Telephone Message Regarding the Draft Resolution of the XI Conference of the RCP(b) on the Purging of the Party

Source: LS/v36

Regarding Zalutsky's draft resolution on the purging of the party, I would like to make two remarks.

1)
Concerning section 3, § a, Zalutsky proposes to temporarily, for 6 months, close access to the party. I think this is incorrect. I would propose, for my part – not to close access, but to set stricter conditions, namely: a prolonged probationary period for candidates. If a year-and-a-half period for genuine workers is considered too long, then it can be shortened, and in general, allow this period to be reduced to 3/4 of a year, or even to half a year, as Trotsky suggests. However, in my opinion, it is necessary with such short periods to demand a qualified majority in the collegia making decisions on admission, for example, that a majority of no less than 4/5 be required for the admission period to be shortened, and that this 4/5 majority be required not from a single party collegium (the lowest cell making admissions), but from several collegia for mutual verification (for example, in addition to the lowest cell, also from the Gubkompart and so on). I would not object at all to facilitating admission to the party for genuine workers, but if extraordinarily strict conditions are not set, defining who can be considered a worker of large industry, then through this loophole, a mass of riff-raff will immediately crawl in again. Regarding Red Army soldiers, in my opinion, stricter conditions are needed, for, firstly, they are mostly not workers, but peasants, and secondly, these are people who are too young, who still need to be verified through experience.

2)
In section 4, § a, Zalutsky proposes to revise the planned work among the Komsomol. It seems to me that on this point, it is necessary to establish stricter conditions and verification that Komsomol members admitted to the party have, firstly, truly seriously studied and learned something, and secondly, that they have undergone a long period of serious practical work (economic, cultural, etc.).

Lenin