* EXCERPT FROM THE POLITICAL PROJECT

PART OF THE PROGRAM.
By affording the working masses an incomparably greater opportunity than under bourgeois democracy and parliamentarism to elect and recall deputies in a manner that is both the simplest and most accessible to workers and peasants,* the Soviet Constitution simultaneously abolishes those negative features of parliamentarism that had already become evident since the time of the Paris Commune—most notably the separation of legislative and executive powers, the parliament’s detachment from the masses, and the like.

The Soviet Constitution also brings the state apparatus closer to the masses by making the production unit—not the territorial constituency—the basic electoral unit and fundamental cell of the state (factory, mill).
The closer bond between the state apparatus and the masses, fostered through the soviets, makes it possible to establish a ………………………………..
*
The word “method” that was omitted from the text was inserted by an outside hand.
Ed.
** The subsequent text has not been preserved. The final paragraph was struck out by the Program Commission, which then adopted the following concluding formulation for this item: “The Party’s task is to direct all its work in this direction, striving to further bring the organs of power into ever closer alignment with the working masses on the basis of increasingly rigorous and more complete implementation of democracy in practice by these very masses” (see item 29 of the Commission’s draft). Ed.

Among the materials pertaining to Lenin’s work on drafting the programmatic item concerning national relations, three documents have been preserved in the archives of the Program Commission: 4) Lenin’s initial draft; 2) Lenin’s second draft; and 3) the final text authored by Bukharin and Lenin, which was adopted by the Program Commission—and subsequently by the Eighth Congress of the Party (see item 33 of the Commission’s draft). These documents, along with other Leninist materials on the national question, were published in Volume III of the “Lenin Collection.” They are reprinted here for the second time, so as not to disrupt the integrity of Lenin’s programmatic writings.
Lenin’s initial draft is written in black ink. In the upper right corner of the sheet, Lenin himself has inscribed the numeral “/2” in blue pencil, indicating this particular sheet’s place within the overall draft. Lenin’s second draft is written in red ink.
The final draft of the item on the national question was adopted by the Program Commission in the formulation proposed by Bukharin and Lenin, with the main text penned by Bukharin and the final editorial revisions credited to Lenin.
The external appearance of this document reflects the deep divisions that existed within the Program Commission over the question of national self-determination. We present N. Bukharin’s original text in standard typeface; Lenin’s amendments, insertions, and deletions—executed in red ink—are set off in italics by us.
5.