The Foreign Section of the "Iskra" organization has merged with the foreign revolutionary organization "Social-Democrat" into a single organization: the "Foreign League of Revolutionary Russian Social-Democracy"{100}. The new organization, as is evident from a statement it has published, intends to begin publishing a series of brochures of a propagandistic and agitational character. The League serves as the foreign representative of "Iskra." Thus, the foreign organization of revolutionary social-democrats, guided by the "Liberation of Labor" group, has definitively merged with the organization that groups itself around our newspaper. As before, the "Liberation of Labor" group takes the most direct editorial part in the conduct of our publications.

The unification of Russian revolutionary social-democratic organizations abroad took place after an attempt by these organizations to unite with the "Union of Russian Social-Democrats Abroad" (publisher of "Workers' Cause") had failed. In early summer, a conference of representatives from all three organizations worked out a draft agreement between them. The agreement was based upon a series of principled resolutions, which contained a complete repudiation by the "Union" of flirtation with "economism" and Bernsteinism and a recognition of the principles of revolutionary social-democracy. One could hope that unification would occur, for thus far only the principled instability of the "Union" and its organ—"Workers' Cause"—stood in the way of rapprochement. This hope was not justified: issue no. 10 of "Workers' Cause," which appeared recently, contained editorial articles directed straight against those very resolutions that had been worked out with the participation of delegates from the "Union" at the conference. Clearly, the "Union" has again turned toward the right wing of our movement. Indeed, at the congress of all three organizations, the "Union" introduced such "amendments" to the aforementioned resolutions as plainly showed that it was returning to its former errors. The remaining organizations were obliged to leave the congress, which they did. Evidently, for our comrades in the "Union" it has still not become sufficiently clear what danger is posed by the intermediate position their organization occupies between revolutionary socialism and opportunism—which plays into the hands of the liberals. We hope that time and bitter experience will convince them of the incorrectness of their tactics. The striving visible everywhere in the party to work not only on the development of our movement in breadth, but also on its qualitative elevation, serves us as the best assurance that the greatly desired unification of all our forces will be accomplished under the banner of revolutionary social-democracy, which our newspaper serves.

"Iskra" no. 9, October 1901

Printed from the text of the newspaper "Iskra"