The XIX Congress of the CPSU (b) actually summed up the Stalin period in the USSR. In speeches and debates, even in the report of George Malenkov sounded a criticism of the social and economic policies of 1939 – 1941 and 1946 – 1952. Being veiled, de facto she was heading against Stalin. And at the same time was the answer to his latest analytical work “The Economic Problems of Socialism in the USSR”, published two weeks before the congress (“The Land of Unlearned Laws”). In most of the delegates' speeches, it was observed that errors would have to be corrected for a long time, and most likely already in the post-Stalin period. But as you know, all sorts of imbalances in the economy and the social sphere of the country after 5 March 1953, began to multiply. What this led to is well known.
With the consent of Stalin in the middle of August, the Central Committee Presidium appointed Malenkov as the main speaker. The Secretary General himself was at a few meetings of the congress, including the first and last. But he was as if away from the presidium. And for the first time since the beginning of 20, only he and Malenkov from the leadership of the congress were wearing “Stalinist” service jackets: everyone else is dressed in modern European costumes.
The Western press interpreted it this way: the majority in the Soviet elite had already formed, or at least created, the anti-Stalinist front. Party functionaries are increasingly the participation of the leader in leadership. But the publication of The Economic Problems of Socialism in the USSR showed that the author does not intend to distance himself either from analytical or current work. Therefore, according to the same estimates, it is necessary to line up speeches at the congress so that the participants understand that the mistakes and shortcomings in the socio-economic policy noted by Stalin in the pre-Congress work are indirectly related to his leadership role. And almost all who went to the podium, burning incense to this work, avoided a specific analysis of its provisions. But the criticism of various shortcomings in the economy and the social sphere was presented in the following way: after all, you, Comrade Stalin, allowed it. So it’s not just the government, the ministers, the central board, the local party organs that are to blame ...
It is curious that Stalin himself, being at a distance from other members of the presidium of the congress, listened very attentively to such speeches and outlined some of them. And from the report of Malenkov, according to available data, the secretary general struck out almost two pages of typewritten text from the section on agriculture and on increasing the role of party cadres in this industry.
For the first time, the leaders of the socialist countries and many communist parties were and spoke at the XIX Congress. But as Maurice Thorez, Dolores Ibarruri, Boleslav Berut, Mattias Rakosi and Enver Hoxha later noted, it seemed that Stalin was present at the congress as if detached. And the sounding panegyrics in his honor are just a tribute to tradition.
This is confirmed by the fact that in his only 15-minute speech at the final meeting, Stalin expressed gratitude only to representatives of foreign communist parties, without commenting on the speeches of Malenkov and other Soviet delegates. And having finished, he quickly passed the first row of the congress presidium, rising to his gallery. But Fronda already acted: the speech was published only in early November in paper binding, without indicating the position and without a portrait of Stalin ...
But the word was not on duty. In it, for the first time in Marxism, the Secretary General substantiated the need to rally the communist movement with all national-patriotic forces. The Soviet propagandists did not seem to notice this, but, for example, Mao Zedong later repeatedly referred to this thesis of Stalin, who, according to the head of the People's Republic of China, had strategic importance for the anti-imperialist movement: “Previously, the bourgeoisie was considered the head of the nation, it defended the rights and independence of the nation , putting them "above all". Now there is no trace of the "national principle". Now the bourgeoisie sells the rights and independence of the nation for dollars. The banner of national independence and national sovereignty thrown overboard. There is no doubt that you, representatives of the communist and democratic parties, will have to raise this banner and carry it forward if you want to be patriots of your country, if you want to become the leading force of the nation. ”
And the Stalinist thesis 14 of October 1952 of the dollarization of relations in Western society is applicable to modernity in the broadest sense: “There is no more so-called personal freedom - the rights of the individual are now recognized only for those who have capital, and all other citizens are considered raw human material suitable only for use. The principle of equality of people and nations has been trampled on, it has been replaced by the principle of the full rights of the exploiting minority and the lack of rights of the exploited majority of citizens. ”
Perhaps, only in the report of the head of the USSR State Planning Committee Maxim Saburov (“Forked Names-2”) about the fifth five-year period is directly indicated the relationship of the upcoming activity with the recommendations of “Economic problems ...” And, by the way, large long-term projects in heavy industry and related industries were announced , including for the subsequent rise of the consumer sector of industry. The report also prescribes a comprehensive use of local resources, gradually expanding the economic specialization of the regions, more actively developing economic and transport links between them, cooperation with the socialist and postcolonial countries. But by the end of 1954, they seemed to have forgotten about this and almost did not mention the socio-economic directives for the Fifth Five-Year Plan. And at the end of March 1953, many of them were canceled (“1951 – 1953. As under Stalin and after”, “1954 – 1955. Khrushchev polygons”).
The 19th congress became the only verbatim report of which was not published in the USSR (unlike Albania and China), and in Soviet party historiography it was mentioned first of all as renaming the CPSU (B.) As the CPSU. The election of the Bureau of the Presidium of the Central Committee was initiated, as is commonly believed, by Stalin. But the congress did not nominate him for the post of head of the bureau, although the leader certainly expected the opposite. And in the list of members of the Central Committee, the secretary general was listed only under the number 103.
Stalin understood the tonality of the congress - soon at the plenum of the Central Committee he announced disagreements in the top leadership and offered to officially release him from the post of general secretary. But not released and not elected. 7 November 1952, he moved from one rostrum of the Mausoleum to another, periodically looking at the demonstrators. As if he wanted to tell them something. But colleagues and students seemed not to notice this: let them take a walk for last ...