A Short History of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union

A Short History of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union is a work by Joseph Stalin that outlines the ideology of Marxism-Leninism as it was applied in the Soviet Union. Stalin codified this doctrine, which became the official ideology of communist parties in the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe.1

The book details the party's origins from the Bolshevik wing of the Russian Social Democratic Workers' Party, led by Vladimir I. Lenin. Stalin's ideology, known as Stalinism, emphasized "socialism in one country," focusing on building the Soviet Union's industrial and military strength. This involved rapid, forced industrialization and the collectivization of agriculture, often through brutal repression and the elimination of opposition, including purges and show trials. The work also reflects Stalin's interpretation of dialectical materialism, which justified centralized state power and a cult of personality around himself.231