[This unsigned article is reprinted from Peking Review, #13, March 28, 1975, pp. 18-19.]
FLAUNTING the signboard of “socialism” and fabricating the myth that Soviet revisionism is the “natural ally” of the third world, the Soviet revisionist ruling clique has in recent years styled itself the saviour of the oppressed people and nations. Innumerable facts, however, demonstrate that Brezhnev and his cronies not only enslave and plunder the third world countries and people but also bully and exploit a number of the second world nations. Soviet revisionism has become one of the two biggest international exploiters today.
In the Soviet Union where all-round capitalist restoration has taken place, the law of imperialism governs the acts of the Soviet revisionist ruling clique. Soviet social-imperialism is frantically pushing new colonialism and great power hegemonism in the vast third world today.
In the name of “selfless aid” and “mutually beneficial economic co-operation,” Moscow engages in large-scale capital exports, controls the economic lifeline of the third world countries, sells them outdated machines and equipment, and plunders their raw materials in order to rake in super profits.
According to incomplete statistics, from 1954 to 1972, the Soviet Union’s total capital exports to the third world exceeded 13,000 million U.S. dollars, enabling it to squeeze itself into some 1,000 industrial enterprises and other undertakings. Through capital exports, it has gained control over key industrial sectors in a number of developing countries in Asia, Africa and Latin America and dumped on the third world countries unsaleable goods. From 1955 to 1973 it sold over 16,000 million U.S. dollars worth of industrial products to the third world at high prices and reaped super profits to the tune of thousands of millions of dollars. Through capital experts, it has looted more than 19,000 million dollars worth of primary products from the third world. Of these, raw sugar accounted for nearly 3,600 million U.S. dollars; cotton, 2,600 million; natural rubber, 2,400 million; coffee, cocoa and tea, 1,600 million; ores, 750 million.
Another way Brezhnev and his gang push neo-colonialist plunder is by making direct investments to set up as many as possible “joint-stock enterprises” and “joint companies” in the third world countries, which are imitations of U.S. “trans-national companies.” Enterprises jointly run by the Soviet Union and the developing countries cover many key economic sectors such as the mining and processing industries, trade and transport. In certain countries, these enterprises are “joint-stock companies” in name only. The shares of the host countries actually are Soviet loans. This means the Soviet Union contributes money, while the other countries provide labour power. Through these enterprises the Soviet Union has reaped colossal profits, plundered cheap labour power and resources and at the same time dumped Soviet-made industrial products.
Exchange of unequal values is still another major means by which the Soviet social-imperialists exploit the countries and people of the third world. They make fabulous profits by using international market prices based on unequal trade terms; they exploit the third world people through such methods as providing “aid” and “co-operation,” pressing for debt repayments, selling industrial products at high monopolist prices and buying foodstuffs and agricultural and mineral raw materials at low prices. According to incomplete data, in the 17 years beginning 1955, the Soviet exploitation of the third world through unequal trade terms came to 11,300 million U.S. dollars, bringing serious damage to the developing countries in Asia, Africa and Latin America.
Intoxicated by the lust for profits, the Soviet revisionists are shameless international speculators. They have become even more unbridled in this regard in recent years, making big profits by reselling goods bought from other countries. Taking advantage of the oil shortage in the West not long ago, they bought oil from Arab countries at low prices and resold it at high prices. They even act in bad faith for the sake of profits. According to an agreement, they sold a certain amount of cement to an African country but arbitrarily scrapped the agreement by selling the cement to private merchants at high prices after it had been shipped to the country.
Lenin pointed out: “The characteristic feature of imperialism is precisely that it strives to annex not only agrarian territories, but even most highly industrialized regions.” The European region which belongs to the second world is a strategic focus of contention between the two superpowers, the Soviet Union and the United States, and an important target that the Soviet Union tries its utmost to control and invade.
The Kremlin-controlled “Council for Mutual Economic Assistance” is a Soviet revisionist tool for pushing neocolonialism. Making use of their economic monopoly position in this so-called “community,” the Soviet revisionists export huge amounts of capital to “C.M.E.A.” members through “assistance,” loans and direct investments. Capital exports from the Soviet Union to “C.M.E.A.” members in the form of economic “assistance” from 1954 to early 1974 exceeded 10,000 million U.S. dollars. They bragged about participation in the construction of over 1,300 big enterprises and other projects. Just as Lenin pointed out: “The interests pursued in exporting capital also give an impetus to the conquest of colonies, for in the colonial market it is easier to employ monopoly methods (and sometimes they are the only methods that can be employed) to eliminate competition, to make sure of contracts, to secure the necessary ‘connections,’ etc.” By controlling heavy industry production and monopolizing the important industrial raw material supplies of some “C.M.E.A.” members, the Soviet revisionists have thrust aside their competitors and cornered the market, for their industrial products.
From 1955 to 1973, the Soviet Union exported to Bulgaria, Hungary, the German Democratic Republic, Czechoslovakia and Poland finished industrial products valued at more than 35,000 million U.S. dollars (among which the value of machines and equipment exceeded 15,000 million dollars) and made nearly 8,400 million dollars in huge profits.
In foreign trade, the Soviet Union exploits these countries ruthlessly. Manipulating prices, controlling exports and imports and selling dear and buying cheap through so-called “long-term trade agreements” are among the methods used for the purpose. It is estimated that the losses suffered by the above-mentioned five countries as a result of unequal trade terms from 1955 to 1973 amounted to 19,000 million dollars. Among them the G.D.R., No. 1 Soviet trade partner, suffered the heaviest exploitations, with the loss reaching 6,400 million dollars.
The Soviet Union took out over 9,000 million dollars worth of primary products from Bulgaria, Hungary and Poland in 1955-73. Besides controlling nearly all uranium exploitation in Czechoslovakia, Hungary, the G.D.R. and Bulgaria, it wantonly robbed these countries of their rare metals and important strategic raw materials. Over 90 per cent of Czechoslovakia’s uranium production, 94 per cent of Bulgaria’s barite exports and 49 per cent of its lead, and 43 per cent of Poland’s zinc exports went to the Soviet Union.
The Soviet revisionists have all along cast covetous eyes on Western Europe, trying their utmost to infiltrate and get control of it. In an attempt to defeat them one by one, they resort to blandishments to sow discord between Western Europe and the United States and among Common Market countries. Under the signboard of “all-Europe economic co-operation,” they broaden their trade with Western Europe so as to realize expansion there. Capitalizing on the West European countries’ thirst for oil and other raw materials, the Soviet revisionists in recent years resold oil to them at high prices so as to extort profit. For instance, the price of the oil the Soviet revisionists sold to the Federal Republic of Germany and Finland, which have always been customers of Soviet oil, has been increased many folds in recent years. As a result, these countries suffered enormous losses annually. The Soviet revisionists have also used oil, natural gas and other resources as bait to entice energy-hungry Western Europe into greater dependence on the Soviet Union so as to carry out infiltration there when the opportunity occurs. Besides, they have tried to increase their influence in the West European market and strengthen their position by such means as setting up “joint-stock companies” or a bank network in that area in partnership with certain West European firms.
The economic plunder and exploitation carried out by the Soviet revisionists everywhere have torn to pieces the fig-leaf in the form of the much-vaunted “mutual benefit” in trade and “co-operation” and revealed their true features as social-imperialists. This has enabled more and more countries and people to realize that the Soviet Union, like the United States, is the biggest international exploiter today.
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