The Daily Worker Newspaper, November 5, 1924, Page 8

|The Russian Communist Party Organizer, Leader, Inspirer of the Workers’.Revolution ) ~ class in the direction of struggle for \.By MOISSAYE J. OLGIN power. It knew nothing in the life If the Russian Revolution has been|the worker that was too small to de- victorious it is due to the leadership|fend by means of eoncerted action. of the Russian Communist Party. If|It knew nothing in the realm of work- the Russian Communist Party was/ers’ rule that was too big to strive for capable of leading the revolutionary|by way of revolutionary struggle. It working masses to a lasting victory,|demanded from every member of the it is due to the application of THE |party to be active within the party PRINCIPLES OF BOLSHEVISM as |organization. It demanded from every expounded and put into practice by|member and every party organization time, istributes literature in the village and generally attempts to raise the cultural and political standards of the rural population. Closer to the Masses b. The Russian Communist Party is drawing ever closer to those who work in the factories, mills, railroads, mines, to the proletariat of manual labor. The Russian Communist Party knows that dictatorship of the pro- tarlan weight, the foundation of the party. The shop nucleus is the channel thru which most of the political and social problems of the state reach the workers of a particular shop and thru which the attitude of the workers to- wards one or another measure is made known te the party and to the Soviet government. The shop nucleus as a body and thru its executive bureau Lenin. Party of the Masses The Russian Communist Party has always been a party of the working to be active within the working class whenever and wherever they could reach it. It demanded from the work- ing class to react to all events in masses. Whether its number was ae ae ae and Hegre life, small or large, whether the temper of |“ od ellie cceyreg ed ot —— the masses was quiet or stormy, ge 4 bibs rid hott enactm: ri whether the work of propaganda and ooses hapssiate o ext organization was easy or hard, whe cae i or @ movement of the students, ther persecutions were severe or|™ the ee —o pr foreign power slack—the Russian Communist Party mek akokar x Me ‘gee tee, always strove to be with the masses, other country or psa A 1 of the within the masses, to organize its nuclei in the shops among the rant |?°#S4ntry in Russia,—to react collect- ively, organizedly, purposefully, never and file workers, to participate tre | sing sight of the final goal. After them and thru its leading bodies in| the October Revolution {it was the the everyday struggles of the working | Heipatais Communist Party which led masses, to formulate the demands Of iin all activities of the workers and the workers and to give direction to A ‘ Peasants: organization of the state their revolutionary struggle. and organization of the army, fight Revolutionary Spirit against counter-revolution and fight The Russian Communist Party has|against diseases, reconstruction of the always had an abiding faith In the/economic apparatus and reorganiza- revolutionary spirit of the working|tion of the educational system, ex- masses. At a time when the “econ-|termination of corruption and intro- omists” of 1898-1901, the forerunners!duction of new standards for human of Menshevism, preached a riveting of|behavior in the new order. “Keep the workers’ attention to economic de-|moving! Keep trying! Do not get mands only, leaving political struggle |discouraged by failures. Do not get to the “enlightened” intelligentzia forms of struggle up to the final lib-jrors and has the courage to correct eration. At a time when the Menshe- | the viki (1905-6) preached collaboration ra with the Russian bourgeoisie in the struggle against czarist autocracy, the|peen the party of strong discipline Russian Communist Party, then called/and centralization. From that mem- Bolsheviki, appealed to the workers | orable discussion at the second con- to wage a relentless war BOTH |gress of the Russian Social-Demo against czarism and the bourgeoisie cratic Labor Party in the summer of who only used the menace of a work-/1903 when Martov the Menshevik ers’ revolution to foree czarism to|defined membership in the party as make concessions to the propertied |“giving : classes. At a time when, after the party” under the control of the organ- defeat of the first revolution in 1906, |ization while the Bolshevik Lenin de- the Mensheviki preached acqnies:|manded “personal (of cence, abolition of the secret revolu- the members) in one of its organiza tionary organization and adaptation to| tions,” down to the last discussion everyday reform work under a sem |within the Russian Communist Party Revolutionary Discipline autocratic regime, the Russian Com- by the end of 1923 when Trotzky was | munist Party was busily engaged in understood to demand more demo- reorganizing its ranks, improving its cracy within the party and more free- illegal apparatus, spreading its influ-\dom from what he termed the rigid ence among the masses, preparing rule of the old guard of Bolshevism them for revolutionary action. At a/while the majority of the Communist time when, after March 1917, the | Party in,isted on maintaining stern socialists ef all brands together with unbending discipline akin to the dis- the bourgeoisie declared that the rev-|ciptine of a military organization and olution had run its course and that/on keeping the old tried revolutionists nothing remained for the working/|in leading Positions, the question of masses but to accept the order of|discipline, of obeying the rule of the the bourgeois democracy as final, the majority, of carrying out and defend- Russian Communist Party formulated |ing the policies ofthe majority even the slogan, “All Power to the Soviets” |if they are against the individual rattled by success. Work steadily ard lightened and active elements of. the and the bourgeoisie, Lenin for the/work according to a plan!” This has | first time formulated the conception |been the slogan of the Russian Com-|unity into the shop, endows all of PROLETARIAN HEGEMONY, i. e.,|munist Party—the only government activities with a purpose, reveals to leadership of the working class in all/in the world which learns from its er |the Workers their significance for the The Russian Communist Party has | sufficient organization. Ner is it a constant assistance to the) bureaus that thrive among the work- leading the working masses into real battles for the power of state. Ata time when, in tlie fierce years of 1918- 1921, the socialists, turned counter- revolutionary, hopefully anticipated the collapse of the Seviet system in consequence of mass exhaustion, hun- ger, starvation, the Russian Commun- ist Party KNEW that the revolution- ary ardor of the masses is inexhaust- ible, that the persistence of the work- ers in their struggle for a better fut- ure knows no limits. The Russian Communist Party built om that rock of revolutionary potency and the building proved lasting. Party of Action The Russian Communist Party has always been a party of action. It _ Viewed the working class as an army engaged in a war against a powerful resourceful foe. It knew that an army in war time can be either preparing for battle or engaged in actual eom- bat. It strove to wake up the work ‘, ing class to the realization of the im-|in the Volost’ (district) nucleus. minence of action. It strove to coor-|the shop nucleus remains, both dinate all activities of the working jically and by its member’s conviction, was paramount in the Russian Communist Party. It was due to this law of cohesion that the Russian Communist Party could attain to its present position. The Russian Communist Party is now the leading party of all the par- ties united in the Communist Interna- tional. We all take the lessons of the Russian Communist Party as showing the way of proletarian dic tatorship to all countries now under the iron heel of the capitalist state. What are the main c of this party at present? The Shop Nucle a, The Russian Communist is built on the basis of S$ All communists engaged are united in one body VODSKAYA YATCHEIKA, leus of the party. All serving in an army unit form the pany nucleus. All peasant ists living in one district are ; H F » ge [5 | and political secretary keep in the closest touch with the workers of the shop, factory or mill, participating in their daily troubles and trying -to find solutions to all their problems according to the ad- vice of the party. The shop nucleus organizes schools, courses, lectures, talks, discussions among the workers of the establishment, presenting to them various phases of the life of the country, drawing them into the dis- cussion of the governmental problems, making them active participants in the daily affairs of the state. The shop nucleus is the meeting ground for ali Communists holding office in the factory, whether it be the director (manager) of the establishment, the chairman and members of the shop committee which is the lowest unit of the labor union, or the educational leader who conducts the cultura) work among the workers. Being the meeting ground for all these local letariat means. dictatorship. of the producers of wealth over all remnants ef the old system. The Russian Com- munist Party, therefore, makes every effort to increase, its ranks by men and women working at the bench, to sive to such men and women the most responsible positions fin the party and in the state, to discourage the entrance into the party of elements hailing from the bourgeois intellectual groups, to adapt the life of the party to the standards of living of the average factory work- er. There has been a steady and con- sistent protetarianization of the party and the state apparatus. In 1918 the Central Executive Committee of the R. C. P. consisted of 13 intellectuals - and 1 worker; in 1924 it consists of 25 intellectuals and 29 workers. The Central Committee of 150 members is overwhelmingly composed of workers. In 1923 the percentage of workers in functionaries, most thoroughly dis-|the Communist Party as a whole was cussing all problems that arise in the 41, that of the peasants 28, and that life ef the factory, making decisions|o¢ ofice employes, 31. At present that are binding upon all its members | the percentage of workers in the party and being composed of the most en-|ig 66, with 35 per cent actually work- ing in factories and shops. Out of 88 combinations of factories (“trusts,” i.e. groups of germain factories with one general management), 80 are un- der the presidency of members of the Russian Communist Party, most of whom are workers. Out of 438 fac- tories employing 200 workers and more, 233 have Communist directors (managers) mostly coming from the working class. in the textile industry, 70 per cent of the managers are Com- munists and workers. This in spite of the fact that there was a scarcity establishment, the shop nucleus brings achievement of the goal of the work- ing class. ; The shop committee ts not a self- mere propaganda center.. It is connec- ted in a thousand ways with the most intricate details of the shop life. It knows every employee and all his worries. It makes it the duty of every member to be engaged in one or more of the numerous committees, boards, ers. It participates in shaping the will of the party by bringing forth and trying to express the will of the rev- olutionary masses within the shop or|the formulation of principles mill. It never loses itself in mere /the pursuit of policies but details of local life, always keeping | the composition of the personnel. in touch with the broadest problems of the state, but at the same time it never loses contact with the actual- ities of life. “Every factory must become our fortress,” wrote Lenin as early as 1902. Thru the shop nucleus every factcry is now a fortress of the proletarian dictatorship. ; The sessions of the shop nucleus, or- dinarily once a week, are open. Non- members frequent those sessions in ever greater numbers. Non-members participate in the discussion on equal terms with members, but without a vote. hibitive demands to non-workers who wish to become members. Recom- mendation by five members who have been in good standing for no less than five years is required for a non-work- er, The recommendation of three members in good standing for three years, is required for factory workers. - The entrance of workers into the par- ty has now been made easier by in- troducing the recommendation of a general meeting of the workers of the factory or shop where the aspirant is employed. The goal put before the party by its last congress (May 1924) is one million members of whom more than a half are actually working by hand at the bench. o It is the conception of the Russian workers, the latter being drawn into firmed in the conception that it is the & general rule, all life of the shop nucleus. qualities essential kn government sur activities, numerous enemies from quired of a compelled to work in a leus medium in the coun- A honesty, courage, endur- ication simplicity, moderate shop an unbiased mind, committee genunine devotion to the inter nucleus class. It is the zations. the Communist Party | The exceptional elements of the thru Class can rise to the cises ‘Bolshevism. This is why village. its structure and the delegates Boviet on the rank formers workers in intimate