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p The Great October Socialist Revolution for the first time opened up the possibility of introducing democratic principles in interstate relations. It exerted a tremendous impact on international relations, demonstrated the inevitability of the ultimate complete triumph of the new international relations and laid the foundations for socialist foreign policy and diplomacy, which are opposed to those in exploiting society.

p Prior to the October Revolution the world had no system of international relations which would not be based on plunder and violence, enslavement and oppression. "The art and activity of all hitherto existing rulers and their diplomats in essence resolved to setting nations at loggerheads, to utilising one nation for oppressing another,"  [275•1  Engels wrote. Born of revolution, the Soviet state was the first in world history to proclaim and apply a policy of peace and friendship among nations and states, a policy which best suits the interests of all working people. It became the 276 bulwark of peace and progress, and won the respect and affection of hundreds of millions of people.

p The victorious socialist revolution in Russia at once faced numerous internal and external enemies; the first state of workers and peasants arose in a capitalist encirclement. The young Soviet Republic had hardly withdrawn from the imperialist war and concluded the Brest Peace with Germany than it had to fight reactionary rebellions and repulse British, American, French, Japanese and other interventionists.

p The fundamental principles of Soviet foreign policy were crystallised under incredibly difficult conditions. Nevertheless the young Soviet state, encircled by a fiery ring of fronts, fighting a lifeand-death battle and gripped in the vice of an economic blockade, succeeded in formulating and undeviatingly pursuing its own foreign-policy programme. This was another manifestation of the vitality of the new socialist system, of MarxismLeninism.

p By the time the socialist revolution occurred in Russia Lenin had scientifically elaborated the main principles and trends of socialism’s foreign policy. He solved the primary problems of the Communist Party’s strategy and tactics, and expounded his views on the main issues of the working class’s international policy. Consequently, by the time the Russian proletariat took power, the Party had already been equipped with a MarxistLeninist doctrine of socialist foreign policy.

p The foreign policy and diplomacy of socialism differ radically from their bourgeois counterparts. Capitalist countries practically have always had foreign-policy aims which above all require war, and not diplomacy for their accomplishment. 277 Diplomacy to a large extent is called upon to serve a war policy—either in preparing for war or ensuring the most favourable conditions for it, or securing the best peace terms whether as a result of victory or defeat. If diplomatic means are not employed directly for preparing, waging and ending military conflicts, they, according to a remark imputed to the noted French diplomat Jules Cambon, help to achieve victory without resort to arms.

p Such an approach is totally alien to the foreign policy of socialism. This was demonstrated by the very first international steps of the Soviet state. The main content of Soviet foreign policy has from the very outset been determined by the campaign for peace. This was a struggle not only for deliverance from imperialist aggression—first on the part of German imperialism, then, the British, American, French and Japanese interventionists—but also for the establishment and consolidation of conditions that are the only normal ones for human society and fully meet the requirements of progressive development. In the appeal "To the Citizens of Russia!”, written by Lenin on October 25 (November 7), 1917, he, in defining "the cause for which the people have fought”, put in the first place "the immediate offer of a democratic peace".  [277•1 

p The Soviet Republic began its foreign-policy activity by appealing to the peoples and governments that took part in the war to conclude a just and democratic peace, and by adopting the Decree on Peace which proclaimed aggressive war the greatest of crimes against humanity.

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p The Decree on Peace, written by Lenin and adopted by the Second Congress of Soviets on the day after the victory of the October Revolution, was a document of historic importance. To this day its principles determine the leading line of Soviet foreign policy. Other socialist countries, too, are guided by the ideas of peace, peaceful coexistence and international co-operation which are embodied in the Decree. These ideas have to a certain extent also influenced the foreign policy of a number of young states brought into being by the national liberation struggle in former colonies and semi-colonies.

p Lenin’s Decree on Peace introduced in international relations for the first time the concept of a just, democratic peace without annexation, i.e., without the seizure of foreign lands, without the forcible incorporation of foreign nationalities, and without indemnities. Lenin gave a classical definition of annexation: "the government conceives the annexation or seizure of foreign lands to mean every incorporation of a small or weak nation into a large or powerful state without the precisely, clearly and voluntarily expressed consent and wish of that nation, irrespective of the time when such forcible incorporation took place, irrespective also of the degree of development or backwardness of the nation forcibly annexed to the given state, or forcibly retained within its borders, and irrespective, finally, of whether this nation is in Europe or in distant, overseas countries.”  [278•1 

p This Decree established the link between the struggle for peace and the principle of proletarian 279 internationalism. It appealed "in particular ... to the class-conscious workers" of Britain, France and Germany and voiced confidence that they would "understand the duty that now faces them of saving mankind from the horrors of war and its consequences" and "by comprehensive, determined and supremely vigorous action, will help us to conclude peace successfully, and at the same time emancipate the labouring and exploited masses of our population from all forms of slavery and all forms of exploitation".  [279•1 

p By the Decree on Peace the Soviet Government renounced secret diplomacy and proclaimed a new principle, unknown in the practices of capitalist states,—the principle of conducting international negotiations "quite openly in full view of the whole people”.  [279•2  It announced the forthcoming open publication of all secret treaties which had been concluded by the tsarist and Provisional governments with other imperialist states. Emphasising the significance of renouncing secret diplomacy, the Soviet Government noted on November 9 (22), 1917: "The abolition of secret diplomacy is the primary requisite for honesty, for a people’s, truly democratic foreign policy. Soviet power sets itself the task of pursuing such a policy.”  [279•3 

p This step was of fundamental significance because it stressed that the time when people’s destinies were decided behind their backs, in the quiet of diplomatic chancelleries, was gone for ever.

p Karl Marx wrote that it was the duty of the 280 working class to master itself the mysteries of international politics and to take an active part in international affairs. The government born of the Great October Revolution was the first to apply these behests. The frantic anti-Soviet campaign launched by the West in response to the publication of the secret treaties was caused not only by the exposure of the imperialist reactionary schemes. It was also evoked by fear that this step would awaken the initiative of the masses, that the October Revolution would lift to unprecedented heights their role in the struggle for solving international problems on the basis of justice and genuine democracy.

p The victory of the socialist revolution in Russia gave the people a great say in deciding the destinies of the world, creating the prerequisites for their active participation in international affairs, in solving questions of peace and war—this is the distinction of international development after 1917.

p Socialist foreign policy, like home policy, is intrinsically honest and sincere. "Sincerity in politics, that is, in that sphere of human relations which involves, not individuals, but the millions, is a correspondence between word and deed that lends itself to verification.”  [280•1 

p From the very first days of the Soviet state millions of people saw with their own eyes that its words were matched by its deeds. The very fact that Soviet diplomacy openly and directly appealed not only to governments but also to peoples, and everything it said was close and clear to the working people, gave it great force.

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p Lenin, the founder of the Soviet state and the Communist Party, was also the initiator of socialist foreign policy and the science of international politics.

p The bourgeoisie, even when it was at its apex, could not rise above Otto Bismarck’s famous formula which defined politics as "the art of the possible”. Afterwards it abandoned even that approach. Foreign policy was "the field for the display of character and craft" and opposed to science. A prominent German ideologist E. Banse wrote that "these two things have nothing in common and probably are mutually exclusive".  [281•1 

p Only Marxism-Leninism, which armed the proletariat with knowledge of the prospects of development, was able to place foreign policy on a scientific basis. G. V. Chicherin, a prominent statesman who had taken part in the creation of socialist diplomacy, defined it in the following way in 1923: "The methods of Soviet diplomacy set it sharply apart from the old diplomacy and, therefore, from the diplomacy of other countries. It acts with the help of Marxist analysis of history and, therefore, seeks out the main, deepest trends in contemporary political and economic relations. Through present-day relations it tries to perceive the main driving forces of contemporary events in order to adapt its activity to their progressive movement.” Soviet diplomacy sees its primary task not in temporary combinations but "in shaping its policy on the basic principles of history so as to allow, notwithstanding temporary obstacles resulting from separate slips, the 282 insuperable power of the main world historical streams to carry forward on their waves the ship of Soviet policy and the historical destiny of the working people of Russia".  [282•1 

p Lenin pointed out that it was fundamentally wrong, un-Marxist and unscientific to single out foreign policy from policy in general, let alone counterpose foreign policy to home policy.

p Both the home-policy aims of a socialist country, the building of socialism and communism, and the aims and tasks of its foreign policy express the interests and aspirations of the working class and all the working people of the world and meet the innermost hopes of the nations. The very origin of a new, socialist, Leninist foreign policy and diplomacy struck a heavy blow at the diplomatic activity of the exploiting classes and greatly limited their possibilities of disuniting the peoples, setting them at loggerheads and inflicting harm on them.

p The first steps of the Soviet Republic in foreign policy clearly showed that "the Bolsheviks are establishing completely different international relations which make it possible for all oppressed peoples to rid themselves of the imperialist yoke".  [282•2 

p Such is the essence of the Declaration of Rights of the Peoples of Russia (November 15, 1917) and the appeal of the Soviet Government To All the Toiling Moslems of Russia and the East ( December 3, 1917), that were issued after the Decree on Peace.

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p These documents, which embodied in state acts the great propositions of Leninism on national and colonial questions, preserve their great significance to this day. It was the first official condemnation of the colonial system, coming from the Government of a great power. It was a political programme, which for the first time envisaged the immediate and practical implementation of the principle of self-determination,

p “The Declaration of Rights of the Peoples of Russia" solemnly proclaimed absolutely new principles to be implemented at once: the equality and sovereignty of the peoples of Russia, their right to free self-determination (up to and including secession and formation of independent states), abolition of all national and national-religious privileges and restrictions, and free development of the national minorities and ethnographic groups inhabiting the territory of Russia.

p In the very first days after the October Revolution the Soviet Government annulled all the unequal treaties and agreements without exception which had been concluded by the tsarist government with Eastern countries, recognised their inalienable rights and established with them relations based on the principles of equality and respect for national independence and state sovereignty. In December 1917, the Council of People’s Commissars, "in full conformity with the principle of the right of nations to self- determination”, recognised the independence of the Republic of Finland.

p The socialist state clearly put up against the imperialist policy of enslaving and robbing the colonies, of turning independent countries into dependencies, its policy of fully and actually 284 liberating the oppressed peoples and establishing really equal relations with them. The Great October Socialist Revolution broke in Russia the chains of national oppression, eliminated national inequality for ever, promoted the fraternity of nations and elevated the formerly oppressed peoples to the status of free and equal nations.

p This development naturally accelerated the upsurge of the national liberation movement of the oppressed peoples the world over. The October Revolution radically changed the international position of colonial and dependent countries in the East, because it created a new alignment of forces, more favourable for the peoples in these countries. Before the October Revolution the peoples of the colonial world had to deal with the united front of imperialist powers, including tsarist Russia, which pursued a ruthless colonial policy in the East. The victory of the revolution in Russia breached the front of the colonial powers. From its very first days the Soviet state which arose on the ruins of imperialist Russia rejected a colonial policy, recognised the right of all the Eastern peoples to independence and freedom, and fully sided with them in their struggle against colonialism.

p In the appeal To All the Toiling Moslems of Russia and the East, the Soviet Government stressed: "It is not from Russia and her revolutionary government that your enslavement is to be expected, but from the European imperialist robbers who have turned your fatherland into their plundered and despoiled ‘colony’.”  [284•1 

p The oppressed peoples found their sincere friend in the Soviet Republic. The October 285 Revolution became a great source of inspiration and moral, and not only moral, support for the fighters against colonialism. The ideas of the October Revolution played a great role in spreading the national liberation movement in Eastern countries and in accelerating the disintegration of imperialism’s colonial system. The October Revolution, which proclaimed entirely new principles of relations with Eastern countries, hastened and facilitated the ripening of prerequisites for delivering the Afro-Asian peoples from colonial bondage.

p Thus, with the victory of the revolution and the establishment of the first socialist state in the world, a fundamentally new foreign policy arose, a policy which corresponds to the nature of socialism and is fully aimed at ensuring a lasting peace, consolidating international co-operation, a policy of genuine equality among peoples. With the formation of the world socialist system it has become the policy of a number of states. Its impact on the whole fabric of international relations and the course of world events has been constantly growing. Today this beneficial influence is stronger than ever, because the world socialist system has become considerably stronger, its international prestige has risen, and so has its impact on the destiny of mankind.

p Speaking about the foreign policy of socialist countries, we mean, first, the relations among these countries; second, the relations between socialist countries and the capitalist world; third, the support of the national liberation movement by the socialist countries and their relations with young national states of Asia and Africa, and, fourth, all possible assistance rendered to the development of the world working-class movement.

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p As to the policy toward capitalist countries, it has been, and is, based on the Leninist principle of peaceful coexistence of states belonging to the two different socio-economic systems. Since its first days the Soviet state has adhered to this principle. To this day it forms the basis of the foreign policy of the Soviet state and other socialist states towards capitalist countries.

p The struggle for peace, for introducing the principle of peaceful coexistence into international relations, has been conducted in different historical conditions. Before the Second World War, when the Soviet Union was the only socialist state, it was subjected to numerous attacks from world imperialism, up to open military intervention, and it had to resist the whole front of the imperialist forces. The struggle of the USSR for the prevention of war was closely intertwined with the struggle for the preservation of the great achievements of the October Revolution, for the creation of peaceful conditions for building socialism in the USSR. This struggle was waged by the Soviet people with the active moral support of the working masses of other countries.

p At that time the relationship of forces in the world enabled the ruling circles of the imperialist states to plan all kinds of aggressive ventures against the first socialist state, maintain an atmosphere of tension and confront it with serious difficulties. In campaigning for peaceful coexistence, the Soviet Union strove to preserve peaceful conditions, to prevent war as long as possible, to build socialism and reinforce its defence potential. In other words, peaceful coexistence implied normal political and economic relations between the USSR and capitalist countries. But at that time 287 the ruling circles of capitalist states did not even entertain the idea of peaceful coexistence, of reconciling themselves to the existence of a socialist state.

p Absolutely different conditions for the international co-operation of states with different systems arose after the Second World War. The emergence and advance of the world socialist system blasted finally the bourgeois thesis of the " temporary nature of the Soviet experiment”.

p The new relationship of forces in the world, the great achievements of science and technology raised the problem of peaceful coexistence in a different way. The world socialist system reached in its development a level when it is increasingly exerting decisive influence on the world situation, on the whole course of international events. The Programme of the CPSU states that "socialism, outstripping capitalism in a number of important branches of science and technology, has supplied the peace-loving peoples with powerful material means of curbing imperialist aggression".  [287•1 

p The development of science and technology and the possession of nuclear missiles by a number of countries make the problem of preventing another world war especially acute, and the maintenance and strengthening of peace an issue of vital importance for all peoples.

p The Soviet Union, together with fraternal socialist countries and other peace-loving states, is the mainstay of mankind in the struggle for peace and international security. It is firmly and consistently pursuing a policy of peace. All the activities of the Communist Party and the Soviet 288 Government and their practical steps in foreign affairs are infused with the striving to deliver mankind from a devastating nuclear war. The resolution of the 23rd Congress of the CPSU emphasised that "the socialist countries play a special role in safeguarding the peace. Our Party is convinced that the conclusion of the world communist movement on the possibility to bridle the aggressor and avert a new world war is correct.”  [288•1 

p The principle of peaceful coexistence formulated by Lenin gained wide recognition as the only true way for preserving peace and preventing another world war. It underlies the policy of socialist states in relations with countries of the other socio-economic system. At the same time, a number of non-socialist states has recognised it as a point of departure in relations with countries of the world socialist community. Many bourgeois leaders, taking into account the situation in the world, have also arrived at the conclusion that peaceful coexistence of capitalist and socialist states is a requisite for preventing a nuclear- missile war.

p Here is how the situation was evaluated early in the 1960s by Alois Gerlo, a Belgian scientist, in his work on questions of disarmament and coexistence. Pointing out that the very term " peaceful coexistence" is of a Marxist origin and that not long ago it was regarded as “propaganda” in the West, he writes: "At present the term ‘coexistence’ is utilised by all statesmen both in the West and in the East, and, it may be said, has become a generally accepted term.. .. Today coexistence is a much broader concept than the mere fact that 289 a number of states with different regimes exist. Coexistence is an active concept: it presupposes that states with different social and political regimes ... strive to improve friendly relations.”  [289•1 

p Some imperialist politicians would like to impose on socialist countries a false interpretation of the principle of coexistence, demanding of these countries guarantees against social upheavals in the bourgeois world. For example, G. Catlin, an American sociologist, includes in the concept peaceful coexistence "civil peace" between the exploiters and exploited in the capitalist countries.  [289•2  The socialist states, according to John H. Herz, Professor of Government at New York City College, must "sanction.. . the continuation of what in communist ideology constitutes the rule of the "wealthy few’ over the ’exploited masses’ ".  [289•3  Then, supposedly, peaceful coexistence will be possible.

p No one, naturally, can or will give such “ sanctions” and “guarantees”. Peaceful coexistence is a principle of relations between states which does not extend to relations between the exploited and the exploiters, the oppressed peoples and the colonialists. The question as to what system a country should have is the internal affair of its people, a matter of the balance of the internal social forces. Marxists-Leninists see in peaceful coexistence a special form of the class struggle between socialism and capitalism in the world, a principle whose 290 implementation ensures the most favourable conditions for the world revolutionary process.

p In our days, the popularity of the ideas of peace and the principle of peaceful coexistence is so great that even the most aggressive imperialists who are out to unleash war hide behind false statements about love for peace, distorting in every way the peace-loving policy of the Soviet Union and other socialist countries. The tremendous influence exerted by the socialist countries on international events and the prestige they enjoy among the masses deprive the apologists of imperialism of the possibility to speak openly. Hence the false phrases about imperialism’s "love for peace”. Referring to such artifices Lenin said: "It must be remembered that all over the world there has been an inordinate amount of pacifist talk, an unusual number of pacifist phrases and assurances, and even vows against war and against peace (meaning the peace under the Treaty of Versailles—Ed.), although there is usually little preparedness on the part of the majority of states, especially on the part of the modern civilised states, to take any realistic steps, even the most simple, to ensure peace. On this, and on similar questions, we should like to see a minimum of general assurances, solemn promises and grandiloquent formulas, and the greatest possible number of the simplest and most obvious decisions and measures that would certainly lead to peace, if not to the complete elimination of the war danger.”  [290•1 

The ideologists of the bourgeoisie can put up nothing against the clear-cut, peace-loving foreign policy of the USSR and other socialist countries 291 which meets the vital interests of all the nations, nothing except demagogic outbursts and false statements that for the USSR peaceful coexistence is a "policy of concealed war" and a "temporary manoeuvre”. But, despite all their exertions, the imperialist ideologists cannot refute the generally known fact that struggle for the preservation and strengthening of peace among the nations has been, and remains, the cornerstone of socialist foreign policy.