April–May 1914. Kraków

II ы P I S K A
II 3 *R E C H I» I «K I E B S K O Y M Y S L I »
O
K A D E T S K O Y K O N F E R E N C I I .
Speech No. 83 of 1914 (Wednesday, November 26, 1914) on the debates concerning the national question at the Kadet conference (November 23–25, 1914):
“The national questions were also discussed with particular vigor. The Kiev deputies, joined by N. V. Nekrasov and A. M. Kolyubakin, pointed out that the national question is a pressing major factor that requires a more decisive approach than previously adopted. F. F. Kokoshkin, however, noted that both the program and previous political experience demand very cautious handling of ‘elastic formulas’ regarding the political self-determination of nationalities.”* 
(And that’s all!)
“Kievskaya Mysl” No. 86 also conveys Kokoshkin’s position, adding that “this could even lead to the collapse of the state” (according to Kokoshkin).
I
P
roject
of a law
on the equality
of nations
and
on the protection
of the RIGHTS OF NATIONAL MINORITIES * 8
1.
The boundaries of administrative divisions in Russia—both rural and urban (villages, volosts, uyezds, guberniyas, city districts and sections, suburbs, etc.)—shall be redefined based on contemporary economic conditions and the ethnic composition of the local population.
* Lenin’s heading. Ed.
1
2. This assessment shall be carried out by commissions elected by the local population through universal, direct, equal, and secret voting, with proportional representation; meanwhile, non‑national minorities so small that they cannot elect even one member under proportional representation shall choose a commission member with an advisory vote.
3. Final approval of the new boundaries rests with the central parliament of the state.
4. Local self-government shall be introduced throughout the entire territory of the state on the basis of universal, direct, equal, and secret voting with proportional representation; moreover, groups of localities distinguished by special geographical, domestic, or economic conditions, or by a unique ethnic composition, may form autonomous regions with autonomous regional sejms.
5. Determination of the jurisdictional limits of autonomous sejms and local self-governing institutions rests with the central parliament of the state.
6. All nations within the state are absolutely equal; any privileges granted to one nation or one language are deemed unacceptable and unconstitutional.
7. Local self-governing institutions and autonomous sejms shall determine the official language used in all state and public establishments within their respective areas or regions; furthermore, every non‑national minority has the right to demand unconditional protection of its linguistic rights, based on the principle of equality—for example, the right to receive responses from state and public institutions in the same language as the original communication, and so forth. Measures taken by zemstvos, cities, and similar bodies that violate the linguistic equality of national minorities—whether in financial, administrative, judicial, or other spheres—are declared invalid and subject to annulment upon protest filed by any citizen of the state, regardless of their place of residence.
8 a. Each self-governing unit of the state—rural or urban—shall elect, through universal, equal, direct, and secret voting with proportional representation, school councils that will manage, entirely and autonomously, expenditures for all kinds of cultural and educational needs of the population under the supervision and guidance of municipal and zemstvo institutions*.
9 r t. In diverse territorial units with heterogeneous ethnic compositions, the number of members of school councils must be no fewer than 20. This figure (20) may be increased by resolution of the self-governing units and autonomous sejms. Territorial units with heterogeneous ethnic populations are defined as those where non‑national minorities constitute 5% or more of the total population**.
10 e t R • If any national minority within a given self-governing unit is so small that it cannot elect even one member of the school council under proportional representation, then it may select a member of the school council who holds an advisory vote.
11. 5 The proportionate share of funds allocated to cultural and educational needs of non‑national minorities in a given locality must not be less than the proportionate share of such minorities in the overall population of that locality.
12. Population censuses, taking into account citizens’ native languages, shall be conducted at least once every ten years nationwide, and at least once every five years in regions and localities with heterogeneous ethnic compositions where non‑national minorities exceed 1% or 5% of the population.
13. Any measures taken by school councils that in any way undermine the full equality of nations and languages among the local population, or distort the proportional allocation of funds for cultural and educational needs in accordance with the ethnic makeup of the population—particularly in relation to the share of national minorities in the population—are declared invalid and subject to annulment upon protest filed by any citizen of the state, regardless of their place of residence*.
1 Extracted in full from the draft speech intended for delivery before the State Duma on “The Question of National Policy” (Works, Vol. XVII, p. 326).
1 Same source, p. 326.
1 The draft was written by Lenin in order to combat “the foolishness of cultural‑national autonomists,” so that the Social Democratic Labor Fraction of the State Duma might bring it up for discussion in the Duma (see Lenin’s letter to Shaumyan dated May 19, 1914; Works, Vol. XXIX, p. 107; in this letter, Lenin sketched out the plan for the “Project”).
* At the end of the document, Lenin again wrote in pencil: “Draft Law on National Equality.” The numbering of paragraphs was added later—in pencil. Ed.