SUPPLEMENT AND AMENDMENTS TO THE DRAFT LETTER FROM THE CENTRAL COMMITTEE OF THE RCP(b) ON RELATIONS WITH NON-PARTY WORKERS
To all provincial and district committees, to all Communist factions
and to all trade unions
The question of the relationship between our Party and the broad masses of workers is, today, the question of the relationship between Communists and non‑party members.
The parties hostile to us—the Socialist-Revolutionaries and the Mensheviks—have achieved little real success, since they operate in the open. The broad working masses perceive themselves as non‑party. Hence it is that the S.R.s and Mensheviks are increasingly adopting a non‑party façade.
Our task, at all costs, is to strengthen the bonds between Communists and honest non‑party workers. This is the only path by which we can reinvigorate our Party cells, which have sometimes grown weak. Wherever a wall has arisen between Communists and non‑party workers, estrangement must be eradicated at all costs. He who fails to rally around himself several honest non‑party workers, to engage with them on a daily basis, to visit their homes, to assist them in their everyday lives, to supply them with newspapers, to promote workers from among their ranks into trade unions and Soviet organs, and so forth—such a person is not a Communist.
In this sphere, it is above all the Communists working within the trade unions who can—and should—do the most. Through the trade unions, it would be best to draw in wide circles of honest non‑party workers. But this is not the only path. Local Party organizations must be able to place a significant proportion of non‑party workers in Soviet work. Communists serving in Soviet institutions should go out to factories and plants; a portion of the fresh proletarian forces of non‑party workers should be directed toward Soviet institutions and the governing bodies of trade unions. Such is the slogan of the day. All Party organizations must discuss this question in a practical, businesslike manner and, in light of local conditions, find ways to implement this call from the Central Committee as swiftly as possible.
[The activity of non‑party workers has increased. They wish to participate in power. They]* Non‑party workers desire

* Here and below, the text enclosed in square brackets was struck through and corrected by V. I. Lenin; the corrections are indicated in bold type. Ed.

SUPPLEMENT AND AMENDMENTS TO THE DRAFT LETTER FROM THE CENTRAL COMMITTEE OF THE RCP(b)
to assume responsible positions in the Soviets and in the trade unions. The Party must meet this demand head-on. Through its Party cells and through the trade unions, the Party must be able to identify the most valuable and steadfast non‑party workers—both men and women (as well as peasants)—and place them in appropriate posts (in particular, in the Workers’ and Peasants’ Inspection). In this lies the key to our success—and to our struggle against bureaucratism.
Non‑party conferences can help bring Communists closer to non‑party members, ease the fight against bureaucratism, and provide opportunities to nominate new cadres. But this is only possible under certain conditions. The most crucial condition is the serious, businesslike preparation of such non‑party conferences.
Experience with non‑party conferences has shown that they often become arenas for agitation and organization—by the Bolsheviks and by the Mensheviks. Both of these parties have developed specific directives on how to exploit non‑party conferences for counterrevolutionary S.R.–Menshevik purposes. Our Party organizations must take this into account.
To this end, when organizing non‑party conferences, local organizations must: 1) be able to [themselves] select an appropriate moment and refrain from allowing such conferences to be imposed upon us at times that are [disorderly from our opponents’ perspective] but advantageous to the enemies of the working class; 2) be able to, even during the preparatory phase of a non‑party conference, expose the masks of the S.R.s and Mensheviks who masquerade as non‑party members; and 3) above all, be able to ensure electoral success at every factory and plant.
In Petrograd, in connection with the latest non‑party conference, each enterprise held four preliminary meetings: 1) the collective plus sympathizers; 2) the factory’s delegate assembly; 3) the delegate assembly plus the collective; and 4) the factory’s general assembly, where both the list of candidates for the non‑party conference and the mandates were already prepared based on the earlier meetings.
The district committee must report to the provincial committee on the preparation, progress, and outcome of each non‑party conference, and the provincial committee must report to the Central Committee. Preparation must be carried out with the utmost care. If resources are lacking, assistance should be requested from the center in advance.
To establish ties with non‑party members, it is further necessary to hold not only general assemblies for the mass of workers and peasants, but also to present business reports from all officials before the working and peasant masses. Such reports must be held at least once a month, so that the mass of non‑party workers and peasants is given the opportunity to critically examine Soviet institutions and their work. These reports must be delivered not only by Communists, but by all officials holding responsible positions—in the first instance, by those working in food administration and in the institutions of the People’s Commissariat for Food Supply.
Each provincial committee is obligated to report monthly to the Central Committee precise information on the number and progress of all such reports, as well as on the demands made by non‑party members during these gatherings.

Dozens of other paths must be explored by comrades on the ground, so as to forge closer ties with non‑party members and to draw new workers from their ranks—closer to the masses, establishing more substantive connections with non‑party members, conducting more systematic recruitment of fresh non‑party cadres, and paying greater attention to those everyday shortcomings that can be addressed even in our current state of poverty. We must combat bureaucracy and red tape in a more systematic manner. Communists must plunge headlong into the very heart of the working class and the popular masses.
May 1, 1921
Central Committee of the RCP
Attaching the utmost importance to this matter, the Central Committee unconditionally demands the strictest and most vigorous implementation of this directive. In cases of failure to comply or of any negligence in this regard, the Central Committee will impose the severest disciplinary measures, up to and including expulsion from the Party.
Reports on the implementation of this directive are to be submitted monthly by regional and provincial committees according to the following format:
1) How many communists have been reassigned from party positions to work in factories and plants? 2) And likewise—how many have been sent to the countryside for agricultural labor? 3) How many non‑party workers have been identified as the most honest and capable, with a view to recruiting them for cooperative work? 4) A named list of these individuals? 5) How many of them have been successfully recruited for cooperative work through the various departments? 6) What has been the duration and the outcome of their work? 7–10) The same questions (items 3, 4, 5, 6) applied to the peasantry. 11) What are the principal demands and grievances of non‑party workers? 12) And likewise—what are the chief complaints of the peasantry? 13) Have there been instances of workers being recruited for the Workers’ and Peasants’ Red Army, and what were the results? 14) And likewise—have there been similar cases involving peasants? 15) For each non‑party conference, briefly report the main points pertinent to this letter from the Central Committee.
Written in May, no later than May 4, 1921.
Printed on May 7, 1921, in Pravda, No. 97.
Printed here: additions and corrections based on the manuscript; the draft resolution is reproduced from the typewritten copy.