PRAVDA, 6 March 1953:
"Dear Comrades and Friends: The Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, the USSR Council of Ministers and the Presidium of the USSR Supreme Soviet announce with profound sorrow to the Party and all working people of the Soviet Union that at 9:50 p.m. 5 March, Iosif Vissarionovich STALIN, Chairman of the USSR Council of Ministers and Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, died after a grave illness.
The heart of Lenin’s comrade-in-arms and the inspired continuer of Lenin’s cause, the wise leader and teacher of the Communist Party and the Soviet people, Joseph Vissarionovich STALIN, has stopped beating.
Stalin’s name is boundlessly dear to our party, to the Soviet people, to the working people of the world. Together with Lenin, Comrade STALIN created the mighty party of Communists, reared and forged that party; together with Lenin, Comrade STALIN was the inspirer and leader of the great October socialist revolution, founder of the world’s first socialist state. Continuing Lenin’s immortal cause, Comrade STALIN led the Soviet people to the world-historic triumph of socialism in our land. Comrade Stalin led our country to victory over fascism in the second world war, which wrought a radical change in the entire international situation. Comrade STALIN armed the Party and the entire people with a great and clear program of building communism in the USSR.
The death of Comrade STALIN, who devoted all his life to the great cause of communism, constitutes a great loss to the Party and to the working people of the Soviet land and of the whole world.
The news of Comrade Stalin’s death will bring profound pain to the hearts of the workers, collective farmers, intelligentsia and all the working people of our motherland, to the hearts of the warriors of our glorious army and navy, to the hearts of millions of working people in all countries of the world.
In these sorrowful days all the peoples of our country are rallying closer in a great fraternal family under the tested leadership of the Communist Party, created and reared by Lenin and STALIN.
The Soviet people have boundless faith in and are imbued with deep love for their Communist Party, for they know that the supreme law governing all the activity of the Party is to serve the interests of the people.
The workers, collective farmers, Soviet intelligentsia and all the working people of our country steadfastly follow the policy mapped out by our party, which is in conformity with the vital interests of the working people and pursues the continued consolidation of the might of our socialist motherland. The correctness of this policy of the Communist Party has been proved by decades of struggle. It has led the working people of the Soviet country to the historic victories of socialism. Inspired by this policy, the peoples of the Soviet Union, under the leadership of the Party, advance confidently toward fresh successes of communist construction in our land.
The working people of our country know that the further improvement of the material well-being of all strata of the population -workers, collective farmers, intelligentsia -maximum satisfaction of constantly growing material and cultural needs of the entire society has always been and is the subject of the particular concern of the Communist Party and the Soviet government.
The Soviet people know that the defense capacity and might of the Soviet state are growing and strengthening, that the Party is in every way strengthening the Soviet Army, Navy and intelligence agencies with a view to constantly raising our preparedness to rebuff decisively any aggressor.
The foreign policy of the Communist Party and the government of the Soviet Union has always been and is a policy of maintaining and strengthening peace, of struggle against the preparation for and the unleashing of another war, a policy of international co-operation and development of business relations with all countries.
The peoples of the Soviet Union, true to the banner of proletarian internationalism, are strengthening and developing fraternal friendship with the great Chinese people, with the working people of all the people’s democracies, friendly relations with the working people of capitalist and colonial countries who are fighting for the cause of peace, democracy and socialism.
Dear Comrades and friends!
The great directing and guiding force of the Soviet people in the struggle for the building of communism is our Communist Party. The steel-like and monolithic unity of the ranks of the Party constitutes the main condition for its strength and might. Our task is to guard the unity of the Party as the apple of our eye, to educate Communists as active political fighters for carrying out the policy and decisions of the Party, to strengthen even more the Party’s ties with all the working people, the collective farmers and the intelligentsia -for in this indissoluble link with the people lies the strength and invincibility of our party.
The Party regards as one of its most essential tasks the education of all Communists and working people in high political vigilance, irreconcilability and stalwartness in the struggle against internal and external foes.
The Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, the USSR Council of Ministers and the Presidium of the USSR Supreme Soviet, appealing in these sorrowful days to the Party and the people, express their firm conviction that the Party and all the working people of our motherland will rally closer around the Central Committee and the Soviet government, will mobilize all their forces and creative energy in the great cause of building communism in our land.
The immortal name of STALIN will live forever in the hearts of the Soviet people and all progressive mankind.
Long live the great and all-conquering teachings of Marx, Engels, Lenin and Stalin!
Long live our mighty socialist motherland!
Long live our heroic Soviet people!
Long live the great Communist Party of Soviet Union!
Central Committee of Communist Party of the Soviet Union
The death of Comrade STALIN, who devoted all his life to the great cause of communism, constitutes a great loss to the Party and to the working people of the Soviet land and of the whole world.
The news of Comrade Stalin’s death will bring profound pain to the hearts of the workers, collective farmers, intelligentsia and all the working people of our motherland, to the hearts of the warriors of our glorious army and navy, to the hearts of millions of working people in all countries of the world.
In these sorrowful days all the peoples of our country are rallying closer in a great fraternal family under the tested leadership of the Communist Party, created and reared by Lenin and STALIN.
The Soviet people have boundless faith in and are imbued with deep love for their Communist Party, for they know that the supreme law governing all the activity of the Party is to serve the interests of the people.
The workers, collective farmers, Soviet intelligentsia and all the working people of our country steadfastly follow the policy mapped out by our party, which is in conformity with the vital interests of the working people and pursues the continued consolidation of the might of our socialist motherland. The correctness of this policy of the Communist Party has been proved by decades of struggle. It has led the working people of the Soviet country to the historic victories of socialism. Inspired by this policy, the peoples of the Soviet Union, under the leadership of the Party, advance confidently toward fresh successes of communist construction in our land.
The working people of our country know that the further improvement of the material well-being of all strata of the population -workers, collective farmers, intelligentsia -maximum satisfaction of constantly growing material and cultural needs of the entire society has always been and is the subject of the particular concern of the Communist Party and the Soviet government.
The Soviet people know that the defense capacity and might of the Soviet state are growing and strengthening, that the Party is in every way strengthening the Soviet Army, Navy and intelligence agencies with a view to constantly raising our preparedness to rebuff decisively any aggressor.
The foreign policy of the Communist Party and the government of the Soviet Union has always been and is a policy of maintaining and strengthening peace, of struggle against the preparation for and the unleashing of another war, a policy of international co-operation and development of business relations with all countries.
The peoples of the Soviet Union, true to the banner of proletarian internationalism, are strengthening and developing fraternal friendship with the great Chinese people, with the working people of all the people’s democracies, friendly relations with the working people of capitalist and colonial countries who are fighting for the cause of peace, democracy and socialism.
The great directing and guiding force of the Soviet people in the struggle for the building of communism is our Communist Party. The steel-like and monolithic unity of the ranks of the Party constitutes the main condition for its strength and might. Our task is to guard the unity of the Party as the apple of our eye, to educate Communists as active political fighters for carrying out the policy and decisions of the Party, to strengthen even more the Party’s ties with all the working people, the collective farmers and the intelligentsia -for in this indissoluble link with the people lies the strength and invincibility of our party.
The Party regards as one of its most essential tasks the education of all Communists and working people in high political vigilance, irreconcilability and stalwartness in the struggle against internal and external foes.
The Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, the USSR Council of Ministers and the Presidium of the USSR Supreme Soviet, appealing in these sorrowful days to the Party and the people, express their firm conviction that the Party and all the working people of our motherland will rally closer around the Central Committee and the Soviet government, will mobilize all their forces and creative energy in the great cause of building communism in our land.
The immortal name of STALIN will live forever in the hearts of the Soviet people and all progressive mankind.
Long live the great and all-conquering teachings of Marx, Engels, Lenin and Stalin!
Long live our mighty socialist motherland!
Long live our heroic Soviet people!
Long live the great Communist Party of Soviet Union!
Central Committee of Communist Party of the Soviet Union
USSR Council of Ministers
Presidium of USSR Supreme Soviet.