Lenin's electoral strategy from 1907 to the october revolution of 1917 : the ballot, the ... streets-or both

This Is The First Book Length Study Of The Sorely Neglected Side Of Lenin's Politics - His Use Of The Electoral Arena To Shape A Revolution. This Aspect Of Leninist Politics Was Intimately Linked To His Better Known Party-building Project And Writings On The Peasantry, Though Few Researchers Have Dedicated Themselves To How Leninist Ideology Relates To The Study Of Elections. In This Book, August H. Nimtz Details Lenin's Efforts To Lead The Deputies Of The Russian Social Democratic Labor Party In The Third And Fourth State Dumas, Which Was Russia's First Experiment In Representative Democracy From 1907 To 19017 - From Counterrevolution To The Revolution Of October Of 1917. This Time Period Covered Such Challenges As Whether To Take Part In The Dumas, How To Combine Legal And Illegal Work, How To Ensure Party Leadership Of Its Duma Deputies, How To Employ The Duma To Forge The Worker-peasant Alliance And Most Importantly, To Implement Anti-war Actions When The First World War Began. The Answers Lenin Provided Increasingly Put Him At Odds With Western European Social Democrats, Foreshadowing The Historic Split In The International Marxist Movement In 1914. Bolshevik Success In 1917, The Book Argues, Can Be Traced To What Was Learned In That More Than Decade-long Experience - Lessons For Anyone Interested In Leninism Or Today's Modern Protestor-- Can The Electoral And Parliamentary Arenas Be Used Toward Revolutionary Ends? This Is Precisely The Question That Held Lenin's Attention From 1905 To 1917, And To Which He Said, Yes. This Is The First Book Length Study Of This Sorely Neglected Side Of His Politics Which Was Intimately Linked To His Better Known Party Building Project And Writings On The Peasantry. This Volume, The Second Of Two, Details His Efforts To Lead The Deputies Of The Russian Social Democratic Labor Party In The Third And Fourth State Dumas, Russia's First Experiment In Representative Democracy, From 1907 To 19017--from Counterrevolution To The Revolution Of October Of 1917. Issues Such As Whether To Take Part In The Dumas, How To Combine Legal And Illegal Work, How To Ensure Party Leadership Of Its Duma Deputies, How To Employ The Duma To Forge The Worker-peasant Alliance And, Most Importantly, To Do Anti-war Work When The First World War Began--all Had To Be Addressed. The Answers Lenin Provided Increasingly Put Him At Odds With Western European Social Democrats, Foreshadowing The Historic Split In The International Marxist Movement In 1914. Bolshevik Success In 1917, The Book Argues, Can Be Traced To What Was Learned In That More Than Decade-long Experience--lessons For Today's Protester-- Machine Generated Contents Note: -- 1. 'legal And Illegal Work': The Third Duma -- 2. 'to Prepare For A New Russian Revolution': The Fourth Duma -- 3. 'the Great War,' 1917, And Beyond -- 4. Conclusion. August H. Nimtz. Includes Bibliographical References (pages 269-272) And Index. Cover 1 Title Page 4 Copyright Page 5 Contents 6 Preface 8 Acknowledgments 14 Chapter 1: “Legal and Illegal Work”: The Third Duma 16 Preparing for the Third Duma 16 The Third Duma Convenes 29 To “Organize Social- Democratic Parliamentarismin Russia on a Different Basis” 44 Chapter 2: “To Prepare for a New Russian Revolution”: The Fourth Duma 63 Lenin in Campaign Mode 63 The Duma Convenes 85 Prelude to the “Great War” 98 Chapter 3: The “Great War,” 1917, and Beyond 111 After October 149 From February to October 127 The Duma Fraction and Antiwar Work 111 Conclusion 159 An Overview of the Evidence and Four Arguments 159 Toward an Explanation of the Silences 175 So What? or, Today’s Reality 182 Appendix A: The Fifth (All- Russian) Conference of the RSDLP 207 Practical Instructions on Voting for the Budgetby the Social- Democratic Group in the Duma 207 Appendix B: Conference of the Extended Editorial Board of Proletary 209 Speech and Draft Resolution on the Tasks ofthe Bolsheviks in Relation to Duma Activity 209 Appendix C: Explanatory Note of the Draft of the Main Grounds of the Bill on the Eight- Hour Working Day 212 II 212 Appendix D: The Sixth (Prague) All- Russia Conference of the RSDLP 218 Appendix E: The Election Platform of the RSDLP 222 Elections to the Fourth Duma 218 Appendix F: The National Equality Bill 228 A Bill for the Abolition of All Disabilitiesof the Jews and of All Restrictions on the Grounds of Origin or Nationality 229 Appendix G: The Petrograd City Conference of the RSDLP (Bolsheviks) 230 Resolution on the Municipal Question 230 Appendix H: Excerpt from “The Constituent Assembly Elections and the Dictatorship of the Proletariat” 232 Appendix I: Second Congress of the Communist International, 1920 236 1. The New Epoch and the New Parliamentarism. 236 2. Communism, the Struggle for theDictatorship of the Proletariat, and theUtilization of Bourgeois Parliaments 238 3. Revolutionary Parliamentarism 242 A Critical Review of the Relevant Literature 245 Chapter 1: “Legal and IllegalWork”: The Third Duma 245 Chapter 2: “To Prepare for a NewRussian Revolution”: The Fourth Duma 246 Chapter 3: The “Great War,” 1917, and Beyond 251 Conclusion 253 Notes 259 A Critical Review of the Relevant Literature 278 Appendix I 278 Appendix H 278 Appendix G 278 Appendix F 278 Appendix E 277 Appendix D 277 Appendix C 276 Appendix B 276 Appendix A 276 Conclusion 271 Chapter 3 266 Chapter 2 262 Chapter 1 259 Preface 259 Bibliography 280 Primary Sources 280 Secondary Sources 280 Index 284 This book is the first full-length study of Lenin's party building project and writings on elections, looking in detail at his leadership of the Bolshevik wing of the Russian Social Democratic Labor Party in the four state Dumas from 1906 to the beginning of the First World War. This is the first book length study of the sorely neglected side of Lenin's politics-his use of the electoral arena to shape a revolution. This aspect of Leninist politics was intimately linked to his better known party-building project and writings on the peasantry, though few researchers have dedicated themselves to how Leninist ideology relates to the study of elections. In this book, August H. Nimtz details Lenin's efforts to lead the deputies of the Russian Social Democratic Labor Party in the Third and Fourth State Dumas, which was Russia's first experiment in representative democracy from 1907 to 19017-from counterrevolution to the Revolution of October of 1917. This time period covered such challenges as whether to take part in the Dumas, how to combine legal and illegal work, how to ensure party leadership of its Duma deputies, how to employ the Duma to forge the worker-peasant alliance and most importantly, to implement anti-war actions when the First World War began. The answers Lenin provided increasingly put him at odds with Western European Social Democrats, foreshadowing the historic split in the international Marxist movement in 1914. Bolshevik success in 1917, the book argues, can be traced to what was learned in that more than decade-long experience-lessons for anyone interested in Leninism or today's modern protestor Front Matter....Pages i-xiv “Legal and Illegal Work”....Pages 1-47 “To Prepare for a New Russian Revolution”....Pages 49-96 The “Great War,” 1917, and Beyond....Pages 97-144 Conclusion....Pages 145-192 Back Matter....Pages 193-281