The Fifth (All- Russian) Conference of the RSDLP1
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A PPENDIX A The Fifth (All- Russian) Conference of the RSDLP1 December 21– 27, 1908; January 3– 9, 1909 Practical Instructions on Voting for the Budget by the Social- Democratic Group in the Duma FIRST VARIANT Voting for the Budget as a whole is declared wrong in principle. The Conference is of the opinion that, as regards voting for particular items in the Budget, the Duma group should be guided by the prin- ciple of our program that Social- Democrats firmly reject reforms involv- ing tutelage of the police and the bureaucracy over the working classes. Therefore the general rule should be to vote against particular items of the Budget, for they nearly always bring in their train not only such tutelage but also downright coercion by the Black- Hundred reactionaries. In cases where some improvement of the conditions of the working people seems likely in spite of these circumstances, it is recommended that the deputies should abstain from voting, but should without fail make a statement setting forth the socialist position. Lastly, in those exceptional cases when the group deems it necessary to vote for a particular item, it is recom- mended that they should not do so without consulting representatives of the Central Committee and, if possible, the Party organizations in the capital cities. 194 Lenin’s Electoral Strategy from 1907 to 1917 SECOND VARIANT On the question of the Budget the Conference considers that on principle it is wrong to vote for the Budget as a whole. It is also wrong to vote for items of the Budget of the class state which sanction expenditure on instruments for the oppression of the masses (the armed forces, etc.). In voting for reforms or for items of expenditure for cultural purposes, point of departure should be the principle of our programme that Social- Democrats reject reforms involving tutelage of the police and the bureau- cracy over the working classes. Therefore the general rule should be to vote against the so- called reforms and items of expenditure for so- called cultural purposes intro- duced in the Third Duma. In special cases where, in spite of the general conditions, some improve- ment of the conditions of the working people is no more than probable, it is recommended that the deputies should abstain from voting and state their reasons for doing so. Lastly, in exceptional cases, where there is no doubt that the workers will benefit, it is permissible to vote for a particular item, but it is recom- mended that the deputies should consult representatives of the Central Committee and Party and trade union bodies. December 25– 26, 1908 (January 7– 8, 1909) A PPENDIX B Conference of the Extended Editorial Board of Proletary1 June 8– 17 (21– 30), 1909 Speech and Draft Resolution on the Tasks of the Bolsheviks in Relation to Duma Activity We are coming to the end of the debate, and I don’t think there is any need to fix it in a special resolution, because we need to be careful with that. The thing was after all to thrash the matter out among ourselves. In reply to Vlasov2 on the use of legal opportunities, I will read a draft resolution: “The Bolshevik Centre resolves: in order in practice to achieve— and to achieve in a revolutionary Social- Democratic spirit and direction— the objects now recognized by all Bolsheviks of making use of all ‘legal oppor- tunities,’ all legal and semi- legal organizations of the working class in general and the Duma rostrum in particular, the Bolshevik section must definitely and clearly put before itself the aim of securing at any cost the training up of a body of experienced Bolsheviks, specialized in their job and firmly established in their particular legal post (trade unions; clubs; Duma committees, etc., etc.).” Vlasov stated that this refers to the leaders. This is not the case. The trouble is that in our Bolshevik section the view prevails that such special- ists are not required. Our forces are few: they must be utilized and allot- ted to the legal functions, and made responsible for carrying out these functions in the name of the section. If we speak of setting up Party cells, we must know how to do it. I have drafted a resolution on agitation by leaflets: 196 Lenin’s Electoral Strategy from 1907 to 1917 “Having discussed the question of the Bolsheviks’ tasks in relation to Duma activity, the Bolshevik Centre resolves to draw the attention of all local organisations to the importance of agitation by leaflets (in addition to the local and regional press) which spread among the masses informa- tion about the Duma work of the Social- Democrats and give direction to this work. Subjects for such leaflets might be indications of questions to be highlighted from the Duma rostrum, the summing up of the Social- Democrats’ activity in the Duma and the grouping of the different parties, outlines of propagandist speeches on these questions, analysis of the polit- ical significance of particularly important Social- Democratic speeches in the Duma, pointing out omissions or inaccuracies in Social- Democratic Duma speeches, and extracts from these speeches giving practical conclu- sions important for propaganda and agitation, etc., etc.” And I have also roughed- out in the form of a resolution the points on the question of our attitude to Duma activity which were discussed at the private meeting:3 “II. The difference between the revolutionary Social- Democratic use of the Duma and the reformist (or more broadly, opportunist) use can be described by the following indications, which do not pretend to be complete. “From the standpoint of the external relations, so to speak, of the Duma Social- Democratic group, the difference between the revolution- ary Social- Democratic use of the Duma and opportunist use consists in the following: the necessity to combat the tendency on the part of depu- ties and very often of the bourgeois intellectuals surrounding them— a tendency natural in all bourgeois society (and in Russia during a period of reaction especially)— to make parliamentary activity the basic, most important thing of all, an end in itself. In particular it is essential to make every effort that the group should carry on its work as one of the func- tions subordinated to the interests of the working- class movement as a whole, and also that the group should be in constant contact with the Party, not drawing apart from it but implementing Party views, the direc- tives of Party congresses and the central institutions of the Party. “From the standpoint of the internal content of the group’s activity, it is essential to bear the following in mind. The aim of the activity of the parliamentary Social- Democratic group differs in principle from that of all other political parties. The aim of the proletarian party is not to do deals or haggle with the powers that be, not to engage in the hope- less patching- up of the regime of the feudalist- bourgeois dictatorship of counter- revolution, but to develop in every way the class- consciousness, the socialist clarity of thought, the revolutionary determination and Appendix B 197 all-round organization of the mass of the workers. Every step in the activ- ity of the Duma group must serve this fundamental aim. Therefore more attention must be paid to promoting the aims of socialist revolution from the Duma rostrum. Efforts must be made to ensure that speeches should more often be heard from the Duma rostrum propagandizing the funda- mental conceptions and aims of socialism, namely, of scientific socialism. Then, in the conditions of continuing bourgeois- democratic revolution, it is extremely important that the Duma group should systematically combat the torrent of counter- revolutionary attacks on the ‘liberation movement,’ and the prevalent tendency (both on the part of the out- right reactionaries and of the liberals, especially the Cadets) to condemn the revolution and discredit it, its aims, its methods, etc. The Social- Democratic group in the Duma must bear high the banner of the revolu- tion, the banner of the advanced class, leader of the bourgeois-democratic revolution in Russia. “Furthermore it is essential to point out a task of the Duma Social- Democratic group, which is exceptionally important at the present time, namely, that of participating energetically in all discussions of labor leg- islation. The group must utilize the rich parliamentary experience of the West- European Social- Democrats, taking special care to avoid the oppor- tunist distortion of this aspect of its activity. The group must not whittle down its slogans and the demands of our Party’s minimum program, but draft and introduce its Social- Democratic Bills (and also amendments to Bills of the government and the other parties), in order to unmask to the masses the hypocrisy and falseness of social- reformism, in order to draw the masses into independent economic and political mass struggle, which alone can bring real gains to the workers or transform half- hearted and hypocritical ‘reforms’ under the existing system into strong- points for an advancing working- class movement towards the complete emancipation of the proletariat. “The Duma Social- Democratic group and the whole Social- Democratic Party should take the same stand towards reformism within Social- Democracy, which is the latest product of opportunist vacillation. “Finally, revolutionary Social- Democratic use of the Duma should dif- fer from opportunist use in that the Social-Democratic group and the Party are bound to explain to the masses in every possible way the class character of all bourgeois political parties, not confining themselves to attacks on the government and outright reactionaries, but exposing both the counter- revolutionary nature of liberalism and the waverings of petty- bourgeois peasant democracy.” A PPENDIX C Explanatory Note on the Draft of the Main Grounds of the Bill on the Eight- Hour Working Day1 II2 In the present, second part of the explanatory note we intend to dwell on the question of the type of the Social-Democratic Bill on the Eight- Hour Working Day for the Third Duma and on the grounds explaining the basic features of the Bill.