p March 30, 1911

p Comrade delegates, dear guests,

p Five years have passed since the 23rd Congress of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union.

p These have been years of our people’s intense labour. In implementing the plans outlined by the Party, the Soviet people have scored great successes along all the main lines of communist construction.

p These have been years in which our socialist economy took another great stride forward. The volume of industrial production has increased considerably. Agriculture has been growing steadily. New frontiers have been reached in the development of science and technology, and their latest achievements were being applied on an ever growing scale. On this basis we have succeeded in materially advancing in the direction which ultimately expresses the main meaning of our Party’s activity—towards further raising the level of the welfare and culture of the whole Soviet people.

p These have been years of successful development of socialist social relations and Soviet democracy, years of the further flourishing of the fraternal friendship of the peoples of the USSR and of considerable strengthening of the political and defence might of our great country—the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (Applause.)

p In the sphere of international development these have been years of great socio-political changes, years of sharp confrontation between the forces of peace, freedom and progress, and the forces of oppression, reaction and aggression. More than once the horizons of the globe have been 326 clouded with the danger of war, but on every occasion imperialist encroachments met with resolute rebuff.

p The Soviet Union and the fraternal socialist countries have made a big and active contribution to the struggle for peace and the security of nations. (Applause.} Our country’s international positions have become even more secure, and the role of the world socialist system has increased. The great alliance of the three main revolutionary forces of our day—socialism, the international working-class movement, and the peoples’ national liberation struggle—has continued to grow and gain in depth.

p The past five-year period has been one of further growth and strengthening of our great Leninist Party, further consolidation of its ties with the people, and enhancement of its leading role in the whole life of Soviet society. In these years, the Party has had to tackle a great many formidable tasks. Summing up the experience accumulated in communist construction, the Party has formulated a principled and realistic policy which has been met with approval and unanimously supported by the whole Soviet people. (Prolonged applause.}

p These have been years of tremendous political upswing and labour enthusiasm of the Soviet people on the occasion of two great anniversaries—the 50th anniversary of the October Revolution, and the centenary of the birth of V. I. Lenin (applause}—years of ever more active participation by broad masses of working people in the practical implementation of the plans outlined by the Party. All the Soviet people regard the 24th Congress of the Communist Party as an outstanding event in their lives, and have marked it with concrete deeds and fresh big achievements. (Applause.}

p At its 24th Congress, our Leninist Party finds itself full of vigour, enriched with new experience and monolithically united, fully aware of the scale and importance of what has already been achieved, and confident in its strength and the correctness of the prospects mapped out for our further advance. (Stormy, prolonged applause.}

Now comrades, allow me to deal with the results of the work done by the Central Committee and the whole Party in the period under review, and of some of the CC’s considerations concerning the Party’s policy and the country’s development over the next few years.