Introduction to the General Secretary of the Communist ...



PrepMUNC XIIсъезд КПССCongress of the Communist Party of the Soviet UnionGeneral Secretary (Head Chair) - Vincent SmedilePremier (Co-Chair) - Henrik Israelian1290638438150Introduction to the General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (Head Chair), Vincent SmedileGreetings Comrade Delegates!My name is Vincent Smedile, and I am the head chair of this committee. I am highly ecstatic to be chairing the first Historical Committee at Prep in quite a while, especially at my last PrepMUNC ever. I am so very much looking forward to listening in on all your opinions, speeches, and solutions, and to be able to witness the amazing minds of my fellow students navigate and overcome the problems that our forebears faced with greater efficiency (hopefully) than written in our textbooks. I have every confidence that you all will help to make this the best committee in all of PrepMUNC. Now I’d like to make a few things clear. If we solve the problems, great! If we don’t, so-viet! All I care is that we have fun, we learn something, and we hopefully make some lasting revisions to history. Now, it’s time to stop Stalin’ and move onto who I am. I am currently a senior here at Saint Francis Preparatory School. I have been in PrepMUN for about two years now, having joined toward the end of my Sophomore year. It wasn’t until my Junior year that I really got into it and started coming to conferences though. Ever since that first speakers list, that first mod, that first unmod, that first resolution; I had fallen in love. Besides being one of PrepMUN’s most avid members, I am also a Science Research Student. Recently I just finished my work using the European Space Agency’s Gaia Satellite to chart 1165 new stars. I hope to use this as a springboard to eventually work for either NASA, the ESA, or UNOOSA, and help to oversee the new age of space colonization we are on the cusp of. I am also a member of Prep’s tutoring program and a member of multiple Honor Societies.Aside from my academics, I enjoy screaming Broadway Musicals at the top of my lungs in my spare time, reading modernist literature, and reading political theory. I also have a penchant for watching shows like Lost, Fringe, Star Trek: The Next Generation, Las Chicas del Cable, and Voltron: Legendary Defender (yes, big nerd status here folks!), and watching any and all movies directed by Wes Anderson or Christopher Nolan. I am so excited to see you all at PrepMUNC and getting to execute my vision with the help of you all. But that’s enough of me, now onto my Co-Chair and my Comrade-in-Crime. Thanks you reading this, and I look forward to meeting you all soon!Introduction to the Premier of the Soviet Union (Co-Chair), Henrik IsraelianHello Comrades and Comradettes!My name is Henrik Israelian, and I am Co-Chair of this committee. I am beyond excited to be chairing for the second year in a row! My previous year I was co-chair of UN Women and it was a blast! As a junior in PREPMUNC it’s an honour and privilege to be chairing a Historical Committee with bright minds to lead change in both the Communist World and Modern World of today. I have great hope that this will be an immensely successful committee filled with directives and passed resolutions! Make today one filled with enjoyable memories you can look back into the future and realize we were a crazy bunch of vodka drinking, revolution starting, and fun loving communists. One thing i will lastly finish off is no matter where you place with awards or no awards, you are doing an amazing thing for yourself by exploring the depths of history and escaping your inner shell to not be afraid, but enjoy every crevice of debate :) Now where were we oh yes, destroying the capitalists pigs!I am currently a junior here at Saint Francis Preparatory School, and a member of the PREPMUN for the past three years, it’s been a wonderful experience learning new things about politics and making new friends all-while having grandeur discussions about domestic and foreign issues plaguing our modern world today. I am also a performer for the Saint Francis Prep Alvernian Drama Society and will be playing the role of James Bond 007 in the January Showcase which is being depicted as old Hollywood. I’ve also dabbled in poetry and literature, being a member of The Little Portion Writing Society has been a great pleasure to be apart of for over three years! I’m planning to become a politician and writer so being involved in these fields early has open my eyes to the way human beings enlighten others on the past, present, and future events of society.Academics aside, I’m an avid James Bond Fan and have seen all twenty-four movies numerous times! To be quite honest on that note, Pierce Brosnan and Sean Connery embody every single aspect of The British Agent on the silver screen perfectly! However regarding politics, I’m mulling a 2020 run for The House of Representatives Seat of District 1 held under the control of Tom Suozzi a Democrat. If I do plan to run, I would run as a new-deal Democrat calling for the expansion of Medicare and a two state solution for the Israeli-Palestinian issue. I also enjoy learning about new languages and cultures, being a polyglot and speaking 5 languages fluently it’s been a blessing. The five languages are; Armenian, French,English,Arabic, and Farsi (in the process of). Some of my favourite hobbies aside from linguistics,politics, and film are poetry and performing which have a played a huge role in my High School career and endeavours.Your Honorable Comrade Chairs257175228600Introduction to the CommitteeWelcome to the Congress of the CPSU! Throughout its existence, the Soviet Union was controlled by its Communist Party, headquartered in Moscow. The Party was a union of the different smaller communist parties that governed each of the USSR's 15 member republics. The Party usually passed it’s resolutions down to the high ranking members that usually populated the elected bodies of the Soviet Union, allowing the CPSU to retain de facto totalitarian control of the nation. The within the realm of marxist theory, the party was intended to guide the populace and the state supposedly on behalf of the working class people of the nation, in a system called the Dictatorship of the Proletariat. The goal of the Party was to defend the revolution from any and all outside capitalist threats, whether that be from America, NATO, or even other Communists it viewed as counter-revolutionary...The Congress of the Party was the supreme policy-maker for the Party, and was responsible for drafting the official stances of the Party every five years or in times of immediate crisis. The congress was comprised of representatives from each of the Communist Parties of the 15 Soviet Socialist Republics (SSRs) that comprised the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR/Soviet Union), and oftentimes hosted members from the Communist Parties of other allies. The Party Congresses, in short, became the prime coordinating bodies for the USSR and its State Socialist allies abroad. You, the delegates of this committee, will represent the interests of the communist parties of your respective SSRs at the Congress, and collaborate with the representatives of foreign allied Parties to ensure the continued prosperity of the Marxist movement throughout the 20th century. It is important that you take into account the geography, economy, and ideologies of your country or SSRs’ Party, as Marxism has many derivatives and opinions which have often led to disagreements and even widespread schisms in actual history. This committee will not function as a normal committee, and will jump to different time points throughout the Cold War. Moreover, each point will be an isolated incident in itself, which means that the progress made on any previous issues will not carry over into the next ones. In short, history will reset each time we make a jump to another time period. I wish you all the best of luck! Happy Researching and enjoy this background guide! The Sino-Soviet SplitA memetic, yet accurate simplification of the Sino-Soviet SplitThe Cold War has been often pictured as a huge proxy war between the liberal capitalist democracies of the First World Countries against the “Evil Empire” of the Second World socialist republics. But the Second World was hardly a unified malicious force as Reagan so famously described. Within the marxist states, there was often infighting, intrigue, border disputes, and ideological conflict. What is seldom known is the disharmony often experienced within marxist and far-left circles, disharmony that can be traced to the great ideological feud that was the Sino-Soviet Split.The main points of reasoning for the split were as follows: 1. On Stalin: The CPC objected to the CPSU de-Stalinization campaign, arguing that the general line of the International Communist Movement (ICM) had been correct during Stalin's tenure, that he was not just a Russian or Soviet leader, but a leader of world stature with a world-wide legacy which could not be swept aside by the CPSU leadership, and that overall, his successes outweighed his failings.2. On War: Whereas the CPSU recognized the power of the imperialist coalition arrayed against the socialist bloc and saw disastrous consequences for the world as a whole from nuclear war, the CPC tended to disparage the imperialists, a sentiment echoes in Mao's famous aphorism that "Imperialists are paper tigers", and instead spoke of turning world war into revolutionary war.3. On Peaceful Coexistence: Deriving from its views on the dangers of nuclear war, the CPSU saw coexistence with the West as in the mutual interest of both systems. The Chinese saw this as capitulation.4. Peaceful Transition: The CPSU and its allied parties advocated using democratic and peaceful means to advance the struggles of the working class and toward winning state power wherever those means were available. The CPC, on the other hand, disparaged such methods and proposed that the need for revolutionary war in order to seize power was a universal law of class struggle.From here, the stage was set for a conflict that would span a decade, and come to interfere with the solidarity and cohesion of the Communist Bloc nations. The Communist Parties of the Soviet Union and China (CPSU and CPC, respectively) sought to paint itself as the true leader to all other vanguard parties throughout the Eurasian supercontinent. The two would often have long chains of correspondence, and wage countless debates at the Congresses of allied Communist Parties. two instances of particular interest, were the great debates at the 1957 and 1960 meeting of the world’s major Communist Parties in Moscow. In both of these instances, the two powers struggled to promote their ideas on how the proletarian vanguards of the world should advance their struggle. In the end, the CPSU gained the majority of the parties on their side, with CPC only gained the Albanian delegation and later, the Indonesian delegation, both of whom were stalinist and Maoist hardliners. Albania in particular, created much uproar, and its Stalinist leader Enver Hoxha, engaged in much debate with Moscow until he severed ties with the USSR in the Soviet-Albanian Split, becoming dependant on China for aid. Communist states in during the Split: pro-Soviet (red), pro–Chinese (yellow), the non-aligned North Korea and Yugoslavia (black). Somalia was pro-Soviet until 1977, and Democratic Kampuchea (Cambodia) was pro–Chinese until 1979. For the purposes of this committee, the date will be set to 1969.This conflict of interpretations led to numerous border disputes, conflicts over the control of allies in Middle East, Asia, and Africa (particularly the Democratic People’s Republics of Korea and the Democratic Republic of Vietnam), with both nations funding parties that backed their respective ideological stances. Tensions became further inflamed with the Sino-American rapprochement, in which Nixon and Mao began talks of renewed dialogue, and when Chinese and Soviet troops engaged in small battles along their borders (especially in Zhenbao) and possibly incited nuclear tensions between the two.The year is now 1969, the height of the conflict. It is up to the delegates of the various republics of the union, and observer allies present at the committee to solve the ideological split, and determine a compromise between the two titans of marxist-leninist thought, or chose factions and see the communist movement dissolve in civil war.The Cuban Missile Crisis795338142875Placement of American, NATO, and Soviet nuclear bases pre-Soviet Missiles in Cuba (1961)The Cuban Missile Crisis, was perhaps one of the most tense events in the history of the Cold War. To the United States, it was the beginning of the end and the start of a nuclear hellfire apocalypse, but to the Soviets, there was a much different from the perspective. It is most important to know when going into this topic that it was a psychological crisis. It was the result of two sides being incapable of understanding the mentalities of either side and how they responded to crisis. In the years after the second world war and the souring of relations between the US and the USSR, the United States began placing numerous Jupiter Missiles in Italy, South Korea, and eventually Turkey in August of 1957, January of 1958, and October of 1959. Contrary to popular belief, while these actions angered the USSR, it did not incite fear or crisis. The Soviet Union, given its long history of invasions and war in the European Continent, was not sent into crisis by this action. They were “used to having enemies at the gates. The American Armies were preceded by the German Armies, and the French Armies, and the Austro-Hungarian Armies, etc.” Primer Khrushchev's Son Sergei stated years later. In short, this constant fear of invasion was normal for Moscow. At the time, the USSR was greatly exaggerating its nuclear production and strike capability, and Khrushchev was quite fond of remarking how he planned to get the Jupiter Missiles in Turkey out of the range of his summer home on the Black Sea. With pressures mounting from both The Party and Chairman Mao in China over his “soft” stance to diplomacy with the US and his de-stalinization policies, Khrushchev needed something to increase Soviet credibility and strength in the world. Following Fidel Castro’s announcement that Cuba was aligning with the USSR, Khrushchev gained a small bastion of State Socialism deep in the heart of enemy territory, much like West Berlin was to the Americans and NATO. Logically, Khrushchev assumed that by placing Nuclear Missiles in Cuba as a show of force (never intending to fire them) he could use this vantage point could accomplish a myriad of things: Honor the USSR’s agreement to protect Cuba from another American Invasion. (Castro feared another US invasion, this time a direct one, following Bay of Pigs). Deter any invasion of Cuba.Seem like a strong leader and defy Chinese rhetoric of Khrushchev being soft and revisionist ue to his wishes for peaceful coexistence with the west. Use Cuba as a bargaining chip to claim all of Berlin for the German Democratic Republic.The USSR reasoned that by sneaking Missiles into Cuba secretly and revealing them after they were operational, the United States would have not choice up to accept them. This move was not intentioned to be an act of war, but rather a reciprocation of the US missiles in Turkey. Given the number positioned around the USSR by the US and NATO, the placement of Missiles in Cuba actually did little to tip the balance of power. Moreover, to the Soviets, who had had “enemies at the gate” all their lives, this act seemed insignificant. However, they could not compensate for the American mentality, which had never seen war nor faced invasion for nearly all it’s history, and had the luxury of two Oceans on either side providing natural defense and peace of mind. The missiles were delivered in October of 1962. Before the missiles could be unveiled as Khrushchev planned, however, American U2s had snapped photos of the launch sites. The placement of missiles in Cuba was frightening to the Americans, who blew the event into a political crisis. Unaware that the Americans had discovered the missiles before planned, Khrushchev kept up a the idea that there were no missiles in Cuba, a something only few in the USSR knew to be a lie. Following US President JFK’s speech revealing the existence of the missiles in Cuba in a speech and at a historic United Nations meeting, the United States began a “quarantine” of Cuba (described as such because a blockade represented an act of war). Thousands of US troops began mobilizing in Florida, and US Naval ships began preparing for a land incursion of Cuba and Havana. To the Soviets, this action was slightly surprising, yet nonetheless concerning. Fearing an invasion of Cuba, Khrushchev sent a letter to Kennedy asking for peace and agreeing to reroute the Soviet supply ships carrying soldiers and weapons to Soviet territory. 681038266700The American “Quarantine” of Cuba in 1962Despite this, tensions continued, with American strike planes continually flying over Cuba and snapping photos. These reconnaissance missions greatly angered and frightened Prime Minister Fidel Castro, who saw it as a violation of Cuban sovereignty. Moreover, Castro continued to be upset over the lack of communication from Moscow and their rerouting of the ships without his consultation. Cuban officers on the island had the same mentality, and began to grow more paranoid about the American flyovers. On Saturday, October 27th, the climax of the Crisis, now known as Black Saturday, hosted two major crises. Cuban anti-aircraft soldiers shot down an American U2 plane, and began firing on any additional planes “infringing on Cuban sovereignty.” Moreover, Castro sent a letter via the Soviet Embassy in Havana asking for a first strike at the United States, and Soviet submarines, were growing restless without contact with Moscow and from the practice depth charges American Naval ships were testing. This topic will begin on Black Saturday at the height of the Missile Crisis and before the eventual resolution of this conflict by Khrushchev and Kennedy. Delegates must find a way to resolve the conflict without precipitating nuclear war, or protect the people from western imperialism at any cost...1090613276225The Korean WarThe Korean War is a relic of the Cold War that is still ongoing and continues to impact the foreign policies of the international community and the United Nations of today. The war was a key part of the Cold War, as it stood as the only time where the two coalitions of First and Second world nations actually engaged in direct conflict. This committee will take place during the height of the highly tense stalemate in 1951, just before President Eisenhower takes office and begins the path to peace in the Korean Peninsula. Countries that supported the DPRK and sent it aid during the Korean War.-552449152400Similarly to Germany, following World War 2, Korea was split into two spheres along the 38th parallel, the Soviet Sphere and the American Sphere. These sections quickly developed into separate governments that aligned with their previous governors. The state socialist DPRK rose to the north under the rule of Kim Il Sung, and the RoK was constructed in the south under the authoritarian rule of Syngman Rhee. Map of the progression of the overall Korean War76201114300The Korean war erupted in June of 1950, when the DPRK, fueled by increasing tensions, constant border skirmishes, and a rise in anti-communist crackdowns in RoK, crossed the 38 Parallel and began an invasion of the South. The well-trained and well disciplined North Korean People’s Army (KPA), with Soviet aid was able to repel the under-trained and under-disciplined South Koreans, and managed to drive them to the city of Pusan and the surrounding areas. Finally, with the assistance of US and United Nations aid, the South Korean forces were able to push the KPA back across the 38th parallel, and recapture the Southern capital of Seoul. While the American forces were originally meant for containment and defensive purposes, General Douglas MacArthur, continued to push forwards, bringing the US-UN forces close to the Yule River, which was the border between the People’s Republic of China and the DPRK. China, fearing a refugee crisis and the threat of US imperialism, sent forces in October of 1950 to aid the DPRK. These forces pushed the US-UN forces back across the 38th Parallel. For the months after, a stalemate ensued, eventually broken by the election of President Eisenhower, who vowed to end the war, and the death of Soviet General Secretary and Premier Joseph Stalin. Through peace talks and cooperation between the new Soviet and American leaders, an armistice was established in July of 1953, marking the end to all firing in the Korean war. The Korean War however, also marked tensions between the Soviet Union, China, and other Communist Bloc allies. While classic historical representations of the Korean War depict the USSR and PRC rushing to the aid of a war started by the DPRK, recently declassified documents released at the end of the Cold War show that the USSR had a major role in shaping and dictating the policies of the communist side of the conflict, with Mao and Kim as secondary players in the matter. Much tension formed between the communist leader due to the Soviet’ iron grip on the policies war, despite the Soviet’s lack of direct support. Due to the relatively weak nature of the People’s Liberation Army an North Korean People’s Army, both having recently assisted in winning revolutions and birthing new states, the communists were dependant on the aid of the USSR. This was problematic for the Chinese and Koreans since the USSR had borne some of the largest death tolls and destruction due to WW2 and thus were incapable of producing as much as the US, which had experienced no combat on it’s shores in hundreds of years. Wary of the economic strain and the possibility of a nuclear conflict, Stalin opted to keep the USSR in the war just enough that they did not come into all out war with the Americans. They accomplished this by funneling equipment, mainly advisors and MiG-9 and MiG-15 fighter planes and pilots to assist in a mainly defensive capacity. Most offensive efforts were left to the Chinese and Koreans. This lack of Soviet involvement is arguably one of the leading causes of the stalemate that developed in 1951, since the Soviet-supported and Chinese Air Force could only operate within friendly territory. In contrast, the UN-US forces were able to act in a much more offensive capacity, and frequently bombed Chinese attempts to create air bases within the Korean Peninsula. Even worse, the Soviet leadership refused to create a joint Sino-Soviet-Korean Command, and chose to act independently from the Sino-Korean forces for the duration of the war. This resulted in occasional confusion, with Soviet and Chinese anti-aircraft gunners accidentally shooting down allied planes. The resentment that began here towards the Kremlin is what lay the groundwork for the eventual Sino-Soviet Split and the North Korean policy of self-reliance (Juche).Sources to Start and Questions to Think AboutQuestions: The Sino-Soviet SplitWhat are elements of especially large dispute between the two powers? What are possible points of compromise between the USSR and the PRC?Considering the economic and political situation of you Soviet Republic or allied power, what would benefit your nation the most? Compromise or fued?What is your Nation’s Ruling Party’s opinion on imperialism and peaceful coexistence? How is your Republic or nation affected by the conflict? Does it’s geographical location or circumstances make it prone to the border conflicts or proxy conflicts?The Cuban Missile CrisisWhere is your Union Republic in relation to American Missiles? Are they more off a threat to you than other Union Republics?What is the stance of your Union Party or your Nation’s Party on the USSR’s stance of peaceful coexistence and Khrushchev’s desire for de escalation and peace?Should the USSR take preemptive action against the US and fire a first strike to prevent an invasion of Cuba? Should the USSR adhere to the blockage or attempt to break through to defend Cuba?Should Cuba stand down or continue its efforts to deter fly-overs?The Korean WarWhat does your country believe should be done about the stalemate in Korea? Should there be an attempt to escalate and spread communism to all of Korea or seek peace?What is the economic/production capability of your nation at this time, are you capable of increasing assistance to the Koreans?What are the views of your country on the current level of Soviet and Eastern Bloc involvement? Should it be increased, decreased, etc.?Helpful Sources: The Sino-Soviet Split The Cuban Missile Crisis The Korean War ................
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