XIX Congress of the CPSU (b) - (October 5-14, 1952). Documents and Materials

8 October, (Evening meeting)

Presiding A.. Niyazov.

The meeting continued to discuss the report of Comrade. M.Z. Saburov.

At the end of the meeting, the congress was greeted by representatives of foreign communist and workersʹ parties.

V.V. Kuznetsov, (Moscow)

Comrades!

(...)

Comrade Saburov, in his report, outlined a specific plan for the development of the USSR for 1951 ‐ 1955. The draft directives for the five‐year plan contain a magnificent program for the further movement of the Soviet people forward, towards communism. This program is based on the great outlines of Comrade Stalin, outlined in his new brilliant work ʺEconomic Problems of Socialism in the USSR.ʺ This outstanding work provides answers to the most important theoretical and practical questions of the transition from socialism to communism with the utmost clarity. This work ideologically arms the Soviet people and inspires them to fight for the complete victory of communism.

Our party came to its 19th Congress surrounded by the confidence, sincere love of the Soviet people and the warm sympathy of the working people of the whole world. Now, more than ever, the peoples of the Soviet Union are united in a single family around their great Communist Party, around Comrade Stalin.

Under the unremitting leadership and daily assistance of the Partyʹs Central Committee, the activities of the trade unions of our country took place in these years. The wise leadership of the Communist Party is the strength of the Soviet trade unions.

The trade unions have strengthened organizationally and have grown in numbers. They now unite more than 90 percent of the workers and employees of our country. Fulfilling their role as a school of communism, the trade unions have been and remain faithful guides of the partyʹs policy to the masses at all stages and in all sectors of socialist construction.

Comrades! For the fulfillment of the fifth five‐year plan, the further development of socialist emulation of the working people is of paramount importance.

As a result of the Partyʹs tremendous organizational work, socialist competition for the fulfillment and over fulfillment of national economic plans, for improving the quality and reducing the cost of production in all sectors of the national economy, has developed on a wide scale.

Socialist competition, which is the communist method of construction, has become truly nationwide. Along with individual competition, competition between brigades, workshops, and enterprises, which are fighting for the title of advanced collectives, is increasingly developing. Never before have we had such a variety of socialist commitments, such a wealth of initiatives from the innovators of production. In every branch of the national economy there are remarkable leaders who break old technical norms, overlap them several times, revealing new reserves for the growth of production.

Higher labor productivity has been achieved in many branches of industry in the USSR than in the industry of the largest capitalist countries. It is important to emphasize that high productivity is achieved in our country not through physical exhaustion of the worker, not through sweatshops, as in capitalist countries, but as a result of equipping industry with highly productive machines, extensive mechanization of heavy and labor‐intensive work, and the use of advanced labor methods.

The high mechanization of labor at our enterprises is admired by the workers of foreign countries who have visited the USSR. For example, the British miners, upon their return from the Soviet Union, declared: ʺThe very first mine we went down into was the most mechanized mine we have ever seen.ʺ Addressing the National Coal Industry Authority in England, the delegation suggested: ʺGet a special delegation to visit the coal basins of Russia, and let it see for itself how it is possible to extract coal from the bowels by machines, and not at the cost of sweat and blood of people.ʺ There are a lot of such reviews.

Under the leadership of Party organizations, our trade unions are doing a great deal of work to develop socialist competition and disseminate the advanced experience of production innovators. However, there are still significant shortcomings in the work of many trade union and economic organizations in directing socialist competition. Good practice is still poorly disseminated. As a result, there is a large number of enterprises, workshops that do not fulfill the plan, as well as workers who do not fulfill production standards.

Quite rightly, the draft directives for the fifth five‐year plan give instructions to raise the mass movement of inventors and rationalizers and to disseminate in every possible way the experience of leading enterprises and innovators of production.

Until recently, the work on organizing socialist competition had not given the necessary attention to the struggle to improve quality indicators. The formal pursuit of new initiatives, without a critical approach to them, sometimes led to perversions in the competition.

Hereʹs one example. Under the guise of the so‐called ʺsocialist securityʺ workers and office employees surrendered machines, machines, steamers, and residential buildings for safekeeping. Railroad workers handed over entire stations for safekeeping to service personnel. As a result of this ʺinitiative,ʺ the attention of the workers was diverted from the main tasks of competition, and the leaders were relieved of responsibility for a careful attitude towards socialist property.

Second example. In some medical institutions, doctors organized a competition on issues directly related to the treatment process. Agreements were concluded between medical institutions and doctors to shorten the treatment time for patients, to reduce the consumption of medicines and dressings, etc. (Cheerful animation in the hall). In pursuit of ʺgoodʺ indicators, medical care for workers and employees could undoubtedly deteriorate in this case.

The Party Central Committee corrected the trade union and economic organizations on time.

With the help of the Central Committee of the Party, trade union and economic organizations took measures to eliminate these and other distortions in the management of competition.

Guided by the instructions of the Communist Party, the trade unions will raise the level of socialist competition even higher for the fulfillment and over fulfillment of the new five‐year plan by all enterprises in the given nomenclature, for improving the quality and reducing the cost of production, for an all‐round increase in output. Trade unions will ensure a wide dissemination of the experience of the foremost workers, and will also seek to further ease the working conditions of workers and employees.

Thanks to the daily care of the Communist Party, tremendous successes have been achieved in raising the living standards of the Soviet people. As comrade Malenkov pointed out in his report, the real incomes of workers and employees per worker in 1951 were higher than in 1940 by 57 percent, and the real incomes of peasants were 60 percent higher.

During the post‐war years, the money wages of the working people have increased almost one and a half times, the production of consumer goods increases from year to year, the prices of goods are systematically reduced. Soviet people with the same money can now buy twice as many goods as in 1947. Payments and benefits to workers, employees and their families increased at the expense of the state; State allocations for social and cultural events are constantly growing. The allocations for state social insurance alone increased from 8.6 billion rubles in 1940 to 21.4 billion rubles in 1952.

The Communist Party pays great attention to improving medical services for the population, shows daily concern for the health of Soviet people, in particular, the organization of sanatorium‐resort treatment and recreation of workers. The network of sanatoriums and rest homes is constantly expanding. Since 1946, through trade unions alone, the network of sanatoriums and rest homes has increased by 60 percent. This year 4.5 million workers and employees will spend their holidays at the countryʹs resorts. Including 2.8 million people, trade unions send to resorts at the expense of state social insurance funds free of charge or for a small fee.

Every year more and more children are sent to pioneer camps, country cottages and other childrenʹs institutions. In 1952, over 5 million children rested in them, including 2 million 700 thousand children in the pioneer camps of the trade unions. This is more than twice as much as in 1940.

The housing issue plays a crucial role in creating a stable cadre of workers and in raising their living standards. Contained in the report of Comrade Malenkov, completely fair criticism of the leaders of economic and party organizations for failure to fulfill the plans for housing construction applies to trade union organizations. Trade unions are also not fighting enough to meet housing plans. The situation is especially unsatisfactory in the Ministry of Railways, which fulfilled the housing construction plan for the fourth five‐year plan by 67.8 percent and continues to lag behind in the fifth five‐year plan. Since 1946, the ministry has put into operation a new living space for 1 million 150 thousand square meters. m less than planned. The plan for housing construction of the Ministry of Non‐Ferrous Metallurgy, Construction Materials Industry, and the construction of machine‐building enterprises is being fulfilled by 60 ‐ 70 percent. The heads of ministries, enterprises and we, trade union workers, need to draw serious conclusions from the criticism at the congress and take all measures to ensure the unconditional fulfillment of the tasks envisaged in the new five‐year plan for the construction of dwellings, hospitals, sanatoriums, schools, childrenʹs institutions, canteens, cultural institutions.

With the daily help of the Communist Party, the trade unions have widely launched cultural and physical activities among workers and employees. Significantly more workers than before the war are now studying in various schools, taking courses, engaging in amateur art circles, physical education, sports, and tourism.

The network of cultural and physical education institutions in 1952 was doubled in comparison with 1946 and exceeds the pre‐war level. The number of books in trade union libraries increased 2.8 times against 1945 and exceeds the pre‐war level by 25 percent.

During the period between the 18th and 19th Party Congresses, the cultural and technical level of the working class increased significantly. For characterization, let me cite data on the Moscow plant ʺRed Proletarianʺ. From year to year the number of workers with primary education at the plant decreases, the number of workers with education in the volume of five classes and higher is growing. In 1952, 75 percent of all factory workers have a higher than primary education. 90 percent of the workers of the main workshops received special industrial training in schools of the FZO, vocational schools, courses and in schools for advanced training. Many skilled workers of the plant have finished technical courses, technical schools, universities on the job and transferred to engineering and technical positions. A similar picture takes place at other enterprises.

However, it should be noted that in the light of the new tasks posed by the Communist Party, it is necessary to expand and improve the training of workers both on the job and on the spot.

Over the next five years, a new large army of workers will be drawn into industry at newly commissioned enterprises and at existing enterprises in connection with their expansion. The new, sophisticated, high‐performance machines that our industry is equipped with require highly skilled maintenance. It is necessary that, in the five‐year plan, specific tasks should be developed for the industrial ministries and the Ministry of Labor Reserves to expand and improve the training of workers, providing for the organization of a large number of courses, schools for training, advanced training and retraining of workers, the creation of conditions for training workers with a broad technical outlook. It is also necessary to expand the network and improve the operation of night schools for workers to obtain secondary education.

There are all possibilities for this.

The new five‐year plan provides for a further significant increase in the well‐being and cultural level of the people, which once again clearly testifies to the paternal concern of the Communist Party, Comrade Stalin for the welfare of the people.

Comrades! At the 18th Congress of the All‐Union Communist Party of Bolsheviks, Comrade Stalin set the task: ʺTo strengthen international ties of friendship with the working people of all countries interested in peace and friendship between peoples.ʺ

During the period under review, the authority of our state as a consistent and staunch fighter for peace has grown significantly in the eyes of the peoples of all countries, and the fraternal ties of the Soviet people with the working people of other countries have strengthened.

The Soviet trade unions, educated by the Communist Party in the spirit of internationalism and the establishment of fraternal ties with the working people of all countries, tirelessly fight for the international unity of the working class, strengthen and expand their ties with the working people and trade unions of foreign countries.

The trade unions of the USSR took an active part in the creation in 1945 of the World Federation of Trade Unions, which now unites in its ranks 80 million workers and employees of most countries, including a number of capitalist countries: France, Italy, South America, Africa, Japan, India, individual trade unions of the United States, Australia, Canada. The working people united in the WFTU for an organized struggle to improve living conditions, against the preparation of a new war and the offensive of reaction, for the freedom and independence of the oppressed peoples.

The working class of the capitalist countries is increasingly resolutely opposing the policy of hunger, poverty and war pursued by the imperialist governments. The strike movement and antiwar protests of the working people are expanding. The number of strikers from 1946 to 1950 in 16 capitalist countries, including the USA, England, France, Japan, Italy, West Germany, amounted to 50 million people, or three times more than in 1935‐1939.

Soviet trade unions, taking an active part in the activities of the World Federation of Trade Unions, are simultaneously expanding friendly ties with the working people of foreign countries through the exchange of delegations. Since 1945, 290 workersʹ delegations have visited the Soviet Union, including 140 delegations from capitalist and colonial countries. During the same period, Soviet trade unions sent 260 delegations abroad, 130 of them to capitalist and colonial countries. The exchange of delegations with the capitalist countries helps to expose the false bourgeois propaganda about the Soviet Union, helps the workers of foreign countries to learn the truth about our country, and strengthens their confidence in our socialist state.

In order to strengthen friendly ties and transfer work experience, there is a lively exchange of delegations with the trade unions of the countries of peopleʹs democracy, the great Peopleʹs Republic of China, and the German Democratic Republic. Our foremost workers, visiting the enterprises of these countries, pass on their experience directly at the workplace, in the mine, at the machine tool, at the construction site, help our friends increase labor productivity and increase production.

In the conditions of the arms race being waged by the imperialists and the preparation of a new world war, the further strengthening of international workersʹ unity is of great importance. The Soviet trade unions will continue to expand in every way fraternal ties with the workers of foreign countries, strengthen the international unity of the working people, and participate even more actively in the popular movement of peace advocates.

Comrades, in the new majestic plans for the further development of the USSR, the fundamental law of socialism, discovered by Comrade Stalin, is clearly discharged. These plans outline a powerful new upsurge in the national economy and a further significant increase in the material well‐being and cultural level of the people.

Our Party is confidently leading the Soviet people to new victories, to the triumph of communism. The working people express their unanimous support for the policy of the Communist Party in new labor exploits for the glory of the Motherland.

The trade unions assure the congress of the great party of Lenin and Stalin that they will persistently, with all their energy, continue to help the party in organizing the working masses for the early fulfillment of new majestic plans for the further development of the USSR, further improving the material and living conditions of workers and employees, in satisfying their cultural requests, will educate workers and employees in the spirit of a communist attitude to labor and public property, in the spirit of high state and labor discipline. Trade unions will devote all their strength to the struggle for the further strengthening of the might of our beloved Motherland, for the triumph of communism.

Long live our heroic Soviet people!

Glory to the great Communist Party and its Central Committee!

Glory to our wise leader and teacher, beloved comrade Stalin!

(Applause.)