Peace Program

a set of measures aimed at radically improving the present international situation and fundamentally restructuring relations between countries; the program was presented by L. I. Brezhnev in the Report of the Party Central Committee and adopted by the Twenty-fourth Congress of the CPSU, held in 1971.

The Peace Program, based on the Leninist principle of the peaceful coexistence of states with different social systems, sets the following six main objectives.

(1) To eliminate the hotbeds of war in Southeast Asia and the Middle East and to promote in these areas political settlements based on respect for the legitimate rights of the countries and peoples that have been victims of aggression; to curb immediately and firmly any acts of aggression or arbitrary actions on the international scene; and to make the rejection of force or threat of force in disputes a law of international life.

(2) To recognize that the territorial changes that took place in Europe as a result of World War II are final; to effect a radical turn toward a relaxation of tension and peace on the Continent; to ensure the convocation and success of the Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe; and to do everything possible to ensure collective security in Europe. The USSR reaffirms the readiness, expressed jointly by the member-countries of the defensive Warsaw Pact, to annul simultaneously this pact and the North Atlantic Alliance or, as a first step, to dismantle their military organizations.

(3) To conclude treaties banning nuclear, chemical, and bacteriological weapons; to work toward a complete cessation of nuclear weapons tests, including underground tests; and to promote the establishment of nuclear-free zones in different parts of the world. The USSR supports nuclear disarmament by all countries having nuclear weapons and, to this end, it advocates the convening of a conference of the five nuclear powers—the USSR, the USA, the People’s Republic of China, France, and Great Britain.

(4) To step up the struggle to end the arms race. The USSR advocates the convocation of a world conference to discuss all aspects of disarmament and supports the dismantling of military bases on foreign soil and the reduction of armed forces and armaments in areas where an armed confrontation is especially dangerous, primarily in Central Europe. The USSR also considers it advisable to work out measures that would reduce the chance of an accidental outbreak or deliberate provocation of armed clashes and their escalation into international crises and war. The USSR is willing to reach an accord on reducing military expenditures, primarily by the major powers.

(5) To implement fully the UN decisions on the abolition of colonial regimes; racism and apartheid are to be subject to general condemnation and boycott.

(6) The USSR is willing to expand mutually advantageous cooperation in all fields with the countries that strive for such relations. It is prepared to participate with all other interested countries in solving such problems as the preservation of the natural environment and the exploitation of energy and other natural resources. It is is also ready to work jointly to develop transportation and communications, to prevent and eradicate the most dangerous and common diseases, and to study and explore outer space and the world ocean (Materialy XXIV s”ezda KPSS, 1971, pp. 29–30).

The Peace Program is being implemented in the international arena amidst a bitter struggle between the forces of progress and the forces of reaction. The countries of the socialist community and the international workers’ and communist movement are actively working for the realization of the program. The leaders of the developing countries have expressed their solidarity with the Peace Program, and some Western statesmen who have a realistic view of the international situation recognize its constructive character.

Effectively promoting a beneficial development of the relations between countries with different social systems and stimulating the struggle of all progressive forces for a stable peace and against aggression and colonialism, the Peace Program has been an important factor in improving the international situation.