Date: 1905
Source: ru:LS/v16

To the Article “The Bourgeoisie Bargains with Autocracy”
a.
On the Characterization of the Zemstvo Delegation.
Petrunkevich.*
Russian News, June 11, 1905 (No. 155).
Correspondence from Tver, dated June 8.*** “I. I. Petrunkevich expressed the view that now,
following the sovereign’s gracious acceptance of the delegation of zemstvo and urban leaders and the distinctly favorable response
to their petition calling for the convocation of popular representatives, the question of resolutions and petitions has been laid to rest—and that it is now time to begin preparing for the upcoming electoral assembly”...
Meanwhile, the extraordinary zemstvo county assembly resolved to request the governor to convey to His Imperial Majesty
that the old‑style county zemstvo “experiences a feeling of deepest joy at the remarkable words” and so forth.
“and looks forward with faith to a brighter future” (Russian News, June 11, 1905).
The Simbirsk Stock Exchange Society, on June 10, sent a telegram to S. N. Trubetskoy:… “gratitude… for the sacred truth
expressed in the presence of His Imperial Majesty.”
(Russian News, June 12, 1905.)
Kharkiv. Members of the Council of the Congress of Mining Industrialists of Southern Russia sent a telegram to S. N. Trubetskoy: … “Deep gratitude… to those who reported directly to the Sovereign—We greet you as the elected representatives of the Russian Land, through whom the voice of the people, in a firm and truthful manner, reached the Sovereign for the first time”—(“we regard this event as a sure pledge for the realization of a new era in our state life”)… Russian News, June 12, 1905.
*
Written in pencil, whereas the entire text of the document was penned in ink.
**
June 24, New Style. Ed.
*** — June 21, New Style. Ed.
— June 24, New Style. Ed.
***** — June 23, New Style. Ed.
— June 25, New Style. Ed.

“The Stock Exchange News reports that Comrade Minister of Internal Affairs, St. Petersburg Governor-General Treпов, after his audience with the Tsar, visited S. N. Trubetskoy, a member of the delegation, at the France Hotel—as well as other members of the delegation.” (Russian News, June 12, 1905.)
[ibid]. The Electoral Project of Falborck and Charnoluski: a memorandum on 39 (!!) draft proposals for electoral rights. Falborck and Charnoluski advocated for universal, direct, equal, and secret suffrage. The voting age was set at 23 (!). The electoral district was the county.

* EXCERPTS FROM THE JOURNAL DE GENÈVE ON THE LIBERALS’ ATTITUDE TOWARD THE BULYGIN DUMA.
Journal de Genève. Saturday, July 1, 1905, 1st edition.
The Tsar’s Promises.
The Parties’ Positions.
(From our special correspondent.)
St. Petersburg, June 27.
“The liberals make no secret of the imperfections of the Bulygin project; nevertheless, they believe that it must be accepted in the interest of the cause of progress and order. The establishment of the State Council, whatever restrictive clauses may be imposed upon it, will have an immediate effect of incalculable significance: it will tear down the Great Wall of China behind which the bureaucracy had long secluded the Tsar. Public opinion will finally possess a platform from which it can speak without constraint. To be sure, the State Council will lack direct authority over the government—but the resolutions it adopts will constitute a moral force of such immense importance that the government will be compelled to take them into account. And finally, the very existence of a legislative chamber will exert the most salutary influence upon the bureaucracy.
“On the other hand, we must recognize that the Bulygin project represents the absolute limit of concessions that the current regime can afford to grant. If the progressive parties refuse to embrace it and continue their relentless agitation, a violent backlash will inevitably ensue—a general upheaval whose consequences will be

To the Article “The Bourgeoisie Bargains with Autocracy”
the result. To reject the government’s project would mean deliberately forfeiting the last remaining chance to resolve, in a peaceful manner, the ongoing conflict between the nation and the bureaucratic regime.”
(Italics in the original.)
The author does not specify whom he actually refers to when he speaks of “liberals.” According to him, the “radicals” are outraged by the parody of a constitution embodied in the Bulygin project and advocate for “struggle to the bitter end”; should the Tsar sanction the Bulygin project, “they propose to launch a general obstruction, to refuse to go to the polls, to disqualify any candidates who present themselves. The situation will become so difficult and threatening that the government will ultimately be forced to capitulate.”
Kuzmin-Karavaev launched his campaign against the radicals with an “open letter,” urging them to accept non‑universal elections, to abandon obstructionism, and to discard the “all or nothing” formula—risking, in doing so, to deliver the country into the hands of reaction and anarchy.
[Translation.] “Journal de Genève.” Saturday, June 1, 1905, 1st edition.
The Tsar’s Promises.
The Parties’ Positions.
(From our special correspondent.)
St. Petersburg, June 27.
…“The liberals do not conceal the shortcomings of the Bulygin project; nonetheless, they maintain that it should be embraced in order to advance both progress and order. The creation of the State Duma, despite all its limitations, will yield immediate results whose significance is hard to fully assess: it will dismantle the Great Wall of China behind which the bureaucracy had long enclosed the Tsar. Public opinion will finally gain a platform from which it can speak freely.
“The State Duma will not wield direct influence over the government, but the decisions it makes will serve as a moral factor of such great importance that the government will be compelled to reckon with them. And finally, the very fact of the chamber’s existence will exert the most beneficial influence upon the bureaucracy.

“On the other hand, we must acknowledge that the Bulygin project represents the outermost boundary of concessions that the existing regime can afford to make. If the progressive parties refuse to settle for it—and if they continue their resolute agitation—this will inevitably provoke a powerful backlash, the inevitable consequence of which will be a general upheaval. To refuse to recognize the government’s project means consciously rejecting the last remaining opportunity to peacefully resolve the conflict between the nation and the bureaucratic regime.”
(Italics in the original.
The author does not specify whom he actually refers to when he speaks of “liberals.” According to him, the “radicals” are outraged by the “parody of a constitution” embodied in the Bulygin project and advocate for “fighting to the very end”; should the Tsar sanction the Bulygin project, “they propose to launch a general obstruction, to refuse to go to the polls, to boycott the candidates who run—such a situation will become so difficult and threatening that, in the end, the government will capitulate.”
Kuzmin-Karavaev launched his campaign against the radicals with an “open letter,” urging them to accept non‑universal elections, to abandon obstructionism, and to discard the “all or nothing” formula—risking, in doing so, to plunge the country into reaction and anarchy.
Lenin’s excerpts from The Times concerning the Congress of Zemstvo and Urban Leaders provided material for the article “The Proletariat Struggles, the Bourgeoisie Creeps Toward Power,” published in No. 40 of Pravda, dated August 2 (July 20), 1905 (see Collected Works, Vol. VIII, pp. 428–435).
799 and 80t
* EXCERPTS FROM THE TIMES ON THE CONGRESS OF ZEMSTVO AND URBAN LEADERS.1
[End of July 1905, Geneva.]
The Times, July 25, 1905.
Moscow. July 21. The government’s countermove. If the information conveyed to me from a reliable source reflects