History of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union

by Central Committee of the CPSU, Joseph Stalin

CONTENTS The Struggle for the Creation of a Social-Democratic Labour Party in Russia (1883 - 1901) Formation of the Russian Social-Democratic Labour Party. Appearance of the Bolshevik and the Menshevik Groups Within the Party (1901 - 1904) The Mensheviks and the Bolsheviks in the Period of the Russo-Japanese War and the First Russian Revolution (1904 - 1907) The Mensheviks and the Bolsheviks in the Period of the Stolypin Reaction. The Bolsheviks Constitute Themselves an Independent Marxist Party (1908 - 1912) The Bolshevik Party During the New Rise of the Working-Class Movement Before the First Imperialist War (1912 - 1914) The Bolshevik Party in the Period of the Imperialist War. The Second Revolution in Russia (1914 - March 1917) The Bolshevik Party in the Period of Preparation and Realization of the October Socialist Revolution (April 1917 - 1918) The Bolshevik Party in the Period of Foreign Military Intervention and Civil War (1918 - 1920) The Bolshevik Party in the Period of Transition to the Peaceful Work of Economic Restoration (1921 - 1925) The Bolshevik Party in the Struggle for the Socialist Industrialization of the Country (1926 - 1929) The Bolshevik Party in the Struggle for the Collectivization of Agriculture (1930 - 1934) The Bolshevik Party in the Struggle to Complete the Building of the Socialist Society. Introduction of the New Constitution (1935 - 1937)

Genres: History, Politics, Nonfiction, Soviet Union, Russia, Theory, Soviet History

380 pages, Paperback

Published January 22, 2005

About the author

The Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union was the executive leadership of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, acting between sessions of Congress. According to party statutes, the committee directed all party and governmental activities. Its members were elected by the Party Congress.

Reviews

[Richard Thompson · Rating 3 out of 5]

The "Short Course" was once required reading in the Soviet Union. Tens of millions of copies have been printed and read. It bears the scars of collective authorship, with sections that don't fit together smoothly and a lot of unnecessary repetition. Still it's not so bad.

The first part is mostly accurate. It goes a bit too far in its claims that Lenin was always right and in suggesting the Bolsheviks were the leading faction among the Russian Social Democrats. In reality, Lenin made mistakes and except for one brief point in the middle of the Second Party Congress when Lenin mustered a majority and claimed the name meaning "majoritarians" for his group, the Bolsheviks were always a fringe group until they seized power. The book is good in its analysis of Lenin's major writings (for some reason omitting "State and Revolution") and properly credits him for the importance of his idea of the party as a select group of dedicated professional revolutionaries who would act as the vanguard of the proletariat. It also includes the best short explanation of the concepts of dialectical materialism and historical materialism that I have ever read.

Unfortunately the last few chapters descend into fantasy, painting a completely false picture of collectivization as a voluntary project and blaming Trotsky, Kamenev, Zinoviev and Bukharin for everything bad that ever happened in Soviet history. It's true that Trotsky was always an independent thinker, and he made a few bad mistakes. It's true that Kamenev and Zinoviev were doubters on the eve of the October Revolution, and it's true that Bukharin had a brain and wasn't afraid to use it even if it sometimes took him into unapproved deviationist thinking. But none of them were ever White Guards or counterrevolutionaries, as this book claims, and it was Stalin, not Zinoviev and his followers, who killed Kirov.

Still the book helped me to see how the leaders of the early Soviet Union felt compelled to follow the paths that they chose. They truly were surrounded on all sides by a hostile world. In the early years there were many hostile elements within the country. They had to be harsh to survive. They had to feed the cities somehow when the peasants horded grain. They had to industrialize their country from scratch with no foreign help to build their dream of socialism. And they succeeded remarkably well, though at great human cost.

[Stephen Goss · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is a lot things. It is a history of Russia and the Soviet Union from the turn of the century to about 1937 or so. It follows the ebb and flow of revolution from the perspective of people dedicated to overthrowing capitalism and all oppression. Yes, it is partisan, but also self-reflective. It is highly entertaining, unless you aren't interested in the formation of the first socialist nations on earth. There are missteps, strategic errors, and corrections followed by victories and new challenges, from revolution and overthrowing the Tsar, to forming a proletariat leadership, to repelling invaders and counter-revolutionary forces of civil war, to the death of Lenin and the Lenin Enrollment that followed, to constructing socialism, foiling plots and conspiracies, to industrializing a nation, to liberating its citizens from oppression and poverty and providing education, housing, medicine, civil rights, and democracy, to Stalin correctly ascertaining in 1931 that the USSR had about 10 years to bridge a 50-100 year developmental gap between Russia and the capitalist nations or be crushed by them, succeeding in this monumental task, leading right up to the brink of WWII. Breathtaking.

[Bill · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's not Soviet history, but party history. From that perspective it is an interesting read. The travails of the party cover a wide swath of ground and even as a Marxist-Leninist myself, I found the forays into clear party misinformation illuminating to read. Ultimately, this is a book about how a party sees itself and the demons it is fighting. This isn't an important communist text, but it is a worthwhile glimpse into narrative shaping and the desire to twist every little detail in your favor.

That being said, it is frustrating to read so much spin that wasn't needed. Stalin is made to look worse through this spinning. People died from famine, that happens when planning goes awry, there's no need to blame everyone else for bad planning that wasn't malicious. That's just one example, but the time spent on Trotsky and the idea of counter-revolutionaries is also another flaw. I'm always down for sniping at Trotsky and his overblown ego, but, to give him so much presence makes it seem like the counter-revolutionaries mattered more to Soviet history than the Bolshevik revolutionaries.

Good, but flawed.

[Margaret McLane]

My copy- 1939, hardback.
"HISTORY OF THE COMMUNIST PARTY OF THE SOVIET UNION (BOLSHEVIKS)
SHORT COURSE"

Edited by a commission of the Central Committee of the C. P. S. U. (B.)

AUTHORIZED BY THE CENTRAL COMMITTEE OF THE C. P. S. U. (B.)

Published by International Publishers, CO., INC. New York
364 pages

[Chris brown · Rating 5 out of 5]

An outstanding to read; a bit biased at times but if you even know that this book exists I'm pretty sure that you have a bias one way or the other. it's nice to know that there are books out there that still teach true and actual history not just the propaganda of the superpower that one lives in.

[Dan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Its an official Party history and you gotta keep the historical context in which it was written in mind but very interesting.

[Rhi Carter · Rating 2 out of 5]

A classic bit of stalinist propaganda. It's an interesting bit of historical ephemera, showing how the Soviet government viewed itself and it's history on the eve of WW2. Stalin's chapter about historical materialism is decent, and there are some details about Soviet government and society that were revealing... but mostly it was boring and had some GLARING misinformation and omission. Turns out everything bad that happened was Trotsky's fault. Turns out Stalin was beside Lenin every step of the way with a quote of "and I helped". Who knew!?

[Neil · Rating 4 out of 5]

So, I read The History of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (Bolsheviks), Short Course, and it turns out Zinoviev did it.

[Ñukñu · Rating 4 out of 5]

In the report “Reform our Study (May 1941)” in the Selected Works of Mao Tse-Tung Volume III, Mao writes “...in studying Marxism-Leninism, we should use the History of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (Bolsheviks), Short Course as the principal material.” He writes a bit more on the importance of the text. Ultimately this recommendation is based on the idea that reading the text will give the reader a better understanding of the science of Marxism-Leninism (ML) and will allow them to apply this science to the Chinese condition.

In Chapter Four “The Mensheviks and the Bolsheviks in the Period of the Stolypin Reaction. The Bolsheviks Constitute themselves an Independent Marxist Party (1908-1912)” under section “5. Prague Party Conference, 1912. Bolsheviks Constitute themselves an independent Marxist Party” four books are cited for the preparation of the political group to constitute itself a party. These are What Is To Be Done? (for ideological preparation), One Step Forward, Two Steps Back (for organizational preparation), Two Tactics of Social-Democracy in the Democratic Revolution (for political preparation), and Materialism and Empirio-Criticism (for theoretical preparation); all written by Lenin. These are the texts I would recommend reading to further understand Communist Party of the Soviet Union (B.)

The history outlined starts in 1883 and ends in 1937, with International Publishers Co., Inc.’s original copyright for the text in 1939. Starting in 1883 allows the reader to understand the preconditions that moved the oppressed classes to actions which were then led by the revolutionaries. This process was an evolution, the party form having to change and refine itself to properly lead the masses in their struggle. Between these two dates many things transpire and the strategy of the Party is explained, because of the particular conditions of Russia the transition from feudalism to capitalism and then socialism takes stages which demonstrate the science of dealing with the different economic systems and social classes in their society.

Several concepts and terms are defined and discussed; democratic centralism, historical materialism, dialectical materialism, dual power, vanguard party, etc. Which are common in Marxist discord, as well as not so common terms like: socialist emulation, communist business executives, state capitalism, New Economic Policy (NEP), etc. I found particularly interesting the discussion of the national question. I saw it as a better way to discuss “race” and as a more effective mode of approach to racism and colonialism in Turtle Island. Within the constitution of 1936, race is framed as “race or nationality”, which I interpret as being interchangeable.

There’s no bibliography, but there are many sources cited in the text. Mostly from Lenin and Stalin, primarily books of certain topics and the collected and selected works. A book that I’m interested to read apart from the four mentioned above is Stalin’s Marxism and the National and Colonial Question.

Each chapter ends with a brief summary and the book ends with a conclusion. The structure is very much targeted for study. The conclusion then focuses on understanding that ML is a science that evolves, like every other science, and that the Party that seeks to lead the working class must have an understanding of this science and how to apply it in their conditions to be successful. Stalin is quoted:

“Without such a party it is useless even to think of overthrowing imperialism and achieving the dictatorship of the proletariat.” (Leninism, Vol. I, pp. 87-8.)

This is an important text for those trying to understand Marxism-Leninism (ML). The Soviet Union was the first socialist nation and was able to do this not only alone but fighting hostile forces both internal and external, going through two world wars, a civil war, and constant internal sabotage supported by the imperialist powers. At the very least it gives the reader the perspective of the first Communist Party in power developing socialism in their land.

[Voyager · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the foremost classics of Marxist-Leninist theory, as the introduction of this book proclaims: "the history of the C.P.S.U.(B.), the history of the struggle of our Party against all enemies of Marxism-Leninism, against all enemies of the working people, helps us to master Bolshevism and sharpens our political vigilance." (p. 14)

This book offers something to new and experienced readers alike in the study of Marxism-Leninism, giving lessons in the struggle against opportunism, liquidationism, and revisionism, how a party of the Bolshevik-type should operate and work in its day-to-day affairs and in legal and underground settings, lessons in the construction and consolidation of socialism through the Republic of Soviets, and dialectical and historical materialism - the philosophical outlook of the Marxist-Leninist party.

Any Marxist-Leninist, if they are really a Marxist-Leninist, should know that the Bolshevik Party of Lenin and Stalin is the model for all Marxist-Leninists to follow. To those who are new to Marxist-Leninist theory and or otherwise doubt this fact, this book, I think, offers a great explanation as to why the Bolshevik Party must be the model for all revolutionary parties to follow.

From the history of the Bolshevik Party, summarised in this book, the reader will understand the fight of the Marxists in Russia to establish the principles of scientific socialism against the agrarian Narodniks who denied the leading role of the proletariat in the construction of socialism, the fight in both legal and illegal work to win the workers to the cause of Marxism and to overthrow the tsarist autocracy, how the Bolshevism won against the Menshevik chauvinists and liquidators, Trotskyite centrists, and petty-bourgeois S.R. electoralists. The reader will learn how in Russia the Bolsheviks fought during the bourgeois-democratic revolution of 1905, during the February Revolution and transitioned to the Great Socialist October Revolution which led to the assumption of power by the Soviets, how the Soviets guided by the Bolsheviks resisted the reaction of Kornilov and later the White Guards and interventions, and finally how socialism was constructed in the country, the political meaning of the NEP, and the final fight for collectivisation and industrialisation and to rid the country of the Trotskyite and Bukharinite traitors who had entered the employ of fascism.

All-round, an indispensable book for any Marxist to be studied many times over.

[Jon · Rating 5 out of 5]

“We may take it as the rule, that as long as the Bolsheviks maintain connection with the broad masses of the people they will be invincible. And, on the contrary, as soon as the Bolsheviks sever themselves from the masses and lose their connection with them, as soon as they become covered with bureaucratic rust, they will lose all their strength and become a mere cipher.

In the mythology of the ancient Greeks there was a celebrated hero, Antaeus, who, so the legend goes, was the son of Poseidon, god of the seas, and Gaea, goddess of the earth. Antaeus was very much attached to the mother who had given birth to him, suckled him and reared him. There was not a hero whom this Antaeus did not vanquish. He was regarded as an invincible hero. Wherein lay his strength? It lay in the fact that every time he was hard pressed in a fight with an adversary he would touch the earth, the mother who had given birth to him and suckled him, and that gave him new strength. Yet he had a vulnerable spot—the danger of being detached from the earth in some way or other. His enemies were aware of this weakness and watched for him. One day an enemy appeared who took advantage of this vulnerable spot and vanquished Antaeus. This was Hercules. How did Hercules vanquish Antaeus? He lifted him from the earth, kept him suspended in the air, prevented him from touching the earth, and throttled him.

I think that the Bolsheviks remind us of the hero of Greek mythology, Antaeus. They, like Antaeus, are strong because they maintain connection with their mother, the masses, who gave birth to them, suckled them and reared them. And as long as they maintain connection with their mother, with the people, they have every chance of remaining invincible.

That is the key to the invincibility of Bolshevik leadership.”

[Sinan Öner]

1917 Sovyet Ekim Devrimi'nin 104. Yıldönümü'nü kutlarken, Kaynak Yayınları'nın yayınladığı "Sovyetler Birliği Komünist Partisi (Bolşevik) Tarihi" kitabını okumak yararlı olabilir! 1917 Sovyet Ekim Devrimi ile ilgili bir çok yazılar, kitaplar yayınlandı, ama, Türkçe'de yayınlanmış kitaplar hâlâ yetersizdir. 1917 Sovyet Ekim Devrimi ile dünya nasıl değişti, daha iyi anlamalıydı Türk okurlar, Birinci Dünya Savaşı yıllarında Rusya'daki koşulların Bolşevik Parti'yi devrime nasıl zorunlu kıldığını anlamak, Bolşevik Devrim'le dünya politikasının nasıl birdenbire farklı bir çizgide geliştiğini görmek, 20. Yüzyıl dünyasını, hatta bugünkü dünyayı daha iyi anlamak için de 1917 Sovyet Ekim Devrimi ile ilgili kitapları okumak zorunludur, tarihi okumadan anlayamayız, tarih belgelerini okumadan tarihin nasıl geliştiğini kavrayamayız. Lenin'in 1902'de Rusya Sosyal Demokrat İşçi Partisi Kongresi'nde önerdiği devrim ancak 1917'de başarılmıştı, bu gecikme ile Rusya, dünya neler yitirdi, İkinci Dünya Savaşı öncesi reform yıllarında gördük, 1905 Devrimi başarılı olsaydı, Rusya, dünya çok farklı olacaktı, ama, Lenin'in yazdığı gibi devrimler karmaşık olaylardır, bir çok farklı sosyal güçlerin devrimleri hazırladığını ya da devrimlerin gelişmesini belirlediğini, Sovyetler Birliği Komünist Partisi Merkez Komitesi'nin yayınladığı "Sovyetler Birliği Komünist Partisi (Bolşevik) Tarihi" kitabından da anlıyoruz!

[Sinan Öner]

Central Committee of the Soviet Communist Party's "History of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union" is a useful history book to understand the history of 1917 Soviet October Revolution. But, "History of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union" is a book which focused on the history of Bolshevik Party, since Plehanov's works in the end of 19. Century to the 2. World War in 1939. What were the political-ideological sources of Soviet Communist Party, which principles of the founders of Soviet Communist Party structured the development of revolutionary work of the Soviet Communist Party? In "History of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union", we see the suspicious difference between the social historical change and political history of Russia. For Central Committee of the Soviet Communist Party, Bolshevik leadership (under Lenin's rule) succeed the 1917 Soviet October Revolution with the complex work on the social powers and political synthesis of the social contradictions - one of the best political experiences in the world!

[Saoirse go Deo · Rating 3 out of 5]

AN interesting overview of the Russian revolution and course of the Bolshevik party until the mid/late 1930s.

It is, as one would expect, a quite partisan history (which is an interesting perspective) which will not be popular with the trotskyites among us. At times it is borderline haigigraphic regarding Stalin and at other points borderline hysterically critical of Trotsky and co.

I found the most interesting part of the book that which discusses and explains Dialectical Materialism (apparently Stalin himself wrote this part). This is a difficult philosophical position to grasp and understand but it is admirably explained here.

All in all the book is a good companion piece to read alongside more mainstream western accounts of the Russian Revolution and its afters as it offers a valuable counterpoint to other leftist works.

[Larry Burks II · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good read. Goes into important concepts of Marxist thought in addition to the history of the late Russian Empire and USSR from 1917 until the eve of World War II. Though dated, provides some important lessons for today's social movements.

[TheNomad · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good primer on the overall events of the time and place.

[Clemens Schrage · Rating 5 out of 5]

trotsky sucks ass lol

[Lexi · Rating 5 out of 5]

There's obviously a bias, but it's a very interesting historical document.

[Fabricio Mendes · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the greatest text about the History of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union.

[Nacho · Rating 4 out of 5]

Detailed account of the history of the CPSU until 1938, with a rich historical context. The summary after each chapter serves to better absorb what has been presented.

One can tell it was published right after the Kamenev-Zinoviev trials, since they -along with Pyatakov, Trotsky, etc- are mentioned as the principal opponents to most successful policies (which leaves the question of why they were allowed positions of power for so long). Also, the popular support for the Bolsheviks in 1905 sounded strange.

All in all, a good account of the Russian Revolution, the first years of the Soviet Union and a good exposition of Marxism-Leninism.

[ahmad afridi · Rating 3 out of 5]

this was history of Bolsheviks from the eyes of Stalin . although knew about clashes between Stalinists and Trotskyists but what I read here was too much . through out the book Trotsky was presented as a necessary evil in the party, he was there to oppose every decision of the party i.e about official newspaper of the party ,opinion on how to overthrow tsar , reaction to world war 1 , relations with bourgeoisie, commanding red army, organizations of trade unions and many more . the point which clinged to my mind if he was that evil why they let him stay in party? why the let him influence others ? why was he given powers to take decisions?. any how it was interesting reading detailed information about the events happening between 1917 1nd 1921. another good point was briefly explanation of scholarly work of Lenin regarding Marxism through out the book .

[Mahmoud Nouh · Rating 2 out of 5]

قرأت الإصدار بالعربية و اثار اعجابى بشده بساطة السرد التاريخى التى يتمتع بها الكتاب و لكن كان العيب الرئيسى هو إنعدام الحيادية فى عرض التاريخ و الانحياز الى تيار سياسى بعينه مما شوه حقائق تاريخية فالكتاب يميل الى الشيوعية و يصف ما سواها بالمؤامرة أو الخيانة أو الانتهازية و يناصر الفكر الشيوعى دون ادنى اعتبار لكونه كتاب عن تاريخ الثورة و مابعدها فتميل رؤية الكاتب الى مدى صواب الموقف الشيوعى و مدى خطأ المواقف الاخرى الكتاب بعد تحييد راى الكاتب يعد دليل جيد لتاريخ الثورة البلشفية و ما سبقها من مقدمات و ما تبعها فى الحكم

[Matthew Taylor · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you get hold of the Stalin-era versions of this book, they are worth reading along with another source (say, the appropriate wikipedia pages) to note the sheer number of deletions and careful weasel-wording that serves to always big up Stalin and his opinions (where he appears) while denigrating his enemies.

[Nemanja · Rating 3 out of 5]

Unfortunately, instead of focusing more on formation of Leninism and how it was correctly applied after his death, the impression is that counterrevolutionary actions of opponents of Bolsheviks are much more important to developing cadre.

[Scott Carlson · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great outline of early Soviet Russia from the alternative perspective- namely the one most Westerners have not had.

The information provided allows readers to have a better understanding of the historical context in which the Russian revolution occurred.