Date: 1915
Source: ru:LS/v2

LENIN COLLECTION.
Two to three hundred leaders are in turmoil!!
Apart from the uprising, “power”…
The Soviet of Workers’ Deputies harbors an illusion.
We must not succumb to it.
Warmest regards. Yours, L[enin]
Is it not possible to organize a correspondence network among comrades to ensure the swift delivery of such articles to Petrograd—articles like the “11 Theses”? Please give this careful thought! 2)
*) Not a single one of the letters by Vladimir Ilyich addressed to A. M. Kolontai is currently held in the Institute’s archives.
2) Given the immense significance of the “theses” discussed in Vladimir Ilyich’s letter—and their crucial role in understanding his writings—we reproduce them in full, as they appeared in No. 47 of “Social Democrat.”
A Few Theses.
From
the Editorial Board.
The material presented here demonstrates the colossal work undertaken by the Petrograd Committee of our Party. For Russia and for the entire International, this is truly a model example of Social-Democratic activity during a period of reactionary oppression, carried out under the most arduous conditions.
The workers of Petrograd and of Russia will support this work with all their strength and carry it forward—more energetically, more powerfully, and on an even broader scale, along the same path.
Taking into account the guidance offered by our comrades throughout Russia, we formulate several theses on pressing issues in Social-Democratic work:
1) The slogan “Constituent Assembly,” taken as an independent rallying cry, is fundamentally flawed, for the real question now is: Who will convene it?
The liberals adopted this slogan in 1905, because it could be interpreted as referring to an assembly summoned by the Tsar and beholden to him.
Far more appropriate are the slogans of the “three pillars”: the democratic republic, the confiscation of landed estates, and the eight-hour working day—supplemented by (cf. No. 9) a call for international solidarity among workers in the struggle for socialism, for the revolutionary overthrow of warring governments, and against war. *2) We oppose participation in military-industrial committees that aid and abet imperialist, reactionary warfare.
We advocate making use of electoral campaigns—for instance, limiting participation in the initial stages of elections to purely agitational and organizational purposes. — There can be no question of boycotting the State Duma; participation in re-elections is absolutely essential.
While our Party has no deputies in the State Duma, we must make every effort to harness whatever transpires within the Duma from the standpoint of revolutionary social democracy.
3) We regard the most urgent and pressing tasks as strengthening and expanding social-democratic work among the proletariat, and then extending that work to the rural proletariat, to the rural poor, and to the armed forces. — The paramount task of revolutionary Social Democracy is to develop the nascent strike movement, carrying it forward under the banner of the “three pillars.”
In our agitation, we must accord due prominence to the demand for the immediate…