The Soviet Union today

Ronnie Reagan together with Afghan mujahedeen 

This is a review of an obscure book published by the KPS, the (now defunct) pro-Albanian group in Sweden mentioned in my previous posting. I´m not sure if GDPR permits me to mention its title or the real name of the author, so I have decided to "pseudonymize" both. 

This book, published during the 1980´s, was quite the classic in its day, at least if you belonged to the small circles of Swedish Marxist-Leninists. The author, Nils Nilsson, was a member of the KPS, a Communist group which supported Enver Hoxha´s Stalinist regime in Albania. Previously, he had been a member of the KPML(r), today known as the KP, another Communist group.

The KPML(r) had originally been Maoist and condemned both the United States and the Soviet Union as “imperialist” and “capitalist”. However, the (r)´s gradually changed their line during the latter half of the 1970´s, becoming increasingly more pro-Soviet. Their new analysis was that the Soviet Union was “dualist”, with a “revisionist superstructure” resting on a “socialist base”. The (r) group wanted to uphold Stalin and took a more radical stance than the official pro-Soviet party APK on a number of issues, but overall they defended the Soviet Union and its allies. It´s interesting to note that a similar development took place in the United States, and perhaps other nations too, as China´s increasingly pro-American foreign policy pushed some (former) Maoists into the pro-Soviet camp, a camp they had previously denounced.

Nilsson originally wrote "The New Revisionism" as an internal discussion document within the KPML(r), arguing against the new pro-Soviet line. However, Nilsson´s alternative wasn´t the Maoist analysis but rather the Albanian ditto. Enver Hoxha condemned both the post-Stalin Soviet Union and China. The (r) leadership wasn´t amused. Are we to believe Nilsson, one (r) leader “fretted saliva” as he denounced the “sectarian” Albanians, “with a condescending voice full of despise” and “hatred in his eyes” during a meeting with the dissident author. Another (r) leader frankly told Nilsson to get in touch with the KPS! “I´m sure they will publish your document”.

Curiously, Nilsson was never expelled from the KPML(r), but left on his own. One thing that surprises me is the lack of real engagement from the KPML(r) leadership. Judging by Nilsson´s account, they simply didn´t take him seriously, and probably coldly calculated that he would leave the party soon enough anyway.

“The New Revisionism” was indeed published, with some appendices, by the KPS and was heavily promoted by them as the ultimate critique of the KPML(r). Personally, I consider the book to be rather badly written and not particularly interesting expect for devout left-watchers and, perhaps, Marxist-Leninists. Nilsson´s political positions are actually more “rightist” than those of the (r)´s on a number of issues, most notably Afghanistan, where he supports the Mujahedeen, seeing them as a resistance movement against Soviet “social imperialism”, and only very grudgingly supports the pre-invasion leftist regime of Taraki and Amin. Within the KPS, Nilsson was generally “to the right” of party leader Anders Persson, and eventually left the KPS, joining a short lived “broad left” group instead.

Today, this book is probably available only at selected Swedish research libraries!