Episode 40: The Sino-Soviet Split Part 2

This is the second of two parts covering the events that led to the breakdown in relations between China and the Soviet Union between 1958 and 1964.

In this episode we discuss the heating up of tensions, the publication of polemics, and the personal disagreements that served to worsen the situation. We talk about how external events such as the Cuban missile crisis were used by Mao to further his own political agenda, both at home and abroad, while also destabalising Krushchev's position. Finally, we outline the major causes of the downfall of Sino-Soviet relations, which could not be saved even with the introduction of a new government in the Soviet Union.

[Crabby]

Hey congratulation on your news! :D Thanks for a great comprehensive look look at the split, it really covered all the angles IMO. I didn't realise quite how childish things got between them, it's pretty funny to hear the specifics, esp Khrushchev's drunken ranting, oh to have been a fly on the wall.... Anyway thanks again and all the best!

[mitchellspindell]

What happened?! Do you know your podcasts are getting commercials every few minutes now?😢

[uselessoldman]

If this had been your A'level presentation and I had been the one marking I am afraid I would have awarded you a FAIL, which since I never got such a low mark I can only go from memory was something like a U? You made this video over a year ago and since then the Chinese economy has collapsed and fallen off a cliff.

This obviously has been no accident and is in fact by design, the design of the current leader of the CCP Xi Xinping. Whilst China is as we all know a Communist one party state, that does not mean it always follows the same political and economical ideology from one President to the next, clearly that has not been the case since Mao created the PRC. You have to split China from the CCP, the CCP is the Government whilst China is the country which the CCP governs. The CCP is in fact one party but has two "camps" as with all democracies, the sitting party in power and a opposition, those with different conflicting ideas and no power. Put simply based on CCP history its easier to call them the Leninist traditionalists and the Reformers the liberals. Both are important as they are relevant, Mao was a staunch Leninist as is Xi whilst Deng was a Reformer. Mao slaughtered by starvation 50 million due to his failed reforms and Xi has destroyed the worlds 2nd largest economy and as we all know Leninism destroyed the Soviet Union, clearly a failed ideology. Whilst in contrast, Deng Xiaoping was a Reformer and his open door policy and socialist market helped lift 600 million out of poverty creating the basis of the modern Chinese miraculous growth over the past 40 years. Another significant difference is the Leninist believe that CHina should be self sufficient without external influences of any kind, whilst Deng openly sought the assistance of the west both in capital investment and financial/economical advice. But the real difference was the difference between the believe in the right to own property a private sector and a artisan middle class or a State oned by a party who owned everything, property and the land it sat on and the people it owned everything. What took 40 years for the reformers to build the Leninists have destroyed in less than 10 !!! Communism and specifically the CCP is far more complicated than just one single party of "old men".

Without spending all night explaining in detail that would take several volumes and a set of books, you also have to include foreign policy etc etc but the fact is the CCP can change for the good and bad depending on the ideology of the leader. Deng stated clearly his reforms were never designed to remove the CCP it was evolution not revolution and he was a staunch CCP party member. He stated clearly that there would always be 4 principles that could NEVER be broken in any way,
the "basic spirit of communism";
the political system of the PRC, known as the people's democratic dictatorship;
the leadership of the Communist Party
Marxism-Leninism and Mao Zedong Thought.

Clearly he said this to keep the Leninists within the party happy since some of his more radical policies arguably broke all these rules !!! Xi has revered many back to strict Leninism leading to the destruction of the worlds 2nd largest economy.

Problem is most historians and intellectuals also fail to understand China and the CCP and their literature is as ill informative AS yours !! But then you have historians and you have Political Scientists, one who does know and one who proclaims to know when in fact the know quat all.