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Communists were in power, they
took no steps to ban the other
parties by injunction,

The famous Decree on Land.
adpoted on the proposal of V. 1.
Lenin by the Second All-Russian
Congress of Soviets, fully includ-
ed init the Peasant Mandate on
the Land, drawn up under the
influence of the Mensheviks.
This was what Lenin told the
Congress delegates on this point:

“Voices are being raised here
that the decree itself and the
mandate were drawn up by the
Soicalist - Revolutionaries. What
of it? Does it matter who drew
them up? As a democratic gov-
ernment, we cannot ignore the
decision of the masses of the
people, even though we may
disagree with it. In the fire of
experience, applying the decree

practice, and -carrying it out

locally, the peasants will them-
selves realize where the truth
lies. And even if the peasants
continue to follow the Socialist-
Revolutionaries, even if they
8ive this party a majority in the
Constituent Assembly, we shall
Still say—what of it? Experience
Is the best teacher and it will
show who is right. Let the
peasants solve this problem
from one end and we. shall
Solve it from the other. Ex-
perience will oblige us to
draw together in the general
Stream of revolutionary creative
Work, in the elaboration of new
State forms. We must be guided

This article has been
prepared by the
Novosti Press Agency
in Moscow on the
request of the Tribune

Communist Party. It realized
that the classes and the differ-
ence of their interests remain,
so does the ground remain for
the existence of several political
parties.

Why, in this case, have these
parties disappeared? Why have
they become non-existent? The
reason is that they entered into

one political party
e Soviet

Union

intentions, believing that they
too, in their own way, were up-
holding the interests of the work-
ing people.

The ranks of these parties
began disintegrating. One part
of the former Mensheviks and
Socialist - Revolutionaries went
over to the side of the people
and joined the Communist Party,
while another completely sided
with the counter-revolution and
shared the fate of the over-
thrown classes of the exploiters.

Hence. the existence in the
Soviet Union of one, Communist
party is not explained by the
Communists allegedly upholding
a single-party system in princi-
ple. but by the fact that such
is the peculiar historical devel-
opment of our country. The
Communists do not have and
never had such a doctrine, fol-
lowing which, in any country
where they come into power, all
other political parties are banned
immediately.

Why don’t any other parties
spring up now in the Soviet
Union?

The fact is that, in the years
of existence of Soviet power,
radical changes have taken place
in the social structure of our
society. The classes of exploit-
ers have long ago vanished in
our country. We have a working
class. a working collective-farm
peasantry, and Soviet people’s
intelligentsia, with truly friend-
ly, fraternal relations being es-

‘Marxists do net see anything in the multi-party sys-

tem that contradi
regard it as a natural la

where different classes and socia

by experience; we must allow
complete freedom to the creative
faculties of the masses.”

These words of Lenin define
quite fully and clearly the stand
of the Communist Party in rela-
tion to the party of the Socialist-
Revolutionaries. An ideological
Struggle against other, political
parties, an explanation of the
fallacy of their political line,
and the winning over of the
Masses to their side—this was
the road taken and regarded as
the only correct one by the

an open alliance with the coun-
ter-revolution, went over to the
camp of the enemies of the
working people.

The Mensheviks and Socialist-
Revolutionaries began hatching
plots against Soviet power, insll-
gating insurrections of the ku-

laks, carrying out acts of sabo-.

tage, and assassinating promi-
nent leaders of the Communist

Party and the young Soviet’

state. They were abandoned
even by those who at one time
believed in the honesty of their

cts their views, but, on the contrary,
w of development of society

I strata exist.

tablished and growing stronger
and stronger between them. The
cardinal vital interests of all
sections of the society do not
run counter to one another, but
coincide. The entire Soviet peo-
ple are pursuing the sole aim
of building up a communist so-
ciety,

In these conditions there is
not, nor can there be, any ground
for the origin of other political
parties. The interests of the
Soviet people are expressed and
upheld by one party, the Com-

munist Party. which enjoys the
trust and support of the working
people. As regards certain spe-
cific requirements of separate
sections of the population, these
are being satisfied through dif-
ferent professional, cultural, ed-
ucational and other bodies.
The Communist Party, a party
of the working class, has now
turned into a party of the peo-
ple, into the vanguard of the
entire society. It is also a peo-
ple’s party by its composition.
Its membership totals more than
12 million, and more than half
of the members are workers and
collective farmers. The party’s
ranks unite representatives of
131 nations and nationalities.
The people’s nature of the
party is likewise manifested in
the methods of its guidance.

When drawing up its policy and ,

economic development plans, the
party turns to the masses of
working people, listens to their
opinion, seeks their advice as to
how better to effect the plans.
Separate issues are submitted
for a nation-wide debate.

The 3rd Congress of the Com-
munist Party of the Soviet Union

adopted decisions directed to- .

wards the further development
of socialist democracy, the en-
hancement of the role of public
bodies, the drawing of all work-
ing people into active participa-
tion in the running of the state,
in the leadership of economic
and cultural construction. In. our
davs we see the implementation
of Lenin’s words that “. . . for
the first time in the history of
civilized society, the mass of the
population will rise to take an
independent part, not only in
voting and elections, but also in
the everyday administration of
the state.”

The importance of public bo-
dies—the trade unions, Young
Communist League, coopera-
tives, scientific and engineering
societies, cultural, educational
and artistic associations — rises
immeasurably in modern condi-
hons. These bodies play a big
part in communist construction,
in the education of the new man.
All the public organizations, to-
gether with the government
bodies, form a single whole, an
efficient democratic system of
Soviet society.

At the same time, the Com-
munist Party of the Soviet Union
guides the work of all govern-
ment and public -bodies, being
the highest form of a socio-poli-
tical organization, composed of
foremost representatives of the
working class, collective-farm
peasantry and jntelligentsia of
the Soviet Union.

June 16, 1967—PACIFIC TRIBUNE—Page 9

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