The Communist and Workers' Parties, which co-sign this Joint Statement, would like also in this way to honor a great revolutionary and theorist of scientific socialism, Vladimir Ilyich Lenin, as April 22 marks the 150^th anniversary of his birth.

Especially in the current conditions, and while the pandemic of CoVID-19 is spreading, tragically demonstrating the great shortages of health systems in capitalist countries as well as the anti-social and parasitic nature of the capitalist system, in the face of the new crisis, the burdens of which will be again put on the workers' shoulders, the aggressive nature of capitalism and the escalation of imperialist competitions, which pose new dangers to peace and peoples, we feel an even greater need to refer to the historical physiognomy of V.I. Lenin. A personality that dedicated his life to the cause of the working class and other popular strata, to the struggle for the abolition of exploitation and the construction of the socialist society.

We honor V.I. Lenin as the founder of the contemporary working-class party, the "party of a new type", which was firmly separated from the opportunism and apostasy of the old social-democratic parties. Such was the Bolshevik Party, which was at the forefront of the class struggle of the proletariat and the other oppressed strata of Russia. Lenin's party led Russia's working class to victory by overthrowing the exploiting classes and establishing the dictatorship of the proletariat, the workers' and peasants' government, in the service of the interests of the many, the exploited and the oppressed. V.I. Lenin defined and substantiated the leading role of the Communist Party, not only in establishing workers' power but also in constructing socialism.

We honor V.I. Lenin as the theorist who, taking into account the particular reality, further developed the constituent parts of Marxism, i.e. philosophy, political economy, and scientific communism. As an opponent of any opportunistic and revisionist distortion of revolutionary theory and practice, dogmatism, sectarianism, and parliamentary illusions, without denying the intervention through the parliament.

His works, such as "What the friends of the people are and how they fight the Social-Democrats", "The Development of Capitalism in Russia", "What Is to Be Done", "Two Tactics of Social-Democracy in the Democratic Revolution", "Materialism and Empirio-Criticism", "Marxism and Revisionism", "The Collapse of the Second International", "Socialism and War", "On the Slogan for the United States of Europe", "Imperialism, the Highest Stage of Capitalism", "The State and Revolution", "The April Theses", "Left-Wing Communism: An Infantile Disorder", "The Immediate Tasks of the Soviet Government", and "The Great Initiative" are milestones in the propagation and development of Marxism and revolutionary struggle. Lenin's valuable theoretical work is still timely and serves as a beacon for the ideological-political education and action of every new generation of revolutionaries.

We honor V.I. Lenin as the leader of the Great October Socialist Revolution, which about a century ago shook the world. The victorious revolution illuminated the power of the class struggle, the power of the exploited and the oppressed -when they take the case of their interests into their own hands and turn the wheel of history forward- in the direction of social liberation. The October flame led and accelerated the establishment of a number of Communist and revolutionary Workers' parties. Lenin had an insightful strategic ability and skillfully handled alliances, abilities that he devoted to the cause of the socialist revolution.

We honor V.I. Lenin as the leader of the world's first socialist state, which for the first time established workers' power based on new revolutionary institutions, such as the Soviets, sought the economic functioning of society on a new basis, the basis of the satisfaction of contemporary people's needs and the multi-faceted free development of all people, not the profitability of the few. The USSR, the first socialist state in the world, which was realized with the special contribution of V.I. Lenin, brought to the fore new unprecedented economic, social, political, and cultural achievements for the working class and the wider popular strata that had a profound effect on historical progressive developments around the world. It was a support to the peoples in the struggle for socialism and peace.

We honor V.I. Lenin as the great internationalist, the leader who raised the flag of proletarian internationalism against the treacherous attitude of the Second International during the imperialist World War I, opposed bourgeois nationalism and other bourgeois views such as the cosmopolitanism of the capital, and led the establishment of the Third Communist International, which made a major contribution to the international labor and communist movement and today is a basic source for drawing useful lessons from the experience it accumulated through its action. Lenin's positions on colonialism led the Communists to understand the issue of colonies and inspired them to lead the anti-colonial struggles, both in colonial countries and colonies.

We honor V.I. Lenin as the tireless and consistent opponent of the imperialist war, the defender of peoples' struggle for national and social liberation, social justice, peace, and socialism.

The counter-revolution and capitalist restoration cannot conceal the achievements of Socialism. The disasters and injustice we are experiencing, the acute problems and the suffering of the working class, the small-middle strata, the peasantry and the peoples overall caused by capitalist exploitation and oppression, emphasize the necessity and timeliness of socialism all over the world.

The Communist and Workers' Parties denounce the wave of silence as well as the reactionary and anti-communist distortion that has been unleashed around the world by the political forces that serve the interests of the capital against V.I. Lenin to the workers and the youth. We struggle for the continuation of his work, we are committed to continue defending and propagating his legacy and we call on the workers and the people to learn from it.

22/04/20

Communist Parties signing the Joint Statement

1. Communist Party of Albania
2. PADS, Algeria
3. Communist Party of Argentina
4. Communist Party of Armenia
5. Communist Party of Australia
6. Party of Labour of Austria
7. Communist Party of Azerbaijan
8. Democratic Progressive Tribune of Bahrain
9. Communist Party of Bangladesh
10. Communist Party of Belarus
11. Communist Party of Belgium
12. Brazilian Communist Party
13. CP of Brazil
14. Communist Party of Britain
15. New Communist Party of Britain
16. Communist Party of Bulgaria
17. Party of Bulgarian Communists
18. Union of Communists in Bulgaria
19. Communist Party of Canada
20. Communist Party of Chile
21. Socialist Workers' Party of Croatia
22. AKEL, Cyprus
23. Communist Party of Bohemia-Moravia
24. Communist Party of Denmark
25. Communist Party in Denmark
26. Force of the Revolution, Dominican Republic
27. Communist Party Ecuador
28. Egyptian CP
29. Communist Party of El Salvador
30. Communist Party of Finland
31. Communist Revolutionary Party of France
32. Pole of Communist Revival in France
33. United Communist Party of Georgia
34. German Communist Party
35. Communist Party of Greece
36. Hungarian Workers Party
37. Communist Party of India
38. Communist Party of India (Marxist)
39. Communist Party of Kurdistan – Iraq
40. Tudeh Party of Iran
41. Workers' Party of Ireland
42. Communist Party of Ireland
43. Communist Party of Israel
44. Communist Party, Italy
45. Italian Communist Party
46. Jordanian Communist Party
47. Shiso-Undo, Japan
48. Socialist Movement of Kazakhstan
49. Workers' Party of Korea
50. Party of the Communists of Kyrgyzstan
51. Lebanese Communist Party
52. Socialist Party of Latvia
53. Socialist Party, Lithuania
54. Communist Party of Luxembourg
55. Communist Party of Malta
56. Communist Party of Mexico
57. Popular Socialist Party – National Political Association, Mexico
58. Communist Party of Norway
59. New Communist Party of the Netherlands
60. Communist Party of Pakistan
61. Palestinian Communist Party
62. Palestinian People's Party
63. Paraguayan Communist Party
64. Peruan Communist Party
65. Communist Party of Puerto Rico
66. Communist Party of Poland
67. Portuguese Communist Party
68. Philippine Communist Party (PKP-1930)
69. Communist Party of Ukraine
70. Union of Communists of Ukraine
71. Communist Party of the Russian Federation
72. Communist Workers' Party of Russia
73. Communist Party of the Soviet Union
74. Union of Communist Parties - CPSU
75. New Communist Party of Yugoslavia
76. Communists of Serbia
77. Communist Party of Slovakia
78. South African Communist Party
79. Communist Party of Spain
80. Communist Party of the Workers of Spain
81. Communist Party of the Peoples of Spain
82. Communists of Catalonia
83. Galizan People's Union
84. Communist Party of Sri Lanka
85. JVP Sri Lanka
86. Communist Party of Swaziland
87. Communist Party of Sweden
88. Communist Party, Switzerland

89. Sudanese Communist Party
90. Syrian Communist Party
91. Communist Party of Turkey
92. Party of Communists, USA
93. Communist Party of Venezuela