The struggle of Nikandros Kepesis against Khrushchevite revisionism

Translation of an article published in newspaper“Anasintaxi”, issue 300, June 15-31 2009

The Communist N. Kepesis, while in the ranks of “K”KE, started referring to and citing J.V. Stalin and N. Zachariades in a very hard period in which the social-democratic “K”KE strictly prohibited even a simple reference to them (all his references in public speeches were censored from “Rizospastis”, the newspaper of the “K”KE). In these references the old communists, Stalinists-Zachariadists, guerrillas of the National Liberation Army of Greece (ELAS) and the Democratic Army of Greece (DSE), saw – in contradiction to the recent references to Stalin from the GC of “K”KE Aleka Papariga which are entirely misleading, purely demagogic and intended to deceive the communists – an important and remarkable, courageous and honest debate in the current social-democratic counter-revolutionary Khrushchevite revisionism and welcomed this with no hesitation.

Since then comrade Nikandros Kepesis in various public interventions, speeches and the pre-conference dialogues, argued against the revisionist line of the 20th Congress of the CPSU and the “6th Plenum” of the “K”KE (1956). He proposed that both had to be denounced and rejected for their anti-Marxist views. That ultimately led to first to his book “Khrushchev and Gorbachev – the two main rings of treason” (Athens 1998), after that to “Concerns about events and people” (Athens 2006) and last to the brochure “Marxism-Leninism and Proletarian internationalism” (Athens, May 2007), which puts forward Marxist positions in militant confrontation with the social-democratic views of Khrushchevite revisionism. The latter is expressed and defended by the social-democratic group of Aleka Papariga and can be easily realised from the texts of the recent 18th Congress of “K”KE and mainly of the anti-Marxist position contained in the decision on the subject of “socialism”: that the Soviet Union supposedly continued – and despite the overthrow of the dictatorship of the proletariat after the death-murder of Stalin – the building of socialism without the dictatorship of the proletariat nor a revolutionary communist party. This myth reflects the bourgeois anti-Marxist understanding of socialism-communism of this leadership.

And now a brief reference to Nikandros Kepesis’ three books, which in no way is intended to replace their study by the Communists:

1) “Khrushchev and Gorbachev – the two main rings of treason” (Athens, 1998).

In the foreword of his first book the Communist N. Kepesis speaks of “treason” to the communist movement, which he characterizes as the “greatest treason of all centuries”, and also identifies precisely the time of this treason: “the treason – the greatest of all centuries – began in 1956 with the 20th Congress of the CPSU” (p. 9).

In another place be speaks of betrayal of Marxism-Leninism and that Khrushchev and his companions betrayed its founding principles, first and foremost the principle of the dictatorship of the proletariat: “Khrushchev and his companions betrayed Marxism-Leninism, its founding principles, first and foremost the principle of the dictatorship of the proletariat, while he promised that in 1980 the USSR would establish Communism” (p. 77).

Finally, he notes that Khrushchev replaced the dictatorship of the proletariat with the so-called “state of the whole people”, which, as is known, can only be the dictatorship of the new bourgeoisie, since ultra-class states do not exist. There can be only the dictatorship of the proletariat or the dictatorship of the bourgeoisie. This replacement of the dictatorship of the proletariat with the so-called “state of the whole people” opened the doors to proposals of counter-revolutionary restoration of capitalism in the Soviet Union: “Khrushchev with his revisionist clique replaced the dictatorship of the proletariat with the ‘state of the whole people’. This weakened the working class ideologically and in practice made it unable to exercise its authority, to play its leading role. Thus began the rats of the bourgeoisie and mafia acting. Bad things began in the 20th Congress and completed by Gorbachev, Yeltsin, Shevardnadze, Yakovlev, et al” (p. 120).

2) “Concerns about events and people” (Athens, 2006)

In his second book N. Kepesis puts forward especially the very important question of the extermination-murder of the great Bolshevik communist leader Nikos Zachariades, about whom Stalin had said, turning to Niyazov during the proceedings of the 19th Congress of the CPSU (1952): “Do you see him? He is a great leader. He will bring about the revolution not only in Greece but also in Europe”. (P. Demetriou, “Ek vatheon”, Athens 1997, pp. 202-203). He notes that “On the 1st of August of 1973, the Khrushchevite leader L. Brezhnev committed a crime that the Hitlerite invaders didn’t dare to commit” (note: Zachariades was prisoner of the Nazis during the period 1941-1945 and held in Dachau concentration camp) and that “It turns out that Charilaos Florakis agreed with the Khrushchevite leadership to that action if he did not call for this murder himself. At any rate, Char. Florakis was the instigator of Nikos Zachariades’ murder”. (p. 45).

3) “Marxism-Leninism and Proletarian internationalism” (Athens, May 2007)

This 15-page brochure is dedicated to the “memory of the leader of the KKE Nikos Zachariades, who was murdered by the Khrushchevite leadership in the frozen steppes of Siberia under unspecified conditions”. The brochure opens with the historic letter of Zachariades of 31 October 1940 and ends with the assessment of the anti-communist Churchill on Stalin. In this brochure, Kepesis refers once again to the assassination of Zachariades, records the opinion of Stalin to Niyazov about him, refers to the visit of A. Papariga in Moscow to meet Gorbachev together with O. Kolozof and P. Trigazis, lists and criticizes the anti-Marxists views of the counter-revolutionary “perestroika”, which Papariga presented as “socialism”: “the ideas of perestroika correspond to the requirements of the reorganization of socialism, and contribute significantly to the development of the modern... theory of socialism, socialism has never been more attractive” (A. Papariga, “Pravda” June 25, 1991) (p. 8-9). Kepesis references one of his earlier statements about the 20th Congress of CPSU, which, inter alia, noted that “in the 20th Congress (1956) of the CPSU anti-Stalinism became the ideology of the CPSU” and reiterates his proposal that the “K”KE has to condemn the 20th Congress of the CPSU and the “6th Plenum” of 1956, noting: “in order for this shame, this moral crime, to be eliminated, the 18th Congress of the KKE must condemn the 20th Congress of the CPSU and the “6th Wide Plenum” of the KKE (1956)” (p. 10).

Finally, due to the anti-Marxist positions of A. Papariga and her refusal to condemn the anti-Marxist views of the 20th Congress of CPSU and the “6th Plenum” Kepesis proposed: “after all these anti-Marxist positions and since she refuses that the KKE has to criticize and condemn the 20^th Congress of the CPSU and the “6th Plenum” of the KKE and reject their anti-Marxist positions, A. Papariga can not remain in the leadership of Greece. She should be removed, deposed, and her position be assumed by a collective leadership that will take the initiative to discuss at the 18th Congress the two central issues: the 20th Congress of the CPSU and the “6th Plenum” and their anti-Marxist positions should be condemned because they caused great destruction to Socialism and to the international communist movement” (p. 13-14).

But, as all decisions of the latter 18th Congress were reaffirmed, especially that about “socialism”, the social-democrat A. Papariga and the leadership of the “K”KE continue steadily and consistently along the same counter-revolutionary social-democratic path of the 20th Congress of the CPSU (February 1956) and the convention of the “6th Plenum” (March 1956), refusing to renounce their treacherous anti-Marxist views, serving the interests of capital and the perpetuation of the sovereignty of the reactionary bourgeoisie.

All these are the roots of the extremely hostile attitude and class hatred of the lackeys of capital, the social-democratic leaders of the “K”KE against the communist revolutionary comrade Nikandros Kepesis, spokesperson-defender of the interests of the proletariat and courageous bearer of the Proletarian Revolution and Socialism-Communism.

Gorbachev-Papariga: The “brave kids” of Nikita Khrushchev (Moscow, June 1991)