V. I.

Lenin

Thespeech delivered by Comrade Ramishvili, the Social-Democratic Deputy in the
State Duma, contains some very true observations that correctly define
Social-Democratic tactics. The speaker not only denounced the government of
pogrom-mongers with the vigour of a genuine representative of the proletariat,
he not only branded the representatives of the government as “enemies of
the people”—and the new attempt of the Cadet Chairman of the Duma to
restrict freedom of speech evoked the legitimate protest of the extreme
Left—but in addition, in concluding his speech, he raised the general
question of the relation between the Duma and the people.

Thisis what the Social-Democratic Deputy said on this question:

“Iconclude by stating that we are backed by the people. Outside something
is going on that is entirely different from what we are doing here in this
Chamber. The atmosphere outside is entirely different. Here it is much milder;
here a more peaceful mood prevails. In a month from now, perhaps,
we ourselves will be deciding our affairs....

The facts of life speak much more loudly about what is going on around us than we do here. I
say that we are standing between the government and the people. The Duma is a
dangerous spot . To go to the Left or to the Bight means
conciliation with someone , or a rupture with someone....

You must not forget that the people themselves will obtain what the Duma cannot
obtain owing to its wavering and lack of determination . I say that the
people are in a different mood from that which prevails here....”

Wehave italicised the particularly important passages in this speech. The
speaker quite rightly said that the facts of life speak much more loudly than the Duma does; that the atmosphere outside is not as
“peaceful” , and that “ the people are in a different mood ”. That is undoubtedly true. And the
deduction that follows from this truth is that those who say that the people
must support the Duma are wrong. The people are already ahead of the Duma, are
speaking louder, are less peacefully inclined, are fighting more vigorously . Hence, the only correct definition of the task of the
Social-Democrats is: to explain to the widest possible mass of the people that
the Duma only timidly and inadequately expresses the demands of the
people. Only such a formulation of Social-Democratic tactics relieves
the party of the proletariat of responsibility for the instability of the
Cadets. Only such a formulation, which fully allows for the degree of
development of the political consciousness, determination and preparedness of
the peasant masses, adequately conforms to the great tasks of the present
moment, a moment concerning which the elected representatives of the
Social-Democratic proletariat bluntly say: “In a month from now, perhaps, we
ourselves will be deciding our affairs.” To be able to decide them,
however, we must at once completely dissociate ourselves from all either
dishonest or unwise attempts to seek a “peaceful” solution.

Comrade Ramishvili was quite right when he declared from the rostrum of the
Duma: “The Duma is a dangerous spot.” Why? Because it displays
“wavering and lack of determination”. And at a time when, in a
month from now, perhaps, the people themselves will have to decide their
affairs, wavering and lack of determination is positively criminal. Whoever
displays these qualities at such a time will inevitably find himself in
an extremely false position, no matter how sincere his intentions may have
been. It does not depend on our will that at such a moment all the economic and
political conditions surrounding us inevitably give rise to a decisive struggle
between the people and the old regime. Whoever wavers in face of this impending
struggle will, indeed, have to choose between the alternative of
“conciliation with someone or a rupture with someone ”. This
is exactly the position that the Cadets are in. The liberal bourgeoisie is
reaping what it has been sowing for years by its double-faced and vacillating
policy, and by its desertions from revolution to counter-revolution. Conciliation with the old regime means a rupture with the
fighting people.

A rupture with the old regime is what would be essential for conciliation with
the fighting people.

Themajority in the Duma has been doing everything to make its position clear in
this inexorable choice. Every step this Cadet, and sometimes even worse than
Cadet, majority takes in its policy is in preparation for a rupture with the
fighting people, preparation for conciliation with the old regime. These steps
are small ones, we shall be told. But they are real steps in real politics, we
shall reply. These steps conform to all the fundamental class interests of the
liberal bourgeoisie. And the

Cadets’

demand for a Duma Cabinet appointed by the old regime bears precisely this “peaceful”
character.

Weshall never tire of repeating that it would be stupid and harmful for the
workers’ party to support this demand. Stupid, because the only thing that is
really weakening the old regime is the struggle of the people, who are going
further than the timid Duma. Harmful, because it will sow deception and confusion
in the minds of the people. Yesterday we pointed out that the comrades of
Kuryer were right in stating that the Bills drafted by the Cadets were
stupid and harmful. [1]

Today it is to be regretted that these same comrades are
advocating support for a Duma Cabinet, that is to say, a Cabinet that will carry
through these stupid and harmful Bills!

Perhapswe shall examine these vacillations of Kuryer in greater detail
another time. For the time being, it will be sufficient to point to them; the
very fact that there is wavering at an important moment like the present shows
that the position of the waverers is extremely precarious.

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Notes:
[1]
See pp. 20-23 of this volume.— Ed .