Red Primer for Children and Diplomats

This is an Internet version of Victor Vashi's original book, which is long out of print and the publisher no longer exists. The message of this book is so vital and well delivered we felt it a shame not to share it with the world. Especially considering the recent attempts by Russia's ruling elite to bring back the glory of the good old USSR.

The content below was reproduced from a tribute fan site redprimer.com, dedicated entirely to Mr. Vashi's book. We've been linking to that site before, but decided to post it here as well because we've had prior bad experiences with disappearing websites, and this material is too precious to let it disappear.

In 1967, many people, West and East, are celebrating the 50th Anniversary of the "Glorius" October Revolution. To help people understand more about what they are celebrating, we offer a few slices of the anniversary cake. We hope no one gets indigestion.

After the overthrow of the Czar and his government, the people of Russia began their uphill rush toward democracy. The Bolshevik Party worked among the intellectuals, laborers and peasants striving toward the peak. The Party pulled a small and well disciplined organization behind it.

The Party unselfishly led the way to the top.

Once on top, the Party insisted upon assuming the thankless job of ruling, generously waving aside all help.

This is what they celebrate nowadays as the Great October Revolution.

Lenin, the great teacher who engineered the October Revolution, translated Marxism to fit Russian conditions. Its philosophy: The end justifies the means. It's goal: Communization of the World.

But, first of all, order had to be established at home. This was done by abolishing the Czar and his family, the nobility, the landlords, the bourgeoisie, the czarists, the capitalists, the Mensheviks and other kinds of -ists and -iks. "...Terror cannot be dispensed with..." said Lenin and his words were carried out to the letter.

The independence of the new Georgian Republic was also granted by the Soviets in 1921. To "guarantee" this "independence," the Soviets incorporated Georgia into the Soviet Union eight months later, after Red Army invasion.

Lenin's death did not stop progress. Stalin, translating Lenin's translation of Marx, announced the same philosophy: The end justifies the means; and the same goal: Communization of the world. But, the methods became a bit more direct in Stalin's translation.

The first Five Year Plan needed a labor force. So a great recruiting began -- with many fringe benefits promised for all. To get skilled labor the Party established labor camps, where people (without charge) were taught how to work. Sometimes they were referred to as "concentration camps," because they represented the blessings of Communism in a concentrated form.

Food was scarce, creating some discontent in certain groups who had not found enough calories in Communist theories. The Party had a simple and effective method to create more food per capita.

When the Party finished, there were ten million fewer dissatisfied people.

Industry and property belonged to the workers. The State is the instrument of the people also. So in the name of the people, the State took all industry and property from "incompetent and sabotaging" private owners.

Siberia, with its tremendous wasteland, offered an unlimited future for pioneers willing to take the risk. The will was supplied by the Government and millions marched toward their glorius future -- however short it turned out to be.

Everyone had to measure up to the rigorous demands of the New Russia -- and the Party provided the yardstick.

Freedom of the press was strickly enforced.

Religious freedom was applied equally to every church.

Old Man History underwent some alterations. Parts which did not fit were rearranged, useless ones thrown away and more suitable parts introduced. The rearranging of History remains an important and demanding task in People's Democracies to this day.

The outside world watched, with great interest, the iron curtain of the great shop where the "liberation" of mankind was being fabricated. Occasionally, unmistakable signs of "progress" leaked out.

The Party was obliged, however reluctantly, to remove these undesirable elements.

Sometimes the hand of justice had to reach far out, even abroad. But most of the delinquents were within easy reach.

After the public trials of the fallen leaders, thousands of their faithful followed then without any publicity -- from there to eternity.

In the Ukraine, Khrushchev, himself a Ukrainian, did a highly commendable cleanup job -- even by Stalin's standards.

Hitler invaded Poland and the Soviets moved in to prevent the Nazis from taking over the whole country. The Societs murdered some 11,000 Polish officers and intellectuals at Katyn Forest and peace and order were established in Poland, for a while.

To the north, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania were enjoying freedom from the Russian yoke -- though their joy was frequently disturbed by nightmares.

The Soviets soon made those dreams come true. Since they were unacquanted with the Soviet way of life, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania were given a concentrated course to catch up with it.

The Soviets decided they would liberate only part of Finland. And ever since they have lived in friendly coexistence.

Since the Soviets had suceed so easily in adding territories with sometimes uneasy consent of their Nazi ally -- they took a modest bite of tasty Rumania. Then Bukovina and Bessarabia were annexed and incorporated into the Soviet Union, according to the wish of the people (in the Kremlin, that is).

After Hitler's unbelievable treachery, the invasion of Russia, the Soviets were eager to lend a helping hand to the Allies in order to save them from the perils of war and defeat.

Encouraged by the Soviets, the people of Warsaw revolted against Hitler's bloody tyranny. Hitler reacted with all of his mad fury. Because it could not bear to watch the aweful sight, the Soviet Army stopped short of Warsaw for more than two months until the carnage was ended.

To console themselves, Russia annexed the eastern part of Poland and northern East Prussia.

Then came the big Summit Conference -- Teheran, Moscow, Yalta and Potsdam. The Big Three came to settle the post-war world, but one player forgot the cards, and another forgot the chips. While they were looking for a new deck, Russia took the pot.

The Tehran, Yalta, and Potsdam conferences will long be remembered, for at them the foundation of the post-war world were pulled into place. It wasn't an easy accomplishment -- everyone had to pull together.

Russia had a non-aggression pact with Japan, which prevented most Japanese interference with shipments of supplies to Russia through the Pacific. This arrangement was so convenient that for two months in 1945 the Soviet Embassy in Tokyo concealed Japanese attempts to surrender.

But when the atomic bomb shattered Japanese resistance, there was no longer any need to honor some words written on a piece of paper. When Japan asked the Allies for surrender terms, Russia declared war on Japan, knowing that neutrals seldom get near the spoils.

To even the loose ends in the after-war chaos, and to relieve some liberated countries from administrative burdens, the Soviets annexed Carpathian Ruthenia from Czechoslovokia; one tenth of Finland, the Republic of Tanna Tuva; the Manchurian railroads from China, Southern Sakhalin, the entire string of Kurile Islands from Japan, and Mongolia from China.

The heroic Red Army took every opportunity to spread culture and persuade the newly liberated peoples to give up immoral capitalism. Much was accomplished for when one begins to liberate, it's hard to stop.

Peaceful coexistence (otherwise known as salami slicing) began between the Communists and their opposition.

Tiny particles (sometimes known as infiltrators) are put inside the salami. These particals operate from the inside, while the Communists work from the outside.

If the salami disappeared all at once its departure would be too obvious. Besides, a whole salami is usually just too much to swallow. But thin slices are easy to gulp down and few pay attention. Certainly even fewer will risk anything to save a single slice. So before long, the whole salami has been consumed and digested.

Peaceful coexistence has its economic side too. Vigorous import-export activities began immediately after liberation. Trains, loaded with goods and goodies, rolled back and forth between the Soviet Union and the countries, bringing the benefits of the great Soviet culture and civilization, and much needed economic aid.

With all these methods the Soviets established a loyal and firm alliance, often referred to by the West as the "satellite system."

Occasionally, changes had to be made at home.

"I have to announce that Comrade Commissar has been relieved of his post -- for health reasons..."

The Soviets had many conferences with the Western powers.

People thought the four would make beautiful music together. But the quartet could not get in harmony, with the record player repeating the old tune over and over again.

The conferences were gay occasions, full of cultural exchanges, during which the Soviets demonstrated their version of the "one-step." They would take ten steps forward on somebody's property. When too many complained, they pulled one step back, displaying a willingness to compromise. Amidst the great rejoicing. most were happy to forget the net gain of nine steps for the Soviets.

Technology was far from ignored in the Soviet Union. A miracle machine was built. It worked on the principle of automation: namely, non-thinking machines can eliminate thinking people, just an updating of the old philosophy "the end justifies the means."

Long before Sputnik, the Soviets invented a new form of insect life, the Coldwarnik, and sent it orbiting around the world.

To demonstrate their love for peace, the Soviets staged impressive peace conferences in Prague, Stockholm, Paris, and other places. They were determined to extend the olive branch, even if it killed somebody.

Also for the love of peace, the Soviets encouraged Markos to liberate Greece from the yoke of the West. But, after the alleged defection of Yugoslavia's Tito from the Kremlin line, this project had to be abandoned. Thousands of Greek children who were kidnapped are still in Iron Curtain countries.

First of all the Soviets had to protect the newly gained freedom of these peoples from enslaving efforts of the West.

The standard of living was increased by raising the value of the ruble.

To show how thoroughly they honored treaties, in case anyone had any doubts, the Soviets threw a blockade around Berlin. the West responded to the Soviet whistle with the air-lift dance, and politely let the Soviets have complete control of the ground routes to Berlin.

At about the same time, to underline their love for peace, the Soviets began to shoot down unarmed Western planes, which with obvious warmongering intentions happened to stray too close to Russian fighter planes. They decorated their brave fighter pilots with great fanfare.

The Soviets were naturally irritated by the protests of the Western Allies about the repeated Soviet blockades of the Berlin land routes. So they established the sovereign East German Socialist Republic to give the West an authority to turn to concerning blockades and similar matters.

The Communist apparatus formed rings around the earth, made up of assorted political idealists, sicial misfits, bonafide spies, traitors and pleaders of the Fifth Amendment. All served the Kremlin cause in one way or another.

Big postwar changes began to show in Asia.

With the bessings of the world and the help of the Soviets, China was liberated by agrarian reformers. Their first concern was the fertilization of the soil, and they began by underplowing countless millions of Chinese farmers.

The Chinese did not sit still while their hundreds of thousands of voluntareers were fighting in Korea. Since Tibet had not had an agrarian reform program for years, Red China took pity on the backward nation, and began the softening up and fertilization of Tibet's rocky soil. The Big Leap Forward had begun.

The game was the same in Korea, but the rerormers took quite a few steps backward.

Until Korea, the Soviets were always on hand with their veto when there was hope for peace and international justice. Having walked out in a huff, they were not in the U.N. when it voted to intervene in Korea.

But when the battle field moved quickly toward the north, the Soviets could abstain no longer. They proposed negotiations and the battlefront froze. And so, the West went for another ride.

Austria was a friendly country during the war, just like Poland, Czechoslovakia, and Albania. So special efforts were made to develop its industry and natural resources in the Soviet-occupied zone to the east.

When the occupation of Austria ended after eight years of conerences, there was not much left in the eastern part of the country.

Through all these perilous times, the Soviets worked hard to protect a peaceful image, but usually managed to reveal where they really stood.

The Soviets did not abandon their enthuiasm for nationalism (outside the Iron Curtain). They strongly supported Algiers, Egypt, Syria, all the Arab nations, the new African states and Latin America in their nationalistic efforts.

The economic and cultural developement of underdeveloped countries was a pet project of the Soviets. A heavy flow of aid constantly poured into them.

Viet Nam needed reform too, so Red China carried the torch into Viet Nam and helped harvest the rice. They are still in Northern Viet Nam and are eager to carry the torch in a southerly direction.

Since the Soviets had nothing to lose and the West nothing to gain, the Soviets agreed to a summit conference in Geneva which distilled a certain spirit. The spirit was served with smiles at vodka parties, brought great relief to the world, and lingered on for quite a while after the conference.

When Khrushchev, in tears, focused the white light of "truth" on the late Stalin, the world was deeply touched and concluded that Communism was beginning to mellow.

For those inside the party, Communism, since its beginning, has followed a straight party line. It only looks crooked from the outside.

Soviet diplomacy marched on with firm steps, never faltering, signing treaty after treaty.

From 1917 until the Geneva Summit Conference the Soviets signed fifty-two agreements with the West. Only two have been kept by the Soviets, who for all their attributes i>are forgetful now and again.

Nowadays the Kremlin's daydreaming is not entirely undisturbed. Nightmares do occur. the image of a happy Communist world is distorted by slanted eyes looking back at the daydreamer.

And behind the iron Curtain, the satellites grew in their understanding that lemonade is very healthy, but not for the lemon.

After Khrushchev's revelation about his former boss, some ignorant Poles took him at his word and thought all the wrongs committed by the late Stalin would be corrected.

The Soviets were quick to straighten out such reactionary thinking.

The dust had barely settled in Poland when the Hungarian people borrowed the idea of a Glorious October Revolution from their Soviet friends.

But Lenin had said that revolutions are not exportable. So the great Soviet friend of the Hungarian people crushed, very efficiently, a stubborn band of "Western agents" fighting with smuggled "Western weapons."

While Soviet troops joined the Hungarians in their revolt, the West considered what it could possibly do. Sympathy was quickly extended by some, and other courses of action were discussed. then to everyone's great relief, the UN got busy. There was even talk of sending notes, but no one seemed to know where.

Some powers decided this was the right moment to settle differences about Suez. The Soviets, as always, protectors of international law and justice, were quick to cry "bloody murder."

The Soviets discovered the power of education long ago. With intense study and the data obtained from the West in various ways, Russian science made tremendous advances. The whole world, therefore, was left gasping, when the first Sputnik was fired into orbit while the three services in the Pentagon were fighting over which one should have priority in the missle field.

In Cuba a revolution changed rulers and since then infidelity is not at all rewarding. Fidel Castro insists the shape of one's beard is one's own business.

When Lunik hit the moon, Khrushchev hit the U.S. From Washington D.C. to Disneyland, the Soviet leader delivered his message of, "Let there be peace and brotherhood - or else!"

In need of a new forum, Mr. K. put in a personal appearance at the UN. He introduced some new techniques in diplomacy, almost lost a shoe, but stole the show while his "little helpers" cheered on.

Meanwhile Russia was deeply engaged in conversations about cease-fire talks.

Since man's best friends had been in orbit for years, it was high time for man himself to join them. Major Gregarin received the highest honor in Russia, higher than the Lenin order: He got a private apartment.

So one morning the Wall was there, built, of course, to prevent people from the West from entering the Communist Paradise without permission.

the Bay of Pigs taught Fidel a lesson: that he could do just about anything he pleased. He raised the Red Flag, opened his mouth even wider and stepped up the export of Cuban "tourists" to other Latin American countries.

As a friendly gesture, the U.S.S.R. planted some very specail "Redwoods" (i>Sequoia sempervirens) in Cuba. After an unfriendly gesture from the U.S., the Soviets took their crop back (or at least pretended they did). But they left the room for Fidel to nurture.

He who had put so many to rest was not to rest in peace. Stalin was dragged from his coffin and buried for good by the Master Burier himself.