Sino-Soviet Split Document Archive
Source: Struggle of the CPSU for the Unity of the
International Communist Movement. Moscow, Novosti Press Agecy (1964), pages
105-110.
The text was originally published in Russian as the leading article in Pravda on
April 3, 1964.
Transcription and HTML: Juan Fajardo, August 2013.
The Soviet Communists, all the Soviet people have been informed in the Open Letter of the Central Committee of the CPSU of July 14, 1963, about the situation that has arisen in the world communist movement through the fault of the leaders of the Communist Party of China, who come out with a special ideological and political platform that runs counter to the Declaration and the Statement of the Moscow Meetings of 1957 and 1960. Having launched fierce polemics against the CPSU and other Marxist-Leninist Parties, the CPC leadership has transferred the ideological differences to interstate relations between the People's Republic of China and the other socialist countries, has gone over to open political struggle directed towards splitting the Community of the socialist countries and the world communist movement.
Together with the other Marxist-Leninist Parties, the CPSU has exerted every effort to stop the dangerous development of events, to strengthen the unity of the Communists of all countries. Displaying utmost restraint and patience, explaining to the Chinese leaders the erroneousness and danger of their present positions, our Party has taken a number of fresh steps in order to overcome the difficulties and to normalise the situation in the communist movement.
On October 25 and November 7, 1963, N. S. Khrushchev in his speeches, published in the press again proposed that public polemics be stopped.
On November 29, 1963, the CPSU Central Committee sent a letter to the Central Committee of the CPC in which it again proposed that open polemics be stopped, and advanced a programme of concrete measures the implementation of which would normalise the relations between our parties and countries, and would improve the atmosphere in the world communist movement. At the same time, the Soviet Union had unilaterally stopped publishing polemical items.
This display of good will on the part of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union was highly appraised by the fraternal parties, which on their part have done much to persuade the CPC leaders to give up their erroneous line. However, Peking did not deem it necessary to reckon with the opinion of the fraternal parties, with the interests of the communist movement, did not wish to heed the voice of those who hold dear the interests of the great revolutionary cause.
The Chinese leaders appraised in their own way the readiness of the Communist Parties to do everything necessary to overcome the difficulties. They interpreted this as a sign of weakness of the fraternal parties. Ignoring the constructive proposals of the CPSU and the other fraternal parties, the Chinese leadership started a new round of an even more base and fierce campaign against our Party and country, against all the Marxists-Leninists.
Jenminjihpao alone published more than 200 anti-Soviet articles and other items since November 1963. Particularly insolent was the editorial carried by Jenminjihpao and Hungchi on February 4, in which attempts are made to substantiate the inevitability of a split in t international communist movement. Without shunning any insinuations against our Party and the Soviet people, Chinese leaders went to such monstrous fabrications as to accuse the CPSU of "collusion with imperialism" and "betrayal of the cause of the socialist revolution."
The CPC leaders are trying to obliterate from the minds of the Chinese workers, peasants and intellectuals every good feeling towards the Soviet brothers. Violating the elementary standards of relations between states, they are intensifying hostile propaganda against the Soviet Union. The Peking broadcasts in the Russian language in the past period have been full of slanderous inventions and anti-Soviet attacks. The Chinese representatives launched subversive, splitting activities against the fraternal Marxist-Leninist Parties, using for these purposes all kinds of renegades and outcasts, Trotskyites and other traitors to the cause of the revolution. The Chinese representatives are also conducting splitting activities in the mass international organisations with a view to weakening their influence in the struggle of the peoples against imperialism and colonialism, for strengthening peace. The Chinese leaders are trying in every way to impose their conclusions upon the fraternal parties as though the special course of the CPC leaders is the only correct one, while the collectively worked-out line of the international communist movement is an erroneous one.
In these conditions our Party considers it its duty to resolutely come out in defence of the purity of the Marxist-Leninist principles, the general line of the international communist movement. Far from doing any good, our further silence would only encourage the strivings of the Chinese leaders to disorganise the ranks of the international communist movement and weaken it as the main revolutionary force in the struggle against imperialism. After discussing the report by M. A. Suslov, Member of the Presidium and Secretary of the CPSU Central Committee, at the February Plenary Meeting, the Central Committee adopted a decision to expose the anti-Leninist views and splitting activities of the Chinese leadership. In keeping with the standards of relations inside the communist Movement, the Central Committee of the CPSU consulted with the fraternal parties about the planned measures which met with their understanding and support.
In the course of the consultations the leaders of one of the fraternal Parties expressed the wish that the CPSU Central Committee temporarily postpone the publication of the materials of the Plenary Meeting as they decided to make another attempt to stop the open polemics. The initiative of this fraternal Party was turned down in Peking. The CPC leaders, by all their activity, showed that, far from stopping the polemics, they intend to intensify their attacks on the CPSU and the other Marxist-Leninist Parties.
The leaders of the CPC only after three months replied to the letter of the CPSU Central Committee of November 29, 1963. However, the reply from the CPC Central Committee of February 29 last in essence rejected all the constructive proposals advanced by the CPSU Central Committee, including the proposal of stopping open polemics.
On March 7 the CPSU Central Committee addressed a new letter to the CPC Central Committee with the proposal of stopping polemics and carrying out measures aimed at furthering the cohesion of the world communist movement on a principled Marxist-Leninist basis.
The CPSU Central Committee proposed a meeting of CPSU and CPC delegations in May 1964, a meeting of representatives of Communist Parties —participants in the drafting commission which prepared the 1960 Moscow Meeting, in June-July 1964, and a meeting of all fraternal Parties in the autumn of 1964.
After this letter the Chinese leaders, far from stopping the polemics, developed them with even greater bitterness.
Starting with the second half of March, the Chinese press considerably expanded the hostile campaign against the CPSU and the USSR, against all fraternal countries and Parties which reject the "special course" of the CPC leadership. The climax of this campaign was the editorial article in Jenminjihpao and Hungchi of March 31 which from the very beginning to the end is a most vile insult to our Party and the entire Soviet people, an open revision of the basic propositions of Marxism-Leninism. The article was written in a tone unthinkable in relations between like-minded people. It fully showed that the CPC leaders have gone beyond all limits in their political struggle against the world communist movement, singling out the CPSU and the Soviet Union as the centre for their attacks.
The Chinese leadership has also intensified its splitting activities. During the session of the Council of the Afro-Asian Solidarity Organisation, recently held in Algiers, the Chinese representatives came out with foul accusations against the Soviet Union. Splitting, neo-Trotskyite groups, counterposing the Communist Parties in a number of capitalist countries, have become active with the obvious blessing of Peking.
Striving to achieve their special political aims which have nothing in common with the struggle for socialism, the CPC leaders do not disdain to use any means, conduct a hypocritical game around major issues of the unity of the world communist movement. Blackmailing Marxist-Leninist Parties with threats of splitting them and exploiting the natural desire of Communists for unity, they attempt to bind the Communist Parties hand and foot, to hinder them in exposing the ideological apostasy and splitting activities of the CPC leadership.
This is why the Central Committee of the CPSU decided to publish the materials of the February Plenary Meeting of the Central Committee, to come out with a criticism of the anti-Leninist platform and splitting activities of the Chinese leadership. This is demanded by the interests of the struggle for the purity of Marxist-Leninist revolutionary theory, for the policy of the world communist movement expressed in the Declaration and Statement of the Moscow Meetings.
It is necessary to resolutely and persistently fight for the unity of the international communist movement, the way it was done by the great Lenin, when irreconcilably coming out against opportunists of all shades, against revisionists, dogmatists, Trotskyites and "heroes of the Left evolutionary phrase."
True to the principles of Marxism-Leninism, our Party is prepared in the future as well to search for ways and means of overcoming the difficulties which have arisen, of removing the differences between the Chinese leaders and the CPSU and the other fraternal Parties. Our Party and its Leninist Central Committee, headed by Comrade N. S. Khrushchev, have done and will continue in the future as well to do everything necessary for strengthening the unity of the world communist movement, for rallying all forces coming out for peace, democracy, national independence and socialism. It will make its worthy contribution to the great struggle for the triumph of our common revolutionary Marxist-Leninist cause.