V. I.

Lenin

Comments on the Draft Resolution for The Eleventh Conference of the R.C.P.(B.) on the Party Purge

With regard to Zalutsky’s draft resolution on the Party purge I would like
to make two remarks.

1) In section 3 §a Zalutsky proposes that enrolment into the Party
be suspended for 6 months. I think this is wrong. I would propose, on my
part, not to suspend enrolment, but to lay down stricter conditions,
namely: a long term of probation. If an eighteen-month term for real
workers is considered too long, it can be reduced, say, to nine, or even
six months, as Trotsky proposes. In the case of such short terms, however,
I think we should require a qualified majority in the bodies making enrolment decisions, for instance, that it
should require a majority of not less than four-fifths to have the term of
enrolment reduced, this four-fifths majority to be demanded not only from
one Party body (the local cell making the admission), but from several
bodies for the sake of mutual control (for example, from the Gubernia Party
Committee in addition to the local cell, and so on). I would have nothing
whatever against admission into the Party being made easier for genuine
workers, but unless very strict conditions are laid down for determining
who is to be considered a worker of large industry, we shall immediately
find a mass of riff-raff crawling through the hole again. As regards Red
Armymen, I think we should have stricter conditions, since, for one thing,
most of them are not workers, but peasants, and secondly, these people are
too young and need testing.

2) In Section 4 §a Zalutsky proposes a revision of the plans of
work among the Young Communist League. I believe stricter conditions should
be laid down on this point to make sure that the members of the
Y.C.L. admitted to member ship of the Party have, first, really studied
seriously and learnt something, and secondly, that they have a long record
of serious practical work (economic, cultural, etc.). [1]

Lenin

---
Notes:
[1]
Lenin’s remarks on the draft resolution for the Eleventh Conference of
the R.C.P.(B.) on the Party purge were taken into consideration by the
drafting committee.

The conference discussed the results of the Party purge and adopted a
resolution “On the Question of Strengthening the Party as a Result of the
Verification of Its Membership”, which was drafted in its final version at
a meeting of regional committees, regional bureaux and Gubernia Committees
of the R.C.P. and endorsed by the Central Committee and the Eleventh
Congress of the Party (see The C.P.S. U. in the Resolutions and Decisions of Congresses, Conferences and Plenary Meetings of the Central Committee , Part I, 1954, pp. 597-98).