II. PLENARY SESSION OF THE CENTRAL COMMITTEE OF THE RSDLP
August 24–26, 1908*
ADDENDA, AMENDMENTS, AND NOTES ON THE AGENDA RECORDS
AGENDA ITEM * 2.
[August 24, 1908]
Agenda:
1.
Report on the Convening of the Plenary Session.
Postponed until § 4 3.
g
Ί
1 held [the floor] ί 2·] 4. Organization of the Central Committee \[C. K.]>

l ^
J

[3.] 2. All-Russia Conference ***.
[c] 3. The Foreign Central Bureau and the Supporting Groups.
for*
Concluded; postponed6
[5. The Contemporary Political Situation and the Party’s Tasks.] * * * *
+ 6 — 67
[6.] 5. Financial Matters: 1) Debt to the Interim Bureau; 2) the London Debt*****. 3) Report of the C. K. in Stuttgart]. Concluded.
[7.] 6. Other Current Affairs: a) Investigation into the Berlin Case;
b)
the Tiflis Case; c) the Matter of Credit-Note Exchanges******; — d) the Preliminary Commission; e) a request concerning participation in the bourgeois press.
7)
Elections: Minutes and Announcements*******
* The agenda record was penned in ink by I. F. Dubrovinsky (see the typed petition). Addenda, amendments, notes, and underlinings—mostly in pencil, in Lenin’s hand. Ed.
** Before the numeral “1 held [the floor],” Lenin made a pencil note: “1 R.” Ed.
*** The text of item [3] 2 was crossed out by Lenin in pencil. Ed.
**** Item [5] was struck out by Lenin in pencil. Ed.
***** Questions 1 and 2 were crossed out by Lenin in pencil. Ed.
****** Questions a), b), and c) were crossed out by Lenin in pencil. Ed.
******* Lenin’s addition: “Minutes and Announcements” was written in ink. Ed.

LENIN’S COLLECTION
AMENDMENTS TO THE DRAFT RESOLUTION ON CONVOCING THE ALL-RUSSIA PARTY CONFERENCE*8.
[August 24, 1908; Proposal.
The C. K. resolves [to proceed with] the immediate commencement of work toward convening the conference [without delay].
- j- 7 — 5 9
The final deadline is set for November 1st.
Inpok
+
 6 — 5 1*
NOTE ON THE AMENDMENT TO THE RESOLUTION ON THE ORGANIZATION OF THE CC ***.
[August 25, 1908]
In important cases—and especially when new questions of principle or tactics arise—the Five, unless there is extreme urgency, defers decision-making until the plenary session is convened.
Grigory ****.
Tyshka *
.
STATEMENT REGARDING THE CONVOCATION OF THE CC PLUMA.
[August 25, 1908]
Statement:
In view of attempts to obscure the fundamental issue underlying the incident of August 13, I categorically declare that, from the very outset, I had stated quite clearly as follows:
* The draft resolution was written in pencil by I. F. Dubrovinsky (see the typed petition). The signature “Innocent” and the voting results appended to the resolution, attributed to Lenin, were crossed out in pencil. Ed.
** I. F. Dubrovinsky. Ed.
*** The text of the amendment (addition) was penned in ink by G. E. Zinoviev. The signatures were recorded in pencil by Lenin. At the top of the document, an inscription in ink, written by an unknown hand, reads: “Adopted.” Ed.
**** G. E. Zinoviev. Ed.
***** L. Iogihes. Ed.

plenum of the CC of the RSDLP, August 24–26, 1908

But according to Grigory’s report, Ezra* had written to him that the Mensheviks denied the very existence of the E x g s t en zr e s ht** plenary session of D./f.13
This [statement]—a report fully corroborated by Grigory and clearly not refuted by Ezra—constitutes the illegality of the Mensheviks’ actions and the illegality of the Central Committee of the Bund’s discussion of such a question. I insist that we seek out the original text of the letter itself.
Lenin
NOTE ON I. F. DUBROVINSKY’S STATEMENT **\
[August 25, 1908]
Proposal:
I propose that the CC request representatives of the Bund’s CC to clarify what exactly was under discussion in the Bund’s CC and what decisions the Bund’s CC had reached on this matter14?
 
 
Innokenty****
RECORDS OF SPEAKERS AT THE PLENARY SESSIONS** * 1δ.
[August 25, 1908]
 
 
11:28
[Pe]tr******\ 11:37
* M. M. Rosen. Ed.
“the right to exist.” Ed.
*** The statement was written in pencil by I. F. Dubrovinsky. The signature was recorded in pencil by Lenin himself. Ed.
**+· f, Dubrovinsky. Ed.
***** The manuscript consists of a fragment of a quarter-sheet of paper bearing Lenin’s notes. Only the second half of the entry has been preserved; the first half is missing. In places where it was possible, the text had to be reconstructed largely through conjecture. The upper portion of the entry, ending at “12:10,” and the lower portion, following “3:46,” were both crossed out in pencil. On the right side, some entries remain heavily obscured, their contents still unreadable. Among the obscured text, one entry has been preserved: “To the Agenda.”
On the reverse side of this fragment, I. Dubrovinsky wrote in pencil his amendment—a supplement to the second clause of the resolution on the organization of the Foreign Central Bureau: “An equal number of Bolsheviks and Mensheviks shall be appointed to the FCB, and two German Social Democrats shall remain.” This amendment was adopted at the end of the morning session on August 26.
The speakers’ records were kept, apparently, prior to the introduction of this amendment. Ed.
****** The records have not yet been fully transcribed. Ed.
******* N. Ramishvili. Ed.

1J.43
*
11:58
*
12:05
[Lenin]
*
12:10
[Ty]isha:
2:55
[Ezra]
3:06
[Grig]or[iy] 3:14:
[......... ]at * 3:21))
[Vinnpdky ** 3:28
[Pe]tr
3:33Vî
[Maksimov]
3:371/, [Grig]or|iy] 3:41
3:46
AMENDMENT TO THE RESOLUTION ON THE ORGANIZATION OF THE CC*:'·
[August 26, 1908]
To Comrade Chairman.
During the discussion on the organization of the Central Committee, I inadvertently failed to mention one essential point] **** :
“On the initiative of the five-member [narrowly constituted] Central Committee currently operating in Russia *****—or of the six members of the CC as a whole*****—matters requiring urgent resolution may be resolved ******
by means of a vote among all members of the collegium.” Adopted 4 - 6 — 3
[I request that this additional point be placed before the assembly for discussion]
* The records have not yet been fully transcribed. Ed.
** V. Medem. Ed.
*** The text of the statement was written in pencil by I. Dubrovinsky. Amendments and additions to the proposal were made in pencil by Lenin himself. Ed.
**** The beginning and end of the statement, except for the text of the proposal, were crossed out in ink. Ed.
***** Crossed out by Lenin. Ed.
****** “May be resolved”—an amendment by Lenin, replacing the “are resolved” he had crossed out* Ed.

plenum of the CC of the RSDLP, August 24–26, 1908
2 3
DRAFT RESOLUTION ON THE ORGANIZATION OF THE CENTRAL
FOREIGN BUREAU 17.
[August 26, 1908]
1) The Social-Democratic groups abroad are recognized as supporting groups of the R.S.D.L.P. *
2) The C. K. appoints a new C. 3. B. consisting of 10 individuals. In the absence of a plenary session of the C. K., co-optations or replacements may occur only with the approval of the C. K.’s Foreign Bureau.
3) The C. 3. B. serves the needs of the supporting groups abroad and carries out the party-wide assignments of the C. K.’s Foreign Bureau.
4) The Foreign Bureau includes 1 member of the C. K. (appointed by the plenary session** or by the Foreign Bureau) with veto power.
5) In the near future, under the supervision of the Foreign Bureau of the C. K., a congress will be organized, bringing together, as far as possible, all supporting groups abroad.
6) The congress’s statutes are approved by the Foreign Bureau of the C. K.
7) The Foreign Bureau of the C. K. is tasked with taking all necessary measures to ensure that this congress achieves the unification ***
of all national [Social-Democratic] groups abroad into unified local supporting groups of the R.S.D.L.P. ***. The Foreign Bureau of the C. K. must, in this regard, enter into communication with all C. K.s of national [Social-Democratic] organizations.
8) The groups contribute 85–90% of their income to the C. K.’s treasury.
Authorization for withdrawals in cases of extreme necessity (for example, expenses related to emigrants) rests with the Foreign Bureau of the C. K. *****.
* After item 1, Zinoviev noted the voting results for this item: “10 +, 2 abstentions.” Ed.
** In the manuscript, G. Zinoviev later added: “the narrowly constituted collegium in Russia.” Ed.
Zinoviev then added: “as far as possible.” Ed.
The phrase “into unified local supporting groups of the R.S.D.L.P.” was crossed out by Zinoviev’s hand. Ed.
***** At the bottom of the draft text, Zinoviev wrote in pencil: “adopted.” Ed.

2 \

AMENDMENT TO THE RESOLUTION ON THE ORGANIZATION OF
THE FOREIGN CENTRAL BUREAU* 18.
[August 26, 1908]
In order to unite all foreign groups of the RSDLP’s Central Committee, the Central Committees of national organizations are urged to address these issues and to facilitate, as quickly as possible, the reorganization of their national foreign groups along the model of supporting groups.
AMENDMENT TO THE DRAFT RESOLUTION ON THE PUBLIC DISSEMINATION
OF THE PLENARY SESSION RESOLUTIONS
[August 26, 1908]
The C. K. instructs the F.B. of the C. K. to put its meeting minutes from the latest session in order and, removing from them everything that should not be disclosed for reasons of confidentiality, to communicate those minutes to the party organizations and to the party press—disseminating the resolutions in full, where possible, and summarizing the remainder briefly.
DRAFT RESOLUTION ON THE INCIDENT RELATED TO THE CONVOCATION
OF THE PLENARY SESSION
[August 26, 1908]
The C. K. tasks the Foreign Bureau of the C. K. with preparing a particularly detailed report on the so‑called incident surrounding the convocation of the plenary session, on Ezra’s letters, on Peter’s statements, and on all the debates—so that this report may be preserved in the archives of the Central Committee, while also providing the narrowed composition of the C. K. with the opportunity to publish this report when the need arises.
·
1 The documents printed here represent Lenin’s notes from the August plenary session of the C. K. in 1908, which entered—as official material—into the initial draft of the plenary session’s meeting minutes.
As the text of the minutes reveals, the plenary session lasted three days: August 24, 25, and 26, according to the new style calendar. Meetings were held twice a day: in the morning and in the evening. On August 27, only the trio of the F.B.C.C. (Zinoviev, Tyshka, Ramishvili) met, working on the approval of the plenary session’s meeting minutes.
* The main text of the amendment was written in pencil by Zinoviev (see the typed petition); Lenin’s amendment was inscribed in ink. In the upper-right corner of the manuscript, Zinoviev noted: “Adopted for item 5.” Ed.
** The main text of the resolution was written by Zinoviev (see the typed petition). Ed.
*** At the end of the document, Zinoviev noted: “adopted.” Ed.

plenum of the CC of the RSDLP, August 24–26, 1908
2 5
As far as can be judged from the documents presented here, Lenin presided over the plenary session and held not a deliberative vote—as previously assumed—but a decisive vote. The protocol record of the first session on August 24 states that 12 people were present: 5 Bolsheviks, 3 Mensheviks, 1 Latvian, 1 Pole, 2 Bundists. Nothing is said about the division between decisive and deliberative votes. At the same time, all 12 participants took part in the voting—thus confirming that everyone present had a decisive vote.
The documents being printed are arranged in the order they were discussed during the plenary session.
2 The agenda for the plenary sessions was drafted by I. Dubrovinsky. The fact that this official document of the plenary session—incorporated into the meeting minutes—remained in Lenin’s hands throughout the session and bears the marks of his revisions, contains his additions, notes, and other annotations, confirms that Lenin presided over this plenary session.
5 The debate on the report regarding the convocation of the CC plenary session was interrupted and deferred to the discussion of the question of organizing the CC (item 4 of the agenda), since during the debate it became clear that, prior to the plenary session, the Mensheviks had, in correspondence with the Bund, advanced their own draft “reorganization” of the CC—reducing it to the status of an informational body, effectively proposing to liquidate the CC.
4 This vote, it seems, pertains to the item on organizing the CC, to the place of this item in the agenda.
5 The discussion of the question of convening the All-Russia Conference was concluded in due course, according to the agenda, on the first day of the plenary session, August 24, 1908.
β The question of the Foreign Central Bureau of the supporting groups was postponed, in light of the decision to invite two secretaries of the Central Bureau for information. Representatives of the FCB were invited to the session on August 25, but the question was again postponed until the presentation of documents—only to be considered in the morning session on August 26.
7 During the vote on placing the question of the contemporary political situation and the party’s tasks on the agenda, the votes were evenly divided, and this item was withdrawn.
8 This draft was submitted by the Bolsheviks, in opposition to the Mensheviks’ draft. The latter proposed, as essential conditions for convening the conference: 1) a preliminary tour of all organizations and the establishment of organizational ties with the CC; 2) the selection of delegates by local organizations and the provision of all delegates with the financial means necessary for travel. The Mensheviks’ proposal was rejected by 7 votes to 5.
9 This vote pertains to Lenin’s amendment.
10 This second vote, it seems, concerns the resolution as a whole.
Lenin’s records of the two votes on this resolution, directly on the draft itself, and his own handwritten notation here, identifying the author of the resolution (“Innocent”), serve as new confirmation that Lenin presided over the plenary session.
11 Lenin’s statement was introduced and incorporated into the minutes during the discussion of the question of convening the plenary session—more precisely, during the discussion of the incident.

LENIN’S COLLECTION
regarding the convocation of the plenary session, the incident consisted in the fact that one of the plenary session’s members, Bund delegate M. Rosen (“Ezra”), in a letter to Zinoviev prior to the plenary session, reported that “the younger brother (the Mensheviks. Ed.) denies the very Existenzrecht of our central office (the CC. Ed.) and proposes to replace it with an informational bureau.”
12 During the discussion of this question at the plenary session, the Mensheviks and the Bund delegate who had written the letter to Zinoviev (Rosen–“Ezra”) attempted to obscure the fundamental issue underlying the incident. B. Gorev-Goldman (“Igor”) stated that there existed a completely private letter from him and Martynov to the Mensheviks, in which the informational bureau was mentioned and it was proposed to limit the rights of the Russian section of the CC. Martynov demanded that it be recorded in the minutes that this letter spoke of an informational–organizational bureau intended “to invigorate the party’s activities,” and that the plenary session had not been discussed, since the preservation of the plenary session was supposedly self-evident.
“Ezra” requested that it be recorded in the minutes that he had received no letter or statement from the Mensheviks, but had written based on a private communication from the Bund’s Foreign Committee.
18 See note 11 above.
n Prior to the CC plenary session, an emergency meeting of the Bund’s CC was convened to discuss the Mensheviks’ discovered plans to liquidate the CC and to provide instructions to the Bund delegates attending the All-Russia CC plenary session on this matter. Because of this emergency convening of the Bund’s CC, the CC plenary session of the RSDLP was delayed. Representatives of the Bund’s CC at the plenary session protested against the Bolsheviks’ suspicions that the Bund had joined with the Mensheviks in a conspiracy against the Central Committee.
16 This fragment contains two records of speakers: one—from 11:28 a.m. to 12:10 a.m.—pertains to the morning session; the other—from 2:55 p.m. to 3:46 p.m. and later—pertains to the afternoon (evening) session. Since these records from the morning session on August 26 (see footnote on p. 21) had already been used, they should be attributed to earlier sessions—namely, to the morning and afternoon sessions of August 25. At these sessions, the following questions were on the agenda: in the morning—on the organization of the CC, on the incident surrounding the convocation of the plenary session; in the evening—reports from members of the FCB, reports from members of the minutes committee, reports from the investigative commission.
11 The author of this addition to the second section of the resolution on the organization of the Central Committee (on the Functions of the Russian Narrow Composition of the CC) was the author of the resolution as a whole, the rapporteur on this issue at the plenary session on August 11. Dubrovinsky. The discussion and adoption of the resolution on the organization of the CC took place at the morning session of the plenary session on August 25, while this addition by Dubrovinsky was introduced at the morning session on August 26.
17 Lenin, it seems, was the rapporteur on this issue (he was the author of the draft, and, judging from the notes on the draft, Zinoviev presided over the discussion of it). Lenin’s draft was adopted (with the amendments noted in the footnotes) by 7 votes to 3, with 2 abstentions. Undoubtedly, three Mensheviks voted against it, the proposal

plenum ! of the CC of the RSDLP, August 24–26, 1908
2 7 whose amendment on the organization of the Foreign Central Bureau, submitted by II. Ramishvili (“Peter”), was rejected. It read as follows: “a) The FCB shall be elected at the Congress of Supporting Groups; b) Until the Congress, the Bureau shall remain in its old composition; c) A representative of the CC shall attend the FCB with a consultative vote.”
1& The plenary session’s resolution of the CC on the organization of the Foreign Central Bureau, together with this amendment, can be found in the collection “The VKP(b) in Resolutions and Decisions,” Part 1, 4th ed., PMEL, 1932, pp. 140–141.
This amendment was adopted at the morning session on August 26.

III. THE FIFTH (“ALL-RUSSIAN 1908”)
CONFERENCE OF THE RSDLP
January 3–9, 1909 1