V. I.

Lenin

The Petrograd City Conference of the R.S.D.L.P. (Bolsheviks)

APRIL 14–22 (APRIL 27–MAY 5), 1917

2

Concluding Remarks In The Debate

Concerning The Report On The Present Situation

April 14 (27))

The discussion has shown that opinion is divided. I cannot
answer all the questions.

The question of old Bolshevism. Kalinin defended old
Bolshevism. But he also came to the conclusion that our present
tactics were correct. Another opinion is that there is a marked
tendency towards the tactics of the petty bourgeoisie.

There is a time-honoured expression: to go through with the
revolution. But which revolution? The objective situation in
1905 was this: the proletariat and the peasantry were the only
revolutionary element, while the Cadets stood for the monarchy. Now defencism represents the adoption by the peasants
of petty-bourgeois tactics. Going through with the revolution
under these circumstances has no meaning. The revolution has
united the petty bourgeoisie with other revolutionary elements
upon the ground of defencism.

The future of the dictatorship of the proletariat and the
peasantry. A petty-bourgeois peasantry holding defencist views
may even be in favour of a monarchy.

A new line follows from the policy of Bolshevism. The petty
bourgeoisie and the big bourgeoisie have united. We take as our
point of departure conflicting class interests. The labourer
peasants ought to be against the imperialist war. The proprietor
peasants are for defencism.

Defencism has shown that the petty bourgeoisie has moved away
from the working class and gone over to the big bourgeoisie.

The poor peasant who earns a part of his living in the city has no
need for this war. This class ought to be opposed to the
war.

Old Bolshevism should be discarded. The line of the petty
bourgeoisie must be separated from that of the wage-earning
proletariat. Fine phrases about the revolutionary people are
suitable to a man like Kerensky, but not to the revolutionary
proletariat. To be revolutionaries, even democrats, with
Nicholas removed, is no great merit. Revolutionary democracy is
no good at all; it is a mere phrase. It covers up rather than
lays bare the antagonisms of class interests. A Bolshevik must
open the eyes of the workers and peasants to the existence of
these antagonisms, not gloss them over. If the imperialist war
hits the proletariat and the peasants economically, these
classes will have to rise against it.

To create a network of Soviets of Workers’, Soldiers’, and
Peasants’ Deputies—that is our task today. The whole of
Russia is already being covered with a network of organs of
local self-government. A commune may exist also in the form of
organs of self-government. The abolition of the police and the
standing army, and the arming of the whole people—all this can be accomplished through the organs of local
self-government. I have taken the Soviet of Workers’ Deputies
simply because it already exists.

It is said, we must “interest” the proletariat. This is what
Chkheidze, the Provisional Government and others are doing when
they use high-sounding words about revolutionary democracy. A
Bolshevik must differentiate between the proletariat and the
petty bourgeoisie, and leave such words as “revolutionary
democracy” and “revolutionary people” to Kerensky. Democracy in
Russia is imperialistic. It is argued that we are reducing our
activities to cultural work. That is not true. Passing resolutions about the Constituent Assembly, etc., would mean
“interesting” the proletariat.

The real work is to bring about the abolition of the standing
army, the bureaucracy, and the police, and to arm the whole
people.

The Constituent Assembly will not kill the revolution, for
nothing is heard of it now, and no one is planning to convene
it. We leave it to the Socialist-Revolutionaries to “demand” its
convocation.

This war is a world war. It is waged by definite classes, and
was brought on by banking capital. It can be stopped by
transferring power to another class. So long as the power
remains in the hands of the ruling classes, peace can alter
nothing.

The proletariat must be shown how the revolution can be carried
forward by concrete measures. To carry the revolution forward
means to achieve self-government by independent action. The
growth of democracy does not stand in the way of self-government, it helps us to realise our aims, The war can be
terminated only by the transfer of power to another class—and Russia has come closest of all to that—but
never by a truce among the capitalists of all countries on the basis of an
exchange of subjugated nationalities. A commune is quite
suitable to the peasantry. A commune means complete self-government, the absence of any supervision from
above. Nine-tenths of the peasantry should be for it.

The bourgeoisie may reconcile itself to the nationalisation of
the land, should the peasants take over the land. As a proletarian party, we must declare that the land alone will not
feed people. To cultivate it one will therefore have to set up
the commune. We must be for centralisation, but there are times
when things can best be done locally; we should allow a maximum
of initiative in the local areas. The Cadets are already acting
like officials. They tell the peasants: “Wait for the
Constituent Assembly.” Our Party alone provides slogans that
really carry the revolution forward. The Soviets of Workers’
Deputies are fully capable of establishing communes in the local
areas. The question is whether the proletariat will be well
enough organised for the task, but this is a thing we cannot
estimate in advance, we must learn by doing.

Trotskyism: “No tsar, but a workers’ government.” This is
wrong. A petty bourgeoisie exists, and it cannot be dismissed. But it is in two parts. The poorer of the two is with
the working class.

War. To end the war by pacifist means is utopia. It may be
terminated by an imperialist peace. But the masses do not want
such a peace. War is a continuation of the policies of a class;
to change the character of the war one must change the class in
power.

The name Communist Party is theoretically sound. The Left
socialists of other countries are too weak. We must take the
initiative.

| First published in 1925 in the book The Petrograd City and the All-Russia Conferences of the R.S.D.L.P. (Bolsheviks), April 1917 | |
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| Published according to the typewritten copy of the Minutes | |

[ First published in: 1925]

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