p Drawing upon the Leninist organisational principles and developing them conformably to the new conditions, the 23rd Congress of the CPSU gave clear-cut instructions on the basic problems of Party development. Experience has shown that these were correct and viable instructions.

p The period under review witnessed the further growth of the Party membership and a qualitative improvement of its composition. There are now in the CPSU 14,455,321 persons, of whom 13,810,089 are members and 645,232 are probationary members. Nine per cent of the country’s adult population are Communists. The Party composition is: 40.1 per cent workers, 15.1 per cent collective farmers, and 44.8 per cent office workers. Here it must be borne in mind that more than two-thirds of these office workers are engineers, agronomists, teachers, doctors, scientific workers, and workers in literature and art.

p Three million people have been admitted to the CPSU since the 23rd Congress. Of these almost 1,600,000 or more than half are workers. In large industrial areas such as Moscow, Leningrad, Sverdlovsk, Gorky, Donetsk, Karaganda and some other regions 60-70 per cent of the probationary members are workers. The Congress instructions that the leading place in the Party’s social composition should 428 belong to the working class have thus been consistently carried out. We shall continue this line because it fully conforms to our Party’s nature and to the place and role of the working class in Soviet society. (Prolonged applause.)

p It must be noted that Party organisations have become more attentive to the question of enrolment into the Party and are making more demands of those who wish to join the Party. As a result, there has been a certain diminution of the number of people joining the CPSU. Whereas an average of 760,000 people were annually accepted into the Party as probationary members in the interim between the 22nd and 23rd Congresses, the annual average was 600,000 in the period between the 23rd and 24th Congresses.

p In this connection it must be re-emphasised that the improvement of the qualitative composition of its ranks must remain one of the Party’s cardinal concerns. Excessive preoccupation with the enrolment of new members and an indiscriminate approach, which, regrettably, are still to be found in some organisations, run counter to the Leninist principles of Party development. Our task is to exert a regulating influence on the growth of the Party ranks, replenish them on the basis of individual selection of the most worthy representatives of the working class, the collectivefarm peasantry and the intelligentsia, and make sure that the Party composition allows the CPSU to carry out its tasks in the best possible way.

p The Party cleanses its ranks of people who violate the Programme and Rules of the CPSU. It must be noted that the Party organisations have drawn correct conclusions from the instructions of the 23rd Congress and have begun to rid themselves more resolutely of those who violate Party or state discipline, or abuse their office, whose behaviour casts a slur on the name of Communist. In future, too, we must not allow a conciliatory attitude to those who behave incorrectly. (Applause.) Concern for the purity of the Party ranks is the duty of all Party organisations and of every Communist. (Applause.)

p Comrades, all these years our Party and its Central Committee have been undeviatingly following a line of further developing inner-Party democracy, observance of the Leninist norms of Party life and increase of the activity of Communists. The principle of the electivity and accountability of leading organs is implemented consistently in 429 the Party, and the spirit of collective leadership and collective work has been consolidated. Questions concerning the Party’s work are discussed and decided on a broad democratic basis.

p During the period under review there have been 16 plenary meetings of the Central Committee of the CPSU. I spoke of the basic questions examined at the plenary meetings and of the importance of the decisions passed by them when I dwelt on various aspects of the Party’s work. Meetings of the Politburo of the CC to consider the most important and pressing problems of the Party’s home and foreign policy are held regularly once a week. Every week there is also a meeting of the Secretariat of the CC, whose attention is centred chiefly on the selection of cadres and on verifying fulfilment of assignments. Local Party committees likewise hold regular plenary meetings and bureau sittings and operate as organs of collective leadership.

p The democratic principles in the life and work of the Party were strikingly manifested also during the latest election campaign. The Party meetings were attended by over 90 per cent of the Communists, and more than three million people spoke at these meetings. The meetings, the Party conferences and the congresses of the Communist Parties of the Union republics were marked by great activity and a principled discussion of problems. At these meetings, conferences and congresses there was a purposeful exchange of opinion by Communists on the Party’s policy and affairs, on the work of their own organisations, on successes and shortcomings, on unresolved problems and conclusions for the future. They showed that all the Party organisations wholeheartedly approve and support the Central Committee’s internal and foreign policy. (Stormy, prolonged applause.) The monolithic unity and solidarity of the ranks of our great Leninist Party were demonstrated once again. (Stormy, prolonged applause.)

p Many new people who had given a good account of themselves in practical work in recent years have been elected to the leading organs of Party organisations. They are workers, collective farmers, representatives of all the social strata and groups and of all the nationalities of the country. Among them are people working in different state, social, economic and cultural sectors. A total of 423,000 workers and collective farmers have been elected 430 to the bureaus of Party organisations and Party committees. This is a much greater number than two years ago. Of the members and alternate members of district and town Party committees nearly 40 per cent are workers and collective farmers. There is now a larger number of workers and collective farmers also in the regional and territorial committees and in the Central Committees of the Communist Parties of the Union republics.

p During the period under review there has been an improvement in inner-Party information. The Central Committee of the CPSU regularly informed the local Party organs, the aktiv and all Communists of the key problems of the Party’s work and of the situation in and outside the country.

p The information going from bottom to top, up to the Central Committee of the CPSU, has become more operational and purposeful. Such information helps to get better bearings in the situation and to take the experience and opinion of Party organisations and the working people more fully into account when resolving problems. We should continue to improve inner-Party information, make it more efficient and use it more widely as an instrument of leadership and a means of education and control.

p Criticism and self-criticism, a tested method of eradicating shortcomings and improving the work, has been further developed in the practice of the Party organisations. Most Party committees have become more attentive to the critical remarks and suggestions of Communists and have intensified control over their realisation. At the same time, it must be emphasised that not all Party organisations and their leading organs have drawn the proper conclusions from the instructions of the 23rd Congress on this question. Some leaders lack restraint and tact, the ability to hear critical remarks out attentively and correctly react to criticism. But those who underestimate or ignore criticism wittingly doom themselves to failure. Broad development of principled criticism and self-criticism is a sign of political health of the Party organisations, of their correct understanding of their duty towards the Party and the people.

p The development of inner-Party democracy is inseparable from strengthening Party discipline. Experience confirms that in many ways the Party’s strength and ability to function are determined by how consistently and correctly 431 the principle of democratic centralism is implemented. Both anarchic lack of discipline, presented as democracy, and bureaucratic centralisation, hindering the promotion of the initiative and activity of Communists, are equally injurious to the Marxist-Leninist Party.

p The work of the Party Control Committee under the CC CPSU has become more diversified. The Committee has begun to make a deeper analysis of questions related to the strengthening of Party discipline and to react more promptly to cases of misconduct by Communists. The Party Commissions of the Central Committees of the Communist Parties of the Union republics and of territorial, regional, town and district committees have also become more active. It is important to continue strengthening discipline in the Party and secure the unconditional fulfilment of the requirements of the CPSU Programme and Rules by every Communist.

p The question of changing Party membership cards has now arisen before our Party, and on this point I should like to state some considerations. Seventeen years have passed since the last change of cards. The period for which Party cards were issued has run out. It would be correct if we approached the change of Party cards not formally but as an important organisational and political measure. The change should be organised in such a, way as to further strengthen the Party and increase the activity and discipline of Communists. It would be also possible to satisfy the wish of many Communists that the Party card should bear the image of Vladimir Ilyich Lenin, founder and leader of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union. (Stormy, prolonged applause?)

p Comrades, the strength of our Party lies in the high ideological level, activity and dedication of the Communists. Today our Party is leading the people in the fulfilment of great creative tasks. Its moral prestige will be the higher, the loftier the ideological and moral qualities of every Communist.

p Regrettably, we still have Party members who do not show themselves to be real political fighters. When they come across shortcomings and other negative phenomena they pretend to notice nothing, adopting the position of philistines, who say, "This does not concern me, let others worry about it.” There are also some whose activity is 432 for purposes of show, of creating an outward impression. They talk more than others about the need for doing one thing or another, always lecture and exhort everybody. But as soon as the time for practical action comes they manage to remain on the sidelines. (Applause.}

Communists are more and more emphatically condemning this sort of behaviour. The Party cannot accept passivity and indifference. If you are a Communist your duty is not to shirk difficulties, not to encourage backward attitudes, but to be a politically conscious and active fighter of the Party. (Stormy applause.) Always and everywhere— in work, social activities, study and everyday life—a Communist must remain a Communist and worthily bear the lofty title of member of our Leninist Party. (Stormy, prolonged applause.)