V. I. Lenin

The Third Congress of the R.S.D.L.P.

APRIL 12–27 (APRIL 25–MAY 10), 1905


 

19

RESOLUTION ON THE ATTITUDE TO THE PEASANT MOVEMENT

1) Whereas the currently growing peasant movement, though spontaneous and politically unconscious, is nonetheless inevitably directed against the existing political order and against all the remnants of the serf-owning system in general;

2) Whereas it is one of the tasks of Social-Democracy to support every revolutionary movement against the existing social and political order;

3) Whereas, in view of the aforesaid, the Social-Democrats must strive to purge the revolutionary-democratic content of the peasant movement of all manner of reactionary admixtures, developing the peasants’ revolutionary class-consciousness, and consistently putting through their democratic demands;

4) Whereas the Social-Democratic Party, as the party of the proletariat, must in all cases and under all circumstances work steadfastly for the independent organisation of the rural proletariat and clarify for this class the irreconcilable antagonisms between its interests and those of the peasant bourgeoisie;

—The Third Congress of the Russian Social-Democratic Labour Party instructs all Party organisations

a) to carry on propaganda among broad sections of the people explaining that Social-Democracy sets itself the task of giving the most vigorous support to all revolutionary measures of the peasantry capable of improving its condition, including the confiscation of landlord, government, church, monastery and crown lands;

b) as a practical slogan for agitation among the peasantry and as a means of instilling the utmost political consciousness into the peasant movement, to urge the necessity for the immediate organisation of revolutionary peasant committees, with the aim of carrying through all revolutionary-democratic reforms in order to release the peasantry from the tyranny of the police, the officials and the landlords;

c) with the aim of disorganising the autocracy and maintaining the revolutionary onslaught against it, to urge the peasantry and the rural proletariat to engage in all possible political demonstrations, collectively refuse to pay duties and taxes, to perform military service or obey the decrees and orders of the government and its agents;

d) to strive for the independent organisation of the rural proletariat, for its integration with the urban proletariat under the banner of the Social-Democratic Party, and for the election of its representatives to the peasant committees.

Motioned on April 20 (May 3) Printed from the original
Published in 1905 in the book Trety ocherednoi syezd R.S.D.R.P. Polny tekst protokolov, Central Committee publication, Geneva

Notes

  SPEECHES IN THE DEBATE ON THE DRAFT RESOLUTION ON THE ATTITUDE TOWARDS THE GOVERNMENT’S TACTICS ON THE EVE OF A REVOLUTION | TO THE PRESIDIUM OF THE CONGRESS  

Works Index   |   Volume 41 | Collected Works   |   L.I.A. Index
< backward   forward >