Stabilität oder Revolution? Moskau, die Krise in Westeuropa und die westeuropäischen Kommunisten
Stability or Revolution? Moscow, the Crisis in Western Europe and West European Communists

Summary/Abstract: The economic and political crisis of Western Europe is quite a dilemma for the Soviet leaders. Should they gamble on comparatively stable conditions in Western Europe in order not to hazard the long ranged political and economic cooperation? Or should they try to take advantage of the crisis in Western Europe to encourage their Western fellow-parties to fight for socio-political changes, and to gamble on a socialist Western Europe? At present, everything indicates that the Soviet leaders, at least their majority, intend to follow up the first alternative as outlined in 1969/70 and to which Brezhnev personally committed himself. Since a few months, however, there are signs that this political scheme needs to be altered or, at least, to be completed. Especially Suslov and Ponomarjov, the party ideologists, are intensively examining just as much the "crisis of capitalism" as the political consequences which are to be drawn. It is assumed that due to their influence the "Brezhnev-Line" has been modified inasmuch as Moscow is still interested in a stable Western Europe but, faced with the fundamental political, economic, and social crisis, it is not committing itself in order to be prepared for any possible change.

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