Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1950-08-12
How Strong Is Russia?

Although it may not add up to startling news,
It Is at least interesting that Generalissimo Stain
has Just written an article declaring that the
Soviet Union must strengthen itself in every
particular lest it be destroyed by the capitalist
world.
The article-appearing in the magazine Boil
shevik, one of the most authoritative of the
Kremlns mouthpieces-iS devoted chiefly to an
attack on doctrnaire Communists who never
have new ideas and who adhere rigidly to the
view that formulas proclaimed in the distant
past by Marx and EngelS must be forever valid
and immutable, regardless Of changing times and
circumstances
One such formula is the classic Marx-E ngels
thesis that after state passes through
victorious Red revolution that State-together
with all its apparatus of power including
permanent armed forces-must wither away and
be replaced by a wonderfully free, classics and
peaceful society. In his article, the Soviet
dictator specifically refers to this idea, hits hard
at it as nonsensical dogma, and goes on to make
the following observation
ION the basis of a study of the world
situation in our time when the Soviet Marxist
revolution occurs in only one country and
capitalism reigns in all other countries, then the
country where the revolution triumphed must
not weaken, but must do its utmost to strengthen
lCS SCaLe, SCaLe organs,
and the Army, if this country doesn't want to
be crushed by capitalist enlightenment"
Since Stain never speaks out in such
manner without a purpose, several questions
Immediately suggest themselves, the chief Of
them being these two Cd Has party-line dogma
stifed original thinking to such an extent in
Russia that the Kremlin is now worried? And
ca Is the Soviet Union beset by hidden weak
nesses-political economic and military-that
make it seem considerably less formidable in
It's own eyes than it seems in ours?
AS far as original thinking goes-inventive-
ness initiative in ideas pioneering in the realm
of the mnd-there is more than little reason
to believe that party-line RECOMMENDATION has
acted as kind of straitjacket on the Russian
intellect Creative Imagination, individual en-
terprise, the breaking of ground in the
far-ranging field OF human endeaVor-aH theSe
things have been held down in way that may
now be exacting heavy price from the Soviet
Union.
AS for weaknesses nothing could be clearer
than that Russia today-in terms of its present
armed ability to overrun such regions as western
Europe-seelns virtually unStoppable. But that
prospect does not take into account such other
factors as these Cd American atomic superiority,
~ the overwhelmingly greater resources-in
STEEL oil, productive capacity, etc-that the West
has at its disposal for the long pull and 81 the
fact that the Soviet satellite empire is founded
on the oppression of vast segment of humanity
that is religiously cu1turally and historically so
bitterly antiKremIn that it might easily, IN case
of war, be the undoing of the Moscow dictatorship
It may well be that these and similar
factors are what account for Stains article.
Conceivably-iust conceivably-that article may
reflect measure of fear within the Kremlin. At
any rate 1t serves to remind us that the Russians,
though they should never be underestimate,
ought not to be over-rated either. If the United
States, together with the rest of the free world