Leon
Trotsky: More About Comrade Blumkin
Published
May 1930
[Writing
of Leon Trotsky, Vol. 13. Supplement (1929-1933), New York 1979, p.
35-37]
In
Moscow only narrow party circles know of Stalin’s violence against
Blumkin. From these circles rumors systematically are spreading that
Blumkin ended his life by suicide. Thus, so far Stalin does not dare
to admit openly that he executed the “counterrevolutionary”
Blumkin.
It
is extremely noteworthy that the world capitalist press by no means
rushed to make use of the Blumkin affair. It reasons, completely
correctly, that the defense of left Communists from Stalinist
reprisals does not enter its circle of interests. All the more
persistently and irreconcilably, then, is the Communist Left
Opposition obliged to campaign to expose the Stalinist crimes.
In
the last issue we reported that besides Blumkin, two more
Oppositionists were shot: Comrades Silov and Rabinovich.
Thus
the question possesses exceptional political sharpness: only
publicity of his crimes among the progressive workers of the whole
world can stop Stalin’s bloody violence against the
Bolshevik-revolutionists.
The
ex-Communist Souvarine sped to Stalin’s aid, claiming that inside
the GPU
Blumkin allegedly carried out the instructions of the Opposition, and
that the very existence of the GPU dictates that it must execute
treacherous employees. Souvarine draws the conclusion that “in the
thirteenth year of the revolution” (?) it is necessary to abolish
the GPU.
We
have no reason whatever to indulge in a theoretical debate with
Souvarine. We consider it sufficient to limit ourselves to the
statement that follows.
Comrade
Blumkin never carried out, and, because of the very character of his
work, never could have carried out in the GPU or through the GPU the
instructions of the Opposition. It is enough to say that Blumkin
spent a considerable part of the last period in the Far East, mainly
in Mongolia.
The
prohibition against workers of the GPU, and also workers of the war
department, having other views besides the present views of the
Central Committee, is equivalent to a deprivation of elementary party
rights for Communists working in the above-named institutions. Only
Stalinist bureaucrats could defend such vileness.
The
GPU is an organ of self-defense of the proletarian dictatorship.
Inasmuch as the October Revolution even in its thirteenth year is
surrounded by a world of enemies, it cannot renounce such organs —
the dictatorship cannot stop being a dictatorship.
Only
liberals and Social Democrats who are becoming liberals could see the
question from a formal viewpoint. We look at the question from a
class viewpoint: in
the name of what
are the repressions adopted? Against
whom
are they adopted? Whom
and what
do they serve? It is a matter of revolutionary expediency, and not
supra-class justice.
The
murder of Blumkin and in general all the repressions against the
Leninist opposition weaken the proletarian vanguard, undermine the
party, and strengthen the class enemies. We conduct the battle
against Stalin’s treacherous, cowardly murder of Blumkin in the
name of the dictatorship of the proletariat.
And
let this he known to friends and enemies!