Date: 1904-12
Source: ru:LS/v5

[9)] The conditions for participation in the congress of [Russian] unapproved delegates
will be determined in the near future by the congress itself—after the verification of credentials, the admission of delegates with either a decisive or an advisory vote, and so forth.
19670 (G.
NOTICE OF THE ESTABLISHMENT OF AN ORGANIZATIONAL COMMITTEE
AND OF THE CONVOCATION OF THE 5TH REGULAR CONGRESS OF THE RUSSIAN
SOCIAL-DEMOCRATIC WORKERS’ PARTY *).
The severe crisis that our party has been undergoing for the past year and a half—since the Second Congress—has led to an inevitable and long-predicted outcome: the complete rupture between the central organs and the party. We will not rehash the bitter history of this crisis here, nor will we dwell on the facts that have already been thoroughly documented in party literature in general, and in particular in the numerous resolutions and statements issued by Russian committees and committee conferences. It suffices to note that the most recent of these conferences—the Northern Conference, which brought together the committees of St. Petersburg, Riga, Tver, Moscow, the North, and Nizhny Novgorod—elected a bureau and entrusted it with the task of acting as the Organizational Committee for the immediate convocation of the Third Regular Congress of the Russian Social-Democratic Workers’ Party.
At present, the bureau has exhausted all deadlines set by the committees for responding to the so‑called Central Committee—and has reached an agreement with the representatives of three southern committees (Odessa, Yekaterinoslav, and Nikolaev) and four Caucasian committees. The bureau now acts as the Organizational Committee and, in addition to securing the consent of the party’s subordinate centers and those who have shirked their responsibilities to the party, is convening the Third Regular Congress of the Russian Social-Democratic Workers’ Party.
Russia is experiencing an unprecedented political upsurge, and the proletariat is bearing the greatest historical tasks of struggle.
*) N. K. Krupskaya made a marginal note: “Sent to Rakhmetov—
A. A. Bogdanov, Felix [M. M. Litvinov], and Zemlyachka.”
Ed.

NOTICE OF THE FORMATION OF THE O. C.
with autocracy. All social democrats working in Russia know the colossal damage our party’s internal divisions have inflicted upon the cause of organizing and uniting the forces of the proletariat, and the immeasurable harm that the pernicious influence of foreign clique‑based activities has wrought upon the work of propaganda, agitation, and the consolidation of workers across Russia. If it is not possible to unite the foreign cliques and their agents, then let at least all social democratic activists in Russia—every adherent of the steadfast line of revolutionary social democracy—come together. Such unity is the only sure path toward the future, complete and enduring, of unity among all social democrats in Russia.
Long live the Russian, long live international revolutionary social democracy!
With regard to the conditions for convening the congress, the Organizational Committee deems it necessary to make the following public:
1) The Organizational Committee recognizes the unconditional right of all Russian committees and organizations approved by the Second Congress of the Russian Social-Democratic Workers’ Party—including the St. Petersburg, Moscow, Kharkov, Kyiv, Odessa, Nikolaev, Don, Yekaterinoslav, Saratov, Ural, Northern, Tula, Tver, Nizhny Novgorod, Baku, Batumi, Tiflis, Mining District, Siberian, and Crimean committees—to participate in the Third Regular Congress with a decisive vote.
2) The Organizational Committee recognizes the conditional right of participation in the congress for those committees approved by the Central Committee after the Second Congress (the Mingrelian, Astrakhan, Orlov–Bryansk, Samara, Smolensk, Riga, Kursk, Voronezh committees, as well as the Foreign League). All of these committees were endorsed by centers that had lost the trust of the party. We are obligated to invite them to the Third Congress—but only the congress itself can ultimately decide the question of their participation (whether the committee is valid, whether it holds the right to an advisory or a decisive vote, and so forth).
3) On behalf of the majority of Russian committees, the Organizational Committee expresses the wish that both foreign and Russian organizations of the Russian Social-Democratic Workers’ Party should take part in the Third Regular Congress of the Russian Social-Democratic Workers’ Party—and especially that all workers’ organizations that consider themselves to belong to the Russian Social-Democratic Workers’ Party should attend. We regard the participation of the latter as particularly desirable, because the party’s crisis, coupled with the demagogic preaching of electoral principles and worker-based democracy, has already given rise to a series of splits. We must use the congress as an opportunity, with the participation of representatives from the majority of Russian committees, to attempt to heal these splits—or at least to mitigate the harm they have caused.
4)
The Organizational Committee therefore invites all those wishing to participate in the congress to respond without delay and to enter into communication with it (through one of the thirteen committees mentioned above).
In the event of disputes regarding the terms of invitation to the congress, these will be settled by the decision of the two nearest committees and a third party appointed by the Organizational Committee.
6) The conditions for participation in the congress—whether with an advisory or a decisive vote—for committees and other organizations not approved by the Party’s Second Congress will be determined by the Third Congress itself.
7) The time and place of the congress will be designated by the Organizational Committee *).
*) When comparing Lenin’s “Notice,” written in December 1904, with B. K. B.’s “Notice,” published in No. 8 of “Vpered” on February 28 (15), 1905, it is important to bear in mind that between these two documents lay the events of January 9—the beginning of the revolution in Russia.