Proefskrifte/theses

SUMMARY

Although Lenin's definition of imperialism implies that a socialist state cannot be imperialistic, and although Soviet Russia's protestations of opposition to imperialism and denials of any imperialistic aspirations cannot be rejected out of hand, the conclusion reached in this study is nevertheless that Soviet Russian imperialism is a fact that is capable of empiric observation and pragmatic proof. This conclusion is based on an analysis of the motives and aims of Soviet policy and of the methods used to realise those aims — such analysis being necessitated by the fact that there is no universally acceptable definition of imperialism against which the policy of a particular state can be tested for imperialistic elements.

For Marxism‐Leninism the first requirement for the emancipation of the proletariat is the revolutionary transformation of the power structure in a state. According to Lenin the socialist revolution had to be organized on behalf of the proletariat by a centralized party of professional revolutionists; and in this way the Bolshevists seized political power in Russia on behalf of the proletariat.

In Lenin's view the Bolshevist revolution was to be merely the start of world‐wide revolutions — such revolutions being regarded as essential for the consolidation of Bolshevist successes. When the expected world‐wide revolutions did not materialise the danger of intervention by the capitalist states forced the Bolshevists to take steps to safeguard their ascendancy. Considerations of national survival now prevailed over the pursuit of internationalism.

Lenin, who strove for the amalgamation of all nations into a proletarian world state, was opposed to nationalism and to anything which hinted at domination by a single nation. Stalin on the other hand subordinated the interests of the non‐Russian nationalities to those of the Great‐Russian proletariat. Under his leadership, communism became synonymous with Soviet Russia and its leadership.

As a result of Russia's encirclement by capitalist states, Soviet foreign policy since 1917 has been characterized by extreme anxiety for the safety of Soviet Russia. In the light of the Marxist‐Leninist doctrines, world conquest seemed the only effective method of ensuring that safety, but until the end of 1939 the Soviet Government displayed an inability to exercise its power in neighbouring capitalist countries.

An analysis of Soviet Russian imperialism in Central and Southeastern Europe during the period in question reveals three typical aims. Firstly there was a localized quest for the unification of the former Tsarist Empire. Secondly the Soviet Government strove to obtain geographically strategic areas, and lastly there was the unlimited aim of expanding the socialist basis into a world Soviet republic. The methods employed to attain the aims were, like the aims, also of three basic types — cultural, military and economic. The instruments that were used, either singly or in combination, depended on the resistance that was encountered.

While the motive forces of Soviet Russian imperialism can be traced to the usurpation of power by the Bolshevists, it was during the period of Stalin's leadership that the Marxist‐Leninist ideal of a world revolution and a world socialist republic was transformed that it became the specific task of the Soviet Government to realise this republican ideal through an expansion of Soviet Russia.