Funeral Oration at the grave of Alexis Kosterin

[p056] lines (arrested in 1937 at the age of 14 as a member of the family of an enemy of the people) personally witnessed. These actions are punishable under articles 113 and 17 by im- Documents from the Soviet Opposition prisonment for up to years. Ww 4 Many leaders ended their days by suicide, some out of revulsion at participation in the crimes being committed, as proven by letters written before their death: S. Ordz- honikidze; I. Kossier; F. Furer; Pogrebinsky, head of _ the NKVD of the Gorky district, founder of our correctional communes; Litvin, head of the Leningrad NKVD; Korezelski, head of one of the NKVD bureaux in the Ukraine; Norin, head of the NKVD special service in Georgia; and many others. A number of persecuted people took their own lives out of protest or fear of torture: Y. Gamarnik; Mr Tomsky; P. Liubchenko and his wife; V. Lominadze; A. Cherviakov; Rabichev; Adamovich; Lakoba; Firin; and many others. Some who could not bear the tortures committed suicide in prison: N. Gololed; I. Garkavy; Nosalevsky; Lapin; and many others. All this falls under article 107 (instigation to suicide) and entails im- prisonment for up to five years. 5 The mass repressions were accompanied by slanders and insults in the press, on radio and at meetings and con- ferences directed at the victims, their friends and_ relatives. Actions of this kind fall under article 130 (‘slander’, imprison- ment for up to five years), and article 131 (‘insults’, hard three ~ labour lasting up to one year). 6 For not having denounced and for protecting his accomplices (Yezhov, Yagoda, Beria, Ulrich, Vyshinksy and tens of thousands of others) Stalin must answer for that infraction of the law described in articles 88-1 and 88-2 and be imprisoned for from three to five years. 7 Many people, victims of the purges, were shot or just killed, or died of wounds received during the investiga- tions. Among them were Party members as eminent as Chubar, Kossior, Rudzutak, Postyschev, Eikhe, Voznensky, Kuznetsov and 110 of the 139 members of the CPSU Central Com- mittee elected at the 17th Party Congress, as well as hundreds of other honest men. 7a On Stalin’s orders rep- resentatives of all the oppositions were arrested and in most cases liquidated. Many have not yet been rehabilitated although the accusations made against them were entirely fabricated. (None of the con- demned at Zinoviev’s and Piatakov’s trials have been re- habilitated; 17 of the 22 con- demned at Bukharin’s trial have not been rehabilitated; and a whole group of people condmned without trial in the early 1930s have not been re- habilitated.) 7 Stalin did not shrink from annihilating foreign communists who had taken refuge in our country to escape the persecution of fascist, semi-fascist and monarchical Unschlicht, Red Army leader, shot; Eideman, Red Army leader, shot; Goryanoy, Red Army leader, shot; Khalatov, Red Army leader, shot; Uritsky, Head of Intelligence, shot; Alksnis, Head of Air Force, shot. dictatorships: the Germans H. Remmele, Schubert, Heinz Neumann, Werner Hirsch; the Hungarians Bela Kun, Mesan, Gidas, Gabor Farkas, and others; the Bulgarians Stamon- iakov, Tanev and others; the Poles Dombal, Lesczynski, Prochniak, and others; the Estonians K. Pegelman and others; the Iranians Sultan- Zade and others; the Yugo- slavs V. Copic, D. Serdic and others; the Swiss F. Platten (who had covered V. I. Lenin with his own body during the first attempt against Lenin’s life) and others. w 7¢ With Stalin’s knowledge many leaders of our Intelligence Service were killed: Berzin, Artuzov, Trelisser, Boky, Uritsky, Borovich, Spiegelglass, Xenofontov, Peters, Latsis, Kedrov, and others. This seriously weak- ened our intelligence in the pre-war period. Since we have no documen- tary material concerning the crimes personally carried out by Stalin, we are forced to accuse him indirectly under article 17 and more specifically under article 102-17 (‘pre- meditated murder with aggra- vating circumstances’, punish- able by up to 15 years in prison or death) and article 66-17 (‘terrorist act’, ‘murder of an individual, member of the government or other pub- lic official . . . with the aim of undermining or weakening Soviet power’, punishable by imprisonment for up to 15 years or death). 35

[p057] Left to right Topolev, aircraft engi leader, shot; Goryanoy, Red Army Force, shot. power (article 171, imprison- ment for up to ten years). 2 During the mass purges people were illegally de- prived of their liberty, which is punishable, according to articles 126 and 17, by im- prisonment for up to_ three years (article 17 of the RSFSR Penal Code, ‘Collaboration’). In this article it says: ‘Collaborators in crime are treated as perpetrators, organ- izers, instigators and _ those who promote the offence’. As in this case it is not known, as in a number of other cases, which crimes were carried cut by Stalin himself, we refer to article 17 of the Penal Code of the RSFSR be- cause Stalin’s role as organizer is obvious. In the documents of the 22nd Congress of the CPSU it states: “The post-war repres- sions (1949-1950), like the repressions of the years 1935- 1937, were carried out either under Stalin’s direct order, or with his knowledge and ap- proval’ (stenographic account, Moscow 1962, t.3, p. 114). 3 It is known that it was on Stalin’s suggestion that the decision was taken in 1937 to use physical methods to in- fluence legal investigations. This led to beatings, depri- vation of sleep for up to seven days and other torments which the author of these _ lines (arrested in 1937 at the age of 14 as a member of the family of an enemy of the people) personally witnessed. These actions are punishable under articles 113 and 17 by im- Documents from the Soviet Opposition prisonment for up to three ~ years. Ww 4, Many leaders ended their days by suicide, some out of revulsion at participation in the crimes being committed, as proven by letters written before their death: S. Ordz- honikidze; I. Kossier; F. Furer; Pogrebinsky, head of the NKVD of the Gorky district, founder of our correctional communes; Litvin, head of the Leningrad NKVD; Korezelski, head of one of the NKVD bureaux in the Ukraine; Norin, head of the NKVD special service in Georgia; and many others. A number of persecuted people took their own lives out of protest or fear of torture: Y. Gamarnik; Mr Tomsky; P. Liubchenko and his wife; V. Lominadze; <A. Cherviakov; Rabichev; Adamovich; Lakoba; Firin; and many others. Some who could not bear the tortures committed suicide in prison: N. Gololed; I. Garkavy; Nosalevsky; Lapin; and many others. All this falls under article 107 (instigation to suicide) and entails im- prisonment for up to five years. 5 The mass repressions were accompanied by slanders and insults in the press, on radio and at meetings and con- ferences directed at the victims, their friends and_ relatives. Actions of this kind fall under article 130 (‘slander’, imprison- ment for up to five years), and article 131 (‘insults’, hard STIS ENE BEBE & neer, imprisoned; Gromov, Red Army leader, shot; Unschlicht, Red Army leader, shot; Eideman, Red Army leader, shot; Khalatov, Red Army leader, shot; Uritsky, Head of Intelligence, shot; Alksnis, Head of Air labour lasting up to one year). 6 For not having denounced and for protecting his accomplices (Yezhov, Yagoda, Beria, Ulrich, Vyshinksy and tens of thousands of others) Stalin must answer for that infraction of the law described in articles 88-1 and 88-2 and be imprisoned for from three to five years. 7 Many people, victims of the purges, were shot or just killed, or died of wounds received during the investiga- tions. Among them were Party members as eminent as Chubar, Kossior, Rudzutak, Postyschev, Eikhe, Voznensky, Kuznetsov and 110 of the 139 members of the CPSU Central Com- mittee elected at the 17th Party Congress, as well as hundreds of other honest men. 7a On Stalin’s orders rep- resentatives of all the oppositions were arrested and in most cases liquidated. Many have not yet been rehabilitated although the accusations made against them were entirely fabricated. (None of the con- demned at Zinoviev’s and Piatakov’s trials have been re- habilitated; 17 of the 22 con- demned at Bukharin’s trial have not been rehabilitated; and a whole group of people condmned without trial in the early 1930s have not been re- habilitated.) 7 Stalin did not shrink from annihilating foreign communists who had _ taken refuge in our country to escape the persecution of fascist, semi-fascist and monarchical dictatorships: the Germans H. Remmele, Schubert, Heinz Neumann, Werner Hirsch; the Hungarians Bela Kun, Mesan, Gidas, Gabor Farkas, and others; the Bulgarians Stamon- iakov, Tanev and others; the Poles Dombal, Lesczynski, Prochniak, and others; the Estonians K. Pegelman and others; the Iranians Sultan- Zade and others; the Yugo- slavs V. Copic, D. Serdic and others; the Swiss F. Platten (who had covered V. I. Lenin with his own body during the first attempt against Lenin’s life) and others. Ww 7e With Stalin’s knowledge many leaders of our Intelligence Service were killed: Berzin, Artuzov, Trelisser, Boky, Uritsky, Borovich, Spiegelglass, Xenofontov, Peters, Latsis, Kedrov, and others. This seriously weak- ened our intelligence in the pre-war period. Since we have no documen- tary material concerning the crimes personally carried out by Stalin, we are forced to accuse him indirectly under article 17 and more specifically under article 102-17 (‘pre- meditated murder with aggra- vating circumstances’, punish- able by up to 15 years in prison or death) and article 66-17 (‘terrorist act’, ‘murder of an individual, member of the government or other pub- lic official . . . with the aim of undermining or weakening Soviet power’, punishable by imprisonment for up to 15 years or death). 35

[p058] 8 Stalin was head of state when, during and after the Great Patriotic War, various peoples in our country (Crimean Tartars, Kalmucks, Chechens, Ingush, Balkars, Koreans, Greeks, Turks, Ger- mans and others) were victims of forced and illegal deport- ations from their homelands. These crimes fall under article 74 (‘violations of the -equality of nations and races’, - punishable by up to five years’ ‘ imprisonment). / Ww 9 In connection with the mass purges, most of the leading scientists and_ tech- nicians in all branches of our industry and agriculture were killed or imprisoned. This had a considerable effect on our country’s economy. In 1938, for example, 10 per ‘cent less iron was extracted than in 1937, although the plan had anticipated increased ex- traction. The rapid turnover of personnel impeded production. In 1940, for example, out of 153 foremen in the metal in- dustry, 75 had held this posi- tion for less than one year. (‘Historical Questions of the CPSU’, 1964, number 2, pp. 73-74.) The greatest engineers and inventors in the field of mili- tary science were physically liquidated. These included: G. Langi- mak, inventor of the gun known as‘ Katyusha’; Kurchev- sky, inventor of the recoilless gun; V. Bekauri, originator of the system of remote-controlled explosions; V. Zaslavsky, tank engineer; Smirnov, head of radar research; I. Kleimenov, head of the Scientific Institute for Research on Jet Engines; M. Leitenzon, founder of the interplanetary travel associa- tion under the auspices of the Zhukovsky Academy, etc. Among those’ imprisoned were: A, Tupolev, S. Korolev, A. Berg, V. Cluchko, B. Vanni- kov (People’s Commissar for Weapons), to mention only a few. Brilliant scientists were annihilated: N. Vavilov, I. Krichevsky, Dogadkin, Tulai- kov, Gerasimovich, Folag. .. . These actions are defined under article 69 -(‘sabotage’, ‘action or inaction tending to undermine industry, transport, 36 Tukhachevsky: Red Army leader liquidated by Stalin. His wife was then persecuted. agriculture .. .’) and are pun- ishable by up to 15 years’ im- prisonment. 10 Tombs were desecrated (punishable under article 229 by up to three years’ im- prisonment). The urn contain- ing S. S. Kamenev’s ashes was taken out of the Kremlin wall; the urn containing Y. Gamar- nik’s ashes was stolen; M. Tomsky’s tomb was destroyed; the monument on I. Yakir’s tomb was knocked over, etc. 11 confidential letter to the Central Committee of the CPSU at the 20th Congress, as As is known from the Tomsky: Committed suicide during the purges. Stalin then imprisoned his children in the camps. well as from Tchakovsky’s re- cently-published novel, Stalin hid the day war was declared. For several hours none of the government leaders could find the commander-in-chief. The episode in question is defined by article 247 (‘desertion’) and is punishable by death in war- time. Ww 12 In 1939 along line of heavy and well equipped fortifications was built (called the ‘Ury’). After the incorporation of Heinz Neumann, Stalin’s representative in China, was handed over to the Nazis during the Stalin-Hitler Pact. the Baltic Republics, Western Belorussia, the Western Ukraine, Bessarabia and Northern Bukovina, the Soviet border was moved some 100 to 600 kilometers. It was decided to fortify this new frontier. But without waiting for the construction of the new ‘Ury’, and in spite of the protest by the chief of the general staff, General B. Chapochnikov, the old ‘Ury’ fortifications were dismantled. Thus the fascist invaders were allowed to move unhin- dered on to our territory. This seems to us to be criminal negligence bordering on treason. As for the annihilation of 80 per cent of the high-ranking officers and commanding officers which decapitated the army that is open treason (article 64, death). Moreover in the spring of 1941 the military chiefs who led the war in Spain were arrested and then in October shot without trial: Smuchke- vich, two times Hero of the Soviet Union, to whom a monument was erected in his country on February 26 of this year; the Heroes of the Soviet Union P. Richagov, Stern, Chernykh, Ptukhin, Gussev, Proskurov, Pumpur, Arzhenukin and others. The partisan bases on our territory were liquidated; tank formations were dismembered; certain kinds of automatic weapons indispensible to the army were never put into pro- duction; and there were many other things. Millions of people died in the first period of the Great Patriotic War as a result of a whole series of crimes com- mitted by Stalin. 13 In addition to the above, medieval atrocities were committed in our country—not unknown to Stalin but on his orders — which don’t fall directly under the Penal Code of the RSFSR, but are crimes against humanity. During the investigations the beatings and other methods drove the arrested to lose their reason and sane people were locked up in psychiatric hospitals. Fourth International, Summer 1970

[p059] 8 Stalin was head of state when, during and after the Great Patriotic War, various peoples in our country (Crimean Tartars, Kalmucks, Chechens, Ingush, Balkars, Koreans, Greeks, Turks, Ger- mans and others) were victims of forced and illegal deport- ations from their homelands. These crimes fall under article 74 (‘violations of the equality of nations and races’, punishable by up to five years’ imprisonment). sk In connection with the mass purges, most of the leading scientists and _ tech- nicians in all branches of our industry and agriculture were killed or imprisoned. This had a considerable effect on our country’s economy. In 1938, for example, 10 per cent less iron was extracted than in 1937, although the plan had anticipated increased ex- traction. The rapid turnover of personnel impeded production. In 1940, for example, out of 153 foremen in the metal in- dustry, 75 had held this posi- tion for less than one year. (‘Historical Questions of the CPSU’, 1964, number 2, pp. 73-74.) The greatest engineers and inventors in the field of mili- tary science were physically liquidated. These included: G. Langi- mak, inventor of the gun known as‘ Katyusha’; Kurchev- sky, inventor of the recoilless gun; V. Bekauri, originator of the system of remote-controlled explosions; V. Zaslavsky, tank engineer; Smirnov, head of radar research; I. Kleimenov, head of the Scientific Institute for Research on Jet Engines; M. Leitenzon, founder of the interplanetary travel associa- tion under the auspices of the Zhukovsky Academy, etc. Among those imprisoned were: A. Tupolev, S. Korolev, A. Berg, V. Cluchko, B. Vanni- kov (People’s Commissar for Weapons), to mention only a few. Brilliant scientists were annihilated: N. Vavilov, I. Krichevsky, Dogadkin, Tulai- kov, Gerasimovich, Folag. .. . These actions are defined under article 69 -(‘sabotage’, ‘action or inaction tending to undermine industry, transport, 36 Tukhachevsky: Red Army leader liquidated by Stalin. His wife was then persecuted. agriculture . . .’) and are pun- ishable by up to 15 years’ im- prisonment. 10 Tombs were desecrated (punishable under article 229 by up to three years’ im- prisonment). The urn contain- ing S. S. Kamenev’s ashes was taken out of the Kremlin wall; the urn containing Y. Gamar- nik’s ashes was stolen; M. Tomsky’s tomb was destroyed; the monument on I. Yakir’s tomb was knocked over, etc. ll confidential letter to the Central Committee of the CPSU at the 20th Congress, as As is known from the Tomsky: Committed suicide during the purges. Stalin then imprisoned his children in the camps. well as from Tchakovsky’s re- cently-published novel, Stalin hid the day war was declared. For several hours none of the government leaders could find the commander-in-chief. The episode in question is defined by article 247 (‘desertion’) and is punishable by death in war- time. vw 12 In 1939 along line of heavy and well equipped fortifications was built (called the ‘Ury’). After the incorporation of Heinz Neumann, Stalin’s representative in China, was handed over to the Nazis during the Stalin-Hitler Pact. the Baltic Republics, Western Belorussia, the Western Ukraine, Bessarabia and Northern Bukovina, the Soviet border was moved some 100 to 600 kilometers. It was decided to fortify this new frontier. But without waiting for the construction of the new ‘Ury’, and in spite of the protest by the chief of the general staff, General B. Chapochnikov, the old ‘Ury’ fortifications were dismantled. Thus the fascist invaders were allowed to move unhin- dered on to our territory. This seems to us to be criminal negligence bordering on treason. As for the annihilation of 80 per cent of the high-ranking officers and commanding officers which decapitated the army that is open treason (article 64, death). Moreover in the spring of 1941 the military chiefs who led the war in Spain were arrested and then in October shot without trial: Smuchke- vich, two times Hero of the Soviet Union, to whom a monument was erected in his country on February 26 of this year; the Heroes of the Soviet Union P. Richagov, Stern, Chernykh, Ptukhin, Gussev, Proskurov, Pumpur, Arzhenukin and others. The partisan bases on our territory were liquidated; tank formations were dismembered; certain kinds of automatic weapons indispensible to the army were never put into pro- duction; and there were many other things. Millions of people died in the first period of the Great Patriotic War as a result of a whole series of crimes com- mitted by Stalin. 13 In addition to the above, medieval atrocities were committed in our country—not unknown to Stalin but on his orders — which don’t fall directly under the Penal Code of the RSFSR, but are crimes against humanity. During the investigations the beatings and other methods drove the arrested to lose their reason and sane people were locked up in psychiatric hospitals. Fourth International, Summer 1970

[p060] Wives of slain militants 14 were arrested and often shot: (the wives of Tukhachev- sky, Uborevich, Postyshev, Kossior, Eikhe, Gamarnik, Kork, Chubar, Chelekhes, Agranov, Dybenko, Vareikis, and others). Going to the point of madness Stalin arrested the wives of his companions Kalinin, Molotov, Poskreby- shev. 15 Young children of the purge victims were arrested and kept in camps and prisons including those of Postyschev, Kossior, Lyub- chenko, Medved, Kamenevy, Garkavy, Bauman, Kadatsky, Tomsky, Sosnovsky, and Popov. Postyschev’s eldest son, Valentin, as well as the sons of Evdokimov and Lakoba, was shot. 16 In some camps hundreds of prisoners were shot without trial or investigation (the Garaninchtchina camp on Kolyma). 17 Almost all the Men- sheviks, anarchists, bun- dists, Borotbists, SR members and Left SR members who, for the most part, had left political life, were physically annihilated in the 1930s and early 1940s. 18 The author of these lines, having spent part of his time in the North Ural camp of the MGB (1941-1942), is a witness to the fact that most of the political prisoners voluntered for the front and in answer to their request the authorities condemned them to die of hunger, which, aside from the other questions in- volved, weakened our front. 19 On Stalin’s orders our government refused to participate in the International Red Cross organization’s aid for prisoners of war. Under our military statutes captivity is equivalent to treason. Prisoners were deprived of material help and control over their conditions which con- tributed to the loss of many good men (most of them were wounded, unconscious and un- armed when taken prisoner). OUR AIM is not to formulate all the accusations against Stalin which he deserves. But the small fraction of his crimes set out in this declaration already constitutes a substan- tial body of crime _ under articles 64, 68-17, 69, 74, 88-1, 88-2, 102-17, 107, 113-17, 126- 17, 130, 131, 170, 171, 229, 230, 247 of the Penal Code of the RSFSR. If we examine article 38 of the penal code (‘extenuating circumstances’) we find no reason to lighten the sentence in Stalin’s case. On the basis of article 39 of the Penal Code (‘circumstances aggravating responsibility’): ‘1. Crimes committed by a person who has already com- mitted another crime... ‘4. Crime with serious con- sequences ‘5, Crime committed London, S.W.4 Documents from the Soviet Opposition against a minor, an old person or a defenceless person ‘7. Crime committed with particular cruelty and humilia- tion to the victim’, we do not doubt the necessity of using article 39 of the Penal Code against the accused J. V. Stalin. It is equally necessary to use article 36 against Stalin (‘deprivation of military and other ranks, as well as decora- tions, medals and honorary titles’), because this measure provides for punishment of serious crimes. On what basis are the authors previously mentioned and the editorial board of ‘Kommunist’ rehabilitating the greatest criminal our country has known in its’ recent history? I challenge the authors of the articles in question to Reprinted from ‘Workers Press’ of Saturday, December 20, 1969. . refute the facts I have set out above; to refute them in the only admissible way in a society of good men—to pub- lish my statement and answer it. If this is not done, I can only conclude that the authors agree with the facts exposed here and with the conclusions that follow from these facts, This means that, without waiting for an answer to this statement, I consider it my right to invite my colleagues participating in this discussion to request collectively that the Procuracy of the USSR begin a criminal investigation of Stalin (Dzhugashvili), J. V., who stands accused of the aforementioned crimes. I am convinced that a post- humous conviction is possible and legal, just as posthumous rehabilitations are possible and legal. Price 12s. 6¢ 37

[p061] 14 Wives of slain militants were arrested and often shot: (the wives of Tukhachev- sky, Uborevich, Postyshev, Kossior, Eikhe, Gamarnik, Kork, Chubar, Chelekhes, Agranov, Dybenko, Vareikis, and others). Going to the point of madness Stalin arrested the wives of his companions Kalinin, Molotov, Poskreby- shev. ] 5 Young children of the purge victims were arrested and kept in camps and prisons including those of Postyschev, Kossior, Lyub- chenko, Medved, Kamenev, Garkavy, Bauman, Kadatsky, Tomsky, Sosnovsky, and Popov. Postyschev’s eldest son, Valentin, as well as the sons of Evdokimov and Lakoba, was shot. 16 In some camps hundreds of prisoners were shot without trial or investigation (the Garaninchtchina camp on Kolyma). 17 Almost all the Men- sheviks, anarchists, bun- dists, Borotbists, SR members and Left SR members who, for the most part, had left political life, were physically annihilated in the 1930s and early 1940s. 1 The author of these lines, having spent part of his time in the North Ural camp of the MGB (1941-1942), is a witness to the fact that most of the political prisoners voluntered for the front and in answer to their request the authorities condemned them to die of hunger, which, aside from the other questions in- volved, weakened our front. l On Stalin’s orders our government refused to participate in the International Red Cross organization’s aid for prisoners of war. Under our military statutes captivity is equivalent to treason. Prisoners were deprived of material help and control over their conditions which con- tributed to the loss of many good men (most of them were wounded, unconscious and un- armed when taken prisoner). OUR AIM is not to formulate all the accusations against Stalin which he deserves. But the small fraction of his crimes set out in this declaration already constitutes a substan- tial body of crime under articles 64, 68-17, 69, 74, 88-1, 88-2, 102-17, 107, 113-17, 126- 17, 130, 131, 170, 171, 229, 230, 247 of the Penal Code of the RSFSR. If we examine article 38 of the penal code (‘extenuating circumstances’) we find no reason to lighten the sentence in Stalin’s case. On the basis of article 39 of the Penal Code (‘circumstances aggravating responsibility’): ‘1. Crimes committed by a person who has already com- mitted another crime... ‘4. Crime with serious con- sequences ‘5. Crime committed London, S.W.4 Documents from the Soviet Opposition against a minor, an old person or a defenceless person ‘7. Crime committed with particular cruelty and humilia- tion to the victim’, we do not doubt the necessity of using article 39 of the Penal Code against the accused J. V. Stalin. It is equally necessary to use article 36 against Stalin (‘deprivation of military and other ranks, as well as decora- tions, medals and honorary titles’), because this measure provides for punishment of serious crimes. On what basis are the authors previously mentioned and the editorial board of ‘Kommunist’ rehabilitating the greatest criminal our country has known in its recent history? I challenge the authors of the articles in question to Reprinted from ‘Workers Press’ of Saturday, December 20,. 1969. ° refute the facts I have set out above; to refute them in the only admissible way in a society of good men—to pub- lish my statement and answer it. If this is not done, I can only conclude that the authors agree with the facts exposed here and with the conclusions that follow from these facts. This means that, without waiting for an answer to this statement, I consider it my right to invite my colleagues participating in this discussion to request collectively that the Procuracy of the USSR begin a criminal investigation of Stalin (Dzhugashvili), J. V., who stands accused of the aforementioned crimes. I am convinced that a post- humous conviction is possible and legal, just as posthumous rehabilitations are possible and legal. Price 12s. 6 37

[p062] Funeral oration at the grave of — Alexis Kosterin Reprinted from ‘Workers Press’ of Saturday, October 11, 1969. PIOTR YAKIR is an historian from Moscow and the son of Army Commander I. E. Yakir, who was assassinated by Stalin. Piotr himself, as the son of an ‘enemy of the people’, spent 17 years in a concentration camp from the age of 14 to the age of 31. ” MANY TRUE things have already heen said about the dead man. also loved him and would like to speak about him without hold- ing back. ‘I would like to recall my meetings and discussions with him; those meetings which now seem to have been so 38 few and far between. At my last meeting with him I even arrived late. I went to see him at his invitation; that was when it was most possible to have a conversation with him. I won’t take too much time away from those who are waiting their turn to share their sorrow with friends. I'll only describe one side of Alexis Kosterin, a side that I don’t see in many of his gener- ation. I want to talk about his fidelity to his ideals. This fidelity he preserved pure and unshaken from his youth to the last sigh; to the last moment he raised his fist to ask for oxygen because he could no longer speak. I know that among the millions of men_ ruthlessly wiped out by the Stalinist extermination machine, there were many-—perhaps the majority—who, because they kept their faith in Marxism- Leninism, had to cross the Styx. [Traditionally the entry into Hell.] But many of this generation survived. The majority of these survivors were not victims of repression. And all, all be- trayed their ideals. A few isolated men, crouch- ing in their corners and hold- ing their faith deep in their hearts do not change the appalling picture of the de- generacy of an entire genera- tion. Some of the representa- tives of this generation, of course, speak about ‘sacred ideals’ to which they swear fidelity but they serve the Stalinists faithfully, the Stalin- ists who mock ideals whatever they are. Many of these flunkeys hope to get a few scraps from the leftovers off the banquet table of our rulers. The Christian ethic calls such people Phari- sees. Others behave like this out of fear. They are repulsive hypocrites who in public praise and flatter the powerful and then turn around and criticize them in private confidences. Some of them, having al- ready fouled themselves like this, then don’t hesitate to denounce their erstwhile and trusting confidantes when they sense danger. Most of these people are fanatics and petty bourgeois. They have never read the works of the creators of Marx- ist-Leninist theory; they are stuffed with prejudices and ready to dress up any drivel with the name of Marxism- Leninism, socialism, commun- ism and other ‘isms’ in order to receive their credentials from the authorities. They will support all the undertakings of those in power including exploits worthy of the Black Hundreds; they are ready to do even better. These are the people who cried ‘crucify him’ to Pontius Pilate; the people who flood the streets of our cities and villages like a tidal wave, howling for the execution of the ‘enemies of the people’. This is how they dealt with Kosterin in his Party organ- ization and in the Presidium of the Writers’ Union. How could one not be Struck by the strength of this man’s spirit; this man who preserved his convictions in the midst of this dark mass of people, gangrenous with preju- dices and preconceived ideas; this man who preserved his convictions through the tor- tures of the ‘house of Vaskov’, the horrible Magadan where he was shut up in May 1938 and Kolyma_ concentration camp ; preserved his _ convictions through ‘re-education’ by the Pharisees and hypocrites and the howls of the fanatics and petty bourgeoisie. Looking at the life of this man one can only say, ‘Truly, the men of October were a strong generation’. I loved Alexis Kosterin be- cause of his great spirit; I loved him as a citizen. An em- pathy which flowed from our somewhat shared destinies no doubt played a part too. But I loved him particularly for the clarity of his thought, for his fidelity to his ideas. It’s no secret that many who endured the same trials as Alexis Kosterin lost faith in the ideals they had fought for in their youth. They considered the ideas, and not only men, responsible for what happened to them. Alexis Kosterin drew other lessons. When we were to- gether he spoke to me like this: 4 Marxism-Leninism, no more than any other ideological system, is not totally pure nor genuine in all its parts. It car- ries with it the mark of the individuality of its creators — who were men and not gods— and of the period in which it was created—and we know times change. There is therefore nothing astonishing if men who special- ize in this study find in the works of Marx, Engels and Lenin all the quotations neces- sary to justify the blackest deeds of all the Stalins, Krush- ehove and Brezhnevs. It’s a very easy thing to do our country, given the methd of quotation used here; 7 method that shatters the thought expressed in a passage, not once but often into many fragments. Fourth International, Summer 1970

[p063] Funeral oration at the grave of Alexis Kosterin Reprinted from ‘Workers Press’ of Saturday, October 11, 1969. PIOTR YAKIR is an historian from Moscow and the son of Army Commander I. E. Yakir, who was assassinated by Stalin. Piotr himself, as the son of an ‘enemy of the people’, spent 17 years in a concentration camp from the age of 14 to the age of 31. w MANY TRUE things have already been said about the dead man. also loved him and would like to speak about him without hold- ing back. ‘I would like to recall my meetings and discussions with him; those meetings which now seem to have been so 38 few and far between. At my last meeting with him I even arrived late. I went to see him at his invitation; that was when it was most possible to have a conversation with him. I won’t take too much time away from those who are waiting their turn to share their sorrow with friends. I'll only describe one side of Alexis Kosterin, a side that I don’t see in many of his gener- ation. I want to talk about his fidelity to his ideals. This fidelity he preserved pure and unshaken from his youth to the last sigh; to the last moment he raised his fist to ask for oxygen because he could no longer speak. I know that among the millions of men_ ruthlessly wiped out by the Stalinist extermination machine, there were many-—perhaps the majority—who, because they kept their faith in Marxism- Leninism, had to cross the Styx. [Traditionally the entry into Hell.] But many of this generation survived. The majority of these survivors were not victims of repression. And all, all be- trayed their ideals. A few isolated men, crouch- ing in their corners and hold- ing their faith deep in their hearts do not change the appalling picture of the de- generacy of an entire genera- tion. Some of the representa- tives of this generation, of course, speak about ‘sacred ideals’ to which they swear fidelity but they serve the Stalinists faithfully, the Stalin- ists who mock ideals whatever they are. Many of these flunkeys hope to get a few scraps from the leftovers off the banquet table of our rulers. The Christian ethic calls such people Phari- sees. Others behave like this out of fear. They are repulsive hypocrites who in public praise and flatter the powerful and then turn around and criticize them in private confidences. Some of them, having al- ready fouled themselves like this, then don’t hesitate to denounce their erstwhile and trusting confidantes when they sense danger. Most of these people are fanatics and petty bourgeois. They have never read the works of the creators of Marx- ist-Leninist theory; they are stuffed with prejudices and ready to dress up any drivel with the name of Marxism- Leninism, socialism, commun- ism and other ‘isms’ in order to receive their credentials from the authorities. They will support all the undertakings of those in power including exploits worthy of the Black Hundreds; they are ready to do even better. These are the people who cried ‘crucify him’ to Pontius Pilate; the people who flood the streets of our cities and villages like a tidal wave, howling for the execution of the ‘enemies of the people’. This is how they dealt with Kosterin in his Party organ- ization and in the Presidium of the Writers’ Union. How could one not be struck by the strength of this man’s spirit; this man who preserved his convictions in the midst of this dark mass of People, gangrenous with preju- dices and preconceived ideas; this man who preserved his convictions through the tor- tures of the ‘house of Vaskov’, the horrible Magadan where he was shut up in May 1938 and Kolyma concentration camp ; preserved his _ convictions through ‘re-education’ by the Pharisees and hypocrites and the howls of the fanatics and petty bourgeoisie. Looking at the life of this man one can only say, ‘Truly, the men of October were a strong generation’. I loved Alexis Kosterin be- cause of his great spirit; I loved him as a citizen. An em- pathy which flowed from our somewhat shared destinies no doubt played a part too. But I loved him particularly for the clarity of his thought, for his fidelity to his ideas. It’s no secret that many who endured the same trials as Alexis Kosterin Jost faith in the ideals they had fought for in their youth. They considered the ideas, and not only men, responsible for what happened to them. Alexis Kosterin drew other lessons. When we were to- gether he spoke to me like this : 4 Marxism-Leninism, no more than any other ideological system, is not totally pure nor genuine in all its parts. It car- ries with it the mark of the individuality of its creators — who were men and not gods— and of the period in which it was created—and we know times change. There is therefore nothing astonishing if men who special- ize in this study find in the works of Marx, Engels and Lenin all the quotations neces- sary to justify the blackest deeds of all the Stalins, Krush- eheve and Rrezhnevs. It’s a very easy thing to do our country, given the metho of quotation used here; /¢ method that shatters the thought expressed in a passage, not once but often into many fragments. Fourth International, Summer 1970

[p064] The quotation is often com- pleted with statements entirely strange to the original text. This is done with impunity because in our country no organ of the press would dare to con- tradict such falsifications. There are many volunteers ready to shovel out and distribute ” this pre-digested food. This exploitation of the ideas and names. sacred to our people has created the ‘moral’ base on which Stalinism in the past and neo-Stalinism today have developed. It’s been diffi- cult even for me to free myself of this hallucination. For a long time I too thought that the policies carried out consciously to consolidate Stalin’s personal dictatorship were a series of errors of ‘de- tail’? committed in the local and Central Committees. I fought against these ‘errors’ of ‘detail’ and ‘deviations’. I always emerged from these struggles scarred and bruised but sometimes luck was with me and I threw myself into tilt- ing at windmills again absolutely certain that this was exactly what my duty as a Party mem- ber consisted of. It wasn’t until after 1934, after the assassination of Kirov, that I started to have doubts. But the veil didn’t finally fall from my eyes until the “house of Vaskov”. It was only then that I understood that Marxism- Leninism had been buried in our country and Lenin’s ¢% : party destroyed. I am leaving aside the ques- tion of whether or not his final conclusion is correct. But I must bow before the integrity of this man, his purity, his courage and his incredible fortitude. Imagine a man convinced that in spite of the doctrine they profess, men who hold nothing sacred are leading this country. Imagine that he knows that these leaders will stop at noth- ing to close the mouths of whoever tries to unmask them. As if that were not enough, he also had endured the tor- tures of the ‘house of Vaskov’ and years at the Kolyma con- centration camp If you have imagined all that then "bow your head again to Alexis Kosterin. Without hav- ing time to heal from all he’d endured he intervened on be- half of the Chetchens and the Ingushes. At once the pack of phari- sees, hypocrites and fanatics fell on him. He was again ex- pelled from the Party and he expected his arrest at any moment. A trial beyond com- prehension for those who did not pass through ‘the house of Vaskov’ and Kolyma or through the other numerous camps in our country. But Kosterin survived this new test. There wére communists who defended him, kept him out of prison and got him reinstated in the Party. I speak to all those militants, and above all to one communist whose name I won’t give because I was not authorized to do so—he never forgot, to his last day. Even after this terrible moral test, Alexis Kosterin entered into struggle for his ideals. He intervened on behalf of the Germans in the Lower Volga; on behalf of the Tartars of the Crimea and on behalf of other national minorities. He spoke out against the re-birth of Stalinism. ... But how can I enumerate all that this man with a _half- broken heart but such a strong soul was able to do? He tried to make us, his friends and companions at arms, share his the leadership the death of A Kirov to begin the infamous Documents from the Soviet Opposition faith. I remember one of our conversations in which he countered our objections with the following arguments: $é Of course the so-called ad- vanced capitalist countries have outstripped us in social development by an entire epoch. They have satisfied the material and spiritual needs of their citizens much better than we, they have guaranteed the free development of the individual better than we. But have they attained the ideal ? Can a man whose ‘life does not satisfy him whether because of birth or unhappy circum- stances—can he hope to break out of the vicious circle in which he is caught ?. Have they created equal con- ditions for the development of — everyone ? Has misery and crime com- pletely disappeared ? Have social, national, racial inequalities been liquidated? What do you propose as: an alternative to this system which we see is far from ¢ being perfect ? He -was silent for several minutes then answered him- self : $ The only alternative to this svstem and to Stalinist Kosterin told Yakir that he began to have doubts in 1934 about after the assassination of Kirov (above). Stalin used urge of the Old Bolsheviks in the "Mo scow Trials... ‘socialism’ is Marxist-Leninist socialism, pulled out of the mud, regenerated and developing in liberty. ' How full of joy he was at the birth of democracy in Czechoslovakia! Hearing the news about the process of .démocratization. there, he burst’ out: 4 You see! That’s what I told you! There it is, the alter- native to capitalism ¢ and to Stalinism He had complete confidence in the Czech Communist Party and the Czech people. 4 But Czechoslovakia is not Russia! People there know what democracy” is. They will not endure the barbarism Yorced on them for long. Stalin ¢ made a mistake. After a pause he added ironically : - - 6 He swallowed a delicacy that his barbaric ¢ . stomach couldn’t digest. $ Czechoslovakia is not Touva or Mongolia! It’s an ad- vanced European country with the richest democratic tradi- tions. I think that little Czecho- slovakia will have enough moral strength to sweep the whole socialist world ¢% along with it. The Soviet intervention in Czechoslovakia marked him deeply. I believe this intervention brought the fatal end closer by putting too heavy a burden on his heart. He followed the evolution of events in Czechoslovakia closely. He seemed to want to hold back the disease that was ‘keeping him in his bed so that he could fly to this people he believed’: in. and become a soldier i in their ranks. ‘Until his death, until his last sigh, he believed in the victory of the Czechoslovak people because he believed in the strength of the ideas that illuminated the way they had taken and which had. illumin- -ated his whole life. I bow once again before the strength of this incredible spirit, before his courage, and before this fidelity to his ideals. I ask you to join me. I would like to be like him; I would like those close to me, family and friends, to be like him. 39

[p065] DOCUMENTS FROM THE On ALEXIS KOSTERIN’S 72nd birthday PIOTR GRIGORENKO’S