The Academy of Sciences of the USSR on Stalin’s Work “Economic Problems of Socialism in the USSR”
February 2, 1953
On holding the General Meeting of the Academy of Sciences of the USSR devoted to discussing the main tasks of development of scientific research in the institutions of the Academy of Sciences of the USSR on the basis of the XIX Congress of the CPSU and the basic ideas of Stalin’s brilliant new work “Economic Problems of Socialism in the USSR.”
We inform you that on January 30 and February 2 this year the General Assembly of the USSR Academy of Sciences took place in Moscow Scientists House to discuss the main tasks of development of scientific research in the Academy’s institutions based on the XIX Congress of the CPSU and fundamental ideas of Stalin’s new genius work “Economic Problems of Socialism in the USSR.”
More than 1,000 people — representatives of research institutions of the USSR Academy of Sciences, scientists of the academies of sciences of the allied republics, employees of ministries and departments — participated in the Assembly.
In his opening address, Academician I.P. Bardin, Vice-President of the USSR Academy of Sciences, outlining the tasks of the Assembly, pointed out that the XIX Congress of the Communist Party had armed the Soviet people with Stalin’s plan for building a communist society, inspired the advanced people of all countries to fight for peace, democracy and socialism and set before Soviet scientists the honourable task of taking first place in world science.
In conclusion, Academician I.P. Bardin described Comrade Stalin’s classic work “Economic Problems of Socialism in the USSR” — a programme document of Communism — as a work of crucial importance for the development of all sciences, for scientists of all specialities.
The report of the President of the USSR Academy of Sciences, academician A.N. Nesmeyanov — “Tasks of the USSR Academy of Sciences in the light of decisions of the XIX Congress of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union and fundamental ideas of new genial work of Stalin ‘Economic problems of socialism in the USSR’” — was devoted to detailed consideration of tasks of all the Academy departments, its institutes and institutions.
The greatest tasks set by the XIX Congress of the CPSU before the current five-year plan and further even more grandiose perspectives of building communism in our country require for their solution the most active participation of scientists from all branches of science.
Comrade Stalin points out that the Soviet country, with its revolutionary skills and traditions, with its struggle against stagnation and stagnant thought, creates the most favourable environment for science to flourish.
Academician A.N. Nesmeyanov noted in his report that our Soviet reality is a remarkable confirmation of Comrade Stalin’s words. In the Soviet Union science has a role that it has never played in the history of human society. Soviet science is not fenced off from the people, but voluntarily and willingly serves them and transmits to them all its knowledge.
Soviet scientists are faced with the two closely interlinked tasks of developing major theoretical problems in all fields of knowledge and fully strengthening the link between science and practice, with production.
The task of reaching the first place in world science, being a quantitative task — it is necessary to significantly increase the number of scientists, research institutes and laboratories, to ensure an even greater rise of science in the periphery and in the union republics, even broader training of scientific personnel — is primarily a qualitative task. It is necessary to raise the quality of scientific work, making wide use of the method of criticism and self-criticism, raising the level of ideological work in the education of scientific personnel, in the development of scientific problems.
A.N. Nesmeyanov paid special attention to the choice of the main directions of science and pointed out that the method of dialectical materialism should underlie the determination of the most important scientific directions and all scientific activities of the Academy of Sciences. Proceeding from the directives of the XIXth Congress of the CPSU on the development of the non-native economy of the USSR in 1951–55 the speaker made specific conclusions about the necessity of scientific development of certain problems, key issues and areas of technical and natural sciences.
Further, Academician A.N. Nesmeyanov pointed out that Stalin’s brilliant work “Economic Problems of Socialism in the USSR” is a stage in the development of economic science. Stalin exposed the mistakes of the Soviet economists, showed their anti-Marxist roots and their great harm to the theory and practice of communist construction and thereby pointed out the ways of overcoming these mistakes as soon as possible.
A.N. Nesmeyanov pointed out the shortcomings and deficiencies in the field of social sciences of the Academy of Sciences and named the urgent problems to be solved in the light of the work of comrade Stalin and decisions of XIX Party Congress.
In conclusion Academician A. N. Nesmeyanov said that to solve the main problem — to take the first place in the world science — the Soviet science should distribute the research work between the USSR Academies of Sciences, republican academies and branch institutes so that each scientific institution knew its place in the common cause, so that it should do exactly what is necessary to solve this huge problem.
Academician A.N. Nesmeyanov assured the participants of the General Assembly that the Soviet science will organise all its work on the basis of creative criticism and self-criticism and, being constantly guided by the instructions of the great Stalin that no science can develop and succeed without a struggle of opinions, without freedom of criticism, will fulfil its historical mission and take first place in world science.
Academicians A.I. Oparin, E.N. Pavlovsky, K.M. Bykov, M.M. Dubinin, M.A. Lavrentyev, V.V. Vinogradov, O.Yu. Schmidt, A.A. Blagonravov, G.M. Krzhizhanovsky, D.S. Belyankin, A.M. Terpigorev, I.E. Grabar, N.N. Anichkov, H.H. Semyonov, I.G. Petrovskii, V.S. Nemchinov, V.I. Scherbakov, corresponding member of the USSR Academy of Sciences, and others.
On January 31, Corresponding Member of the USSR Academy of Sciences P.F. Yudin delivered a paper entitled “J.V. Stalin’s work ‘Economic Problems of Socialism in the USSR’ as the basis for the development of social sciences” and noted the great importance of Stalin’s work for history, economics, law, philosophy and other social sciences. P.F. Yudin defined Comrade Stalin’s work on the economic problems of socialism in the USSR as a continuation and further development of his classic work on dialectical and historical materialism.
The speaker paid particular attention to the state of philosophical, legal and economic science. A considerable number of works in philosophy, history, law and economics were critically analysed, the authors of which had failed to trace and understand how the old changes under the new conditions and how the new asserts itself using the old form.
P.F. Yudin concluded his report by pointing out that Stalin’s brilliant work “Economic Problems of Socialism in the USSR” armed the international communist movement with a great weapon in the struggle for the liberation of the workers from the oppression of capitalism. This work inspires the fighters for peace in all countries of the world, for democracy and socialism, for the struggle against the misanthropic ideology of imperialism, for the struggle against the warmongers of a new war.
Academician G.F. Alexandrov, Corresponding Members of the USSR Academy of Sciences K.V. Ostrovitianov, L.A. Leontiev and Professor L.M. Gatovsky gave critical assessment of his work and admitted mistakes during the discussion of P.F. Yudin’s report.
The speech by Academician A.Y. Vyshinsky was devoted to the exceptional significance of Comrade Stalin’s new work on international law. Vyshinsky focused on the exceptional significance of Comrade Stalin’s new work for the science of international law and for Soviet foreign policy and diplomacy. A.Y. Vyshinsky sharply criticised the contemporary works of some Soviet jurists, pointing out that the works of Soviet specialists in international law were of little help to our diplomats in their work abroad.
President
President of the USSR Academy of Sciences
Academician (A.N. Nesmeyanov)
Scientific Secretary
Presidium Academician of the USSR Academy of Sciences
Academician (L.V. Topchiev)
J.V. Stalin, Works (Rus. ed.)
Vol. 18, pp. 575–577
