September 25, 2025 • 15 mins
Amidst the turmoil of the failed 1905 revolution in Russia, Lenin provides a critical analysis of the Bolshevik political program and tactics, contrasting them with the erratic and subservient factions within the Russian Social-Democratic Labor Party. Join us as we explore this insightful examination of revolutionary strategy and political clarity. (Summary by Christian Pecaut) This edition was edited by George Hanna.
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Speaker 1 (00:01):
Chapter eleven of Two Tactics of Social Democracy in the
Democratic Revolution by Lenin, recorded for Librivos dot org by
Christian Picaut at Communist Revolution dot org. Chapter eleven a
(00:28):
cursory comparison between several of the resolutions of the Third
Congress of the RSDLP and those of the Conference. The
question of the provisional revolutionary government is the pivot of
the tactical question of the social democratic movement at the
present time. It is neither possible nor necessary to dwell
(00:53):
in as great detail as on the other resolutions of
the Conference. We shall we confine ourselves merely to indicating
briefly a few points which confirm the difference in principle
analyzed above between the tactical trends of the resolutions of
the Third Congress of the RSDLP and those of the Conference.
(01:15):
Resolutions take the question of the attitude towards the tactics
of the government on the eve of the revolution. Once again,
you will find a comprehensive answer to this question in
one of the resolutions of the Third Congress of the RSDLP.
This resolution takes into consideration all the multifarious conditions and
(01:38):
tasks of the particular moment, the exposure of the hypocrisy
of the government's concessions, the utilization of travesties of popular representation,
the achievement by revolutionary means of the urgent demands of
the working class, the principal one being the eight hour
(01:58):
working day, and finally, resistance to the Black hundreds. In
the Conference resolutions, this question is scattered over several sections.
Quote resistance to the dark forces of reaction is mentioned
only in the preamble of the resolution. On the attitude
(02:20):
to other parties. Participation in elections to representative bodies is
considered separately from the question of compromises between Czarism and
the bourgeoisie. Instead of calling for the achievement of an
eight hour working day by revolutionary means, a special resolution
(02:41):
with the high sounding title on the Economic Struggle merely repeats,
after high flown and very stupid phrases about quote, the
central place occupied by the labour question in the public
life of Russia, the old slogan of agitation for quote,
the legislative institution of an eight hour working day. The
(03:05):
inadequacy and belatedness of this slogan at the present time
are too obvious to require proof the question of open
political action. The Third Congress takes into consideration the impending
radical change in our activity. Secret activity and the development
(03:27):
of the secret apparatus must on no account be abandoned.
This would be playing into the hands of the police
and be of the utmost advantage to the government. But
at the same time we cannot start too soon thinking
about open action as well expedient forms of such action,
and consequently special apparatus less secret must be prepared immediately.
(03:54):
For this purpose, the legal and semi legal societies must
be made use of, with a view to transforming them
as far as possible, into basis of the future open
social democratic Labour Party in Russia. Here too, the Conference
divides up the question and fails to issue any integral slogans.
(04:19):
Their bobs up. As a separate point the ridiculous instruction
to the Organization Commission to see to the placing of
its legally functioning publicists. There is the wholly absurd decision
to subordinate to its influence the democratic newspapers that set
themselves the aim of rendering assistance to the working class movement.
(04:44):
This is the professed aim of all our legal liberal newspapers,
nearly all of which are of the Aswobjenia trend. Why
should not the editors of the Eskra make a start
themselves in carrying out their advice and give us an
example of how to subject the Aswbjenia to social democratic influence.
(05:08):
Instead of the slogan of utilizing the legally existing unions
for the purpose of establishing bases for the party, we
are given first particular advice about the trade unions, only
that all party members must join them, and secondly advice
to guide quote the revolutionary organization of the workers equals
(05:33):
quote organizations not officially constituted equals quote revolutionary workers clubs.
How these clubs come to be classed as unofficially constituted organizations?
What these clubs really are? Goodness only knows. Instead of
(05:53):
definite and clear instructions from a supreme party body, we
have some jottings of ideas and the rough drafts of publicists.
We get no complete picture of the beginning of the
party's transition to an entirely new basis. In all its work,
the peasant question was presented by the Party Congress and
(06:16):
by the Conference in entirely different ways. The Congress drew
up a resolution on the quote attitude to the peasant movement,
the Conference on quote work among the Peasants. In the
one case, prime importance is attached to the task of
guiding the widespread revolutionary democratic movement in the general national
(06:38):
interests of the fight against Czarism. In the other instance,
the question is reduced to mirror work among a particular
section of society. In the one case, a central practical
slogan for our agitation is advanced, calling for the immediate
organization of revolutionary peasant committee in order to carry out
(07:01):
all democratic changes. In other words, a quote demand for
the organization of committees is to be presented to a
constituent assembly. Why must we wait for this constituent assembly?
Will it really be constituent? Will it be stable without
(07:22):
the preliminary and simultaneous establishment of revolutionary peasant committees. All
these questions are ignored by the Conference. All its decisions
reflect the general idea which we have traced, namely that
in bourgeois revolution we must do only our special work
(07:43):
without setting ourselves the aim of leading the entire democratic movement,
and of doing this independently. Just as the economists constantly
harped on the idea that the social democrats should concern
themselves with the economic struggle, leaving it to the liberals
to take care of the political struggle. So the new
(08:06):
est Christs keep harping in all their discussions on the
idea that we should creep into a modest corner out
of the way of the bourgeois revolution, leaving it to
the bourgeoisie to do the active work of carrying out
the revolution. Finally, we cannot but note also the resolution
(08:27):
on the attitude towards other parties. The resolution of the
Third Congress of the RSDLP speaks of exposing all the
limitations and inadequacies of the bourgeois movement for emancipation, without
entertaining the naive idea of enumerting every possible instance of
such limitation from Congress to Congress, or of drawing a
(08:51):
line of distinction between bad bourgeois and good bourgeois. The Conference,
repeating the mista made by Starover, persistently searched for such
a line, developed the famous quote litmus paper theory. Starover
started from a very good idea to put the strictest
(09:14):
possible terms to the bourgeoisie only he forgot that any
attempt to separate in advance the bourgeois democrats who are
worthy of approval, agreements, etc. From those who are unworthy
leads to a formula which is immediately thrown overboard by
the development of events, and which introduces confusion into the
(09:37):
proletarian class consciousness. The emphasis is shifted from real unity
in the struggle to declarations, promises slogans. Starover was of
the opinion that quote universal and equal suffrage, direct elections
and secret ballot was such a radical slogan, but before
(10:01):
two years elapsed the Litmus paper proved its worthlessness. The
slogan of universal suffrage was taken over by the Asvabjenzi,
who not only came no closer to social democracy as
a result of this, but on the contrary, tried by
means of this very slogan to mislead the workers and
(10:23):
divert them from socialism. Now the new es Christs are
setting terms that are even stricter. They are demanding from
the enemies of Czarism energetic and unequivocal support of every
determined action of the organized proletariat, etc. Up to and
(10:46):
including quote active participation in the self armament of the people.
This line has been drawn much further. But nonetheless this
line is again already obsolete. It revealed its worthlessness at once. Why,
for instance, is there no slogan of a republic? How
(11:08):
is it that the social democrats, in the interest of
relentless revolutionary war against all the foundations of the system
of social estates and the monarchy, demand from the bourgeois
democrats anything you like except a fight for a republic.
That this question is not mere captiousness, That the mistake
(11:31):
of the new Esqrists is of most vital political significance,
is proved by the Russian Liberation League see Proletary number four. Note.
Proletary number four, which appeared on June fourth, nineteen o five,
contained a lengthy article entitled a New Revolutionary Labor League c.
(11:55):
Lenin Collected Works, Russian Edition, Volume eight, page one, four
sixty five to seventy six. The article gives the contents
of the appeals issued by this league, which assumed the
name of Russian Liberation League, and which set itself the
aim of convening a constituent Assembly with the aid of
(12:16):
an armed insurrection. Further, the article defines the attitude of
the Social Democrats to such non party leagues. How far
this league really existed and what its fate was in
the revolution is absolutely unknown to us. Note, these enemies
(12:40):
of Tsarism will fully meet all the requirements of the
New Eschriists. Yet we have shown that the spirit of
the Asvobjenia reigns in the program or lack of program
of this Russian Liberation League, and that the Asvabjenzi can
easily take it in tow. The Conference, however, declares in
(13:03):
the concluding section of the resolution, that social democracy will
continue to oppose the hypocritical friends of the people all
those political parties which, though they display a liberal and
democratic banner, refuse to render genuine support to the revolutionary
struggle of the proletariat. The Russian Liberation League not only
(13:28):
does not refuse this support, but offers it most insistently.
Is that a guarantee that the leaders of this league
are not quote hypocritical friends of the people, even though
they are Asvabjensi. You see, by inventing terms in advance
(13:49):
and presenting demands which are ludicrous by reason of their
grim impotence, the New east Rists immediately put themselves in
a ridiculous place position. Their terms and demands immediately prove
inadequate when it comes to gauging living realities. Their chase
after formulae is hopeless, for no formula can embrace all
(14:14):
the various manifestations of hypocrisy, inconsistency, and limitations of the
bourgeois democrats. It is not a matter of litmus, paper
of forms, or written and printed demands. Nor is it
a matter of drawing in advance a line of distinction
(14:34):
between hypocritical and sincere friends of the people. It is
a matter of real unity in the struggle of unabating
criticism by social democrats of every uncertain step taken by
bourgeois democracy. What is needed for a genuine consolidation of
(14:54):
all the social forces interested in democratic change is not
the points over which the Conference labored so assiduously and
so vainly, but the ability to put forward genuinely revolutionary slogans.
For this, slogans are needed that will raise the revolutionary
and republican bourgeoisie to the level of the proletariat, and
(15:19):
not reduce the aims of the proletariat to the level
of the monarchist bourgeoisie. For this the most energetic participation
in the insurrection and not sophiest evasions of the urgent
task of armed insurrection, is needed and of chapter eleven.
(15:41):
This recording is in the public domain.
Chapter eleven of Two Tactics of Social Democracy in the
Democratic Revolution by Lenin, recorded for Librivos dot org by
Christian Picaut at Communist Revolution dot org. Chapter eleven a
(00:28):
cursory comparison between several of the resolutions of the Third
Congress of the RSDLP and those of the Conference. The
question of the provisional revolutionary government is the pivot of
the tactical question of the social democratic movement at the
present time. It is neither possible nor necessary to dwell
(00:53):
in as great detail as on the other resolutions of
the Conference. We shall we confine ourselves merely to indicating
briefly a few points which confirm the difference in principle
analyzed above between the tactical trends of the resolutions of
the Third Congress of the RSDLP and those of the Conference.
(01:15):
Resolutions take the question of the attitude towards the tactics
of the government on the eve of the revolution. Once again,
you will find a comprehensive answer to this question in
one of the resolutions of the Third Congress of the RSDLP.
This resolution takes into consideration all the multifarious conditions and
(01:38):
tasks of the particular moment, the exposure of the hypocrisy
of the government's concessions, the utilization of travesties of popular representation,
the achievement by revolutionary means of the urgent demands of
the working class, the principal one being the eight hour
(01:58):
working day, and finally, resistance to the Black hundreds. In
the Conference resolutions, this question is scattered over several sections.
Quote resistance to the dark forces of reaction is mentioned
only in the preamble of the resolution. On the attitude
(02:20):
to other parties. Participation in elections to representative bodies is
considered separately from the question of compromises between Czarism and
the bourgeoisie. Instead of calling for the achievement of an
eight hour working day by revolutionary means, a special resolution
(02:41):
with the high sounding title on the Economic Struggle merely repeats,
after high flown and very stupid phrases about quote, the
central place occupied by the labour question in the public
life of Russia, the old slogan of agitation for quote,
the legislative institution of an eight hour working day. The
(03:05):
inadequacy and belatedness of this slogan at the present time
are too obvious to require proof the question of open
political action. The Third Congress takes into consideration the impending
radical change in our activity. Secret activity and the development
(03:27):
of the secret apparatus must on no account be abandoned.
This would be playing into the hands of the police
and be of the utmost advantage to the government. But
at the same time we cannot start too soon thinking
about open action as well expedient forms of such action,
and consequently special apparatus less secret must be prepared immediately.
(03:54):
For this purpose, the legal and semi legal societies must
be made use of, with a view to transforming them
as far as possible, into basis of the future open
social democratic Labour Party in Russia. Here too, the Conference
divides up the question and fails to issue any integral slogans.
(04:19):
Their bobs up. As a separate point the ridiculous instruction
to the Organization Commission to see to the placing of
its legally functioning publicists. There is the wholly absurd decision
to subordinate to its influence the democratic newspapers that set
themselves the aim of rendering assistance to the working class movement.
(04:44):
This is the professed aim of all our legal liberal newspapers,
nearly all of which are of the Aswobjenia trend. Why
should not the editors of the Eskra make a start
themselves in carrying out their advice and give us an
example of how to subject the Aswbjenia to social democratic influence.
(05:08):
Instead of the slogan of utilizing the legally existing unions
for the purpose of establishing bases for the party, we
are given first particular advice about the trade unions, only
that all party members must join them, and secondly advice
to guide quote the revolutionary organization of the workers equals
(05:33):
quote organizations not officially constituted equals quote revolutionary workers clubs.
How these clubs come to be classed as unofficially constituted organizations?
What these clubs really are? Goodness only knows. Instead of
(05:53):
definite and clear instructions from a supreme party body, we
have some jottings of ideas and the rough drafts of publicists.
We get no complete picture of the beginning of the
party's transition to an entirely new basis. In all its work,
the peasant question was presented by the Party Congress and
(06:16):
by the Conference in entirely different ways. The Congress drew
up a resolution on the quote attitude to the peasant movement,
the Conference on quote work among the Peasants. In the
one case, prime importance is attached to the task of
guiding the widespread revolutionary democratic movement in the general national
(06:38):
interests of the fight against Czarism. In the other instance,
the question is reduced to mirror work among a particular
section of society. In the one case, a central practical
slogan for our agitation is advanced, calling for the immediate
organization of revolutionary peasant committee in order to carry out
(07:01):
all democratic changes. In other words, a quote demand for
the organization of committees is to be presented to a
constituent assembly. Why must we wait for this constituent assembly?
Will it really be constituent? Will it be stable without
(07:22):
the preliminary and simultaneous establishment of revolutionary peasant committees. All
these questions are ignored by the Conference. All its decisions
reflect the general idea which we have traced, namely that
in bourgeois revolution we must do only our special work
(07:43):
without setting ourselves the aim of leading the entire democratic movement,
and of doing this independently. Just as the economists constantly
harped on the idea that the social democrats should concern
themselves with the economic struggle, leaving it to the liberals
to take care of the political struggle. So the new
(08:06):
est Christs keep harping in all their discussions on the
idea that we should creep into a modest corner out
of the way of the bourgeois revolution, leaving it to
the bourgeoisie to do the active work of carrying out
the revolution. Finally, we cannot but note also the resolution
(08:27):
on the attitude towards other parties. The resolution of the
Third Congress of the RSDLP speaks of exposing all the
limitations and inadequacies of the bourgeois movement for emancipation, without
entertaining the naive idea of enumerting every possible instance of
such limitation from Congress to Congress, or of drawing a
(08:51):
line of distinction between bad bourgeois and good bourgeois. The Conference,
repeating the mista made by Starover, persistently searched for such
a line, developed the famous quote litmus paper theory. Starover
started from a very good idea to put the strictest
(09:14):
possible terms to the bourgeoisie only he forgot that any
attempt to separate in advance the bourgeois democrats who are
worthy of approval, agreements, etc. From those who are unworthy
leads to a formula which is immediately thrown overboard by
the development of events, and which introduces confusion into the
(09:37):
proletarian class consciousness. The emphasis is shifted from real unity
in the struggle to declarations, promises slogans. Starover was of
the opinion that quote universal and equal suffrage, direct elections
and secret ballot was such a radical slogan, but before
(10:01):
two years elapsed the Litmus paper proved its worthlessness. The
slogan of universal suffrage was taken over by the Asvabjenzi,
who not only came no closer to social democracy as
a result of this, but on the contrary, tried by
means of this very slogan to mislead the workers and
(10:23):
divert them from socialism. Now the new es Christs are
setting terms that are even stricter. They are demanding from
the enemies of Czarism energetic and unequivocal support of every
determined action of the organized proletariat, etc. Up to and
(10:46):
including quote active participation in the self armament of the people.
This line has been drawn much further. But nonetheless this
line is again already obsolete. It revealed its worthlessness at once. Why,
for instance, is there no slogan of a republic? How
(11:08):
is it that the social democrats, in the interest of
relentless revolutionary war against all the foundations of the system
of social estates and the monarchy, demand from the bourgeois
democrats anything you like except a fight for a republic.
That this question is not mere captiousness, That the mistake
(11:31):
of the new Esqrists is of most vital political significance,
is proved by the Russian Liberation League see Proletary number four. Note.
Proletary number four, which appeared on June fourth, nineteen o five,
contained a lengthy article entitled a New Revolutionary Labor League c.
(11:55):
Lenin Collected Works, Russian Edition, Volume eight, page one, four
sixty five to seventy six. The article gives the contents
of the appeals issued by this league, which assumed the
name of Russian Liberation League, and which set itself the
aim of convening a constituent Assembly with the aid of
(12:16):
an armed insurrection. Further, the article defines the attitude of
the Social Democrats to such non party leagues. How far
this league really existed and what its fate was in
the revolution is absolutely unknown to us. Note, these enemies
(12:40):
of Tsarism will fully meet all the requirements of the
New Eschriists. Yet we have shown that the spirit of
the Asvobjenia reigns in the program or lack of program
of this Russian Liberation League, and that the Asvabjenzi can
easily take it in tow. The Conference, however, declares in
(13:03):
the concluding section of the resolution, that social democracy will
continue to oppose the hypocritical friends of the people all
those political parties which, though they display a liberal and
democratic banner, refuse to render genuine support to the revolutionary
struggle of the proletariat. The Russian Liberation League not only
(13:28):
does not refuse this support, but offers it most insistently.
Is that a guarantee that the leaders of this league
are not quote hypocritical friends of the people, even though
they are Asvabjensi. You see, by inventing terms in advance
(13:49):
and presenting demands which are ludicrous by reason of their
grim impotence, the New east Rists immediately put themselves in
a ridiculous place position. Their terms and demands immediately prove
inadequate when it comes to gauging living realities. Their chase
after formulae is hopeless, for no formula can embrace all
(14:14):
the various manifestations of hypocrisy, inconsistency, and limitations of the
bourgeois democrats. It is not a matter of litmus, paper
of forms, or written and printed demands. Nor is it
a matter of drawing in advance a line of distinction
(14:34):
between hypocritical and sincere friends of the people. It is
a matter of real unity in the struggle of unabating
criticism by social democrats of every uncertain step taken by
bourgeois democracy. What is needed for a genuine consolidation of
(14:54):
all the social forces interested in democratic change is not
the points over which the Conference labored so assiduously and
so vainly, but the ability to put forward genuinely revolutionary slogans.
For this, slogans are needed that will raise the revolutionary
and republican bourgeoisie to the level of the proletariat, and
(15:19):
not reduce the aims of the proletariat to the level
of the monarchist bourgeoisie. For this the most energetic participation
in the insurrection and not sophiest evasions of the urgent
task of armed insurrection, is needed and of chapter eleven.
(15:41):
This recording is in the public domain.
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