raising their ideological and artistical level.
It is essential to resolutely eliminate any manifestations of pompous verbosity and formalism in ideological, educational, and propaganda work. All the forms and means of this work must help mobilise the people for fulfilling the tasks facing the country by ensuring broad publicity of the work of the Party and state bodies and public organisations, direct and frank discussions with people, and by shaping public opinion and promoting its influence on practical matters. The CPSU will take constant care of strengthening the material foundation of ideological work.
In the Field of Public Education
The Party consistently pursues a policy of educating and training conscientious, highly-educated people fitted for both physical and mental work, for energetically accomplishing their jobs in the national economy, in various fields of public and state life, in science and in culture. The genuinely popular system of education established in the USSR has brought knowledge within the reach of all citizens and made it possible within a historically short span of time to eliminate widespread illiteracy and introduce univessal secondary education.
The CPSU will continue improving the public education system, taking into account the need to accelerate social and economic development, the prospects of communist construction and the requirements of scientific and technological progress. The reform of the general education and vocational training school now being effected in the country is based on the creative development of Lenin's principles of a uniform polytecnical labour school; it is aimed at raising still higher the standards of instruction and education of the young, and making them better prepared for their future labour activity and geared toward gradually introducing universal vocational training. Schools are called upon to instill in their pupils love for their homeland, collectivism and respect for the elderly, for their parents and teachers, to impart to the younger generation a keen sense of responsibility for the quality of their study and work and for their conduct, and also to encourage student self-administration. As the planned measures are carried out, the vocational training and general education forms of schooling will continue to develop and draw closer together, with their eventual merging.In keeping with the demands of scientific, technological and social progress, the system of secondary specialised and higher education will be further developed. It should respond readily and timely to the requirements of production, science and culture and meet the national economy's needs for specialists with high professional standards, ideological and political maturity and organisational and managerial skills. The Party attaches much significance to developing the system of advanced training which, combined with the system of correspondence and evening courses, will offer favourable opportunities for all working people to continue their education, steadily increase and refresh their knowledge and raise their general cultural and professional levels.
The Party will show unfailing concern for the teaching staff and for strengthening and extending the material foundation of the entire system of education.
In the Field of Science
Science is playing a growing role in developing the productive forces perfecting social relations, creating fundamentally new kinds of equipment and technology, raising labour productivity, developing natural resources in the depths of the earth and the ocean, exploring outer space and protecting and improving the environment.
The Party's policy in the field of science is designed to create favourable conditions for dynamic progress in all areas of knowledge; concentrate personnel, and material and financial resources in the more promising areas of research called upon to accelerate the accomplishment of planned economic and social tasks and society's cultural advancement; and ensure a reliable defence capability of the country.
Dialectical materialistic methods have been and remain the chief, tried-and-tested basis for progress in the natural sciences and social studies. They should be creatively further developed and skillfully applied in research and in social practice.
Soviet science is called upon to take leading positions in the princple areas of scientific and technological progress and to provide effective and timely solutions to current and long-term production, social and economic problems. It is important to ensure priorty development of fundamental, exploratory research and ensure prompt implementation of scientific ideas in the national economy and other fields of endeavour. The organisational and economic forms of the integration of science and production and of directing scientific and technological prcgress should be continuously updated; the scale of topical applied research and experimental design projects and their efficiency should be increaed. It is essential to strengthen the interaction of scientific work collectives at research institutions, higher educational establishments and in production.
Social science workers should focus their attention on studying and thoroughly analysing the experience of world development and the building of the new society in the USSR and other socialist countries, the dialectics of productive forces and relations of production and of the material and cultural spheres under socialism, the general laws governing the formation of the communist system and the ways and means of ensuring gradual movement towards its highest stage. An urgent task facing social sciences at the present stage is to provide the scientific analysis of the objective contradictions in socialist sociey, work out sound recommendations on how to overcome them, and make reliable economic and social forecasts.
The processes under way in the communist, working-class and national liberation movements, as well as in capitalist society should be studied most thoroughly. The course of world development confronts mankind with quite a few questions of global importance. Science should furnish correct answers to these questions. Combatting bourgeois ideology, revisionism and dogmatism has been and remains an important task of the social sciences.
The Party supports bold exploration, competition of ideas and trends in science, and fruiful discussion. Scholastic discourses and passive recording of facts which do not provide scope for daring conclusions of a general theoretical nature are alien to science, as are time-serving and loss of touch with reality. The complex and multifaceted problems of today call for a broader integration of the social, natural and technical sciences. Forms or organisation of science that provide for an interdisciplinary study of pressing problems, necessary mobility of scientific personnel and a flexible structure of scientific centres as well as effectiveness of research and development must be introduced on a greater scale. It is vital to enhance their role in the elaboration and fulfilment of plans for economic and social development. An indispensable condition for scientific progress is a constant influx of fresh forces, in particular from the sphere of production, efficient use of the creative potentialities of scientists, and active support of their work according to their actual contribution to solving theoretical and applied problems.
In the Field of Cultural Development, Literature and Art
The development of the multinational and truly popular Soviet culture, which has won worldwide recognition, is a historic achievement of our system. The great influence exercised by Soviet culture is due to its faithfulness to the truth of life and to the ideals of socialism and communism, to its profound humanism and optimism, and its close links with the people.
The CPSU attachs much importance to a fuller and deeper assimilation by working people of the values of intellectual and material culture and to their active involvement in artistic creative work. Steadily applying the Leninist principles of cultural development, the Party will see to the aesthetic education of the working people, in particular of the young generations based on the best works of national and world artistic culture. Implementation of aesthetic principles will provide an even greater inspiration to work, raise the stature of man and enrich his everyday life.
The sphere of culture is called upon to meet the growing requirements bf various sections of the population, to provide adequate opportunity for amateur artistic activity, to develop talents, to enrich the socialist way of life, and to mould healthy requirements and fine aesthetic values. For the successful accomplishment of these tasks, the Party considers it absolutely essential to improve the contents and methods of cultural work, strengthen the material base of this work and carry out intensive cultural development programs in the countryside and newly-developed regions.
The Party will promote in every way the role of literature and art, which are called upon to serve the interests of the people and the cause of communism, to be a source of joy and inspiration for millions of people, to express their will, sentiments and thoughts, and actively contribute to their ideological development and moral education.
The main line of development of literature and art consists in strengthening ties with the life of the people, in a truthful and highly artistic representation of socialist reality, in an inspired and vivid portrayal of the new and advanced, and in an impassioned exposure of everything which hampers social progress.
The art of socialist realism is based on the principles of partisanship and kinship with the people. It combines bold innovation in truthful artistic representation of life with the use and development of all the progressive traditions of national and world culture. Workers in literature and art have broad scope for truly free creative endeavour, for the professional mastery and for further development of diverse forms, styles and genres of realism. As the cultural standards of the people rise, the influence of art on the life of society and on its moral and psychological climate is enhanced. This increases the cultural workers' responsibility for ideological orientation of their creative effort and for the artistic impact of their work.
The CPSU takes a careful and respectful attitude to talent and artistic search. At the same time it has always fought and will continue to fight against the lack of ideological commitment, the lack of discrimination in matters relating to a world outlook and artistic dullness, relying in this on the unions of creative workers, public opinion and Marxist-Leninist literary and art criticism.
Soviet culture facilitates mutual understanding and the drawing together of peoples and vigorously participates in the struggle against the forces of imperialism, reaction and war. Embodying the ideological values and diversity of the intellectual life of socialist society and its humanism, it contributes to world culture and manifests itself more and more forcefully as a powerful factor in the cultural progress of mankind and as a prototype of future communist culture.
| TABLE OF CONTENTS | NEXT CHAPTER |