"We Are All Stalinists"

For a man some thought to be toppling, Nikita Khrushchev was in fine tippling form last week. Tossing off the vodka at New Year's Eve party, Khrushchev told all within hearing that Stalin, whom he had described as a murdering madman only eleven months ago, had in fact done so much good that his mistakes must be overlooked. Cried Nikita: "Stalin was a fighter of imperialists . . . Imperialists call us Stalinists . . . When it comes to fighting imperialists we are all Stalinists."

For the next three days the First Party Secretary was inexplicably missing from the round of Moscow parties, but at week's end he turned up at a reception for a delegation of East German Communists. Glass in hand, Khrushchev explained that he had been down to Budapest fighting off the "imperialists" and establishing a strong Stalinist line.

Great Gathering. The Kremlin leaders could not, of course, re-establish Stalinism, for the simple reason that there was no Stalin, or any man his equal extant, and his successors had, for their own safety, partially dismantled the policy system which had concentrated so much power in the old dictator's hands. But collectively they could make Stalinist noises, which could be read as a rebuke to Tito, and might be depended upon to strike fear in the breasts of restless satellite Communist leaders.

A great gathering of the Supreme Soviet is soon to take place. In the Communist equivalent of a "State of the Union" message to it, Khrushchev & Co. have much to explain, if only for the comfort of their own vast bureaucracy. To counter rumors that deep splits were threatening in parts of the old Stalinist empire, friendly delegations from China, East Germany and other Communist countries were already gathering in Moscow. In the praises of Stalin being sung by these delegations, however, there was a dichotomy that would not have been present in Stalin's day.

While lauding "solidarity," the Chinese talked of the "independence" of non-Soviet Communist parties. The East German Communists, present almost to a man, were saying that their independence, in this case meaning their very existence, depended upon immediate economic aid from Russia, now that they were no longer able to steal Polish coal.

The Comrades. As for Hungary, the best way to make it appear that everything was under control in Budapest was for Khrushchev to make an on the spot visit. He did so in the company of Georgy Malenkov (Communists seem to travel in pairs these days, either to refute rumors of factionalism, or to make each other share the guilt). It was at the Supreme Soviet meeting two years ago that Malenkov confessed his errors and was downgraded from First Premier to Electric Power boss.

In Budapest, Khrushchev set a hard line: only those workers, peasants and intellectuals loyal to the regime were entitled to any freedom; a promise of religious freedom was hedged by a demand that the church preserve a "loyal" attitude; "stern punishment" was threatened to "the counter revolutionaries"; "certain unemployment" would have to be faced; "various public figures and nonpartisan experts" would be consulted, but no minority party would be tolerated in Hungary; ousted Premier Imre Nagy was denounced as a traitor.

In addition to this crushing performance, Khrushchev and Malenkov met in Budapest with Communist leaders from Rumania, Bulgaria and Czechoslovakia for a "comradely exchange of opinion." Significantly missing from this poor man's Cominform was not only Tito, that sometimes welcome and sometimes unwelcome Communist, but also Poland's Gomulka.

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