LOSERS’ CONGRESS
LOSERS’ CONGRESS

Summary/Abstract: It is difficult to interpret the life and times of Joseph Stalin (1878?–1953) according to Euro- Atlantic world values. After the staged showdown in the wake of victory in the World War, the remarks of leading political figures at the XIXth Party Congress organised in October 1952 gave the impression that there would be an easing in political tension within the country. In fact, behind the scenes, precisely the opposite was happening. Stalin, by that time physically and mentally seriously ill but tenaciously clinging to power, planned several large-scale lawsuits reminiscent of the purging show-trials of the 1930s. After shoring up his power by getting even with his internal circle, he then made preparations to make an armed assault on his former ally the United States of America. Thus the XIXth Party Congress was a game of bluff designed to distract attention from his plans while recruiting younger and more loyal figures in order to get rid of his old leaders. Barely six months after the Congress, Stalin died in peculiar circumstances, from a brain haemorrhage. Contrary to public belief, he was still dying when his entourage relieved him of all his important duties.

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