Lenin's Thought on the "Overall Leadership" of the Ruling Party and Its Contemporary Value

After the victory of the October Revolution, the Bolshevik Party became the ruling party of Soviet Russia. On the basis of a profound summation of governing experience, Lenin combined Marx and Engels' theory of Party leadership with the governing practice of the Russian Communist Party (Bolsheviks), and carried out rich theoretical reflection and practical exploration on how the RCP(B) should exercise its leading role and how to realize overall leadership over all political and economic work of the state power, thereby forming an important body of thought on the "overall leadership" of the ruling party. He profoundly expounded the status and role of the proletarian party in the entire political and economic life of the state, comprehensively elaborated the idea that Party leadership is "overall leadership," emphasized that Party leadership is the highest leadership of an overall character, is comprehensive leadership over the life of the state, is political, ideological and organizational leadership carried out from the whole, and is indirect leadership exercised through the state power. Lenin's thought on the "overall leadership" of the ruling party enriches and develops the Marxist theory of Party leadership, points out the correct direction for communist parties to hold state power and build socialism, provides an extremely valuable theoretical guide for communist parties in other socialist countries of the world to reform and improve Party leadership, and also provides rich theoretical resources and historical experience for the Communist Party of China in the New Era to strengthen the Party's overall leadership and centralized, unified leadership and to build a Marxist party that is a long-term governing party.

十月革命胜利后，布尔什维克党成为苏维埃俄国的执政党。在深刻总结执政经验的基础上，列宁将马克思恩格斯关于党的领导理论同俄共（布）执政实践相结合，对俄共(布)如何发挥领导作用、如何实现对国家政权全部政治经济工作总的领导进行了丰富的理论思考和实践探索，形成了关于执政党“总的领导”的重要思想。他深刻论述了无产阶级政党在整个国家政治经济生活中的地位和作用，全面阐释了党的领导是“总的领导”的思想，强调党的领导是全局性的最高领导，是对国家生活的全面领导，是从整体上进行政治、思想和组织领导，是通过国家政权进行的间接领导。列宁关于执政党“总的领导”思想，是对马克思主义党的领导理论的丰富和发展，为共产党执掌政权和建设社会主义指明了正确方向，为世界其他社会主义国家共产党改革和完善党的领导提供了极为宝贵的理论指南，也为新时代中国共产党加强党的全面领导和集中统一领导、建设长期执政党的马克思主义政党提供了丰富的理论资源和历史经验。

I. The Formation Process of Lenin's Thought on the "Overall Leadership" of the Ruling Party

一、列宁执政党“总的领导”思想的形成历程

In the history of the development of the Marxist theory of leadership, Lenin was the first to explicitly put forward the important idea that the leadership of the ruling party is "overall leadership." The proposal and formation of this valuable idea went through a long process of arduous exploration and profound reflection, adding valuable theoretical wealth to Marxist thought on party building and the theory of Party leadership.

在马克思主义领导理论发展史上，列宁第一次明确提出了执政党的领导是“总的领导”的重要思想。这一宝贵思想的提出和形成，经过了一个长期艰辛探索和深刻思考的过程，为马克思主义政党建设思想和党的领导理论增添了宝贵的理论财富。

(1) The Embryonic Stage

（一）萌芽期

From the victory of the October Revolution to the spring of 1919, Lenin's basic idea on Party leadership was: the Party should lead, and realize its leading role through the state power. At the end of September 1917, Lenin pointed out: "The class-conscious workers should lead, and they are also able to attract the truly oppressed working masses to take part in the work of administration." In Lenin's view, the masses of the people should "manage the state themselves," and "as long as they set their hands to management, they are able to manage and will learn to manage." In this situation, the Party could not directly replace the masses of the people in managing the state, but could only lead, "lead the masses forward," and play an important role in the general policy and strategy of the revolution. After the victory of the October Revolution, the Bolshevik Party began to hold state power, and the Party's tasks were adjusted with changes in the revolutionary situation and social conditions, undergoing a transition from "persuading the state" and "seizing the state" to "managing the state." How to organize the management of the state thus became the primary and central task of the Bolshevik Party after the victory of the revolution. In December 1917, in "How to Organize Competition?" Lenin emphasized the possibility of the masses of the people managing the state, pointing out: "Every ordinary worker and peasant who is literate, who has the ability to judge people, and who has practical experience is capable of doing the work of an organizer." In March 1918, Lenin stressed that the role of the state power should first be brought into play, and then the direct management of the state by the masses of the people should be gradually introduced. He pointed out: "In order to further develop the Soviet state organization, every member of a Soviet should, in addition to attending meetings of the Soviet, be obliged to undertake constant work in the management of the state; and then gradually all residents should be brought to participate in the Soviet organizations (under the condition of submitting to the organizations of the working people) and to undertake the duties of state administration." After the end of the civil war, as the focus of work shifted to socialist economic construction, Lenin gained a new understanding of how to realize the management of the state by the masses of the people. That the masses of the people should directly manage the state was originally Lenin's intention. But later Lenin discovered that, owing to Russia's backward economic conditions and low cultural level, the masses of the people had serious deficiencies in their level of knowledge and managerial ability, and were unable to take on the task of directly managing state affairs; it could only be that the masses of the people exercised the power of managing the state by electing outstanding representatives. On January 20, 1919, in his report at the Second All-Russian Congress of Trade Unions, Lenin pointed out: "Now, in every department of state administration, in every part of enterprises that have been socialized or are being socialized, or, in other words, in the economic sphere, the new class, the proletariat, has its own representatives." If the masses of the people or some social organizations directly managed the state, "if they wanted to act on their own and take upon themselves the functions of state power, it would only make a mess of things."

从十月革命胜利到1919年春，列宁关于党的领导的基本思想：党应该进行领导，并通过国家政权实现其领导作用。1917年9月底，列宁指出：“觉悟的工人应该进行领导，并且他们也能够吸引真正的被压迫劳动群众来从事管理工作。”在列宁看来，人民群众应该“自己管理国家”，“只要动手管理，就能够管理并学会管理”。在这种情况下，党不能直接代替人民群众管理国家，而只能进行领导，“带领群众前进”，并在革命的大政方略方面发挥重要作用。在十月革命胜利后，布尔什维克党开始执掌政权，党的任务随着革命形势和社会条件的变化而调整，经历了从“说服国家”“夺取国家”到“管理国家”的转变。如何组织对国家的管理，就成为了革命胜利后布尔什维克党首要的、中心的任务。1917年12月，列宁在《怎样组织竞赛？》中强调了人民群众管理国家的可能性，他指出：“凡是识字的、有识别人的本领的、有实际经验的普通工人和农民都能够胜任组织家的工作。”1918年3月，列宁强调要首先发挥国家政权的作用，然后再逐步实行人民群众对国家的直接管理。他指出：“为了进一步发展苏维埃国家组织，应该使每一个苏维埃成员除参加苏维埃的会议外，都必须担负管理国家的经常工作；然后逐步做到使全体居民都来参加苏维埃组织（在服从劳动者组织的条件下）并担负国家管理的职务。”在国内战争结束后，随着工作重心转向社会主义经济建设上来，列宁对如何实现人民群众对国家的管理有了新的认识。由人民群众来直接管理国家，这本是列宁的初衷。但是后来列宁发现，由于俄国经济状况落后以及文化水平低下，人民群众在知识水平和管理能力上存在严重不足，无法胜任直接管理国家事务的任务，只能由人民群众通过选举优秀代表来行使管理国家的权力。1919年1月20日，列宁在全俄工会第二次代表大会上的报告中指出：“现在，在国家管理的每个部门，在已经社会主义化或正在社会主义化的企业的每个部分，或者说在经济领域，新的阶级即无产阶级都有自己的代表。”如果人民群众或一些社会团体直接管理国家，“想擅自行动，担负起国家政权的职能，那只会弄得一团糟”。

During this period, Lenin had already distinguished the functions of leadership and management, recognized the difference and connection between the Party and the state power, and, in light of Russia's concrete realities, explored the necessity of the Party managing state affairs through the Soviet organs. He pointed out that the Party should proceed from the overall situation of work and organize the management of Russia from a macro-strategic perspective, and should not replace the Soviet power in exercising the power to manage state affairs. The Party must shoulder the responsibility of political leader, and through persuasion and education make the majority of the people believe in the correctness of the Party's program, strategy and tactics, so that they consciously throw themselves into the cause of socialist revolution and construction. This series of ideas and viewpoints embodied Lenin's exploration and reflection on the Party's mode of leadership, and showed that the Party could not directly manage state affairs, but could only exercise the function of leadership or guidance. It is precisely in this sense that Lenin's thought on the "overall leadership" of the ruling party had already sprouted and begun to develop to a certain extent.

在这一时期，列宁已经把领导和管理的职能进行了区分，认识到了党和国家政权之间的区别与联系，并结合俄国的具体实际，探究了党通过苏维埃政权管理国家事务的必要性。他指出，党应该从工作大局出发，站在宏观战略的角度来组织对俄国的管理，而不应取代苏维埃政权来行使管理国家事务的权力。党必须肩负起政治领导者的责任，通过说服教育使大多数人民相信党的纲领、战略和策略的正确性，从而自觉地投入到社会主义革命和建设事业中。这一系列思想观点体现了列宁对党的领导方式的探索和思考，表明了党不能直接管理国家事务，党只能发挥领导或者是引导的职能。正是从这个意义上而言，列宁关于执政党“总的领导”的思想已经萌芽并开始有了一定的发展。

(2) The Stage of Initial Formation

（二）初步形成期

From the spring of 1919 to the beginning of 1921, Lenin's basic idea on Party leadership was: the Soviets are in fact organs through which the Party administers for the working masses, the Party must play a leading role in the life of the state, and it is necessary for the Party to exercise the power of managing the state for a period after taking power. In March 1919, when the Eighth Congress of the Russian Communist Party (Bolsheviks) was convened, "bureaucratism had partially revived within the Soviet system," and had already become very serious. In this situation, the Soviet state organs found it difficult to give play to their functional role in managing state affairs and were unable to take on the task of managing the state. In view of this, Lenin put forward the proposition that "the vanguard manages the state," pointing out: "Although according to the Party program the Soviets are organs of administration through the working people, in fact they are organs of administration for the working people through the advanced stratum of the proletariat, and not through the working masses." The Party must take on the heavy responsibility of managing the state, directly manage state affairs for a period after taking power, and have the Soviet power led by the Party administer state affairs for the working masses. As Soviet state organs were established one after another, the phenomenon of the Party and government not being separated began to appear, and Lenin said with concern: "In no case should the functions of the Party organizations be confused with the functions of the state organs, that is, the Soviets. Such confusion would bring extremely dangerous consequences, especially in the military sphere. … The Party strives to lead the work of the Soviets, but does not replace them." He also stressed that a clear line must be drawn between the Party organs and the organs of Soviet power, "in assigning Party members to work in economic organizations, the Party organizations must in no way replace the Soviets, or have any competition with the Soviets. In this respect, all the work of the Party organizations should be carried out through the corresponding Soviet organs."

1919年春到1921年初，列宁关于党的领导的基本思想：苏维埃实际上是通过党来为劳动群众实行管理的机关，党必须在国家生活中发挥领导作用，并且需要在执政后的一个时期内行使管理国家的权力。1919年3月，俄共（布）第八次代表大会召开时，“官僚主义在苏维埃制度内部部分地复活起来”，并且已经变得十分严重。在这种情况下，苏维埃国家机关在管理国家事务中的职能作用难以发挥，无法胜任管理国家的任务。鉴于此，列宁提出“先锋队管理国家”的主张，他指出：“苏维埃虽然按党纲规定是通过劳动者来实行管理的机关，而实际上却是通过无产阶级先进阶层来为劳动者实行管理而不是通过劳动群众来实行管理的机关。”党要肩负起管理国家的重任，在执政后的一个时期内直接管理国家事务，并由党领导的苏维埃政权来为劳动群众管理国家事务。随着苏维埃国家政权纷纷建立起来，党政不分的现象开始出现，列宁对此不无担忧地说：“无论如何不应当把党组织的职能和国家机关即苏维埃的职能混淆起来。这种混淆会带来极危险的后果，特别是在军事方面。……党努力领导苏维埃的工作，但不是代替苏维埃。”他还强调，必须区分党的机关和苏维埃政权机关之间的明确界限，“在分配党员从事经济组织工作方面，党组织绝不应当代替苏维埃，或者有任何同苏维埃竞争的现象。在这方面，党组织的全部工作都应当通过相当的苏维埃机关来进行”。

During this period, although Lenin did not put forward the concept of "overall leadership," he did provide a fairly systematic exposition of its core content. As early as the founding of the Party, Lenin stressed that the Party must become the "ideological leader" and "undertake the work of ideological leadership." In March 1920, at the Ninth Congress of the Russian Communist Party (Bolsheviks), Lenin pointed out that Party leadership consisted mainly in "resolving all questions of a political nature at any time," while "any organizational question has political significance." This series of statements by Lenin in fact already indicated that Party leadership is ideological, political, and organizational leadership, and it can be said that these three together constituted the basic connotation of "overall leadership." In October 1920, in response to the erroneous view of "autonomy" put forward by the "Proletarian Culture Association" headed by Bogdanov, Lenin wrote the article "On Proletarian Culture" and subjected it to severe criticism. He pointed out: "All organizations of the Proletarian Culture Association must unconditionally regard themselves entirely as auxiliary organs in the system of organs of the People's Commissariat of Education, and, under the overall leadership of the Soviet government (especially the People's Commissariat of Education) and the Russian Communist Party, must accomplish their tasks as part of the tasks of the dictatorship of the proletariat." Here, Lenin explicitly put forward the concept of "overall leadership," marking the initial formation during this period of the idea that Party leadership is "overall leadership."

在这一时期，虽然列宁并没有提出“总的领导”的概念，但是他对“总的领导”的核心内容作了较为系统的阐述。列宁早在建党之初就强调指出，党必须成为“思想上的领导者”，“担负思想上的领导工作”。1920年3月，在俄共（布）第九次代表大会上，列宁指出党的领导主要是“随时解决一切有关政治的问题”，同时“任何组织问题都有政治意义”。列宁的这一系列论述实际上已经表明党的领导是思想、政治和组织领导，可以说这三者共同构成了“总的领导”的基本内涵。1920年10月，针对以波格丹诺夫为首的“无产阶级文化协会”提出的实行“自治”的错误观点，列宁写作了《关于无产阶级文化》一文给予严厉批判，他指出：“无产阶级文化协会的一切组织必须无条件地把自己完全看做教育人民委员部机关系统中的辅助机构，并且在苏维埃政权（特别是教育人民委员部）和俄国共产党的总的领导下，把自己的任务当做无产阶级专政任务的一部分来完成。”在这里，列宁明确提出了“总的领导”的概念，标志着在这一时期已经初步形成了关于党的领导是“总的领导”的思想。

(3) The period of final formation

（三）最终形成期

Beginning in 1921, major changes occurred in the internal and external situation of Soviet Russia. The civil war had basically ended, and the "policy of war communism" had been replaced by the New Economic Policy. However, during this period, the phenomenon of confusion between the Party and the government reappeared in Soviet Russia. Although in the early period of the establishment of Soviet state power, direct management of state affairs by the Communist Party was an objective requirement of the war situation and of Russia's actual conditions, in practice the drawbacks of unclear boundaries between the functions and responsibilities of the Party and the government became increasingly apparent. Lenin was deeply aware of the serious harm of this abnormal Party-government relationship and subjected it to profound analysis. This phenomenon of confusion between the Party and the government caused many specific questions to be transferred from the Council of People's Commissars to the Political Bureau, thereby creating a situation in which Party organizations devoted a large amount of energy to specific and trivial matters; it caused the sense of responsibility and initiative of Soviet organs and Soviet personnel to decline, with people not being responsible for their own work, while at the same time bureaucratism grew within Party organs, and the vibrant cause of socialist construction was submerged in a vast sea of paperwork. In fact, this phenomenon of confusion between the Party and the government did not strengthen Party leadership but seriously weakened it and seriously damaged the work efficiency of state organs. Under these circumstances, Lenin came to a profound realization: the Party must extricate itself from daily trivial matters, and the functions of Party organizations must be distinguished from those of Soviet state organs. At the beginning of 1922, on the eve of the Eleventh Congress of the Russian Communist Party (Bolsheviks), the ailing Lenin was deeply worried about the phenomenon of confusion between the Party and the government, and asked the Party congress to pay attention to this question. He stressed: "It is necessary to define very clearly the functions and responsibilities of the Party (and its Central Committee) and of Soviet power; to enhance the sense of responsibility and independent initiative of Soviet personnel and Soviet organs; the task of the Party is to exercise overall leadership over the work of all state organs, and not to intervene as frequently, abnormally, and often trivially as is currently the case." On the basis of Lenin's proposal, the Eleventh Congress of the Russian Communist Party (Bolsheviks) clearly stipulated: "The extremely important task at present is to define the correct division of labor between Party organs and Soviet organs, and to clearly draw the line between them in terms of rights and responsibilities... Failure to strictly distinguish functions and irregular arbitrary interference will cause everyone to lack strict and clear responsibility for the work entrusted to him, will breed bureaucratism within Party organizations, and will cause Party organizations to do everything and yet do nothing well"; the functions and responsibilities of the Party and the Soviets must not be confused, and a "step-by-step division" must be carried out, "which on the one hand can guarantee that Soviet organs discuss and resolve questions of an economic nature in a more planned way and can enhance the sense of responsibility of every Soviet worker for his own work, and on the other hand can enable the Party to concentrate its energy, to the necessary extent, on its basic work, namely, the exercise of overall leadership over the work of all state organs responsible for educating and organizing the masses of workers."

从1921年开始，苏维埃俄国的内外形势发生了重大变化，国内战争基本结束，“战时共产主义政策”已经被新经济政策所代替。然而，在这一时期，苏维埃俄国又出现了党政不分的现象。尽管在苏维埃国家政权建立初期，共产党直接管理国家事务是战争形势和俄国实际情况的客观要求，但是在实践中党政职责界限不清的弊端日益暴露出来。列宁深感这种不正常的党政关系的严重危害，并对其进行了深刻剖析。这种党政不分现象，使许多具体问题从人民委员会搬到了政治局上来，进而造成党组织把大量精力投入到具体的、繁琐的事物上的局面；使苏维埃机关和苏维埃工作人员的工作责任心缺失、主动性降低，人们不对自己的工作负责，同时党的机关内部官僚主义滋生，进而使生机勃勃的社会主义建设事业淹没在文牍的汪洋大海里。事实上，这种党政不分现象，不是加强党的领导，而是严重削弱了党的领导，严重损害了国家机关的工作效率。在这种情形之下，列宁深刻认识到，党必须从日常琐碎的事物中挣脱出来，党组织的职能必须和苏维埃国家机关的职能区分开。1922年初，在俄共（布）第十一次代表大会召开前夕，病中的列宁对党政不分的现象忧心忡忡，提请党的代表大会重视这一问题，并强调指出：“必须十分明确地划分党（及其中央）和苏维埃政权的职责；提高苏维埃工作人员和苏维埃机关的责任心和独立负责精神，党的任务则是对所有国家机关的工作进行总的领导，不是像目前那样进行过分频繁的、不正常的、往往是琐碎的干预。”根据列宁的提议，俄共（布）第十一次代表大会明确规定：“当前极重要的任务是规定党的机关和苏维埃机关之间的正确分工，明确地划清两者在权利和职责方面的界限……不严格地区分职能，不合规定地随便干预，会使每个人对委托给他的工作缺乏严格而明确的责任心，会在党组织内部滋长官僚主义，使党组织什么都做而又什么都做不好”；党和苏维埃在职责方面不能混淆，必须进行“有步骤的划分，一方面可以保证苏维埃机关更有计划地讨论和解决属于经济性质的问题，可以提高每一个苏维埃工作人员对本身工作的责任感，另一方面，可以使党在必要的程度上把精力集中于党的基本工作上，即对一切负责教育和组织工人群众的国家机关的工作进行总的领导”。

During this period, Lenin comprehensively elaborated the ideological connotation of Party leadership as "overall leadership," and, on the basis of systematically summing up the experience and lessons of how the ruling party leads the work of the state, deeply analyzed the ways and means of realizing "overall leadership." Combining Lenin's actual conditions in Russia, he insisted on a reasonable division of functions, rights, and responsibilities between the Party and Soviet state power, spared no effort in exploring how to realize the "overall leadership" of the ruling party, and enthusiastically emphasized that the Party should as soon as possible realize "overall leadership" over all political and economic work of state power. However, to one's great regret, the Russian Communist Party (Bolsheviks) failed to solve the problem of "overall leadership" in its governing practice, but Lenin theoretically pointed out the correct path for how the Communist Party should hold state power and how to give play to the role of "overall leadership." At this point, Lenin's thought that Party leadership is "overall leadership" was finally formed.

在这一时期，列宁全面阐述了党的领导是“总的领导”思想内涵，并在系统总结执政党如何领导国家工作经验教训的基础上，深入分析了实现“总的领导”的途径和方式。列宁结合俄国实际情况，坚持对党和苏维埃国家政权的职责权利进行合理划分，不遗余力地探索如何实现执政党“总的领导”，满怀热忱地强调要尽早实现党对国家政权全部政治经济工作实施“总的领导”。然而，令人十分遗憾的是，俄共（布）在执政实践中没能解决好“总的领导”的问题，但是列宁从理论上为共产党如何执掌政权、如何发挥“总的领导”的作用指明了正确道路。至此，列宁关于党的领导是“总的领导”的思想也就最终形成了。

II. The Rich Connotation of Lenin's Thought on the "Overall Leadership" of the Ruling Party

二、列宁执政党“总的领导”思想的丰富内涵

Lenin's important thought on the "overall leadership" of the ruling party was formed on the basis of continuous exploration of the Party-government relationship and of the practice of the Party's leadership methods, and it has a very rich ideological connotation and profound value. According to Lenin's vivid practice in leading the work of the Russian Soviet government, as well as Lenin's relevant statements and the relevant resolutions of the Central Committee of the Russian Communist Party (Bolsheviks), "overall leadership" contains at least the following several aspects of scientific connotation.

列宁关于执政党“总的领导”的重要思想，是在不断探索党政关系以及党的领导方式的实践基础上形成的，具有十分丰富的思想内涵和价值深蕴。根据列宁领导俄国苏维埃政权工作的生动实践，以及列宁的有关论述和俄共（布）中央的有关决议，“总的领导”至少包含如下几个方面的科学内涵。

(1) "Overall leadership" is overall supreme leadership

（一）“总的领导”是全局性的最高领导

"Overall leadership" is a major judgment and historical conclusion made by Lenin on the basis of in-depth thinking and active exploration of the relationship between the Party and state power and other organizations. We should first grasp the profound ideological connotation of "overall leadership" from the position of the Party's leadership and ruling status. From the perspective of leadership status, "overall leadership" is overall supreme leadership.

“总的领导”是列宁在对党同国家政权以及其他组织的关系进行深入思考和积极探索的基础上，所作出的重大判断和历史结论。我们首先应该从党的领导地位和执政地位上来把握“总的领导”的深刻思想内涵。从领导地位上看，“总的领导”是全局性的最高领导。

After the victory of the October Revolution, the Bolshevik Party, representing the proletariat, began to hold state power, led the management of the Soviet state, and occupied a core position in the system of proletarian state power. Lenin believed that the Bolshevik Party was the vanguard of the proletariat, the highest form of proletarian organization, and the supreme leading force of the dictatorship of the proletariat. In January 1921, in "Once Again on the Trade Unions, the Current Situation and the Mistakes of Comrades Trotsky and Bukharin," Lenin pointed out: "The Party is the vanguard of the proletariat that directly holds state power; it is the leader." In March 1922, at the Tenth Congress of the Russian Communist Party (Bolsheviks), Lenin further pointed out: "Our Party is a ruling party, and the decisions adopted by the Party congress are binding on the entire republic; here, we must resolve this question in principle." From the process of the formation of proletarian party organizations, the Party is the highest form of class union of the proletariat, a working-class organization finally formed through the development of many workers' circles and Marxist groups scattered in various places. Once this highest form of class union was formed, it became the leader of the proletarian revolution. In the state of the dictatorship of the proletariat, in addition to Party organizations, there are also trade unions, youth leagues, and other organizations and groups. All these organizations together constitute a strict and complete system of the dictatorship of the proletariat, with the Party becoming the core of the dictatorship of the proletariat and realizing unified leadership over these organizations. The proletarian party must firmly grasp its core leadership position; only in this way can it take charge of the overall situation and coordinate all parties, and thereby effectively give play to the role of "overall leadership."

十月革命胜利后，布尔什维克党代表无产阶级开始执掌政权，领导苏维埃国家管理，在无产阶级政权体系中处于核心地位。列宁认为，布尔什维克党是无产阶级的先锋队，是无产阶级组织的最高形式，是无产阶级专政的最高领导力量。1921年1月，列宁在《再论工会、目前局势及托洛茨基同志和布哈林同志的错误》中指出：“党是直接执政的无产阶级先锋队，是领导者。”1922年3月，列宁在俄共（布）第十次代表大会上进一步指出：“我们的党是一个执政党，党的代表大会所通过的决定，对于整个共和国都是必须遵守的；在这里，我们应当在原则上解决这个问题。”从无产阶级政党组织形成的过程来看，党是无产者的阶级联合的最高形式，是由许多工人小组、分散于各地的马克思主义小组的发展而最后形成的工人阶级组织。这种最高形式的阶级联合一经形成，就成为无产阶级革命的领导者。在无产阶级专政的国家中，除了党组织之外，还有工会、青年团等其他方面的组织和团体。所有这些组织共同构成了无产阶级专政的严密完整体系，党成为无产阶级专政的核心，并且要实现对这些组织的统一领导。无产阶级政党必须牢牢把握其领导核心地位，只有这样才能够做到总揽全局、协调各方，进而有效发挥“总的领导”作用。

(2) "Overall leadership" is comprehensive leadership over all fronts and all departments

（二）“总的领导”是对各条战线、各个部门的全面领导

Lenin held that "all political and economic work of state power is led by the Communist Party, the vanguard of the class-conscious workers," and that it is necessary to "maintain overall leadership and guidance over all policies of the Soviet state." Among these, "all political and economic work," "all policies," and "overall leadership" — from the perspective of the objects of leadership — refer to the Party's comprehensive leadership over all fronts and all fields, including politics, economics, and culture.

列宁认为，“国家政权的一切政治经济工作都由工人阶级觉悟的先锋队共产党领导”，要“保持对苏维埃国家的全部政策实行总的领导和指导”。其中，“一切政治经济工作”“全部政策”“总的领导”，从领导对象上看，就是指党对政治经济文化等各条战线、各个领域的全面领导。

First, uphold the Party's leadership over state power. When the Russian Communist Party (Bolsheviks) had just come to power, Lenin already clearly proposed that Soviet state power must be led by the ruling party of the working class. The Eighth Congress of the Russian Communist Party (Bolsheviks) explicitly stated: "The task the Communist Party sets itself is to exert decisive influence and exercise full leadership in all organizations of the working people (trade unions, cooperatives, agricultural communes, etc.). The Communist Party strives in particular to realize its program and its complete rule in the current state organization — the Soviets." In February 1920, Lenin emphasized in a published political commentary: "Their Soviets must hold all state power; their vanguard, the party of the revolutionary proletariat, must lead the struggle." In November 1920, he again stressed: "We must attach importance to recognizing the question of the Party's leading role; in discussing work and organizational construction, this must never be overlooked." Within the entire system of the dictatorship of the proletariat, the Party bears the political task of exercising "overall leadership" over the work of all state organs.

第一，坚持党对国家政权的领导。在俄共（布）刚刚执政时，列宁就明确提出苏维埃政权必须由工人阶级执政党来领导。俄共（布）第八次代表大会明确指出：“共产党给自己提出的任务是，在劳动者的一切组织（工会、合作社、农业公社等）中起决定性的影响和掌握全部领导。共产党特别要力争在当前的国家组织——苏维埃中实现自己的纲领和自己的全部统治。”1920年2月，列宁在发表的政论家短评中强调：“他们的苏维埃应当掌握全部政权，他们的先锋队，革命无产阶级的政党应当领导斗争。”1920年11月，他再次强调：“我们要重视承认党的领导作用问题，在讨论工作和组织建设的时候，决不能忽视这一点。”在整个无产阶级专政体系中，党肩负着对所有国家机关的工作进行“总的领导”的政治任务。

Second, the Party's leadership over economic work. This is an extremely important component of the Party's entire leadership work. In the activities of leading Russia's economic construction, Lenin clearly put forward the major thesis that the ruling party must place economic construction in the first position, pointing the direction for the Russian Communist Party (Bolsheviks) to correctly lead socialist economic construction. After the victory of the October Revolution, Lenin and the Central Committee of the Russian Communist Party (Bolsheviks) attached great importance to leadership over economic work. He pointed out: "We must bid farewell to the past, set about genuine economic construction, and transform the Party's entire work so that the Party can lead the Soviet state's economic construction and achieve practical results." For the Russian Communist Party (Bolsheviks) to lead the people in socialist economic construction in a country with a backward economy and culture, where small-peasant economy predominated, was itself an undertaking never seen anywhere in the world, with no experience of predecessors to draw upon, and still less any ready-made plan that could solve everything once and for all. Only under the Party's leadership, through the practical exploration of the entire people, could a path of socialist economic construction suited to Russia's national conditions be found.

第二，党对经济工作的领导。这是党的全部领导工作中一项极为重要的内容。在领导俄国经济建设的活动中，列宁明确提出了执政党要把经济建设放在首位的重大论断，为俄共（布）正确地领导社会主义经济建设指明了方向。十月革命胜利后，列宁和俄共（布）中央十分重视对经济工作的领导。他指出：“我们应当同过去诀别，着手进行真正的经济建设，改造党的全部工作，使党能够领导苏维埃的经济建设，取得实际的成就。”俄共（布）在一个经济文化落后、小农经济占优势的国家领导人民进行社会主义经济建设，这本身就是一项全世界从未有过的事业，没有前人的经验可以借鉴，更没有一劳永逸的现成方案。只有在党的领导下，经过全国人民的实践探索，才能找到一条符合俄国国情的社会主义经济建设道路。

Third, the Party's leadership over cultural development. After the victory of the October Revolution, the task of cultural development became especially urgent and important. Carrying out cultural development was conducive to developing the socialist economy, to carrying out the socialist revolution in the countryside and realizing agricultural collectivization, and to the construction and consolidation of Soviet state power. While shifting its primary task to economic construction, the Russian Communist Party (Bolsheviks) also placed cultural development on its work agenda. Lenin held that "as long as this cultural revolution is achieved, our country can become a completely socialist country." To accomplish this task, it would not do to depart from the Party's leadership. The Party must, just as it leads other work, uphold leadership over cultural development. As early as before the October Revolution, Lenin clearly proposed that the Party must strengthen leadership over the ideological and cultural front. In November 1905, in *Party Organization and Party Literature*, Lenin emphasized: "Publishing houses and distribution agencies, bookstores and reading rooms, libraries and various newspaper and book businesses should all become Party institutions and report on their work to the Party." After the victory of the October Revolution, Lenin profoundly summed up the historical experience of the Russian revolution, deepened his understanding of the Party's leadership, and stressed that no matter when or under what conditions, leadership over the ideological and cultural front must never be neglected.

第三，党对文化建设的领导。十月革命胜利后，文化建设的任务显得尤为迫切和重要。开展文化建设，有利于发展社会主义经济，有利于农村进行社会主义革命和实现农业合作化，有利于苏维埃国家政权的建设和巩固。俄共（布）在把首要任务转移到经济建设上来的同时，还把文化建设提上了工作日程。列宁认为，“只要实现了这个文化革命，我们的国家就能成为完全社会主义的国家了”。要完成这个任务，离开党的领导是不行的。党必须像领导其他工作一样，坚持对文化建设的领导。列宁早在十月革命前就明确提出，党必须加强对思想文化战线的领导。1905年11月，列宁在《党的组织和党的出版物》中强调指出：“出版社和发行所、书店和阅览室、图书馆和各种书报营业所，都应当成为党的机构，向党报告工作情况。”十月革命胜利后，列宁深刻总结了俄国革命的历史经验，深化了对党的领导的认识，并强调不论在什么时候、什么条件下都不能忽视党对思想文化战线的领导。

Fourth, the Party must also lead military work. To achieve victory in revolutionary struggle, it is necessary to give full play to the Party's leading role in army building. In October 1918, the Russian Communist Party (Bolsheviks) formed an army of three million people and upheld the Party's leadership over the army. Lenin pointed out: "We have established a unified army, which is now led by this advanced contingent of experienced Communist Party members." The Russian Communist Party (Bolsheviks) had not only to accomplish the task of building the Red Army, but also to guarantee the Red Army's nature and bring into play its political functions. The Party must direct military struggle politically, must "adopt the most forceful measures to arm the proletariat and guarantee the possibility of directly leading the uprising," and "draw up plans for the armed uprising and for directly leading the armed uprising, and, when necessary, set up special groups composed of Party workers to carry out this work."

第四，党还必须领导军事工作。要想在革命斗争中取得胜利，就必须充分发挥党在军队建设中的领导作用。1918年10月，俄共（布）组建了300万人的军队，坚持了党对军队的领导。列宁指出：“我们建立了统一的军队，它现在由经验丰富的共产党员这支先进队伍领导着。”俄共（布）不仅要完成建立红军的任务，还要保证红军的性质，发挥红军的政治功能。党必须从政治上指导军事斗争，必须“采取最有力的措施来武装无产阶级和保证有可能直接领导起义”，“制定武装起义和直接领导武装起义的计划，必要时应设立由党的工作者组成的专门小组来进行这项工作”。

(III) "Overall leadership" is the organic unity of political leadership, ideological leadership, and organizational leadership

（三）“总的领导”是政治领导、思想领导和组织领导的有机统一

From the perspective of leadership functions, "overall leadership" mainly includes political leadership, ideological leadership, and organizational leadership, and is the organic unity of the three, specifically involving the formulation of correct political strategy and tactics, the conduct of ideological and political work, and the selection and appointment of cadres.

从领导职能上看，“总的领导”主要包括政治领导、思想领导和组织领导，是三者的有机统一，具体涉及到制定正确的政治战略策略、开展思想政治工作和选拔使用干部等方面。

First, implement political leadership and formulate correct strategy and tactics. Leading politically is a manifestation of the political nature of the party itself. The leadership of a proletarian party is first of all political leadership, grasping the country's political direction politically. On the eve of the October Revolution, Lenin pointed out: "Marxism educates the party of the workers, that is, educates the vanguard of the proletariat, enabling it to seize power and lead the entire people toward socialism, to direct and organize the new system, and to become the teacher, leader, and leader of all exploited toilers in building their own social life without the bourgeoisie and against the bourgeoisie." The Party's leading role is not exercised through the coercive force of the state, but rather "by the correctness of the political leadership exercised by this vanguard, by the correctness of its political strategy and tactics, and by the fact that the broadest masses, through their own experience, are convinced of their correctness." Only by implementing correct political leadership and formulating correct strategy and tactics can the Party truly realize overall leadership over all political and economic work of Soviet state power. In the historical process of the Russian revolution and construction, Lenin always placed the question of the Party's strategy and tactics in a very prominent position, and in accordance with the changing domestic and international situation, timely formulated and adjusted a series of political and economic development strategies and tactics, ensuring that the cause of socialist revolution and construction advanced in the correct direction.

第一，实施政治领导，制定正确的战略和策略。从政治上进行领导，是政党本身政治属性的体现。无产阶级政党的领导首先是政治领导，从政治上把握国家的政治方向。十月革命前夕，列宁指出：“马克思主义教育工人的党，也就是教育无产阶级的先锋队，使它能够夺取政权并引导全体人民走向社会主义，指导并组织新制度，成为所有被剥削劳动者在不要资产阶级并反对资产阶级而建设自己社会生活的事业中的导师、领导者和领袖。”党的领导作用的发挥，不是靠国家的强制力，而是要“靠这个先锋队所实行的政治领导正确，靠它的政治战略和策略正确，而最广大的群众根据切身经验也确信其正确”。只有通过实施正确的政治领导，制定正确的战略和策略，才能真正实现党对苏维埃国家政权全部政治经济工作的总的领导。在俄国革命和建设的历史进程中，列宁始终把党的战略和策略问题摆在非常突出的位置，根据国内外变化了的形势，适时制定并调整一系列政治经济发展战略和策略，确保了社会主义革命和建设事业沿着正确的方向前进。

Second, strengthen ideological leadership and conduct ideological and political work. A proletarian party is not only the ruling leader, but also the spiritual leader and propaganda agitator of the proletariat and the broad masses of the people in the cause of revolution and construction. Lenin pointed out: "The first task of any party representing the future is to convince the majority of the people of the correctness of its program and tactics." After the political line and guiding policies are determined, the Party "should conduct ideological leadership with caution," and through patient persuasion and education, raise the people's ideological consciousness and enable them to recognize the correctness of the Party's political line and guiding policies. In order to effectively conduct ideological and political work, the Central Committee of the Russian Communist Party (Bolsheviks) and the Council of People's Commissars, on Lenin's strong initiative, established the General Committee for Political Education; at the same time, Lenin proposed the suggestion of building a contingent of ideological workers. In May 1921, in a letter to Molotov, Lenin pointed out that a portion of the members of the Russian Communist Party should be singled out "to devote themselves specifically to ideological work, to propaganda and agitation, without holding any administrative posts." Lenin placed great emphasis on the effectiveness of ideological and political work, opposed unrealistic empty preaching, and stressed that ideological and political work must be combined with the Party's central tasks and with people's actual thinking, and that "the results of political education can only be measured by the improvement of the economic situation."

第二，加强思想领导，开展思想政治工作。无产阶级政党既是执政的领导者，又是无产阶级和广大人民群众从事革命和建设事业的精神领袖和宣传鼓动者。列宁指出：“任何一个代表着未来的政党的第一个任务，都是说服大多数人民相信其纲领和策略的正确。”在政治路线和方针政策确定之后，党“应当谨慎地进行思想领导”，通过耐心地说服教育，提高人民群众的思想觉悟，使他们认识到党的政治路线和方针政策的正确性。为了有效开展思想政治工作，俄共（布）中央和人民委员会在列宁的大力倡议下，成立了政治教育总委员会，同时，列宁提出建立一支思想工作队伍的建议。1921年5月，列宁在给莫洛托夫的信中指出，要把俄共党员中的一部分人单独列出来，“专门从事思想工作，从事宣传鼓动而不担任任何行政管理职务”。列宁非常注重思想政治工作的实效性，反对不切实际的空洞说教，强调思想政治工作必须同党的中心任务以及人们的思想实际相结合，而且“政治教育的成果只能用经济状况的改善来衡量。”

Third, carry out organizational leadership and uphold the principle of the Party managing cadres. Lenin held that the Party’s leadership includes both political leadership and organizational leadership, and that these two aspects of leadership work are inseparable. The Party must be adept at understanding and handling organizational questions from a political perspective; the Party’s organizational tasks must subordinate themselves to and serve its political tasks; and the Party’s political line must be guaranteed by its organizational line. The implementation of the Party’s tasks, political line, and guiding principles and policies hinges on people—on a large number of capable cadres. Organizing tens of millions of people is the deepest source of strength for the victory of the revolutionary and constructive cause. In the management of personnel and cadres, Lenin put forward the important principle of the Party managing cadres, which laid the organizational guarantee for realizing the Party’s tasks, political line, and guiding principles and policies. He stressed that “without the appointment and transfer of personnel, no politics can be embodied” and that “the crux of the matter here is that if the Central Committee is deprived of the right to allocate personnel, it cannot direct politics.”

第三，进行组织领导，坚持党管干部原则。列宁认为，党的领导包括政治领导和组织领导，这两方面的领导工作是密不可分的。党要善于从政治角度认识和处理组织问题，党的组织任务必须服从和服务于党的政治任务，党的政治路线必须靠党的组织路线来保证。党的任务、政治路线和方针政策的落实关键在于有人，有一大批能干的人才。把千百万人组织起来是革命和建设事业取得胜利的最深厚的力量泉源。在人才和干部管理方面，列宁提出了党管干部的重要原则，为实现党的任务、政治路线和方针政策奠定了组织保障。他强调，“如果没有人员的任命和调动，任何政治也就无法体现”，“这里问题的实质在于，如果取消中央调配人员的权利，它就不能指导政治”。

(4) “Overall leadership” means that the Party exercises overall supervision over all the work of the Soviets

（四）“总的领导”是指党对苏维埃的全部工作实行总的监督

Party leadership contains the connotation of supervision, and strengthening supervision is another leadership function of the Russian Communist Party (Bolsheviks). In this sense, “overall leadership” means that the Party exercises overall supervision over important spheres. Lenin held that the Russian Communist Party (Bolsheviks) “should play a leading role in the work of realizing socialist supervision” and should carry out “actual supervision over all the work of the Soviets.”

党的领导包含了监督的意涵，加强监督是俄共（布）的又一项领导职能。从这个意义上讲，“总的领导”是指党对重要方面实行总的监督。列宁认为，俄共（布）“应该在实现社会主义监督的工作中起领导作用”，“对苏维埃的全部工作进行实际的监督”。

In order to realize the leadership function of overall supervision, Lenin and the Russian Communist Party (Bolsheviks) put forward a series of valuable proposals and views on the building of the Party’s supervisory organs. First, the Party’s supervisory organs at all levels were parallel organs to the Party committees at the same level. The resolution of the Ninth All-Russian Conference of the Russian Communist Party (Bolsheviks) stipulated that the Central Control Commission was an organ parallel to the Central Committee, elected by the Party congress, with the right to receive and, jointly with the Central Committee, examine all complaints, and when necessary to hold joint meetings with the Central Committee or to submit questions to the Party congress. Second, the supervisory organs should exercise their powers independently. The Tenth Congress of the Russian Communist Party (Bolsheviks) stipulated that the resolutions of the control commissions must be implemented by the committees at the same level and could not be rescinded; if there were differing opinions or questions, they could be submitted to the congress or to the conference at the same level for resolution. Lenin stressed that “members of the Central Control Commission must, under the leadership of their own presidium, constantly examine all documents of the Political Bureau,” and that the members of the Central Control Commission should become a close-knit collective that is “regardless of personal feelings,” so that no one’s prestige could hinder or interfere with their exercise of their powers. Third, ensure that the personnel composition of the control commissions at all levels must be comrades with the greatest prestige within the Party. The resolution of the Ninth All-Russian Conference of the Russian Communist Party (Bolsheviks) clearly stipulated: the control commissions should be composed of comrades who are the most cultivated, the most experienced, the most impartial, and able to strictly carry out Party supervision. Lenin also pointed out that “the Central Control Commission is responsible only to the Party congress, and its members may not hold any concurrent posts in any people’s commissariat, any leading organ, or any organ of Soviet power”; only in this way could the authority and impartiality of supervisory work be ensured. In short, Lenin and the Russian Communist Party (Bolsheviks) attached great importance to establishing and perfecting the Party’s supervisory organs, ensuring institutionally that the Party’s control commissions could effectively struggle against all kinds of unhealthy tendencies within the Party, and could also effectively supervise the Party committees at the same level, guaranteeing that the Party correctly formulated and carried out its own strategies and tactics.

为了实现总的监督这一领导职能，列宁和俄共（布）对党的监察机关的建设提出了一系列宝贵建议和主张。第一，党的各级监察机关是同级党委会的平行机构。俄共（布）第九次全国代表会议决议规定，中央监察委员会是同中央委员会平行的机构，是由党的代表大会选出来的，有权接受和协同中央委员会审理一切控诉，必要时可以同中央委员会举行联席会议或把问题提交党的代表大会。第二，监察机关应独立行使自己的权力。俄共（布）第十次代表大会规定，监察委员会的决议，本级的委员会必须执行，而不得加以撤销，如有不同意见或问题，可以提交代表大会或本级代表会议解决。列宁强调，“中央监察委员会委员必须在自己主席团的领导下，经常检查政治局的一切文件”，中央监察委员会的委员们应该成为一个紧密的“不顾情面”的集体，任何人的威信都不能妨碍或干扰他们行使自己的职权。第三，确保各级监察委员会在人员构成上必须是党内最有威信的同志。俄共（布）第九次全国代表会议决议明确规定：监察委员会应当由党内最有修养、最有经验、最大公无私并能够严格执行党的监督的同志组成。列宁还指出，“中央监察委员会，只对党的代表大会负责，它的委员不得在任何人民委员部、任何一个主管机关以及任何苏维埃政权机关中兼任任何职务”，唯有如此，才能确保监察工作的权威性和公正性。总之，列宁和俄共（布）十分重视建立健全党的监督机构，从制度上确保党的监察委员会能够有效地同党内各种不良倾向作斗争，而且能够对同级党委进行有效监督，保证党正确制定和贯彻执行自己的战略策略。

III. Lenin’s measures for implementing the “overall leadership” of the ruling party

三、列宁关于执政党“总的领导”的实施举措

Lenin not only profoundly revealed the scientific connotation of the ruling party’s “overall leadership,” but also concretely expounded the main paths by which the ruling party realizes “overall leadership”: exercising indirect leadership through the state power, correctly handling the relations between the Party and mass organizations such as the trade unions and the Communist Youth League, establishing and perfecting the Party’s strict organizational system and centralized and unified institutions and mechanisms, and continuously improving the Party’s capacity for “overall leadership.”

列宁不仅深刻揭示了执政党“总的领导”的科学内涵，还具体阐述了执政党实现“总的领导”的主要途径：通过国家政权实施间接领导，正确处理党与工会、共青团等群众组织的关系，建立健全党的严密的组织体系和集中统一的体制机制，不断提高党“总的领导”能力。

(1) Exercising indirect leadership through the state power

（一）通过国家政权实行间接领导

“Overall leadership” is mainly realized through the Party’s indirect leadership via the state power of the Soviets. The concrete ways and means by which the Party exercises indirect leadership are varied, mainly including the following aspects.

“总的领导”主要是党通过苏维埃国家政权的间接领导来实现的。党实施间接领导的具体方式方法是多种多样的，主要包括如下几个方面。

First, by guiding legislation, ensure that the Party carries out its decisions within the framework of the Soviet constitution. Only by grasping the legislative gate well can the Party ensure that its governing ideas and intentions are elevated into the will of the state through legal procedures. After the working class seizes power, it must “grasp and maintain power, and consolidate power, through implementing a new constitution.” On the relationship between the Party and the law, Lenin stressed using the Party’s policies and guidelines to guide legislative activity, formulating basic norms for the work of the legislative organs, and carrying out political leadership and supervision over them; at the same time, the Party needed, through legal procedures, to fix its policies and guidelines in the form of law, rather than replacing law with Party policy, and still less directly exercising legislative power by the Party itself. In view of the situation existing at that time within the Russian Communist Party (Bolsheviks) of substituting the Party for the law and failing to distinguish between the Party and the law, Lenin repeatedly pointed out: “Laws cannot be made at a Party congress.” In the course of implementing the New Economic Policy, Lenin explicitly proposed using the Party’s economic policy to guide legislative work, and at the same time, in order to enable the New Economic Policy to be implemented over the long term, it was necessary to “fix what is called the New Economic Policy most firmly in legal form, so as to exclude any possibility of deviating from this policy.”

第一，通过指导立法，确保党在苏维埃宪法的范围内来贯彻自己的决定。党只有把握好了立法关，才能确保党的执政理念、执政意图经过法定程序上升为国家意志。工人阶级夺取政权之后，要通过“实行新宪法来掌握和保持政权，巩固政权”。在党与法的关系方面，列宁强调用党的政策方针来指导立法活动，为立法机关的工作制定基本准则，并对其进行政治领导和监督；同时，党需要通过法定程序，用法律的形式把党的政策方针固定下来，而不是用党的政策代替法律，更不是由党直接行使立法权。鉴于当时俄共（布）党内存在以党代法、党法不分的情形，列宁一再指出：“在党的代表大会上是不能制定法律的。”在实行新经济政策的过程中，列宁明确提出要用党的经济政策指导立法工作，同时为了使新经济政策能长久地实行下去，必须“把叫做新经济政策的东西以法律形式最牢固地固定下来，以排除任何偏离这种政策的可能性”。

Second, give play to the influence of Party groups and the exemplary and vanguard role of Communist Party members. The implementation of the Party’s guidelines, line, and policies needs to rely on the influence of Party groups in the Soviet organizations and the exemplary and vanguard leadership of Communist Party members. The resolution of the Eighth Congress of the Russian Communist Party (Bolsheviks) stipulated: “In all Soviet organizations, it is absolutely necessary to establish Party groups that strictly obey Party discipline. All members of the Russian Communist Party working in that Soviet organization should participate in such Party groups.” The Eighth All-Russian Conference of the Russian Communist Party (Bolsheviks) further stipulated: “In all non-Party congresses, conferences, organs, and organizations (Soviets, executive committees, trade unions, communes, etc.), wherever there are more than three Party members, a Party group shall be established; the task of the Party group is to strengthen the Party’s influence in all respects.” Lenin also stressed that the Party’s leadership must “rely on the consciousness of the vanguard of the proletariat and its loyalty to the revolution, on its tenacity, self-sacrifice, and heroism.” Communist Party members are the true executors and concrete implementers of the Party’s political line, guidelines, and policies. Adhering to the Party’s correct leadership is inseparable from the exemplary and vanguard role of Communist Party members in their work.

第二，发挥党团的影响和共产党员的模范带头作用。党的方针、路线和政策的贯彻实施，需要依靠苏维埃组织中的党团的影响和共产党员先锋模范的引领。俄共（布）第八次代表大会决议规定：“在所有的苏维埃组织中，绝对必须建立严格服从党的纪律的党团。在该苏维埃组织中工作的全体俄共党员都应该参加这种党团。”俄共（布）第八次全国代表会议进一步规定：“在一切党外的代表大会、会议、机关和组织（苏维埃、执行委员会、工会、公社等）中，凡有党员三人以上者，即成立党团；党团的任务是在各方面加强党的影响。”列宁还强调，党的领导必须“是靠无产阶级先锋队的觉悟和它对革命的忠诚，是靠它的坚韧不拔、自我牺牲和英雄气概”。共产党员是党的政治路线、方针政策的真正执行人和具体实施者。坚持党的正确领导，离不开共产党员在工作中的先锋模范作用。

Third, select and appoint cadres. The Party’s political line, guidelines, and policies are formulated by the Party’s cadres and are also carried out through them. Therefore, all state organs must study the question of the distribution and use of cadres. Lenin held: “One must study people, one must discover capable workers. Here lies the crux of the matter now; otherwise, all orders and decisions are nothing but dirty scraps of paper.” Shortly after the victory of the October Revolution, Lenin already proposed placing the task of selecting and appointing cadres on the Party’s agenda. He pointed out: “Our task in the organizational sphere is to select leaders and organizers from among the masses of the people. This enormous work has now been placed on the agenda. Without Soviet power, without this filter capable of selecting talent, it would be impossible to accomplish this task.” In order to better select and appoint cadres, the Central Committee established the Organizational Bureau in March 1919, stipulating that its truly primary task was the allocation of cadres. The resolution of the Eighth Congress of the Russian Communist Party (Bolsheviks) pointed out: “The entire work of allocating Party functionaries is in the hands of the Central Committee of the Party”; “The Russian Communist Party should carry out practical, daily, selfless work in the Soviets, promote its most steadfast and loyal Party members to all posts in Soviet work, and through this work achieve absolute political dominance in the Soviets.” Lenin attached great importance to the work of selecting and appointing cadres, especially during the period of the New Economic Policy, when he repeatedly stressed that the “crux of all work at present lies in personnel, in selecting personnel.”

第三，选拔任用干部。党的政治路线、方针政策是由党的干部制定的，又是通过党的干部来执行的。因此，所有国家机关都要研究关于干部的分配使用问题。列宁认为：“要研究人，要发现有才干的工作人员。现在关键就在这里；不然的话，一切命令和决定不过是些肮脏的废纸而已。”十月革命胜利后不久，列宁就提出要把选拔和使用干部的任务提到党的日程上来。他指出：“我们在组织方面的任务，就是要从人民群众中选拔出领导者和组织者。这一项巨大的工作，现在已经提到日程上来了。如果没有苏维埃政权，没有这种能够选拔人才的过滤器，那么，要想完成这个任务是不可能的。”为了更好地选拔使用干部，中央委员会于1919年3月设立了组织局，规定其真正首要的任务是分配干部。俄共（布）第八次代表大会决议指出：“党的工作人员的全部分配工作由党中央委员会掌握”，“俄国共产党应该在苏维埃中进行实际的、日常的忘我工作，把自己最坚定忠实的党员提拔到所有苏维埃工作的岗位上来，通过这些工作在苏维埃中取得政治上的绝对统治地位。”列宁非常重视干部选拔任用工作，特别是在新经济政策时期，他反复强调，目前一切工作的“关键在于人才，在于挑选人才”。

(2) Correctly handling the relationship between the Party and mass organizations such as trade unions and the youth league

（二）正确处理党与工会、青年团等群众组织的关系

“Overall leadership” must be exercised not only through the state power but also through mass organizations; it requires correctly handling the relationship between the Party and mass organizations and upholding the Party’s leadership over mass organizations such as trade unions and the Communist Youth League.

“总的领导”不仅需要通过国家政权来实施，还需要通过群众组织来实现，需要正确处理党同群众组织的关系，坚持党对工会、共青团等群众组织的领导。

First, uphold the Party’s leadership over trade unions. Lenin pointed out that trade unions should possess Party spirit, keep close to the Party, and work “under the Party’s ‘supervision and leadership,’” and that “the Party should and will strive to instill its ideas into the trade unions and make them accept the Party’s influence.” Before the founding of the proletarian party, trade union organizations were the main platform and support for Marxists to propagate socialism and organize the workers’ movement. With the development of the workers’ movement and the emergence of the proletarian party, trade union organizations became mass organizations of the working class under the Party’s leadership. In Russia, bourgeois ideologues and the Socialist Revolutionaries held that trade unions could be “independent” of the Party, turning them into independent organizations divorced from political struggle, from the proletarian state power, and from the leadership of the Social Democratic Party. Lenin held that if trade unions became independent of the Party, the result would inevitably be the destruction of the Soviet state power. The Constitutional Democrats, the Bernsteinians, and Plekhanov and others held that the relationship between the Party and the trade unions was one of parallel coexistence, not one of leadership and being led, and that trade unions should be “neutral.” Lenin resolutely opposed this view, while Plekhanov quibbled that abolishing the “neutrality” of trade unions was useless. Lenin pointed out sharply that advocating the neutrality of trade unions benefited the opportunists within the Social Democratic Party, had in fact already brought serious harmful consequences to the German Party, and had made the German trade unions markedly inclined toward opportunism; the Russian Communist Party should take this as a warning. Trade unions are mass educational organizations of the proletariat; they must uphold the Party’s leadership and serve the cause of communism.

第一，坚持党对工会的领导。列宁指出，工会要具有党性，紧紧地靠近党，在党的“‘监督和领导下’进行工作”，“党应当并且将力求把自己的思想灌输到行业工会中去，使工会接受自己的影响”。在无产阶级政党成立之前，工会组织是马克思主义者宣传社会主义、组织工人运动的主要平台和依托。随着工人运动的发展，无产阶级政党产生以后，工会组织就成为了在党领导下的工人阶级群众性组织。在俄国，资产阶级思想家和社会革命党人认为工会可以“独立”于党之外，把工会变成脱离政治斗争、脱离无产阶级政权、脱离社会民主党领导的独立组织。列宁认为，如果工会独立于党之外，其结果一定会使苏维埃政权灭亡。立宪民主党人、伯恩斯坦派以及普列汉诺夫等人认为，党同工会的关系是并列平行关系，不是领导与被领导的关系，工会应当“中立”。列宁坚决反对这种观点，普列汉诺夫则狡辩说，取消工会的“中立”是没有用处的。列宁一针见血地指出，鼓吹工会中立对社会民主党内的机会主义有利，事实上已经给德国的党带来了严重恶果，使德国的工会极明显地倾向机会主义，俄国共产党应当引以为戒。工会是无产阶级群众性的教育组织，必须坚持党的领导，为共产主义事业服务。

Second, uphold the Party’s leadership over the youth league. The Communist Youth League should at all times actively respond to the Party’s call and honorably accomplish the tasks entrusted to it by the Party and the people. In July 1917, in accordance with Lenin’s instructions, the Sixth Congress of the Party advocated the establishment of a reserve force for the Party, that is, a youth league organizationally independent but ideologically closely linked to the Party. Lenin held that “the Party’s intervention in the organizational building of young workers should not take on a character of doing everything for them.” The Party’s leadership over the youth league should not be occupied with trivial administrative matters but should exercise political, ideological, and organizational leadership. Only by subordinating all its work to the struggle for the victory of socialism can the youth league fulfill its class duty. In October 1918, the All-Russian Congress of Worker and Peasant Youth explicitly stated that the youth league was an independent organization working under the instruction of the Russian Communist Party (Bolsheviks). Lenin also pointed out that in order to become a truly communist youth league, the broad masses of league members must resolutely obey the Party’s line, principles, and policies and carry out their work under the Party’s leadership. The youth league must act in accordance with the Party’s principles and, through its own exemplary activities, influence all growing youth and inspire them to actively engage in the communist cause.

第二，坚持党对青年团的领导。共青团任何时候都应积极响应党的号召，光荣地完成党和人民交给的任务。1917年7月，根据列宁的指示，党的第六次代表大会主张建立党的后备军，即组织上独立、思想上与党紧密联系的青年团。列宁认为：“党对青年工人的组织建设的干预不应当带有包办代替的性质。”党对青年团的领导工作不应是忙于琐碎的行政事务，而是实行政治上、思想上和组织上的领导。青年团只有使自己的全部工作都服从于争取社会主义胜利的斗争，才能完成自己的阶级义务。1918年10月，工农青年全俄代表大会明确指出，青年团是在俄共（布）教导下进行工作的独立组织。列宁还指出，要想成为真正的共产主义青年团，广大青年团员就必须坚决服从党的路线方针政策，在党的领导下开展工作。青年团必须遵循党的方针办事，并以自己身体力行的活动来影响全体成长中的青年们，激励他们积极从事共产主义事业。

(3) Establishing and improving the Party’s strict organizational system and the institutions and mechanisms for centralized and unified leadership

（三）建立健全党的严密的组织体系和集中统一的体制机制

First, establish and improve Party leadership organizations at all levels. After the victory of the October Revolution, Lenin and the Central Committee of the Russian Communist Party (Bolsheviks) attached great importance to establishing and improving Party leadership organizations at all levels. In accordance with the principle of democratic centralism, the Russian Communist Party (Bolsheviks) established a unified whole comprising the Party’s central organizations, local organizations, and primary organizations. In the Party’s organizational system, the central leadership organization is the highest-level organization of the Party, the local organizations are the intermediate link, and the primary organizations are the foundation and root of the Party. The three levels of Party organizations play their due roles in different spheres and together constitute the organizational and institutional guarantee for the ruling party’s “overall leadership.” The Party Rules adopted at the Eighth All-Russian Conference of the Russian Communist Party (Bolsheviks) explicitly stipulated that the Central Committee should establish a Political Bureau, an Organizational Bureau, and a Secretariat. At the same time as the Political Bureau of the Central Committee was established, the Central Organizational Bureau was also set up, mainly responsible for the selection and allocation of Party cadres. Under the leadership of Lenin and the Central Committee of the Russian Communist Party (Bolsheviks), local Party organizations, including those at the provincial and county levels in their respective regions, were successively established; in accordance with the Party’s political line and the actual conditions of their regions, they guaranteed politically the fulfillment of national development plans and tasks and supervised the implementation of the Party’s directives.

第一，建立健全党的各级领导组织。十月革命胜利后，列宁和俄共（布）中央十分重视建立健全党的各级领导组织。按照民主集中制原则，俄共（布）建立起党的中央组织、地方组织和基层组织的统一整体。在党的组织体系中，党的中央领导组织是党的最高层组织，党的地方组织是中间环节，党的基层组织是党的根柢基础。党的三个层级的组织在不同的范围内发挥着应有作用，共同构成执政党“总的领导”的组织制度保障。俄共（布）第八次全国代表会议通过的党章明确规定中央委员会设立政治局、组织局和书记处。在成立中央政治局的同时，中央组织局也建立起来，它主要负责党员干部的选拔和配备。在列宁和俄共（布）中央的领导下，包括本区域省、县党的地方组织先后建立起来，它们根据党的政治路线和本区域的实际情况，从政治上保证国家发展计划和任务的完成，监督党的指示的执行。

Second, establish and improve the institutions and mechanisms for safeguarding the Party’s centralized and unified leadership. Safeguarding the Party’s centralized and unified leadership is an important condition for consolidating the ruling party’s leading position and realizing the Party’s “overall leadership.” After the end of the civil war, opposition factions and small groups such as the “Trotskyites,” the “Workers’ Opposition,” and the “Democratic Centralists” appeared within the Party; they put forward the erroneous view that various factional groups and factional activities should be allowed within the Party. Lenin severely criticized this, pointing out that the existence of factional activities within the Party was a serious error and would bring direct harm to the Soviet state power. At the Tenth Congress of the Russian Communist Party (Bolsheviks), Lenin further emphasized the importance of safeguarding the Party’s centralized and unified leadership. The resolution of the Congress pointed out: “At the present time, more than ever, the Party needs absolute unity and absolute solidarity, not merely formal and mechanical unity and solidarity, but ideological and militant unity and solidarity.” The Congress also reminded all Party members: “Any factional activity is harmful and inadmissible,” and all factional groups formed on whatever platform must be dissolved without exception. Safeguarding the Party’s centralized and unified leadership requires not only being built on the basis of ideological agreement and achieving unity of the Party’s will, but also being built on the basis of strict organizational discipline and achieving unity of the Party’s action. In order to strengthen organizational discipline within the Party and safeguard the Party’s centralized and unified leadership, the Russian Communist Party (Bolsheviks), under Lenin’s guidance, drafted important resolutions and provisions such as the “Resolution on Party Unity” and adopted a series of practical and effective concrete measures, thereby strengthening the Party’s “overall leadership” over the life of the state.

第二，建立健全维护党的集中统一的体制机制。维护党的集中统一，是巩固执政党的领导地位和实现党“总的领导”的重要条件。国内战争结束后，党内出现了“托洛茨基派”“工人反对派”“民主集中派”等反对派小团体，他们提出了在党内允许存在各种派别集团和派别活动的错误观点。列宁对此进行了严厉批评，指出党内派别活动的存在是一个严重错误，会给苏维埃政权带来直接危害。列宁在俄共（布）第十次代表大会上，进一步强调了维护党的集中统一领导的重要性。代表大会决议指出：“目前比任何时候都更加需要党的绝对的团结和绝对的统一，不仅是形式上的、机械的团结和统一，而且是思想上的战斗的团结和统一。”代表大会还提醒全体党员注意：“任何派别活动都是有害的，都是不能容许的”，一切不论按何种政纲组成的派别集团，都必须毫无例外地解散。维护党的集中统一领导，不仅需要建立在思想观点一致的基础上，实现党的意志的统一，而且需要建立在严格的组织纪律的基础上，实现党的行动的一致。为了在党内加强组织纪律性，维护党的集中统一领导，俄共（布）在列宁的指导下，拟定了《关于党的统一的决议》等重要决议规定，采取了一系列切实有效的具体举措，加强了党对国家生活的“总的领导”。

(4) Continuously improving the Party’s capacity for “overall leadership”

（四）不断提高党“总的领导”能力

First, improve the capacity to take charge of the overall situation. The newly born Soviet state power faced severe tests in the military, political, economic, and diplomatic spheres. Maintaining and consolidating state power was far more difficult than seizing it; this was an entirely new and extraordinarily arduous great undertaking. Under such circumstances, the Russian Communist Party (Bolsheviks) had to be good at taking charge of the overall situation and coordinating all aspects of work, including internal and foreign affairs, politics and economics, and central and local relations. Under Lenin’s leadership, the Russian Communist Party (Bolsheviks) adopted resolute and forceful measures to coordinate all aspects of work. For example, in the face of the joint offensive of the belligerent powers Britain, France, and Germany, Lenin led the Russian Communist Party (Bolsheviks) and the Soviets in issuing the call “the socialist fatherland is in danger” and concluded the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk, thereby withdrawing Russia from the imperialist war and winning a breathing space for peace, thus enabling the Russian Communist Party (Bolsheviks) to gain time to readjust the country’s political and economic work.

第一，提高总揽全局的能力。新生的苏维埃国家政权面临着来自军事、政治、经济、外交等方面的严峻考验。如何维持和巩固政权比夺取政权困难得多，这是一项崭新的异常艰巨的伟大事业。在这种情况下，俄共（布）必须善于总揽全局，统筹好内政和外交、政治和经济、中央和地方等各个方面工作。在列宁的领导下，俄共（布）采取了果断有力的措施统筹协调各方面工作。比如，面对英、法、德等交战国的联合进攻，列宁领导俄共（布）和苏维埃发出了“社会主义祖国在危急中”的号召，缔结了布列斯特和约，这样就使俄国退出了帝国主义战争，争得了和平喘息的时机，从而使俄共（布）能够赢得时间来调整全国政治经济工作。

Second, enhance the ability to coordinate all parties. The Party must strengthen coordination between the central organizational bodies and the Soviet state organs. In his report of the Central Committee to the Ninth Congress of the Russian Communist Party (Bolsheviks), Lenin pointed out that the daily work of the RCP(B) Central Committee "was carried out by two collective leading bodies elected by the Central Committee plenum, namely, the Central Organizational Bureau and the Central Political Bureau; and in order to coordinate the decisions of these two bodies, the Central Committee secretary participated in the work of both bureaus." Among them, the task of the Central Political Bureau was to resolve political questions, while the primary task of the Central Organizational Bureau was to allocate Party cadres. Hence, in practice, a convention was formed whereby "as long as one Central Committee member raised a request, any question could, on some grounds, be regarded as a political question." Lenin noted that between the two bureaus "there has never been anything difficult to resolve. The work of these two organs has on the whole been coordinated, and this method was easy to implement because the Central Committee secretary attended the meetings of both bureaus, and the Central Committee secretary carried out entirely the will of the Party Central Committee." Lenin also held that the Party, as the core of the dictatorship of the proletariat, must strengthen its coordination of the entire system of the dictatorship of the proletariat as a whole, and must mobilize and organize the forces of all sides; only thus could the task of consolidating the dictatorship of the proletariat be accomplished. He stressed that the main work of the Central Political Bureau was to exercise overall coordination, from the political standpoint, over the various organizations within the system of the dictatorship of the proletariat.

第二，提高协调各方的能力。党必须加强与中央组织机构、苏维埃国家政权组织之间的协调。列宁在俄共（布）第九次代表大会所作的中央委员会报告中指出，俄共（布）中央的日常工作，“是由中央全会选出的两个集体领导机构中央组织局和中央政政治局担负的；同时为了使这两个机构的决议协调一致，中央书记兼任两个局的工作”。其中，中央政治局的任务是解决政治问题，中央组织局的首要任务是分配党的干部。所以在实践中形成了这样的惯例，即“只要有一个中央委员提出要求，就可以根据某种理由把任何一个问题看成政治问题”。列宁指出，在这两个局之间“从来没有发生过难以解决的事。这两个机关的工作一般说来是协调的，这种方式易于实行，这是由于中央书记参加两个局的会议，并且中央书记执行的完全是党中央的意志”。列宁还认为，党作为无产阶级专政的核心，必须从整体上加强对整个无产阶级专政体系的协调，必须动员组织好各方面的力量，只有这样才能完成巩固无产阶级专政的任务。他强调，中央政治局的主要工作，就是从政治上对无产阶级专政体系中的各种组织进行统筹协调。

IV. The Contemporary Value of Lenin's Thought on the "Overall Leadership" of the Ruling Party

四、列宁执政党“总的领导”思想的当代价值

At present, systematically studying and deeply exploring the profound purport and practical significance of Lenin's thought on the "overall leadership" of the ruling party helps us get to the bottom of the historical origins of the Party's comprehensive leadership, and helps us seek from Lenin's thought and practice the theoretical sources and theoretical basis for strengthening the Party's comprehensive leadership. This valuable thought of Lenin's is of very important theoretical value and practical enlightenment for the Communist Party of China in the New Era to uphold and strengthen the Party's comprehensive leadership, to ensure that the Party plays its leading core role of commanding the overall situation and coordinating all parties, and to guarantee that the Party leads the people in effectively governing the country.

当前，系统学习和深入探究列宁关于执政党“总的领导”思想的深刻命意和现实意义，有助于盘根究底地弄清楚党的全面领导的历史起源，有助于我们从列宁的思想和实践中寻求加强党的全面领导的理论渊源和理论依据。列宁的这一宝贵思想，对于新时代中国共产党坚持和加强党的全面领导，确保党发挥总揽全局、协调各方的领导核心作用，保证党领导人民有效治理国家，具有十分重要的理论价值和现实启示。

(I) Providing a scientific theoretical guide for the Party's comprehensive leadership in the New Era

（一）为新时代党的全面领导提供科学理论指南

In the process of founding a new-type proletarian party, Lenin combined Marx and Engels' theory of Party leadership with the actual conditions of Russia and creatively put forward the idea that Party leadership is "overall leadership." This valuable thought guided the Russian people to achieve great victories in socialist revolution and construction, left precious theoretical resources and historical heritage for the Russian Communist Party and the working-class parties of all countries in the world, and provided a scientific theoretical guide for the Communist Party of China to uphold and strengthen the Party's comprehensive leadership. In the course of revolution, construction, and reform, the Communist Party of China successively put forward such important viewpoints as strengthening the Party's unified leadership, the Party leading everything, establishing and improving the Party's leadership system, and upholding and improving Party leadership. Since the 18th National Congress of the CPC, the Party Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core has put forward the major thesis of "upholding and strengthening the Party's comprehensive leadership," marking that our understanding of Party leadership has reached a new height. From the "overall leadership" of the ruling party, to "the Party leading everything," to "upholding and improving Party leadership," and then to "upholding and strengthening the Party's comprehensive leadership," one main thread runs through all of them, namely, upholding Party leadership. The "overall" in "overall leadership," the "everything" in "the Party leading everything," and the "comprehensive" in the Party's comprehensive leadership do not mean taking on everything, however trivial or minute, but mainly refer to full coverage of objects, fields, and scope, as well as the overall and indirect character of the mode of leadership, thereby ensuring that the Party always commands the overall situation and coordinates all parties.

列宁在创建新型无产阶级政党的过程中，把马克思恩格斯党的领导理论同俄国的实际情况相结合，创造性地提出了党的领导是“总的领导”的思想。这一宝贵思想指导俄国人民取得了社会主义革命和建设的伟大胜利，为俄国共产党和世界各国工人阶级政党留下了宝贵的理论资源和历史遗产，为中国共产党坚持和加强党的全面领导提供了科学理论指南。中国共产党在革命、建设、改革的历程中，先后提出要加强党的一元化领导、党是领导一切的、建立健全党的领导制度、坚持和完善党的领导等重要思想观点。党的十八大以来，以习近平同志为核心的党中央提出了“坚持和加强党的全面领导”的重大论断，标志着我们对党的领导的认识达到了一个新高度。从执政党“总的领导”到“党是领导一切的”，到“坚持和完善党的领导”，再到“坚持和加强党的全面领导”，始终贯穿其中一条主线即坚持党的领导。“总的领导”中的“总的”、党是领导一切中的“一切”、党的全面领导中的“全面”并不是事无巨细、细枝末节的大包大揽，主要指的是对象、领域、范围的全覆盖以及领导方式上的全局性、间接性，从而确保党始终总揽全局、协调各方。

(II) It is necessary to uphold the authority of the Party Central Committee and its centralized, unified leadership

（二）必须维护党中央权威和集中统一领导

Lenin always upheld the leading position of the proletarian party in revolution and construction, stressed that Party leadership is overall "overall leadership," and insisted that "the Party's central organs become authoritative institutions possessing broad powers and enjoying the general trust of Party members." Upholding the authority of the Party Central Committee and centralized, unified leadership is a fine tradition and unique advantage of the Chinese Communists. Mao Zedong attached great importance to Party unity and centralized, unified leadership, put forward the disciplinary principle of the "four subordinations,"[26]26 The "four subordinations" (四个服从): the principle that individual Party members are subordinate to the Party organization, the minority to the majority, the lower level to the higher level, and all organizations and members to the Central Committee. and stressed the strong unified leadership of the Party Central Committee. Deng Xiaoping proposed that "the authority of the Party Central Committee must be strengthened," and stressed that "once the Central Committee has decided on measures, all localities and departments must resolutely implement them." In China today, there is no political force or any other force greater than the Communist Party of China; the Party is the highest political leading force and the strong leading core of the cause of socialism with Chinese characteristics. Upholding the centralized, unified leadership of the Party Central Committee is the highest political principle, and it must not be ambiguous or wavered at any time or under any circumstances. On February 20, 2021, Xi Jinping stressed in his speech at the mobilization meeting for Party history learning and education: "Upholding the authority of the Party Central Committee and its centralized, unified leadership is the primary task of the Party's political development and must be persistently pursued without letup." Resolutely upholding the authority of the Party Central Committee and its centralized, unified leadership—the most crucial point is to uphold General Secretary Xi Jinping's core position in the Party Central Committee and in the Party as a whole; the most important point is to firmly support the "Two Establishments,"[27]27 The "Two Establishments" (两个确立): the establishment of Xi Jinping's core position in the Party Central Committee and in the Party as a whole, and the establishment of the guiding position of Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era. resolutely achieve the "Two Upholds,"[28]28 The "Two Upholds" (两个维护): upholding General Secretary Xi Jinping's core position in the Party Central Committee and in the Party as a whole, and upholding the authority of the Party Central Committee and its centralized, unified leadership. firmly establish the "Four Consciousnesses,"[29]29 The "Four Consciousnesses" (四个意识): consciousness of the need to maintain political integrity, think in big-picture terms, follow the leadership core, and keep in alignment with the Party Central Committee. and adhere to the "four subordinations," ensuring that the Central Committee's orders are unimpeded and its decisions take root and bear fruit.

列宁始终坚持无产阶级政党在革命和建设中的领导地位，强调党的领导是全局性的“总的领导”，要保证“党的中央机关成为拥有广泛的权力、得到党员普遍信任的权威性机构”。维护党中央权威和集中统一领导，是中国共产党人的优良传统和独特优势。毛泽东高度重视党的团结和集中统一问题，提出“四个服从”的纪律原则，强调党中央强有力的统一领导。邓小平提出“党中央的权威必须加强”，强调“中央定了措施，各地各部门就要坚决执行”。当今中国，没有大于中国共产党的政治力量或其他什么力量，党是最高政治领导力量，是中国特色社会主义事业的坚强领导核心。坚持党中央集中统一领导是最高政治原则，任何时候、任何情况下都不能含糊、不能动摇。2021年2月20日，习近平在党史学习教育动员大会上的讲话中强调：“坚持党中央权威和集中统一领导，是党的政治建设的首要任务，必须常抓不懈。”坚决维护党中央权威和集中统一领导，最关键的是维护习近平总书记党中央的核心、全党的核心地位，最重要的是坚定拥护“两个确立”、坚决做到“两个维护”，牢固树立“四个意识”，坚持践行“四个服从”，确保中央政令畅通、决策落地生根。

(III) It is necessary to uphold the Party's comprehensive leadership over all work

（三）必须坚持党对一切工作的全面领导

Lenin held that the Party is not only the highest form of proletarian organization, but also the leader of all fronts and all departments, and that it is necessary to uphold the Party's overall leadership over all political and economic work of the state organs. During the period of socialist construction, Mao Zedong explicitly put forward the viewpoint that "the Party leads everything" and repeatedly stressed the Party's leadership over all work. After the Third Plenary Session of the 11th Central Committee of the Party,[30]30 The Third Plenary Session of the 11th Central Committee of the CPC, held in December 1978, marked the beginning of the reform and opening up era and the shift from class struggle to economic development as the central task. upholding Party leadership had already formed a high degree of consensus across the whole Party; at the same time, in response to deviations in the Party's leadership system and leadership style, Deng Xiaoping put forward the requirement of improving and perfecting Party leadership. He pointed out: "We uphold Party leadership; the question is whether the Party is good at leading. The Party must be good at leading and must not interfere too much; it should start from the Central Committee." The Party Constitution adopted at the 12th National Congress of the Party pointed out: "Party leadership is mainly political, ideological, and organizational leadership." The 13th National Congress of the Party pointed out: "Party leadership is political leadership, that is, leadership over political principles, political direction, and major decisions, and recommendation of important cadres to the state organs." In the New Era, the Party Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core reaffirmed the viewpoint that "the Party leads everything," and in the report to the 19th National Congress listed "upholding the Party's leadership over all work" as one of the fourteen basic strategies of Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era. To uphold the Party's leadership over all work, it is necessary to adhere to the principle that Party leadership is comprehensive, systematic, and holistic, to carry Party leadership through all aspects and all fields of the economy, politics, culture, society, and ecological civilization, and at the same time to strengthen Party leadership in state organs, mass organizations, the military, enterprises and public institutions, and other organizations. That is to say, the Party's comprehensive leadership must be embodied in all fields of the cause of the Party and the state, cover all dimensions of the work of the Party and the state, and run through the entire process of the development of the Party and the state.

列宁认为，党不仅是无产阶级组织的最高形式，也是各条战线、各个部门的领导者，必须坚持党对国家政权的一切政治经济工作进行总的领导。在社会主义建设时期，毛泽东曾明确提出“党是领导一切的”的观点，多次强调党对一切工作的领导。党的十一届三中全会后，坚持党的领导已经在全党形成了高度共识，同时针对党的领导体制、领导方式等方面的偏差，邓小平提出了改进、改善党的领导的要求。他指出：“我们坚持党的领导，问题是党善于不善于领导。党要善于领导，不能干预太多，应该从中央开始。”党的十二大通过的党章指出：“党的领导主要是政治、思想和组织的领导。”党的十三大指出：“党的领导是政治领导，即政治原则、政治方向、重大决策的领导和向国家政权机关推荐重要干部。”新时代，以习近平同志为核心的党中央重申“党是领导一切”的观点，并在十九大报告中将“坚持党对一切工作的领导”作为习近平新时代中国特色社会主义思想的十四条基本方略之一。坚持党对一切工作的领导，必须坚持党的领导是全面的、系统的、整体的原则，将党的领导贯穿于经济、政治、文化、社会、生态文明等各个方面各个领域，同时要在国家机关、群团组织、军队、企业事业单位等组织中加强党的领导。也就是说，党的全面领导必须体现在党和国家事业的全领域，覆盖到党和国家工作的全方位，贯穿到党和国家发展的全过程。

(IV) Supporting the Party's comprehensive leadership with a rigorous organizational system

（四）以严密的组织体系支撑党的全面领导

Lenin not only established the principle that Party leadership is "overall leadership," but also established democratic centralism as the fundamental system within the Party, forming within the Russian Communist Party (Bolsheviks) a rigorous organizational system composed of central, local, and grassroots organizations, thereby laying the organizational foundation for the "overall leadership" of the ruling party. The Communist Party of China was established in accordance with Lenin's principle of democratic centralism, has always attached importance to the rigor of Party organization, and has continuously improved the Party's organizational system. In the New Era, to strengthen the Party's overall leadership, it is necessary to strengthen the Party Central Committee's centralized and unified leadership over Party organizations at all levels and over major affairs, and to establish and improve a complete and effective Party organizational system. It is necessary to optimize the organizational system for the Party Central Committee's centralized and unified leadership, optimize the decision-making functions of the various leading groups, strengthen the overall coordination functions of the various committees, and ensure the long-term stability of the Party Central Committee's centralized and unified leadership; optimize the organizational system of local Party organizations, strengthen local Party committees, improve Party groups, and improve the work of Party groups, so as to provide organizational guarantees for their playing a leading role in their respective regions and units; optimize the organizational system of grassroots Party organizations, highlight the political functions of grassroots Party organizations, enhance the organizational capacity of Party branches, raise the operational level of grassroots Party organizations, and give full play to their role as fighting fortresses. Only by continuously optimizing the Party's organizational system and continuously enhancing its political functions can the Party's overall leadership be implemented in practice.

列宁不仅确立了党的领导是“总的领导”的原则，还确立了民主集中制这一党内的根本制度，在俄共（布）党内形成了由中央组织、地方组织和基层组织共同构成的严密的组织体系，奠定了执政党“总的领导”的组织基础。中国共产党是按照列宁的民主集中制原则建立起来的，历来重视党组织的严密性，不断健全党的组织体系。新时代加强党的全面领导，必须加强党中央对各级党组织和重大事项进行集中统一领导，建立健全完整有效的党的组织体系。要优化党中央集中统一领导的组织体系，优化各领导小组的决策功能，增强各委员会的统筹协调功能，确保党中央集中统一领导的长期性和稳定性；优化地方党组织的组织体系，建强地方党委，完善党组，改进党组工作，为其在本地区、本单位发挥领导作用提供组织保障；优化基层党组织的组织体系，突出基层党组织的政治功能，提升党支部的组织力，提高基层党组织的运行水平，充分发挥战斗堡垒作用。只有不断优化党的组织体系，不断增强其政治功能，才能确保党的全面领导落到实处。

(5) It is necessary to comprehensively improve and forge the Party's leadership capacity

（五）必须全面提升与锻造党的领导力

Lenin insisted on correctly handling the relations between the Party and the Soviet state power organs and mass organizations, was adept at grasping the work of all aspects as a whole in practice, coordinating the relations among all aspects, and continuously improving the ruling party's capacity for "overall leadership." Upholding the Party's overall leadership requires not only political firmness but also strong capability, especially the need to comprehensively improve and continuously strengthen the Party's leadership capacity. The history and experience of the Party's century-long struggle tell us that an incomparably strong leadership capacity is the core code by which the Communist Party of China continuously writes the "China miracle," and is also the powerful advantage and notable hallmark of the Communist Party of China. The 19th National Congress of the CPC focused the Party's leadership capacity on "the capacity to set the direction, plan the overall situation, formulate policies, and promote reform," and emphasized the need to "continuously strengthen the Party's political leadership capacity, theoretical guidance capacity, mass organization capacity, and social appeal capacity." [31]31 The 19th National Congress of the CPC was held in October 2017; its report set out the Party's guiding principles for the new era and identified the Party's leadership capacity in these four areas. This pointed the way for strengthening and improving the Party's leadership capacity. Xi Jinping further proposed at the meeting of the Political Bureau of the Central Committee on democratic life held in December 2020 that it is necessary to "continuously improve political judgment, political comprehension, and political execution capacity." [32]32 The "three political capacities" (political judgment, political comprehension, and political execution) were proposed by Xi Jinping in December 2020 as practical requirements for Party officials in implementing the Party Central Committee's decisions. The "three political capacities" are the practical requirements and concrete manifestation of the Party's political leadership capacity, jointly supporting the capacity system of the Party's political leadership capacity. The most crucial aspect of Party leadership is political leadership, and the most crucial aspect of the Party's leadership capacity is political leadership capacity. To comprehensively improve and forge the Party's leadership capacity, it is necessary to strengthen the Party's political leadership capacity, while also making efforts to improve the Party's capacity to set the direction, plan the overall situation, formulate policies, and promote reform, mobilize the initiative and enthusiasm of all aspects and all fields, and continuously strengthen the Party's leading core role in commanding the overall situation and coordinating all parties.

列宁坚持正确处理党与苏维埃国家政权组织、群众组织之间的关系，善于在实践中总体把握各个方面的工作，统筹协调各个方面的关系，不断提高执政党“总的领导”能力。坚持党的全面领导，不仅需要政治上过硬，而且需要能力上高强，尤其是需要全面提升、不断增强党的领导力。党的百年奋斗的历史与经验启示我们：无比坚强的领导力是中国共产党不断抒写“中国奇迹”的核心密码，也是中国共产党的强大优势和显著标志。党的十九大把党的领导能力聚焦为“把方向、谋大局、定政策、促改革的能力”，并强调要“不断增强党的政治领导力、思想引领力、群众组织力、社会号召力”。这就为增强和提高党的领导力指明了方向。习近平在2020年12月召开的中央政治局民主生活会上进一步提出，要“不断提高政治判断力、政治领悟力、政治执行力”。“政治三力”是党的政治领导力的实践要求和具体彰显，共同支撑起党的政治领导力的能力体系。党的领导最关键的是政治领导，党的领导力最关键的是政治领导力。全面提升与锻造党的领导力，就必须增强党的政治领导力，同时需要着力提高党把方向、谋大局、定政策、促改革的能力，调动各方面、各个领域的积极性主动性，不断加强党总揽全局、协调各方的领导核心作用。

Source: *Scientific Socialism*, 2024, Issue 5

文章来源：《科学社会主义》2024年第5期

Online editor: Jing Mu

网络编辑：静穆