V. I. Lenin

Speeches in the Debate on the Question of the Powers of Representation of the District and the Vyborg Organisations at the St. Petersburg City Conference of the R.S.D.L.P. {1}

FEBRUARY 11 (24), 1906

Comrade Dan has no knowledge of parliamentary tactics. In all the
countries of Western Europe a member of the bureau is not deprived of the
right to motion proposals.

There are two proposals: a decision on the question of the 56 votes,
and exclusion of the whole district organisation from the conference. I
request a vote.

I request a vote on the following question: can a section of the
St. Petersburg organisation here be deprived of representation?

I request my proposal to be put to the vote first: does the assembly
agree to vote on Comrade Martov’s proposal?

Comrade Nikolai motioned a proposal which he very correctly called
radical {2} ; when a motioned proposal supersedes all the others, it is
voted on first.

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Notes:
{1}
The St. Petersburg City Conference of the R.S.D.L.P. was
called by the St. Petersburg Committee on February 11 (24), 1906, to decide
on the attitude to the Duma. The conference was guided by Lenin and was
attended by 65 delegates with vote. Elections to the conference were held
after discussion and voting on the tactical platforms of the Bolsheviks and
the Mensheviks with one delegate from thirty voting Party members. The
Bolsheviks won a substantial majority. The Mensheviks demanded the
invalidation of the votes of the district R.S.D.L.P. organisation, which
was almost entirely Bolshevik. Lenin made speeches and remarks during the
debate on the question of the district R.S.D.L.P. organisation (see present edition, Vol. 12, pp. 123–25).

The conference confirmed the representation of the district
organisation. It heard a report from the St. Petersburg Committee and
adopted Lenin’s resolution recognising the representation at the conference
valid, the conference effective and its decisions binding. Lenin gave the
report on the attitude to the Duma (there is no record of it in the
minutes). At the end of his report Lenin read out a resolution on the
tactics of active boycott. The Menshevik resolution was read out by Martov. By 36 votes to 29, the conference came
out in favour of the active boycott, but had no time to adopt a resolution
giving detailed motivation of the tactic.

To discuss this and give it final approval, a second city conference of
the St. Petersburg organisation was called at the end of February and the
beginning of March. It was attended by 62 delegates and discussed draft
resolutions tabled by Lenin, Martov and an additional one by the Mensheviks
of Okhta District. After a long and bitter struggle, the conference adopted
Lenin’s resolution by 35 to 24 with one abstention. It set up a committee,
which included Lenin, to give the final wording to the resolution. The
Mensheviks refused to take part in the committee and walked out.

p. 178

{2}
A reference to the proposal of I. A. Konovalov (Nikolai) at the
St. Petersburg City Conference of the R.S.D.L.P. on February 11 (24),
1906,to close the debate on the district and Vyborg organisations; to
recognise the vote as correct and the representation as valid, and proceed
with the agenda of the conference.

p. 179