The Fundamental Causes, Lessons and Revelations of the Soviet Union’s Party Collapse and State Dissolution (Part 2)

II. Important Lessons from the Soviet Union’s Party Collapse and State Dissolution

二、苏联亡党亡国的重要教训

As stated above, the most profound warning and lesson from the Soviet Union’s party collapse and state dissolution is that the Communist Party’s own construction, especially problems within the leadership group, was the root cause.

如前所说，苏联亡党亡国最为深刻的警示和教训，就是共产党的自身建设，特别是党的领导集团内部出了问题。

(1) The Self-Construction of a Major Party Concerns Not Only the Party’s Rise and Fall, but Also the Future and Destiny of the Country, the People, and Even Humanity

（一）大党的自身建设不仅关乎党的兴衰存亡，而且关乎国家、人民乃至人类的前途命运

The Soviet Communist Party once created unprecedented brilliant achievements. It not only established the world’s first socialist state, but also vigorously developed the socialist cause, profoundly changed the world pattern and the direction of human social development, and thereby Marxism-Leninism gained broad global influence.

苏联共产党曾经创造了史无前例的辉煌成就。它不仅建立了世界上第一个社会主义国家，而且有力发展了社会主义事业，深刻改变了世界格局和人类社会发展方向，马克思列宁主义因此获得广泛的世界影响。

In the era of Lenin and Stalin, the CPSU’s construction in political, ideological, organizational, work style, discipline, and institutional aspects enabled it to adapt to the needs of revolution and war, construction and development, and propelled Soviet socialist construction and the international communist cause forward by leaps and bounds. Under the strong leadership of the CPSU, the Soviet people made tremendous sacrifices and paid heavy costs to defeat foreign invasions and build a powerful state. In World War II, they again defeated the seemingly invincible German fascist and Japanese fascist aggressors. Thereafter, the socialist revolution developed from one country to many countries, forming a socialist camp led by the Soviet Union.

在列宁和斯大林时代，苏共在政治、思想、组织、作风、纪律、制度等方面进行的建设，使其能够适应革命和战争、建设和发展的需要，并推动苏联社会主义建设和国际共产主义事业大踏步前进。在苏共的坚强领导下，苏联人民付出巨大的牺牲和代价，打败外敌入侵，并建设了强大国家。第二次世界大战中又击败不可一世的德国法西斯和日本法西斯侵略势力，之后，社会主义革命从一国发展到多国，形成了以苏联为首的社会主义阵营。

The Soviet regime realized the people’s management of their own state through the leadership of the CPSU. This meant that the Party’s self-construction task was arduous; it had to always maintain the nature of being public servants of the people and firmly remember the purpose of serving the people. To whatever stage the cause of the Party and the people develops, Party building must be advanced to that stage. However, starting from when Khrushchev assumed the supreme leadership, serious problems emerged in the CPSU’s construction in various aspects, especially in ideology, politics, and work style. Particularly in the later period of Brezhnev’s supreme leadership, bureaucratic phenomena spread in the Soviet Union, corruption problems grew increasingly severe, forming a bureaucratic privileged stratum opposed to the fundamental interests of the masses. The CPSU’s image among the people was severely damaged, and the foundation of its ruling legitimacy began to shake.

苏维埃政权是通过苏共的领导来实现人民管理自己的国家的。这就意味着党的自身建设任务艰巨，必须始终保持人民公仆的性质，牢记为人民服务的宗旨。党和人民事业发展到什么阶段，党的建设就要推进到什么阶段。然而，自赫鲁晓夫担任最高领导人时起，苏共各方面的建设尤其是思想、政治、作风建设出现了严重问题，特别是到了勃列日涅夫担任最高领导人后期，苏联官僚主义现象蔓延，腐败问题日益严重，形成了与人民群众根本利益相对立的官僚特权阶层，苏共在人民群众中的形象严重受损，其执政的合法性基础开始动摇。

The bureaucratic privileged stratum, clinging to old ways, was unwilling or opposed to any reform involving its own interests. More seriously, the bureaucratic privileged stratum completely detached itself from the broad masses, diminishing the Party’s prestige and the reputation of socialism, thereby cultivating the soil for the growth of anti-communist and anti-socialist forces during the Gorbachev period. To legalize illegally occupied state resources, the privileged stratum vigorously promoted the evolution of the Soviet social system, and anti-communist and anti-socialist forces led the Soviet Union toward dissolution.

官僚特权阶层因循守旧，不愿或反对进行任何涉及自身利益的变革。更为严重的是，官僚特权阶层完全脱离广大群众，使党的威信和社会主义声誉下降，为戈尔巴乔夫时期反共反社会主义势力的壮大培植了土壤。为使非法占有的国家资源合法化，特权阶层极力推动苏联社会制度演变，反共反社会主义势力将苏联引向解体。

Marxism is the theory of the people, and the people’s standpoint is the fundamental political standpoint of a Marxist political party. The Soviet Communist Party, having undergone the tests of revolution and war, led the people in socialist modernization construction, and the Party and the people established a flesh-and-blood connection. However, in the era of peaceful development, the CPSU gradually neglected Party building. Party leaders pursued fame and profit, stood aloof, and were self-righteous, forgetting their original aspiration and founding mission, gradually becoming detached from the people and alienated from them. That they were ultimately abandoned by the people and abandoned by history is only to be expected.

马克思主义是人民的理论，人民立场是马克思主义政党的根本政治立场。苏联共产党历经革命和战争的考验，领导人民进行社会主义现代化建设，党和人民建立了血肉联系。然而，在和平发展年代，苏共却逐渐忽视了党的建设，党的领导人追名逐利、高高在上、自以为是，忘记了自己的初心使命，逐渐脱离群众，与人民离心离德，最终被人民抛弃、被历史抛弃，也就在情理之中了。

The history of the CPSU’s defeat shows that establishing a political party and seizing state power are relatively easy, but once it collapses and the party and state are lost, striving for resurgence becomes extremely difficult. After the dissolution of the Soviet Union, the Communist Party of the Russian Federation participated in national political life peacefully, striving to restore socialism, and once exerted significant influence. However, since the beginning of the 21st century, the development of the CPRF has been unstable. In March 2018, Russia held its seventh presidential election. Zyuganov, the leader of the CPRF who had lost four times, did not run, and the CPRF nominated the non-party figure Pavel Grudinin as its candidate. In September 2021, Russia officially announced the results of the eighth State Duma election: the United Russia party received 49.82% of the vote, and the CPRF received 18.93%. But the CPRF’s actual vote share was 30%, and United Russia’s was 35%. Putin met with Zyuganov before and after the election to pressure the CPRF.

苏共败亡的历史表明，建立政党、夺取政权相对容易，但一朝倾覆、亡党亡国后再图崛起，就会异常艰难。苏联解体后，俄罗斯联邦共产党以和平方式参与国家政治生活，争取恢复社会主义，曾经发挥过重要影响。然而，进入21世纪以来，俄共发展并不稳定。2018年３月，俄罗斯举行第七届总统大选，曾４次落选的俄共领导人久加诺夫没有参选，俄罗斯联邦共产党推举了无党派人士格鲁季宁（Павел Грудинин）作为其候选人。2021年9月，俄罗斯官方公布了第八届杜马选举结果，“统一俄罗斯”党得票率为49.82%，俄共为18.93%。但俄共实际得票率为30%，统俄党为35%。普京在大选前后都找过久加诺夫谈话以给俄共施压。

After the transfer of state power, the situation for the broad masses and communists became very difficult. Corresponding Member of the Russian Academy of Sciences and renowned economist Ruslan Grinberg, 25 years after the dissolution of the Soviet Union, offered this interpretation of Russia’s economic development: “If there are many poor people, the economy will not succeed.” He believed that contemporary Russia was experiencing unprecedented large-scale poverty after the Soviet dissolution, a symbol of the failure of Russia’s 25-year economic transformation; economic inequality was not only shameful but also extremely detrimental to national economic development. In 2019, Ruslan Grinberg again pointed out that in 2018, the richest 3% of Russian citizens owned 89% of the country’s financial assets, a result of rashly rejecting Soviet justice, clearly indicating that Russia had chosen a wrong path.

政权易手后，广大老百姓与共产党人的处境变得十分艰难。俄罗斯科学院通讯院士、著名经济学家鲁斯兰·格林伯格（Руслан Гринберг）在苏联解体25年时，曾对俄罗斯经济发展状况作过这样的解读：“如果有很多穷人，经济就不会成功。”他认为，当代俄罗斯正经历着苏联解体后前所未有的大规模贫困问题，这是俄罗斯25年经济转型失败的象征；经济不平等不仅是可耻的，而且对国家经济发展极为不利。2019年鲁斯兰·格林伯格再次指出，2018年3％最富有的俄罗斯公民拥有国家89％的金融资产，这是轻率拒绝苏维埃正义的结果，清楚地表明俄罗斯选择了一条错误道路。

On December 8, 2021, Chairman of the Russian State Duma Vyacheslav Volodin published an article recalling the Soviet dissolution, stating that the top leaders of the CPSU chose to betray their ideals, betray their country, and betray their people during the country’s most difficult period, while the political elites profited from the state’s collapse. The United States and Europe thereby eliminated a powerful ideological opponent and split the Soviet Union into different states. But in this process, none of the 15 Soviet republics benefited from the state’s collapse. Volodin emphasized that the economic and industrial ties of these republics were severed, their industrial capacity was lost, and this combination of factors led to a major crisis, and to this day they are still suffering the consequences of this tragedy.

2021年12月8日，俄罗斯国家杜马主席沃洛金（Вячеслав Володин）发文回忆苏联解体时表示，苏共高层领导人在国家最困难的时期选择背叛理想、背叛国家、背叛人民，而政治精英们则从国家崩溃中攫取利益，美国和欧洲也因此得以消灭了一个强大的意识形态对手，将苏联分裂成不同的国家。但在这个过程中，苏联15个加盟共和国却没有任何一个从国家崩溃中获益。沃洛金强调，这些加盟国的经济、工业联系被切断，工业能力丧失，这一切综合要素导致了一场重大危机，而到目前为止，他们仍在承受着这场悲剧带来的后果。

In contrast, the United States, which used “unconventional warfare”—mainly ideological warfare, economic and financial warfare—to destroy the Soviet Union and Eastern European socialist states, harvested enormous wealth from the Soviet dissolution and the upheavals in Eastern Europe. High-tech industries originally used for military confrontation, such as computers and the internet, were converted to civilian use, further forming financial capital plus technological capital, jointly promoting high economic growth in the United States. Economic globalization, based on dollar hegemony and led by the United States, reached a new peak. This was equivalent to the Soviet Union and Eastern European states handing over their wealth to support their competitor.

与此相反，以“非常规战争”即意识形态战、经济金融战等为主要手段摧垮苏联和东欧社会主义国家的美国，却从苏联解体、东欧剧变中收割了巨额财富，原用于军事对抗的计算机、互联网等高科技产业，转为民用，进一步形成金融资本+技术资本，共同推进了美国经济高增长，以美元霸权为基础和以美国为主导的经济全球化达到了一个新的巅峰。这亦相当于苏联和东欧国家将自己的财富拱手相让，奉养了自己的竞争对手。

(2) The Leader’s Faith and Convictions, Theoretical Accomplishment, and Outlook on Life and Values Directly Determine the Success or Failure of the Great Socialist Cause

（二）领袖的信仰信念、理论素养、人生观和价值观直接关系社会主义宏伟大业的成败

From the experience and lessons of the rise and fall of the Soviet Communist Party, the leaders of a Marxist political party must, as Lenin said, be “the most authoritative, most influential, most experienced people, elected to the most important posts and called leaders.” They need to possess the political foresight to see far and steer the course, the firm and extraordinary revolutionary courage to fear nothing, the outstanding leadership ability to innovate and navigate complex situations. More importantly, they need to be able to always stand on the correct side of history and the development of the times, leading the Party and the people steadily along the correct direction.

从苏联共产党兴亡的经验教训看，马克思主义政党的领导人，必须如列宁所说是“最有威信、最有影响、最有经验、被选出担任最重要职务而称为领袖的人们”，需要他们具备高瞻远瞩、领航掌舵的政治远见，坚定非凡、无所畏惧的革命勇气，开拓创新、驾驭复杂局势的卓越领导能力，更为重要的是，需要他们能够始终站在历史和时代发展的正确一边，带领党和人民始终沿着正确方向前进。

After Lenin and Stalin, the ideological and political quality of the main leaders of the CPSU declined, their will and character deteriorated, and some even became stubborn defenders of the interests of the privileged stratum. “The meat-eaters are base; they cannot plan far ahead.” [1]1 A classical allusion from the *Zuo Zhuan* (Zuo’s Commentary on the Spring and Autumn Annals), referring to those who hold high office and enjoy rich food but lack strategic vision, implying the Soviet leaders’ selfishness and shortsightedness. They considered more the interests of individuals, families, and small groups. By the Gorbachev period, the leadership group of the CPSU could not withstand the tests of complex situations and the temptations of material interests; their ideals and convictions, will and character, outlook on life and values all underwent fundamental changes. The fate of the Soviet socialist cause meeting its doom could no longer be changed.

自列宁、斯大林之后，苏共主要领导人的思想政治素养下滑，意志品质低下，有的还变成了特权阶层利益的顽固维护者。“肉食者鄙，未能远谋。”他们更多的是考虑个人、家庭和小集团的利益。到了戈尔巴乔夫时期，苏共领导集团经不住复杂局势的考验和物质利益的诱惑，理想信念、意志品格、人生观、价值观等都发生了根本的变化，苏联社会主义事业遭遇覆亡的命运也就无法改变了。

History is the best teacher. During the periods of leadership under Lenin and Stalin, the Soviet Communist Party (CPSU) was able to grow from weak to strong and lead the socialist cause to flourish because of the existence of strong and capable leadership cores and collectives such as Lenin and Stalin. After Stalin’s death, the CPSU declined from prosperity to decay, and the socialist cause it led ultimately collapsed, precisely because the CPSU lacked a strong and capable leadership core and collective. The Communist Party of China grew from small to large and from weak to strong, achieving brilliant successes through a century of storms, precisely because it had strong and capable leadership cores and collectives such as Mao Zedong, Deng Xiaoping, Jiang Zemin, Hu Jintao, and Xi Jinping, enabling China’s revolution, construction, and reform to

历史是最好的老师。在列宁、斯大林领导时期，苏共之所以能够由弱到强、领导社会主义事业蒸蒸日上，是因为有列宁、斯大林这样坚强有力的领导核心和领导集体的存在，而斯大林逝世之后，苏共之所以由盛转衰，其所领导的社会主义事业最终毁于一旦，也是因为苏共缺乏坚强有力的领导核心和领导集体。中国共产党由小变大、由弱到强，历经百年风雨取得辉煌成就，正是因为有了毛泽东、邓小平、江泽民、胡锦涛、习近平等坚强有力的领导核心和领导集体，中国革命、建设和改革事业因此无往而不胜。

(3) If one is not sober, correct, or firm in ideology, theory, and politics, the Party and state will inevitably be led onto a wrong path or even an evil road.

（三）思想上理论上政治上不清醒、不正确、不坚定，势必将党和国家引向歧途甚至邪路

If the Party’s leaders and leading collective lack a scientific Marxist theoretical grounding, they can easily lose their bearings and momentum amid complex and volatile domestic and international situations. The Soviet Communist Party’s lack of sobriety, correctness, and firmness in ideology, theory, and politics gravely harmed the cause of the Party and the people.

如果党的领导人和领导集体缺乏马克思主义思想理论的科学武装，就容易在复杂多变的国内外形势面前迷失方向、失去动力。苏共在思想上理论上政治上不清醒、不正确、不坚定，极大地危害了党和人民的事业。

During the periods when Khrushchev and Brezhnev served as top leaders, the Soviet Communist Party failed to see the true nature of imperialism, downplayed class struggle on the international stage, and unilaterally proposed “peaceful coexistence,” “peaceful competition,” and “peaceful transition.” Driven by the political need for “Soviet-U.S. cooperation to dominate the world,” it practiced great-Party chauvinism and great-power chauvinism within the socialist camp and pursued hegemonism globally. To tighten control over its Eastern Bloc allies, Brezhnev put forward the so-called “theory of the socialist commonwealth,” “theory of limited sovereignty,” and “theory of international dictatorship,” controlling other fraternal countries and even openly invading Czechoslovakia militarily, while also engaging in aggression and expansion in the Third World under the banner of “supporting national liberation movements.” These erroneous practices of the Soviet Communist Party discredited the reputation of Marxist political parties and led to serious consequences such as the split of the international communist movement.

在赫鲁晓夫和勃列日涅夫担任最高领导人时期，苏共看不清帝国主义的本性，淡化国际范围的阶级斗争，一厢情愿地提出“和平共处”“和平竞赛”“和平过渡”，并出于“苏美合作，主宰世界”的政治需要，在社会主义阵营搞大党主义和大国沙文主义，在世界范围推行霸权主义。为了加强对东欧盟国的控制，勃列日涅夫抛出了所谓“社会主义大家庭论”“有限主权论”和“国际专政论”，控制其他兄弟国家，甚至公然武装入侵捷克斯洛伐克，还打着“支持民族解放运动”的旗号对第三世界进行侵略扩张。苏共的这些错误做法，败坏了马克思主义政党的声誉，导致国际共产主义运动发生分裂等严重后果。

Gorbachev promoted a “new thinking” in foreign policy, trumpeting that “the interests of all humanity are above all else,” endorsing Western values as “universal human values,” discarding the Marxist theory of class struggle and the method of class analysis, guiding domestic reform according to Western values, and completely submitting ideologically and practically to the United States and other Western countries. He even sold out core Soviet interests to win Western trust, only to reap the tragedy of the collapse of the Party and state, along with the gloating of the Western world. The Soviet experience profoundly shows that if a socialist state takes the path of capitulating and surrendering to the Western world and changes its banner, it will inevitably court self-destruction.

戈尔巴乔夫推行外交“新思维”，鼓吹“全人类的利益高于一切”，认同西方价值观为“全人类价值观”，抛弃马克思主义阶级斗争学说和阶级分析的方法，按照西方价值观指引国内改革，在思想上行动上完全投靠以美国为首的西方国家，甚至出卖苏联核心利益以换取西方的信任，结果换来的却是亡党亡国的悲剧，以及西方世界的弹冠相庆。苏联的教训深刻表明，社会主义国家如果走屈服、投降西方国家的道路，改旗易帜，必然自取灭亡。

To avoid taking the evil road of changing the banner, one must adhere to the Marxist standpoint, viewpoint, and method, and fully recognize that in an era where the socialist system and the capitalist system coexist and contend, and where the international monopoly bourgeoisie still dominates the world, one must never yield to imperialist pressure or engage in unprincipled, reckless compromise and concession. It should be clearly seen that since the emergence of socialist states, international reactionary forces have never abandoned their strategic schemes to be hostile to and subvert the socialist system. On the international stage, there has always been a struggle between infiltration and anti-infiltration, subversion and anti-subversion, sometimes reaching a very acute level. Facing a complex and acute international struggle, the ruling party of a socialist state must both be adept at seizing opportunities and adjusting policies to steer international relations as far as possible toward peace, development, and the advancement of human progress, and at the same time maintain a sober and correct political mind at all times, adhere to principles, dare to struggle, and ensure domestic peace, stability, and development.

要避免走改旗易帜的邪路，就必须坚持马克思主义立场观点方法，充分认识到在社会主义制度与资本主义制度并存和较量的时代，在国际垄断资产阶级仍主导世界的时代，决不能屈服于帝国主义的压力，搞不讲原则、不计后果的妥协退让。应当清醒地看到，自从出现社会主义国家以来，国际反动势力一直没有放弃敌视和颠覆社会主义制度的战略图谋，国际舞台上始终存在着渗透与反渗透、颠覆与反颠覆的斗争，有时还达到十分尖锐的程度。面对复杂尖锐的国际斗争形势，社会主义国家执政党既要善于把握时机，调整政策，尽可能将国际关系引向有利于和平、有利于发展、有利于人类进步事业的方面，又要时刻保持清醒正确的政治头脑，坚持原则，敢于斗争，确保国内的和平、稳定与发展。

(4) The fundamental system that embodies the will of the people must be enshrined in the text of the constitution and implemented in practice; one must never waver, covertly alter, or even abolish these fundamental principles.

（四）要把体现人民意志的根本制度体现在宪法的文本里和贯彻落实中，决不能动摇或变相动摇甚至取消这些根本原则

The historical mission of the proletariat can only be gradually realized under the leadership of its vanguard organization. Therefore, after seizing power, the proletariat must formulate a fundamental law that embodies the will of the working class and the working people, clearly affirming and safeguarding through the constitutional and legal text the socialist nature of the state’s people’s democratic dictatorship and the core leadership position of the Communist Party in the socialist state. These fundamental systems must be resolutely implemented through various basic systems and important systems into all aspects of the people’s economic, political, cultural, and diplomatic life. One must never merely leave these fundamental systems suspended in legal provisions through various basic and important systems, or even directly abolish these unshakable principles from the legal provisions. Only in this way can the socialist nature of the Party and state be ensured and the fundamental interests of the broad masses of the people be safeguarded. Otherwise, such a Party and state will inevitably be abandoned by the people.

无产阶级的历史使命只有在其先锋队组织的领导下才能逐步实现。因此，无产阶级在夺取政权后，制定一部体现工人阶级和劳动人民意志的根本法，将国家人民民主专政的社会主义性质和共产党在社会主义国家中的核心领导地位，通过宪法法律文本明确予以确认与维护，并把这些根本制度通过各种基本制度、重要制度坚决落实到人民群众的经济、政治和文化以及外交等方方面面，决不能仅把这一根本制度通过各种基本制度、重要制度空悬在法律条文里，甚至从法律条文里就直接取消这些不可动摇的原则。只有这样，才能确保党和国家的社会主义性质，维护广大人民的根本利益。否则，这样的党和国家必将被人民所抛弃。

After 1989, under the banners of political “pluralization” and social “democratization,” Gorbachev adopted so-called “free” and “fair” methods to directly elect people’s deputies and deputies to the Supreme Soviet. The result was that a large number of radicals, anti-Soviet and anti-Communist leading figures, and dissidents were elected. The “Interregional Deputy Group” proposed “all power to the Soviets” and demanded the abolition of Article 6 of the Soviet Constitution, which stipulated the leading role of the Soviet Communist Party. In February 1990, the Central Committee Plenum of the Soviet Communist Party decided to abandon the Party’s ruling status and introduce a multi-party system in the Soviet Union. In March of the same year, the Congress of People’s Deputies of the Soviet Union formally abolished Article 6 of the Soviet Constitution, stipulating that the Soviet Union would adopt a multi-party system and a presidential system, and establish a state political system of separation of powers. This fundamentally destroyed the legal foundation of the Soviet Communist Party’s rule and dealt a fatal blow to the Soviet regime and the Soviet socialist system.

1989年以后，在政治“多元化”、社会“民主化”等旗号下，戈尔巴乔夫采取所谓“自由”“公正”的方式，直接选举人民代表和最高苏维埃代表（议员），结果是一大批激进分子、反苏反共头面人物、持不同政见者当选。“跨地区议员团”提出“一切权力归苏维埃”，要求废除苏联宪法第六条关于苏共领导地位的内容。1990年苏共中央二月全会决定放弃苏共执政地位，在苏联推行多党制。同年3月召开的苏联人民代表大会，正式废除了苏联宪法第六条，规定苏联实行多党制、总统制，建立三权分立的国家政治制度，这就从根本上摧毁了苏共执政的法理根基，给苏维埃政权和苏联社会主义制度以致命一击。

It is of extreme importance to establish and uphold the ruling position of the Communist Party in the constitution, and to establish and uphold the fundamental, basic, and important systems of socialism. The Soviet experience sounds an alarm for us. For some time, a trend of thought known as “constitutional democracy” has emerged in China. Under the banners of “democracy” and “rule of law,” it demands amendments to the expression of the Communist Party’s leading position in our constitution, and advocates learning from the experience of the United States and other Western countries to implement “constitutional democracy,” including so-called opening of “party bans” and “press bans,” introducing a multi-party system, parliamentary democracy, and separation of powers, promoting “judicial independence,” “political neutrality,” and the “non-partisanization” of the military, and “establishing a Federal Republic of China under the framework of democratic constitutionalism.” These propositions are strikingly similar to the rhetoric of “reforming the Soviet Communist Party” during Gorbachev’s time. Their crux is to oppose the Party’s leadership to the constitution and the law, negate the Party’s leadership, and abolish the people’s democratic dictatorship. In essence, they aim to negate our constitution and the systems and principles it establishes, ultimately achieving a change of banner by transplanting the Western political system model into China. Our constitution has always clearly defined and upheld the leading and ruling position of the Communist Party of China. The 2018 constitutional amendment, which added the content “The leadership of the Communist Party of China is the most essential feature of socialism with Chinese characteristics” to Article 1 of the main text, is absolutely correct. Facts show that it was not “constitutional democracy” that could save the Soviet Union; on the contrary, it was “constitutional democracy” that brought down the Soviet Union.

在宪法中，确立并维护共产党的执政地位，确立并维护社会主义根本制度、基本制度、重要制度，具有极端重要性。苏联的教训给我们敲响了警钟。一段时间以来，在我国出现了一股所谓“宪政民主”思潮，其打着“民主”“法治”等旗号，要求修改我国宪法关于共产党领导地位的表述、借鉴美国等西方国家经验搞“宪政民主”，内容包括所谓开放“党禁”“报禁”，推行多党制、议会民主、三权分立，推行“司法独立”“政治中立”和军队“非党化”，“在民主宪政的架构下建立中华联邦共和国”。这些主张和戈尔巴乔夫时期“改造苏共”的言论如出一辙，要害是把党的领导与宪法和法律对立起来，否定党的领导、取消人民民主专政，实质是否定我国宪法及其确立的制度和原则，最终实现改旗易帜，把西方政治制度模式搬到中国来。我国宪法始终明确并维护中国共产党的领导地位和执政地位。2018年宪法修正案在正文第一条中添加“中国共产党领导是中国特色社会主义最本质的特征”这一内容，是无比正确的。事实表明，不是“宪政民主”能够拯救苏联，而恰恰是“宪政民主”搞垮了苏联。

(5) Only by adhering to the lofty ideal of communism and firmly believing in the inevitable victory of socialism can the Party have cohesion and combat effectiveness.

（五）坚持共产主义远大理想，坚定社会主义必胜信念，党才有凝聚力、战斗力

The fundamental reason for the Soviet Communist Party’s weakness, laxity, and loss of combat effectiveness was its abandonment of the nature, purpose, and goals of a Marxist political party, and its abandonment of the lofty pursuit of seeking happiness for the people and liberation for humanity. In particular, the Soviet Communist Party leaders’ dilution, abandonment, and deviation from the ideals and beliefs of socialism and communism set a pernicious “example” for all Party members, and the lesson is extremely painful.

苏共软弱涣散，丧失战斗力，根本原因在于放弃了马克思主义政党的性质、宗旨和奋斗目标，放弃了为人民谋幸福、为人类谋解放的崇高追求。尤其是苏共领导人淡化、放弃、背离社会主义和共产主义理想信念，对于全体党员起到的是恶劣的“榜样作用”，教训极其惨痛。

Khrushchev, in ideology and politics, propagated the “party of the entire people” and “state of the entire people” theses that advocated class conciliation, promoted an abstract, supra-class view of humanitarianism, demanded that the so-called “great humanitarianism” be taken as “our ideology,” and diluted the guiding role of Marxism-Leninism. In the later period of Brezhnev’s tenure as supreme leader, the CPSU generally exhibited phenomena such as inconsistency between words and deeds, formalism, boastful talk without action, and empty promises, which severely weakened the Party’s influence and caused the CPSU’s prestige to decline continuously. By the time of Gorbachev, the CPSU had completely abandoned the guiding status of Marxism-Leninism, leading to ideological confusion within the Party, a proliferation of factions, chaotic phenomena, and disunity among the ranks, ultimately ending in the tragic fate of dissolution.

赫鲁晓夫在思想上政治上宣扬阶级调和的“全民党”“全民国家”论调，宣扬抽象的、超阶级的人道主义观，要求把所谓“伟大的人道主义”作为“我们的意识形态”，淡化马克思列宁主义指导地位。苏共在勃列日涅夫担任最高领导人后期普遍存在言行不一、形式主义、夸夸其谈、只说不做等现象，严重弱化党的影响力，使苏共的威信不断下降。到了戈尔巴乔夫时期，苏共彻底放弃马列主义指导地位，党内思想混乱，派别林立，乱象丛生，人心涣散，最终惨遭解散的命运。

The painful lesson of the Soviet Union shows that firm ideals and convictions are of great significance for a Marxist political party and for a socialist country. In a certain sense, whether ideals and convictions are firm directly concerns the life and death of the Party and the state; therefore, the education of Party members in ideals and convictions must be persistently and unswervingly strengthened. Ideals and convictions are the political soul and spiritual pillar of Communists, and the ideological guarantee for overcoming all difficulties and achieving all successes. The CPC has persistently strengthened its ideological and theoretical construction, adhered to building the Party through ideology, advanced strengthening the Party through theory, attached great importance to socialist ideological work, strengthened the construction of ideological positions, and firmly grasped the leadership over ideological work. This series of major measures is entirely correct.

苏联惨痛的教训表明，坚定理想信念对于马克思主义政党具有重大意义，对于社会主义国家具有重大意义。从一定意义上讲，理想信念是否坚定，直接关系到党和国家的生死存亡，必须始终如一地坚持和加强党的理想信念教育。理想信念是共产党人的政治灵魂和精神支柱，是克服一切困难、取得一切成就的思想保证。中国共产党持之以恒加强党的思想理论建设，坚持思想建党，推进理论强党，高度重视社会主义意识形态工作，加强意识形态阵地建设，牢牢把握意识形态工作领导权，这一系列重大举措是完全正确的。

(6) Abandoning the guiding role of Marxism and violating the principles of scientific socialism will inevitably lead to the disastrous consequence of changing the banner and the Party’s collapse and the state’s disintegration.

（六）放弃马克思主义指导地位，违背科学社会主义原则，必然导致改旗易帜、亡党亡国的恶果

Regarding the issue of reform, there have always been two different views on reform: one view regards reform as the self-improvement and self-development of the socialist system, organically unifying the adherence to the fundamental and basic systems of socialism with the improvement of specific systems that do not meet the requirements of productive forces. It treats reform both as a revolutionary transformation to eradicate institutional and mechanistic malpractices and to break through the barriers of ossified thinking and entrenched interests, while also upholding the basic principles of scientific socialism to ensure that reform always advances along the socialist direction and path. This is a correct Marxist view of reform proven in practice. The other view of reform advocates reforms that are not socialist in nature. It uses the name of reform, under the banner of “reform,” to fundamentally negate the fundamental and basic systems of socialism, transplant the entire set of capitalist social systems, and achieve the capitalization of the country. Gorbachev’s reform belonged to this type.

围绕改革问题，历来存在两种不同的改革观：一种是把改革看作社会主义制度的自我完善和发展，把坚持社会主义根本制度、基本制度与完善不适应生产力发展要求的具体制度有机统一起来，既把改革视为一场根除体制机制弊端和突破思维、利益固化藩篱的革命性变革，又坚持科学社会主义基本原则，保证改革始终沿着社会主义方向和道路前进。这是在实践中被证明为正确的马克思主义改革观。另一种改革观主张本质上不属于社会主义性质的改革，它是借改革之名，打着“改革”旗号，根本否定社会主义根本制度、基本制度，把资本主义的那一套社会制度移植过来，实现国家的资本主义化，戈尔巴乔夫的改革就属于这种类型。

Looking at the history of the Soviet Union, if reform began with Khrushchev, then from Khrushchev to before Gorbachev came to power, on the one hand, the CPSU leadership group had already begun to deviate from and abandon the basic principles of Marxism-Leninism and the fundamental and basic systems of socialism in ideology and politics; on the other hand, they only took some patch-up measures within the original institutional mechanisms. From the time Gorbachev became supreme leader until the dissolution of the Soviet Union, what was implemented was a so-called “reform” that completely negated the socialist system and violated the principles of scientific socialism, directing the spearhead at the socialist system itself and fundamentally negating the fundamental and basic systems of socialism.

纵观苏联历史，如果说改革始于赫鲁晓夫的话，那么从赫鲁晓夫到戈尔巴乔夫上台之前，一方面，苏共领导集团在思想上政治上已经开始偏离、背离马列主义基本原理与社会主义根本制度和基本制度；另一方面，仅在原来体制机制下采取一些修补措施。而从戈尔巴乔夫担任最高领导人至苏联解体，推行的则完全是否定社会主义制度、背离科学社会主义原则的所谓“改革”，把矛头指向社会主义制度本身，根本否定社会主义根本制度、基本制度。

From the lesson of the CPSU, on the issue of reform, one must neither take the old path of ossification and isolation nor the evil path of changing the banner. Among these, not taking the evil path of changing the banner and avoiding committing subversive mistakes is particularly crucial. Since the 18th National Congress of the CPC, the Party Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core has emphasized that China’s reform has a firm and correct political direction, stance, and principles. The core is to uphold and improve the Party’s leadership and to uphold and improve the system of socialism with Chinese characteristics. It has emphasized that we must enhance our political resolve, adhere to political principles and bottom lines, and must never turn reform into a “change of direction” or a change of course for the socialist system. These important judgments are entirely correct.

从苏共的教训看，在改革问题上既不能走僵化封闭的老路，也不能走改旗易帜的邪路。其中，不走改旗易帜的邪路，避免犯颠覆性的错误，尤为关键。党的十八大以来，以习近平同志为核心的党中央，强调我国的改革是有着坚定正确的政治方向、立场和原则的，最核心的是坚持和改善党的领导、坚持和完善中国特色社会主义制度，强调我们要增强政治定力，坚守政治原则和底线，决不能把改革变成“改向”，变成对社会主义制度的改弦更张，这些重要论断是完全正确的。

(7) Attaching great importance to ideological work, promptly countering various non-Marxist and anti-Marxist trends of thought, and maintaining the Party’s revolutionary nature, advanced nature, and purity in ideological and political theory.

（七）高度重视意识形态工作，及时回击各种非马克思主义、反马克思主义思潮，在思想政治理论上时刻保持党的革命性、先进性和纯洁性

Looking at the more than 70-year history of Soviet Russia and the Soviet Union, the CPSU’s ideological work underwent a process of evolution and degeneration. During Lenin’s period, Marxism was adhered to as the guide, establishing the principles, policies, and theoretical guidance for the Bolshevik Party’s ideological work in long-term revolutionary practice, pioneering Marxist ideological work. During Stalin’s period, ideological work had both major achievements and deviations, but the overall direction was correct, upholding and developing Marxism-Leninism. During the Lenin and Stalin periods, the CPSU’s criticism and liquidation of various anti-Marxist trends of thought were resolute and thorough, enabling the Party to consciously resist the erosion of various bourgeois trends of thought for a long historical period. In particular, its understanding of the essence of democratic socialism and its predecessor, social democracy, was profound and sober. This was clearly directly related to Lenin and Stalin’s long-term resolute struggle against the right wing of the Second International.

纵观苏俄和苏联70余年的历史，苏共的意识形态工作经历了一个演化蜕变的过程。列宁时期坚持以马克思主义为指导，在长期的革命实践中为布尔什维克党确立了意识形态工作的原则、方针和理论指导，开创了马克思主义意识形态工作的先河。斯大林时期的意识形态工作既有重大成就也出现过偏差，但总体上方向是正确的，坚持并发展了马克思列宁主义。在列宁、斯大林时期，苏共对各种反马克思主义思潮的批判和清算是坚决的、彻底的，使党在很长一个历史时期能够自觉抵御各种资产阶级思潮的侵蚀，尤其是对民主社会主义及其前身社会民主主义本质的认识是深刻的、清醒的。这显然与列宁、斯大林长期坚持与第二国际右派进行坚决的斗争有直接关系。

Starting from Khrushchev, the CPSU’s ideological work deviated further and further from the track of Marxism, and various non-Marxist and anti-Marxist trends of thought in the Soviet Union began to revive. In addition, we must also see that after World War II, the opposition and struggle between the two fundamentally different social systems of capitalism and socialism and between the two major classes of the bourgeoisie and the proletariat on a world scale had somewhat eased. The then-popular democratic socialism and Western bourgeois ideology, taking advantage of the anti-communist wave caused by Khrushchev’s vehement opposition to Stalin [5]5 Khrushchev’s vehement opposition to Stalin: Refers to Khrushchev’s “Secret Speech” at the 20th Congress of the CPSU in 1956, which denounced Stalin’s cult of personality and its consequences, triggering a major ideological shock within the international communist movement. and the Hungarian Incident [6]6 Hungarian Incident: The 1956 anti-Soviet uprising in Hungary, which was suppressed by Soviet military intervention. and the Poznań events [7]7 Poznań events: The 1956 workers’ protests in Poznań, Poland, against the communist government, which were also suppressed by the military., also vigorously expanded their influence.

从赫鲁晓夫开始，苏共意识形态工作在偏离马克思主义的轨道上越走越远，苏联各种非马克思主义、反马克思主义思潮开始死灰复燃。另外，我们也要看到，第二次世界大战后，世界范围内资本主义与社会主义两种根本不同的社会制度和资产阶级与无产阶级两大阶级之间的对立和斗争有所缓和，当时流行的民主社会主义、西方资产阶级思想，借赫鲁晓夫大反斯大林之机以及匈牙利事件和波兹南事件造成的反共浪潮，也竭力拓展着自己的影响。

During the Khrushchev period, “humanitarianization” appeared within the CPSU, and the Marxist beliefs of Party members were greatly impacted. At that time, some Eastern European countries, such as Poland, Hungary, Czechoslovakia, and Yugoslavia, saw the emergence of “New Marxist” factions. Under the banner of breaking free from the shackles of “traditional Marxism,” these factions negated Leninism and the principles of scientific socialism. Socialists in Western European countries raised the banner of democratic socialism, serving the needs of imperialism to implement a peaceful evolution strategy [8]8 Peaceful evolution strategy: A term used in Chinese political discourse to describe the strategy of Western powers, especially the United States, to subvert socialist states from within through ideological and cultural infiltration rather than military force. towards socialist countries. Khrushchev’s “humanitarianism” and his ideas of “three peaces” and “two alls” [9]9 “Three peaces” and “two alls”: “Three peaces” refers to Khrushchev’s policies of peaceful coexistence, peaceful competition, and peaceful transition between socialist and capitalist states. “Two alls” refers to his concepts of the “party of the entire people” and the “state of the entire people,” which downplayed class struggle. were formed in this international environment. This erroneous trend of thought was not corrected within the CPSU for a long time, to the extent that it evolved into the so-called “humane, democratic socialism” reform.

赫鲁晓夫时期，苏共党内出现“人道主义化”，党员的马克思主义信念受到极大冲击。当时，东欧一些国家如波兰、匈牙利、捷克斯洛伐克、南斯拉夫等出现“新马克思主义”派别，这些派别以摆脱“传统马克思主义”束缚之名，否定列宁主义，否定科学社会主义原则。西欧各国的社会党人高举民主社会主义旗帜，服务帝国主义向社会主义国家推行和平演变战略的需要。赫鲁晓夫的“人道主义”以及“三和”“两全”思想就是在这种国际环境中形成的。这股错误思潮在苏共党内长期得不到纠正，以至于演变成所谓的“人道的、民主的社会主义”改革。

After Brezhnev’s formalistic governance, various erroneous trends of thought increased rather than decreased, greatly affecting the purity of the CPSU’s ideology and creating a hotbed within the Party for the growth of anti-Marxist trends of thought. By the time of Gorbachev, the CPSU leadership group had embarked on the erroneous path of completely and thoroughly negating Marxism-Leninism, and various erroneous trends of thought became seriously rampant.

经过勃列日涅夫形式主义的治理，各种错误思潮有增无减，使苏共思想上的纯洁性受到很大影响，党内形成了滋生反马克思主义思潮的温床。到了戈尔巴乔夫时期，苏共领导集团则走上全面彻底否定马克思列宁主义的错误道路，各种错误思潮严重泛滥。

Gorbachev abandoned the laws of human social development revealed by historical materialism, copied the bourgeois abstract theory of human nature to analyze the problems existing in Soviet society, and argued that Soviet socialism did not conform to so-called human nature, even destroyed so-called human nature, and “castrated the humanitarian essence of the socialist structure.” He also distorted the assertion in the *Communist Manifesto* that “the free development of each is the condition for the free development of all,” regarding it as a “humanitarian program” embodying the “great principle of humanitarianism.” He further regarded humanitarianism as the essential requirement of a socialist society, the goal and task of socialist reform, and the goal of the Communist Party’s struggle, thus completely falling into the quagmire of idealist conception of history.

戈尔巴乔夫抛弃唯物史观揭示的人类社会发展规律，照搬资产阶级的抽象人性论分析苏联社会中存在的问题，认为苏联的社会主义不符合所谓人性，甚至摧残所谓的人性，“阉割了社会主义结构的人道本质”。他还曲解《共产党宣言》关于“每个人的自由发展是一切人的自由发展的条件”这一论断，认为这是一个“人道主义的纲领”，体现了“伟大的人道主义原则”。他还把人道主义视为社会主义社会的本质要求，视为社会主义改革的目标与任务，视为共产党人的奋斗目标，这就完全陷入唯心史观的泥潭。

“Humanitarianism,” as a banner under which the bourgeoisie opposed feudal autocracy and theological rule, had progressive significance in history. But what the bourgeoisie calls “man” and “human nature” is abstract man and abstract human nature—a so-called “natural and eternal” thing devoid of class attributes, a so-called “standard and measure for measuring everything, including human history.” Attributing the driving force of historical development and social progress to humanity’s innate goodness or human reason is a typical manifestation of the idealist conception of history. Abstract human nature theory could neither see the essence of Soviet social problems nor grasp the laws of human social development; it caused the CPSU to lose its forward direction and also stripped the Marxist party of its revolutionary character, advanced nature, and purity.

“人道主义”作为资产阶级反对封建专制与神学统治的一面旗帜，在历史上有其进步意义，但资产阶级所说的人和人性，是抽象的人、抽象的人性，是不具有阶级属性的所谓的“自然而永恒”的东西，是所谓“衡量一切包括人类历史的标准与尺度”。把历史发展和社会进步的动力归于人类的善良天性或者人类的理性，这是唯心史观的典型表现。抽象的人性论既看不清苏联社会问题的本质，也看不清人类社会发展规律，使苏共迷失了前进方向，也使马克思主义政党的革命性、先进性和纯洁性荡然无存。

History proves that the Chinese Communists, with Comrade Deng Xiaoping as their main representative, were entirely correct in the early 1980s when they unequivocally waged the struggle to eliminate spiritual pollution and criticized abstract human nature theory and abstract humanitarianism. This played a huge role in enabling our country to shake off the negative influence of the Soviet Union’s disintegration and the drastic changes in Eastern Europe, and in pushing our country’s reform forward along the correct path.

历史证明，以邓小平同志为主要代表的中国共产党人在20世纪80年代初，旗帜鲜明地开展清除精神污染的斗争，批判抽象的人性论和抽象的人道主义是完全正确的。这对于我国摆脱苏联解体、东欧剧变的消极影响，推动我国改革沿着正确方向前进，发挥了巨大作用。

The lesson of the Soviet Union’s party collapse and state disintegration shows that ideological work values nipping problems in the bud and preventing trouble before it occurs. On the ideological battlefield, if Marxism does not occupy it, non-Marxist and anti-Marxist currents of thought will inevitably occupy it. A socialist state must attach great importance to ideological work, firmly grasp leadership over ideological work, unswervingly uphold the guiding role of Marxism, strengthen the Party’s theoretical and ideological construction, persistently temper Party spirit, wage resolute struggle against all anti-Marxist currents of thought, and ensure that the positions of ideological and public opinion are firmly held in the hands of Marxists.

苏联亡党亡国的教训表明，意识形态工作贵在防微杜渐、防患于未然。意识形态这块阵地，马克思主义不去占领，非马克思主义、反马克思主义思潮就必然会去占领。社会主义国家必须高度重视意识形态工作，牢牢把握意识形态工作领导权，必须毫不动摇地坚持马克思主义指导地位，加强党的思想理论建设，持之以恒地锤炼党性修养，同一切反马克思主义思潮作坚决斗争，让思想舆论阵地牢牢掌握在马克思主义者手里。

Social being determines social consciousness. As long as capitalist private ownership still exists, the social foundation for various non-Marxist and anti-Marxist currents of thought built on private ownership will always exist. History shows that the struggle between Marxism and non-Marxist and anti-Marxist currents is long-term; Communists must maintain sufficient vigilance.

社会存在决定社会意识。只要资本主义私有制依然存在，建立在私有制基础上的各种非马克思主义、反马克思主义思潮的社会基础就始终存在。历史表明，马克思主义同非马克思主义、反马克思主义的斗争是长期的，共产党人必须给予足够的警惕。

The CPC has always attached great importance to and striven to carry out ideological construction work. Especially since the 18th National Congress of the CPC, the Party Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core has emphasized the extreme importance of ideological work, called on the entire Party to fully recognize the long-term, arduous, and complex nature of ideological work, firmly grasp leadership over ideological work, carry forward the spirit of struggle, enhance the ability to struggle, build a socialist ideology with strong cohesion and guiding force, and continuously win new victories in the great struggle in the New Era. These major judgments and decisions are wise and correct.

中国共产党始终高度重视并努力进行意识形态建设工作，特别是党的十八大以来，以习近平同志为核心的党中央，强调意识形态工作具有极端重要性，号召全党充分认识意识形态工作的长期性、艰巨性、复杂性，牢牢掌握意识形态工作领导权，发扬斗争精神，提高斗争本领，建设具有强大凝聚力和引领力的社会主义意识形态，不断夺取新时代伟大斗争新胜利，这些重大论断和决策是英明正确的。

(8) Unswervingly uphold the Party’s absolute leadership over the military, never break one’s own backbone and become fish on the chopping block of reactionary forces

（八）毫不动摇坚持党对军队的绝对领导，决不能自断脊柱，沦为反动势力刀俎下的鱼肉

From its founding, the Soviet Red Army followed Lenin’s principle of army building, establishing the CPSU’s absolute leadership over the Red Army and firmly holding the proletarian army in the hands of the proletarian party. The experience and lessons of the history of the international communist movement have repeatedly proven the extreme importance of upholding the fundamental principle and system of the Party’s absolute leadership over the military and of placing ideological and political construction at the forefront of all military construction.

苏联红军自创立起，就遵循列宁的建军原则，确立了苏共对红军的绝对领导，将无产阶级的军队牢牢掌握在无产阶级政党手中。国际共产主义运动历史的经验和教训一再证明，坚持党对军队绝对领导的根本原则和制度，坚持把思想政治建设摆在军队各项建设首位，具有极端重要性。

During the “August 19” incident in the Soviet Union in 1991, the airborne troops and the KGB “Alpha” group, which had been ordered into Moscow, refused to carry out their superiors’ orders, turned their guns around, and supported Yeltsin of the “Democratic Platform.” At the critical moment when the nation faced survival or extinction, the army that the CPSU itself had created not only failed to fulfill its mission and responsibility but instead switched sides at the last moment, accelerating the collapse of the CPSU and the disintegration of the state. The root cause was the disastrous consequence of Gorbachev’s so-called “reform,” which promoted the “nationalization of the military” and the “de-partification of the military,” causing the CPSU to completely abandon its leadership over the military.

1991年苏联“8·19”事件中，奉命进入莫斯科的空降兵部队、克格勃“阿尔法”行动小组拒绝执行上级命令，调转枪口，支持“民主纲领派”的叶利钦。在国家面临生死存亡的关键时刻，苏共自己缔造的军队非但不履行自己的使命责任，反而临阵倒戈，加速了苏共的崩溃和国家的瓦解，究其根本原因是戈尔巴乔夫以“改革”为名，搞所谓“军队国家化”“军队非党化”的恶果，使苏共彻底放弃了对军队的领导权。

Ideologically, Gorbachev vigorously advocated the “de-politicization,” “de-partification,” and “nationalization” of the military, the essence of which was to transfer the supreme command authority over the military from the CPSU Central Committee to the Soviet president. Politically, the Main Political Directorate of the Army and Navy was abolished, political organs at all levels of the military were reduced, tens of thousands of officers were cut, and the political review system for officer promotion was eliminated, rapidly reducing the military’s loyalty and reliability to the Party and the state. Furthermore, the Law on the Establishment of the Post of President of the USSR and on Amendments and Additions to the Constitution (Fundamental Law) of the USSR, enacted in March 1990, legally stripped the CPSU of its supreme power to lead and command the Soviet military.

在思想上，戈尔巴乔夫极力宣扬军队“非政治化”“非党化”和军队“国家化”，其实质是把领导军队的最高指挥权由苏共中央转移到苏联总统那里。在政治上，撤销了军队总政治部，削减了军队各级政治机关，裁减了数万余名军官，取消了军官晋升的政治审查制度，使军队对党和国家的忠诚度、可靠性迅速下降。此外，1990年3月制定的《关于设立苏联总统和苏联宪法（根本法）修改补充法》，从法律上剥夺了苏共领导和指挥苏联军队的最高权力。

To achieve the goal of wresting the power to lead the military from the hands of the CPSU, the trend of historical nihilism in the Soviet Union became even more rampant, beginning to manufacture public opinion aimed at subverting the state, directing the target of negation toward the Soviet military and Soviet heroes. Anti-Soviet and anti-communist newspapers and extremist forces specifically exposed and attacked the so-called problems of the Soviet military, blaming the military for the consequences of Gorbachev’s erroneous reforms. The Soviet military became the “culprit” for tensions in the Soviet Union’s relations with other countries, while economic recession was the result of the military, this “monster,” sucking the country dry. Denigrating Soviet soldiers and negating the history of the Soviet military became fashionable. Zoya Kosmodemyanskaya, Alexander Matrosov, Fyodor Kryuchkov, the Young Guard, and other Soviet national heroes and heroic groups were slandered. The Soviet military became an accomplice of the “fascist regime,” and the victory in the Great Patriotic War was merely the defeat of the “small fascist” Germany by the “big fascist” Soviet Union. On November 14, 1990, Marshal of the Soviet Union Sergei Akhromeyev published an article in *Sovetskaya Rossiya* pointing out that the entire anti-military campaign had ceased to be a local issue since the middle of that year. Separatist and anti-socialist forces combined the policy of discrediting the military with the practice of squeezing out the Communist Party and stirred up large-scale unrest demanding the government’s resignation.

为达到把领导军队的权力从苏共手中夺出来的目的，苏联的历史虚无主义思潮更加泛滥，开始制造旨在颠覆国家的舆论，将否定的矛头指向苏联军队和苏联英雄。反苏反共报刊和极端势力专门揭露和抨击苏军的所谓问题，把因戈尔巴乔夫错误改革造成的后果嫁祸给军队，苏军成了苏联同其他国家关系紧张的“罪人”，而经济衰退是苏军这只“怪兽”吸干了国家血汗的结果。诋毁苏联军人、否定苏军历史成为时髦。卓娅(Зоя Космодемьянская)、马特洛索夫(Александр Матросов)、克洛奇科夫(Федор Крючков)、青年近卫军等苏联国家英雄和英雄团体遭到污蔑。苏军成了“法西斯政权”的帮凶，卫国战争胜利不过是苏联这个“大法西斯”打败了德国这个“小法西斯”。1990年11月14日，苏联元帅阿赫罗梅耶夫(Сергей Ахромеев)在《苏维埃俄罗斯报》发表文章指出，整个反军活动从今年年中起就已不再是局部问题了。分离主义和反社会主义势力把败坏军队名誉的方针同排挤共产党的做法结合起来，并搞起要求政府辞职的大规模动乱。

At that time, Zoya was by no means the only hero defiled by lies. Hostile forces both inside and outside the Soviet Union slandered and insulted almost all the heroic figures of whom the Soviet people were proud. For example, Alexander Matveyevich Matrosov, a private in the Soviet Guards, on February 23, 1943, in the battle for the village of Chernushki near Velikiye Luki in Pskov Oblast, used his unyielding chest to block the machine-gun port of a German pillbox spewing flames. Matrosov sacrificed his precious life at the age of 19 for victory. On June 19, 1943, he was posthumously awarded the title “Hero of the Soviet Union.” Nine years later, on the Korean battlefield, a Matrosov-style hero appeared—Huang Jiguang, a special-class merit hero and super-class hero of the Chinese People’s Volunteers. However, this “Soviet Huang Jiguang” was, during the Gorbachev period, vilified as a “juvenile delinquent” and a “convict soldier” sent to the front from a Gulag exile camp. The rumor-mongers also slandered that Matrosov was short and thin, that the German machine guns had a caliber of 40 mm, that multiple machine guns were firing, and that the firing port was up to one and a half meters wide, making it impossible for him to block the embrasure. Even the testimony of his comrade Khamza Tagirov, who witnessed Matrosov’s sacrifice, was questioned, with claims that his memory was unreliable. How similar these claims are to the rumors that once appeared in our country slandering Huang Jiguang! It is just that these fallacies of historical nihilism have, since the 18th National Congress of the CPC, been criticized by the masses like rats crossing the street. At the same time, our country has also enacted legislation to protect the reputation of heroes, severely punishing acts of defiling people’s heroes and models.

当时被谎言玷污的绝不仅仅是卓娅一位英雄。苏联国内外敌对势力对苏联人民引以为傲的几乎所有英雄人物都进行了诽谤和侮辱，如苏联近卫军列兵亚历山大·马特维耶维奇·马特洛索夫（Александр Матвеевич Матросов），1943年2月23日在普斯科夫州大卢基城下争夺切尔努什卡村的战斗中，他用自己不屈的胸膛堵住了从德军碉堡向外喷射着火舌的机枪眼。马特洛索夫为胜利奉献了年仅19岁的宝贵生命。1943年6月19日，他被追认为“苏联英雄”。时隔9年后在朝鲜战场也出现了马特洛索夫式的英雄——中国人民志愿军特等功臣、特级英雄黄继光。然而这位“苏联的黄继光”在戈尔巴乔夫时期却被丑化成“少年犯”、从古拉格流放地走上前线的“囚犯军人”。造谣者还污蔑说：马特洛索夫身材矮小瘦弱，德军机枪口径达40毫米，且有多挺机枪射击，射击孔宽度达一米半，他不可能挡住枪眼。就连目睹马特洛索夫牺牲的战友塔吉罗夫（Хамза Тагиров）的证词也遭受质疑，认为其记忆靠不住。这些说法和我国一度出现的污蔑黄继光的流言蜚语何其相似！只不过这些历史虚无主义的邪说，自党的十八大以来已经被广大群众批得如过街老鼠。同时，我国也作出了维护英雄声誉的立法，严惩对人民英雄模范的玷污行为。

A society that negates its heroes is doomed to have no future. The lies, as numerous as fish swimming downstream, not only stirred up public opinion, confused people’s understanding, stripped the 5-million-strong Soviet military of all its former glory, and deprived the Soviet people of their strong backing to defend their political power, but also led the CPSU, with its nearly 20 million members, and the Soviet Russia and the Soviet Union, with their more than 70 years of history, to collapse together. The ultimate fate of the mighty Soviet military is truly lamentable, and this historical mirror is one we must always remember.

一个否定了英雄的社会，注定是没有前途的。如过江之鲫的谎言，不仅搅乱了舆论，混淆了视听，使500万苏联军队丧失昔日的一切荣光，使苏联人民丧失保卫自己政权的坚强后盾，而且也使拥有近2000万党员的苏共与70余年历史的苏俄和苏联一起走向瓦解。强大苏军的最终命运让人唏嘘不已，历史镜鉴值得我们永远牢记。

(9) We must maintain high vigilance against the Western strategy of peaceful evolution, and under no circumstances allow a fifth column to run rampant within the country or even inside the Party, especially the phenomenon of “a cuckoo occupying a magpie’s nest” [15]15 “A cuckoo occupying a magpie’s nest” (鸠占鹊巢) is a Chinese idiom meaning that someone seizes another’s place or property by force or cunning. Here it refers to Western agents or those with Western loyalties taking over leadership positions within the Soviet Party and state. appearing in the Party’s leadership group; otherwise, the collapse of the Party and the state will become inevitable.

（九）要高度警惕西方和平演变战略，决不能让第五纵队在国内甚至党内横行无忌尤其是在党的领导集团中出现“鸠占鹊巢”之现象，否则党和国家的倾覆将成为必然

“Peaceful evolution” is a strategic concept proposed by the Dulles brothers, John Dulles and Allen Dulles, for the U.S. government to “contain” socialist countries from 1953 to 1961. As World War II was drawing to a close in 1945, Allen Dulles, then a senior official in U.S. intelligence, detailed how to use peaceful methods to promote the evolution of the Soviet Union: “The war will be over, and everything will be sorted out and arranged. We will spare no effort, using all our gold and all our material resources, to mold people into what we need them to be, to make them listen to us.” “People’s brains, people’s consciousness, can change. As long as we confuse their minds, we can imperceptibly alter their values.” “We must find people within Russia who agree with our ideology, find our allies.” “We will imperceptibly, but actively and constantly, promote the willfulness of officials, making them insatiably greedy and corrupt, and lose their principles.” “We will gradually erase their social existence from literature and art.” “We will, with superb skill, sanctify all this imperceptibly, making it bloom with brilliant flowers… Only a few, a very few, will be able to sense or realize what is happening. But we will isolate these people, making them objects of public ridicule; we will find ways to slander them, declaring them social dregs.” On January 15, 1953, U.S. Secretary of State John Dulles claimed that destroying the socialist threat to the free world must and could be done by peaceful methods. Those who do not believe that the pressure of ideas and propaganda can produce results are too ignorant.

“和平演变”是约翰·杜勒斯（John Dulles）和艾伦·杜勒斯（Allen Dulles）兄弟二人在1953年~1961年为美国政府“遏制”社会主义国家提出的战略思想。1945年第二次世界大战即将结束之际，时任美国情报部门高级官员的艾伦·杜勒斯详细勾勒出如何用和平办法促使苏联演变：“战争将要结束，一切都会有办法弄妥，都会安排好。我们将倾其所有，拿出所有的黄金，全部物质力量，把人们塑造成我们需要的样子，让他们听我们的。”“人的脑子，人的意识，是会变的。只要把脑子弄乱，我们就能不知不觉改变人们的价值观念。”“我们一定要在俄罗斯内部找到同意我们思想意识的人，找到我们的同盟军。”“我们将不知不觉地，但积极地和经常不断地促进官员们的恣意妄为，让他们贪贿无度，丧失原则。”“我们将从文学和艺术中逐渐抹去他们的社会存在。”“我们将以高超的手法，在不知不觉间把这一切都神圣化，让它绽放出绚丽之花……只有少数人，极少数人，才能感觉到或者认识到究竟发生了什么。但是我们会把这些人置于孤立无援的境地，把他们变成众人耻笑的对象；我们会找到毁谤他们的方法，宣布他们是社会渣滓。”1953年1月15日美国国务卿约翰·杜勒斯声称，要摧垮社会主义对自由世界的威胁必须是而且可能是和平的方法。那些不相信精神的压力、宣传的压力能产生效果的人太无知了。

The Western hostile forces’ implementation of the peaceful evolution strategy against the Soviet Union first involved cultivating a strong internal force aligned with the West within the Soviet Party and state leadership at all levels, especially the highest leadership, i.e., the so-called “fifth column.” The West used channels such as cultural exchanges, economic activities, and personnel visits to conduct ideological and cultural infiltration, cultivating spokespersons for the West in the Soviet Union. This was mainly done by extensively recruiting experts and scholars from various disciplines, using propaganda, mutual visits, reconnaissance, espionage, and other means to wage large-scale psychological warfare. Through means such as vocal support and bribery, they supported Soviet dissidents. They exploited ethnic contradictions to create ethnic splits and incite discontent within Soviet society. By spreading political rumors, they vilified the images of Soviet leaders like Lenin and Stalin, inciting popular resentment and hatred toward the Soviet system and longing for Western society.

西方敌对势力对苏联推行和平演变战略，首先是在苏联党、国家各级领导中及社会各界尤其是最高领导层培植西方的强大内应力量，也就是俗称的“第五纵队”西方利用文化交流、经济活动、人员往来等途径进行思想文化渗透，培植西方在苏联的代言人；主要通过广泛招募各学科的专家、学者，利用宣传、互访、侦察、谍报等手段，进行大规模的心理战；通过声援、收买等途径，支持苏联的持不同政见者；利用民族矛盾，制造民族分裂，煽动苏联社会的不满情绪；通过散布政治谣言，丑化列宁、斯大林等苏联领导人的形象，煽动群众对苏联制度的反感和仇恨及对西方社会的向往。

In September 1956, the U.S. government decided to take advantage of Khrushchev’s advocacy of “peaceful coexistence” between socialism and capitalism to encourage “large-scale people-to-people exchanges” between the U.S. and the Soviet Union, proposing to invite 10,000 Soviet university students to study in the United States, with all expenses borne by the U.S. government. They placed their hopes on the day when this group cultivated by the United States would come to power in the Soviet Union. Subsequent events proved that the Americans’ efforts were not in vain. By attracting large numbers of young Soviets to study in the United States and other means, the U.S. conducted anti-communist propaganda among them, cultivating a pro-American, pro-Western anti-communist and anti-socialist force. Yakovlev was a typical representative. According to Vladimir Kryuchkov, former chairman of the Soviet KGB, Yakovlev was recruited by U.S. intelligence agencies during his studies at Columbia University in 1960 and received instructions from the American side during the Soviet “reform” period.

1956年9月，美国政府决定利用赫鲁晓夫倡导社会主义同资本主义“和平共处”之机，鼓动苏美间进行“大规模人民对人民的交流”，主张邀请一万名苏联大学生到美国留学，费用全部由美国政府负担。其寄希望有朝一日，美国培植的这一批人在苏联掌权。后来的事实证明，美国人没有白费苦心。美国通过吸引大量苏联年轻人赴美留学等方式，对他们进行反共宣传，培养出一批亲美亲西方的反共反社会主义力量。雅科夫列夫就是其中的一位典型代表。据原苏联国家安全委员会主席克留奇科夫（Владимир Крючков）披露，雅科夫列夫1960年在美国哥伦比亚大学进修期间被美国特工机关收买并在苏联“改革”期间接受过美国方面的指示。

The West also used the Nobel Prize, various foundations, and non-governmental organizations under its control to influence and dominate the intellectual community in Soviet society, cultivating pro-Western “intellectual elites” to propagate Western ideological theories and values. The Nobel Prize in Literature, the Nobel Peace Prize, and even the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences all bear a distinct Western ideological color. The Soviet Union won the Nobel Prize in Literature five times and the Nobel Peace Prize twice. Apart from Mikhail Sholokhov, the famous Soviet writer and author of *And Quiet Flows the Don*, who won in 1965, the works of the other four laureates were known for denying and vilifying the October Revolution and the Stalin era. The most famous was Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn, renowned for writing *The Gulag Archipelago*. One of the two Peace Prizes was awarded to the famous Soviet “dissident” and scientist Andrei Sakharov, who engaged in anti-Soviet and anti-communist political activities from the 1970s onward; his 1975 award stemmed from Western recognition of his political activities. The other Peace Prize was awarded in 1990 to Gorbachev, in recognition of his “outstanding contributions” to dismantling the CPSU and promoting “democracy” in Eastern Europe. At this point, the hidden hand manipulating the “Nobel Prize” was finally exposed.

西方还利用自己把持的诺贝尔奖、各种基金会以及各种非政府组织，影响并主导苏联社会的知识分子群体，培植亲西方的“知识精英”，让他们宣传西方的思想理论和价值观。诺贝尔文学奖、和平奖包括经济学奖，都带有鲜明的西方意识形态色彩。苏联一共获得5次诺贝尔文学奖、2次诺贝尔和平奖。获得诺贝尔文学奖的除了1965年获奖的苏联著名作家、《静静的顿河》作者肖洛霍夫（Михаил Шолохов）外，其余4位获奖者的作品都以否定和丑化十月革命、斯大林时期而著称，最有名的就是以撰写《古拉格群岛》闻名的索尔仁尼琴（Александр Солженицын）。两个和平奖一个奖给了苏联著名“持不同政见者”、科学家萨哈罗夫（Андрей Сахаров），此人从20世纪70年代起从事反苏反共政治活动，他在1975年的获奖源自西方对其政治活动的肯定。另一个和平奖在1990年给了戈尔巴乔夫，奖励他在瓦解苏共及推动东欧“民主”方面作出的“杰出贡献”。至此，暗箱操作“诺贝尔奖”的黑手终于暴露出来了。

Western non-governmental organizations also played a significant role in dismantling the CPSU’s ideology and promoting the dissolution of the Soviet Union. Friedrich Hayek, a British economist and political scientist and a representative figure of neoliberalism known for his anti-communist and anti-Marxist stance, actively participated in Western ideological infiltration of the Soviet Union in the 1980s using the Mont Pelerin Society, funded by British financial groups. He focused on sponsoring a number of Soviet scholars to study in the West, including Yegor Gaidar and Anatoly Chubais. Under the influence of Hayek and the Mont Pelerin Society, Gaidar and Chubais vigorously spread neoliberal ideas in the Soviet Union and Russia, implementing “shock therapy” based on neoliberal theory, which became a major driver of the economic collapse of the Soviet Union and Russia.

西方非政府组织在瓦解苏共意识形态、推动苏联解体方面也发挥了重要作用。以反共、反马克思主义著称的新自由主义代表人物——英国经济学家、政治学家哈耶克（Friedrich Hayek），在英国财团资助下利用蒙特普列基金会，在20世纪80年代积极参与西方对苏联的思想渗透，重点资助一批苏联学者到西方进修，其中包括盖达尔（Егор Гайдар）、丘拜斯（Анатолий Чубайс）。在哈耶克和蒙特普列基金会影响下，盖达尔、丘拜斯极力在苏联和俄罗斯传播新自由主义思想，推行以新自由主义为理论基础的“休克疗法”，成为导致苏联经济和俄罗斯经济崩溃的重要推手。

George Soros, founder of the Open Society Foundations, established the Soviet Soros Foundation in Moscow in 1987, actively funding anti-Soviet and anti-communist liberal elements to engage in political activities aimed at dissolving the Soviet Union, such as the famous “dissident” and historian Yuri Afanasyev. In addition, in 1990, the Soros Foundation funded a working group led by Grigory Yavlinsky and others to formulate a plan for the Soviet Union’s transition to a free-market economy (the “500-Day Program”). The foundation also funded a large number of journalists and television anchors, cultivating a group of so-called independent television media experts to serve as mouthpieces for anti-Soviet and anti-communist activities.

美国开放社会基金创始人索罗斯于1987年在莫斯科建立了苏联索罗斯基金会，积极资助反苏反共的自由派分子从事解体苏联的政治活动，比如著名的“持不同政见者”、历史学家尤里·阿法纳西耶夫(Юрий Афанасьев)。除此之外，索罗斯基金会还在1990年资助由亚夫林斯基(Григорий Явлинский)等人组成的旨在制定苏联向自由市场经济过渡方案（“500天计划”）的工作小组。该基金会还资助大量新闻记者和电视主播，培养了一批所谓独立的电视媒体专家，充当反苏反共的喉舌，积极从事反苏反共活动。

The United States and other Western countries placed particular emphasis on seeking and cultivating proxies within the Soviet leadership at all levels. The Western secret society Freemasonry also played a significant catalytic role in promoting the dissolution of the Soviet Union. According to revelations by Russian historian Oleg Platonov in his book *The Crown of Thorns of Russia: A History of Freemasonry (1731–1995)*, from 1945 to 1994, more than 400 senior Party and government officials within the former Soviet system joined the Freemasons or international organizations affiliated with Freemasonry (such as the Bilderberg Club, the “Greater Europe” Committee, and the “International Russia Club”), including top CPSU leaders such as Gorbachev, Yakovlev, Shevardnadze, and Yeltsin.

以美国为首的西方尤为重视在苏联各级领导层寻求培植代理人。西方的神秘组织共济会在推动苏联解体过程中也发挥了重要的催化作用。据俄罗斯历史学家普拉托诺夫（Олег Платонов）在《俄罗斯荆棘之冠：共济会历史（1731~1995）》一书中揭露，自1945年至1994年，原苏联体制内约有400名以上的党政高级官员加入共济会或隶属共济会的国际组织（如“彼得伯格俱乐部”“大欧洲”委员会、“国际俄罗斯俱乐部”等），其中包括戈尔巴乔夫、雅科夫列夫、谢瓦尔德纳泽、叶利钦等苏共高层领导人。

As the General Secretary of a major party in a great power like the Soviet Union, one ought to have been a firm and clear-minded Marxist-Leninist who wholeheartedly serves the overwhelming majority of one’s own country and the world—that is, “I will have no self, and I will not fail the people.” [16]16 “I will have no self, and I will not fail the people” (我将无我，不负人民): A phrase used by Xi Jinping in 2019 to express his dedication to serving the people without personal ambition. But most regrettably, this critically important post gradually witnessed the peculiar phenomenon of “a magpie occupying a dove’s nest,” [17]17 “A magpie occupying a dove’s nest” (鸠占鹊巢): A Chinese idiom meaning that someone seizes or occupies what rightfully belongs to another. being seized by degenerated and metamorphosed elements within the Party and traitors to the communist cause. The emergence of this peculiar phenomenon certainly had extremely complex intra-Party and domestic causes, but it was also directly linked to extremely complex international factors. Many solid pieces of evidence prove that Gorbachev, a person who had completely lost his communist faith, was able to be elected General Secretary of the CPSU Central Committee precisely because of the inducement and support of Western forces led by the United States. The famous Soviet dissident Aleksandr Zinoviev stated that around 1979 he had a conversation with a certain staff member of British intelligence, who told him: “Soon they (i.e., Western forces) will place their own man on the Soviet throne.” Although this staff member did not mention Gorbachev’s name, Zinoviev concluded from this: this prophecy was prescient. As early as before 1983, the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency had already obtained a great deal of intelligence about Gorbachev, intelligence that led U.S. intelligence agencies to believe that “he could be used to serve their own political interests.” Thereafter, the West, led by the United States, repeatedly attempted to establish secret contacts with Gorbachev and regarded him as the best candidate for the leader of the CPSU. Margaret Thatcher also stated bluntly: “It was we who made Gorbachev General Secretary.” Some commentators believe that London approved Gorbachev’s election as General Secretary of the CPSU Central Committee before Moscow did. In fact, while studying at Moscow University in 1953, Gorbachev became close friends with the Czech student Zdeněk Mlynář. And Zdeněk was precisely a “dissident” that the United States had long been cultivating in Czechoslovakia. Zdeněk served as Secretary of the Central Committee and a member of the Presidium of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia in 1968, was one of the leaders of the “Prague Spring,” and was expelled from the Party in 1970. In 1977, Zdeněk, together with 240 other Czechoslovak intellectuals and people from other sectors and strata, signed and published the declaration “Charter 77,” which demanded the protection of so-called basic human rights and challenged the so-called Stalinist dictatorial rule. On the surface, Gorbachev had virtually no contact with Zdeněk, but Andrei Grachev, the author of Gorbachev’s biography, quoted Gorbachev as saying to *Komsomolskaya Pravda* in 1994: “Zdeněk is my closest friend, closer than anyone else.” In 2002, Gorbachev also confirmed: “I had a friend named Zdeněk Mlynář, and we maintained a friendly relationship until the very end of his life.” After being elected General Secretary, Gorbachev immediately invited Zdeněk to Moscow, but his meeting with him was not made public.

作为苏联这样大国大党的总书记，本应是全心全意为本国和世界的绝大多数人服务亦即“我将无我，不负人民”的坚定清醒的马克思列宁主义者，但十分可惜，这样关键重要的岗位，却逐渐出现“鸠占鹊巢”这一奇特的现象，被党内的蜕化变质分子和共产主义事业的叛徒所把持。这一奇特现象的出现，当然有极其复杂的党内国内原因，但与极其复杂的国际因素亦有着直接的关联。很多确凿材料证明，戈尔巴乔夫这样一个完全丧失了共产主义信仰的人之所以能够当选苏共中央总书记，与以美国为首的西方势力的诱导和扶植密切相关。苏联著名持不同政见者亚·季诺维也夫(Александр Зиновьев)称，1979年左右他曾与英国情报机构的某工作人员交谈，该工作人员告诉他：“很快他们（即西方势力）将把自己的人安排在苏联的王位。”尽管这个工作人员并没有提及戈尔巴乔夫的名字，但季诺维也夫据此作出结论：这一预言有先见之明。早在1983年之前，美国中央情报局就掌握了关于戈尔巴乔夫的很多情报，这些情报使美国特工部门相信，“可以利用他为自己的政治利益服务”。此后，以美国为首的西方多次试图与戈尔巴乔夫建立秘密联系，并将他视为苏共领导人的最佳人选。撒切尔夫人也曾直言不讳：“是我们让戈尔巴乔夫成为总书记。”有评论认为，伦敦先于莫斯科批准了戈尔巴乔夫当选苏共中央总书记。其实，1953年在莫斯科大学学习时，戈尔巴乔夫就与捷克留学生兹德涅克·姆林纳日(Зденек Млынарж)成了好朋友。而兹德涅克却是美国在捷克早就着力培养的“持不同政见者”。兹德涅克1968年任捷共中央委员会书记和主席团成员，是“布拉格之春”的领袖之一，1970年被开除出党。1977年，兹德涅克还与其他240位捷克斯洛伐克的知识分子及其他界别、阶层的人士签署并发布了要求保护所谓基本人权的宣言《七七宪章》，对所谓斯大林主义的专制统治发起挑战。戈尔巴乔夫表面上与兹德涅克基本没有联系，但戈尔巴乔夫传记的作者格拉乔夫（Андрей Грачев）曾引用戈尔巴乔夫1994年对《共青团真理报》所说的话：“兹德涅克是我最亲密的朋友，比任何人都更亲密。”2002年戈尔巴乔夫还证实：“我有一个朋友叫兹德涅克·姆林纳日，直到他生命的最后时刻，我们都保持着友好关系。”当选总书记之后，戈尔巴乔夫立即邀请兹德涅克赴莫斯科，但与他的会见却不公开。

Allen Dulles, a high-ranking official of the U.S. CIA, acknowledged in his book *The Craft of Intelligence*, published in the mid-1960s, that Western intelligence agencies closely monitored “Communists at all levels, from the top to the grassroots, in socialist countries, carefully building up files and dossiers, recording in detail their activities and speeches, and relevant information about their personal and social lives.” Soviet KGB General Andrei Sidorenko recalled: “In the mid-1960s, the KGB obtained from its sources the first intelligence about the CIA and other U.S. intelligence agencies shifting to recruiting so-called agents of influence.” “And these agents of influence were recruited for future use, that is, in the hope that at some unknown moment in the future, they could be promoted to work within the Party and state organs, influential social institutions, and the Soviet military.” Russian historian Aleksandr Ostrovsky, in his book *Who Supported Gorbachev?*, proposed: “Gorbachev’s name appeared on the CIA’s personnel index cards no later than 1968, when he was Second Secretary of the Stavropol Krai Party Committee.”

美国中情局高官艾伦·杜勒斯在20世纪60年代中期出版的《间谍艺术》一书中承认，西方情报机构密切关注着社会主义国家“各个级别的共产党员，从最高层到基层，认真建立档案卷宗，详细记录他们的活动和讲话，个人和社会生活的有关情况”。苏联克格勃将军西多连科（Андрей Сидоренко）回忆说：“20世纪60年代中期，克格勃从其消息来源得到了关于中央情报局和美国其他特工机构转入招募所谓利益代理人的第一份情报。”“而招募这些利益代理人，是为了在将来使用，即指望在今后的某一未知的时刻，他们能够晋升到党和国家机关、有影响的社会机构以及苏联军队，并在那里工作。”俄罗斯历史学家奥斯特罗夫斯基(Александр Островский)在《谁扶持了戈尔巴乔夫？》一书中提出：“戈尔巴乔夫的姓名出现在中央情报局人物资料卡片的时间，不会晚于1968年，当时他任斯塔夫罗波尔边疆区党委第二书记。”

After the dissolution of the Soviet Union, U.S. CIA Director Robert Gates walked on Red Square in Moscow and said, not without pride: “We knew that it could not be taken down by applying economic pressure, or by an arms race, or even by force. It could only be destroyed through an internal explosion.” Former Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the USSR Nikolai Ryzhkov said: “If there had not been a ‘fifth column’ [18]18 “Fifth column” (第五纵队): A term originating from the Spanish Civil War (1936–1939), referring to covert sympathizers or agents of an enemy who operate within a country to undermine it from within. inside that actually fully pursued the goals set by the enemies of the Soviet Union, and relying only on external forces, no one could have done anything to our country.” Former Soviet Minister of Defense Dmitry Yazov said: “There was a so-called ‘fifth column,’ people who lived off the Americans. There were not many of these people, but it was they who crippled the Soviet Union.”

苏联解体后，美国中央情报局局长罗伯特·盖茨（Robert Gates）不无骄傲地在莫斯科红场散步并说道：“我们知道，无论施加经济压力还是进行军备竞赛，甚至用武力也拿不下来。只能通过内部爆炸来毁灭它。”原苏联部长会议主席尼古拉·雷日科夫说：“如果内部没有一个实际上完全奉行苏联的敌人所树立的目标的‘第五纵队’，而只靠外部力量，谁也不能把我们国家怎么样。”。原苏联国防部长德米特里·亚佐夫说：“有一支所谓的‘第五纵队’，这些人依靠美国人吃饭。这些人不多，但正是他们打残了苏联。”

After Gorbachev’s death, Biden and other Western leaders gave him extremely high praise, lavishing him with all kinds of eulogistic words without stint. U.S. President Biden stated: “Gorbachev was a man of remarkable vision. When he came to power, the Cold War had been going on for nearly 40 years, and communism had existed even longer, with devastating consequences. Almost no one in the top leadership of the Soviet Union had the courage to admit that change was needed. As a member of the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee, I saw Gorbachev do that, and he did more than that.” British Prime Minister Johnson said: “I am saddened by the news of Gorbachev’s death. I have always admired the courage and honesty he showed in peacefully ending the Cold War.”

在戈尔巴乔夫去世后，拜登等西方国家领导人给予他极高的评价，毫不吝啬地给他献上了种种溢美之词。美国总统拜登称：“戈尔巴乔夫是一位有着非凡远见的人。在他上台执政时，冷战已持续了将近40年，而共产主义存在的时间甚至更久，带来毁灭性的后果。苏联高层领导人中几乎没有人有勇气承认需要进行改变。作为美国国会参议院外交关系委员会的成员，我看到戈尔巴乔夫这样做了，并且他做的不止于此。”英国首相约翰逊表示：“我对戈尔巴乔夫去世的消息感到悲伤。我一直钦佩他为和平结束冷战表现出的勇气和诚实。”

The existence of the “fifth column” enabled the U.S.-led Western strategy of peaceful evolution to achieve a comprehensive “victory.” This was a “victory” unprecedented for the West since the establishment of socialist countries. The harm caused by the Soviet “fifth column” tells us that battles on the military battlefield are often breathtaking because they are visible, but battles on invisible battlefields such as the economy, ideology, and culture, though seemingly calm on the surface, often become more lethal because of their strong concealment and deceptiveness.

“第五纵队”的存在，使美西方和平演变战略获得全面的“胜利”。这是自社会主义国家建立后，西方从未有过的“胜利”。苏联“第五纵队”的危害告诉我们，军事战场上的战斗往往因为看得见而惊心动魄，但是在经济、思想、文化等看不见的战场上的战斗，表面上风平浪静，但因其具有很强的隐蔽性、迷惑性，往往变得更加致命。

It is an indisputable fact that the “fifth column” planted and deployed by the West, led by the United States, in the Soviet Union—including Gorbachev, Yakovlev, Shevardnadze, Yeltsin, and others—collaborated from within with anti-Soviet forces in the West to bring down the Soviet Party and state. The process is shocking and well worth our study. (To be continued)

以美国为首的西方在苏联策反安置的“第五纵队”包括戈尔巴乔夫、雅科夫列夫、谢瓦尔德纳泽、叶利钦等人与西方反苏势力里应外合搞垮苏联的党和国家是不争的事实，其过程触目惊心，很值得我们去研究。（待续）

(Author: Li Shenming, Honorary Dean of the School of Political Science and Public Administration, Zhengzhou University; Director of the World Socialism Research Center, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences)

（作者：李慎明，郑州大学政治与公共管理学院名誉院长、中国社会科学院世界社会主义研究中心主任）

(Project: This article is a phased result of the National Social Science Fund specially commissioned research topic “New Changes in Capitalism, the Essence and Development Trends of Imperialism, and Our Strategic Response.” Team leader: Li Shenming; Team members: Liu Shulin, Wang Tingyou, Li Ruiqin, Zhang Shuhua, Fan Jianxin, Zhao Dingqi.)

（项目：本文系国家社科基金特别委托研究专题“资本主义新变化、帝国主义本质和发展趋势及我战略应对”的阶段性成果。课题组组长：李慎明；课题组成员：刘书林、汪亭友、李瑞琴、张树华、樊建新、赵丁琪。）

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