V. I.

Lenin

Announcement of the Formation of an Organising Committee and the Convening of the Third Regular Congress of the Russian Social-Democratic Labour Party [1]

The severe crisis our Party has been experiencing for a year and
a half, ever since the time of the Second Congress, has led to
an inevitable and long-foreseen result: to a complete break of
the central institutions with the Party. We shall not recapitulate here the painful history of that crisis and repeat
facts sufficiently dealt with in the Party press, and in
particular in numerous resolutions and statements by the
committees in Russia and conferences of them. It is sufficient
to state that the last such conference, the Northern, in which
the St. Petersburg, Riga, Tver, Moscow, Northern, and
Nizhni-Novgorod committees took part, elected a Bureau which it
instructed to act as an Organising Committee for the immediate
convening of the Third Regular Congress of the Russian
Social-Democratic Labour Party.

After waiting beyond all time limits set by the committees for
an answer from the so-called Central Committee, the Bureau has
come to an understanding with representatives of the three
Southern (Odessa, Ekaterinoslav, and Nikolayev) and four
Caucasian committees. It is now coming forward in the capacity
of Organising Committee to convene the Third Regular Congress of
the Russian Social-Democratic Labour Party, without the consent
of the central bodies, which are accountable to the Party but
have shirked their responsibility to it.

This is a time of unprecedented political upsurge in Russia, and
the proletariat is faced with immense historic tasks in the
struggle against the autocracy. All Social- Democrats working in
Russia know what tremendous harm the division within our Party
has done to the work of organising and rallying the forces of
the proletariat; what infinite damage the work of propaganda,
agitation, and achievement of workers’ unity in Russia has
suffered through the pernicious influence of the migr6 circle
spirit. And if it is not possible to unite the 6migr6 circles
and their placemen, let there be unity at least among all
Social-Democratic Party workers in Russia, all who uphold the
consistent line of revolutionary Social-Democracy. Their
unification is the only true road to complete and lasting unity
in future among all Russian Social-Democrats.

Long live Russian, long live international revolutionary
Social-Democracy!

Concerning the arrangements for convening the Congress, the Organising
Committee considers it necessary to make the following announcement:

1) The Organising Committee recognises the unqualified right
to representation at the Third Regular Congress, with voice and vote,
of all Russian committees and organisations endorsed by the Second
Congress of the Russian Social-Democratic Labour Party (the
St. Petersburg, Moscow, Kharkov, Kiev, Odessa, Nikolayev, Don,
Ekaterinoslav, Saratov, Ural, Northern, Tula, Tver, Nizhni-Novgorod,
Baku, Batum, Tiflis, Mining Area, Siberian, and Crimean committees).

2) The Organising Committee recognises the conditional right to
representation at the Congress of committees endorsed by the
Central Committee after the Second Congress (the Mingrelian,
Astrakhan, Orel-I3ryansk, Samara, Smo lensk, Riga, Kursk, and
Voronezh committees, and also the League Abroad). All these
committees were endorsed by central bodies which have forfeited the
confidence of the Party. We are in duty bound to invite them to the
Third Congress, but only the Congress itself can make the final
decision as to their participation (actual status of the
committee, its right to voice only or to voice and vote, etc.).

3) On behalf of the majority of the Russian
committees, the Organising Committee expresses the wish that
all organisations of the Russian Social-Democratic Labour
Party, both abroad and in Russia, and particularly all workers’
organisations that consider themselves part of it, should be
represented at its Third Regular Congress. The participation of the
last-named appears to us especially desirable because the Party crisis
and the demagogic preaching of office by election and of democracy
a‘ la Rabocheye Dyelo have already caused several splits. We
must take advantage of the Congress to try, with the participation of
representatives from most of the Russian committees, to heal these
splits or lessen the harm from them.

4) The Organising Committee accordingly invites all wishing to
participate in the Congress to respond immediately and communicate
with it (through one of the thirteen committees named above).

5) The question of invitation to the Congress shall in
disputed cases be decided by the two nearest committees and a third
person representing the Organising Committee.

6) The terms of representation at the Congress (with voice
only or with voice and vote) for committees and other organisations
not endorsed by the Second Party Congress shall be determined by
the Third Congress itself.

7) The time and place of the Congress will be fixed by the Organising
Committee.

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Notes:
[1]
The A nnouncement of the Formation of an Organising Committee and the Convening of the Third Regular Congress of the Russian Social-Democratic Labour Party was written by Lenin in December 1904 and sent at that
time to the members of the Bureau of Major ity Committees. It formed the
basis of the official Announcement of the convening of the Third Party
Congress published in Vperyod , No. 8 (February 28 [151, 1905) over
the signature of the Bureau of Majority Committees.