MOSCOW PUBLISHED TOGLIATTI'S "TESTAMENT"
The publication of Togliatti's "testament" September 4 by the leadership of the Italian Communist party was an important event in the crisis raging among the official Communist parties, Pravdats publication of the same document on September LO was likewise of first-rate significance,
It. is known that Khrushchev'!s representative Brezhnev, who went to Italy to attend the funeral services for the late leader of the Italian Communist party, argued with Togliatti's political heirs for several days not to publish the text but to keep the whole thing secret, The same sources report that the "testament" itself was written by Togliatti after a hot argument with Brezhnev from which the Italian Communist party leader emerged deeply disturbed, What-~ ever may be the accuracy of these reports circulating in the Italian Communist party, Brezhnev'!s position accorded with the interests of the Kremlin group, as viewed at first sight, and Khrushchev!s deci-~ sion to publish the text as a "lesser evil, f was evidently reached only after considerable reflection,
Is there any internal source of pressure in the Sovict Union that sought publication of the dooument in Pravda? On this, one can only speculate. On the international level, however, it is not difficult to find compelling reasons for the move,
Khrushchev decided to hold an international conference which would inevitably end with a pronouncement on the Sino-Soviet dispute, Suslov, Khrushchev'!s leading spokesman in such matters, demanded flat condemnation of the Chinese. But the Sovict declaration convoking the preparatory conference of twenty-six parties in mid Decomber did not go as far as Suslov's report, It stated that there was no inten tion of condemning the Chinese there, Nevertheless, the preparatory conference clearly faces many difficulties, The Chinese and the four or five parties that agree with them will not be present, Four or five others may not participate. Now the "testament" of Togliatti has been tossed in, announcing that the Italian Communist party will go to the preparatory conference in order to argue for a point of view that places in question whether it will accept a world conference in 1965,
Khrushchev is thus caught up in an enterprise in. which his prestige is at stake, To evade publishing Togliatti's final words only a few days after eulogizing the man at his funeral, would in fact constitute a rebuff to the fricndly stance of the Italian Com munist party and risk closing the door to any compromise, Khrushchev also had to take into account the fact that this "testament" is most certainly regarded favorably by not a few Communist party leaderships, He also had to weigh the fact that however opposed to the Chinese position Togliatti was, his document is not without its advantages to the leadership of the Chinese Communist party. It substantiates the accusations of revisionism while at the same time opposing
~3o~
convocation of a conference in 1965, By publishing Togliatti's document in Pravda, Khrushchev had to cede to several thrusts which he would have preferred to side step by pretending complete ignorance of their existence,
To a certain degree, he therefore had to make a virtue of necessity, But Khrushchev, it should not be forgotten, has a side that reveals a player willing at times to take high risks, Under the ciroumstances, for reasons pertaining directly to the intcrnational crisis of Stalinism, the readers of Pravda learn that Togliatti raised questions on the origin of the cult of the personality of Stalin, on the hesitations and resistances to de-Stalinization, on the new contradictions appearing in the camp of the workers states, eto., and that Togliatti himself posed the need for public discussion of all these questions, No matter how prudent Togliattils formulations were, this is not at all an ordinary occurrence for the Soviet public. On the contrary! ‘
It is still too carly to judge the repercussions in the Sovict Union, It.is quito probable in a society that has been deprived so long from experiencing free confrontation of views, that it will take time to have visible effect, But whatever the Soviet leaders do to soften the impact, their efforts will be in vain. There is no com. parison between the men and their "testamonts," but a gauge docs exist to show how times have changed and with this the capacities of the . bureaucracy, Lenints "testament" remained hidden for almost forty years, Its possession or circulation meant at least deportation, Twenty days after Togliatti's death, his "testament" appeared in Pravda, ,
What happened with regard to Togliatti's "testament" shows that the leaders of the Communist parties, no matter how powerful they may appear, are no longer able to contain the crisis shaking their partics, Incidents of all kinds upset their calculations and plans, Discussion is engendered by the very force of the most rovo~_ lutionary situation the world has ever seen. Bureaucratic authorities and burcaucratic means are destined to fail. Maneuvers fail along with repression. The complete liquidation of Stalinism is on the agenda.
Directeur-Gérant: Pierre FRANK. + Utéditeur).