The Stalin school of falsification - Marxists Internet Archive

Stalin School of Falsification - Chapter 7
V. Eltsin.
I succeeded in obtaining these written testimonials in Moscow prior to my exile. These testimonials serve
only to illustrate what is clear enough to those comrades who are better informed. They cast a rather
glaring light upon the repulsive ideological jugglery on the question of "Trotskyism." In the years from
1917 to 1928, there was no mention ever made of Trotskyism. That was the period, apart from other
things, of the October insurrection, the Civil War, the construction of the Soviet state and of the Red
Army, the elaboration of our party program, the founding of the Communist Inter national, the formation
of its cadres, the drafting of its fundamental documents, including the programmatic theses and the
manifestoes of the C.I. In 1928, after Lenin's withdrawal from work, serious differences broke out in the
main nucleus of the Central Committee. In the course of the next four years, these differences were to
develop into two irreconcilable political lines. In 1924, the phantom of Trotskyism was brought into the
arena after meticulous preparations behind the scenes. The guiding spirits in the campaign were Zinoviev
and Kamenev. They stood at the head of the "Bolshevik Old Guard" — in the terminology of that period.
On the opposing side as — "Trotskyism." But the "Old Guard" group suffered a split in 1925. Within a
few months, Zinoviev and Kamenev found themselves compelled to admit that the main nucleus of the
1928 Opposition — the so-called "Trotskyists" — proved to be right on the fundamental controversial
questions. This admission was the harsh penalty they paid for abuses in the sphere of party theory. But
that was not all. Zinoviev and Kamenev soon found themselves enrolled among the "Trotskyists." One
could hardly conceive a fate more ruthless in its irony!
The Fifteenth Party Congress brought no change in the political line of the majority. On the contrary, the
Congress set its seal of approval upon this line. It condemned the Opposition and banished the latter from
the party. So far as Zinoviev and Kamenev were concerned, this provided them with sufficient cause to
hide the danger of Thermidor. Instead they sought to resurrect the phantom of Trotskyism. It would not
surprise us at all if Zinoviev were to undertake writing a brochure against the Trotskyist danger, while
Kamenev begins quoting from his articles and speeches of 1923-1924.
Unprincipled politics carries with it its own punishment. It disintegrates when confronted with facts; it
undermines confidence in itself and it ultimately becomes a laughing stock.
Individuals, even such outstanding men as Zinoviev and Kamenev, come and go, but the political line
remains.
Moscow, January 3, 1928.
* * *
Since the above lines were written, more than two years have elapsed. Piatakov and Radek, the chief
witnesses against the falsifiers who had created the legend of Trotskyism, failed to foresee that a few
months after signing their eloquent depositions (reproduced here in facsimile) they themselves would
take a different road. The paths of ideological back sliding are truly incalculable! The undertow of a
revolutionary ebb-tide is so powerful that people flounder in it, and heads and feet become so mixed up
in the foam as to be indistinguishable.
Despite its tragi-comic aspects, the fate of the capitulators has a very weighty meaning: The frailty of
men serves only to underscore the power of ideas.
It is not the author of this book but rather his adversaries who have built and appraised all party
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