V. I.   Lenin

The Fifth Congress of the Russian Social-Democratic Labour Party

April 30-May 19 (May 13-June 1), 1907


 

10

Objections to Martov’s Amendments to the Bolshevik Resolution on the Attitude to Bourgeois Parties
May 16 (29)
[1]

I

Everyone realises that Martov’s amendment is highly important. “Technical agreements” is an extremely elastic conception. It seems that under “technical”, a “Duma with full powers” is also included. If Martov thinks that our agreements with the Trudoviks are anything but technical, he is mistaken. Our resolution does not say that technical agreements with the liberal bourgeoisie are impermissible. There should be no place for sanctions or interdictions in a resolution; it should indicate an ideological political line. If, however, you are dissatisfied with this absence of inter diction and introduce your notes about “sanction”, you are thereby destroying the entire spirit, the entire sense, behind our resolution. And if such an amendment were accepted, we could do nothing but withdraw our resolution.

II

When Martov goes so far as to say that we are refusing to introduce into our resolution any mention of our antagonism towards the revolutionary Narodniks, he is by this open and glaring untruth defeating his own purpose and showing that his own amendment is pure invention. No, it is not we who are refusing to fight against the ’pseudo-socialist nature   of the Narodniks, but you Menshevik comrades, who have refused to support revolutionary democracy, and prefer the liberals (the Cadets). The majority of the Narodnik groups (Popular Socialists and Trudoviks) have not only failed to adhere in any special way to the terrorism of the Socialist-Revolutionaries, but, on the contrary, have erred on the side of pliancy in dealing with the liberals. The genuine revolutionism of all Narodniks is expressed in the endeavour to destroy landlordism. In this alone do the liberals see “adventurous gambles and utopianism”. Martov is, in point of fact, helping the liberals.


 

Notes

[1] Amendments to the resolution on the attitude towards bourgeois parties proposed by the Mensheviks Martov and Martynov were rejected by the Congress.

  Objections to Trotsky’s Amendments to the Bolshevik Resolution on the Attitude Towards Bourgeois Parties, Adopted by the Congress May 15-16 (28-29) | Objections to Martynov’s Amendments to the Resolution on the Attitude Towards Bourgeois Parties May 16 (29)  

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