If … Will the Soviet Union still perish？

　
　　　 What led to the end of the Soviet Union? There are many reasons for this, which cannot be simply attributed to a certain reason or a person’s mistake.

　　　 First of all, Russia has a 370-year tradition of czar absolutism, and it lacks the practice of capitalist democratic constitutionalism. The tradition of czar’s autocracy permeates every corner of society, which has an impact on the people and communist party. This is an objective reason. Secondly, the problem of how communist party led the Soviet Union was not solved. During Lenin’s period, there was inner-party democracy, Soviet democracy was not enough, and multi-party cooperative democracy no longer existed after 1920. If inner-party democracy, Soviet democracy and multi-party cooperation democracy can be developed, it should be said that the Soviet Union will not perish. Finally, the personal characteristics of leaders also play a role. If Lenin could live 20 years longer, the Soviet system would certainly not be deformed or declined. Lenin graduated from the Faculty of Law of Petersburg University, lived in capitalist democratic countries in Western Europe for 15 years, and founded socialist democracy in Russia.

　　　 If the Soviet Union implements a democratic and Republican political system, and if the Soviet Union is the highest organ of state power with real power, then it can correct the wrong line of the ruling party. Stalin did not practice the unity of the general leadership positions of the party and government, but pioneered the personal centralization system, the tenure system and the designated succession system, which combined the three powers of the party, government and army, thus turning the Soviet Union into a rubber stamp. Therefore, in the end, the Soviet Union could neither correct Stalin’s "Left" line error, which had been pursued for a long time since 1929, nor correct Gorbachev’s right line error.

　　　 Therefore, the first lesson we should learn from the drastic changes in the Soviet Union is to speed up the reform of the political system with excessive concentration of power and to develop and expand socialist democracy and freedom. With democracy and freedom and the guidance of scientific theory, a correct political line can be formed; With science and democracy and freedom, even if the political line is wrong, it can be corrected in time. (Gao Fang Contemporary World and Socialism, No.4, 2007)

Editor: Feng Ye