The Russian Bolshevik Leninists on the Present Situation (We publish here only the conclusion Introduction and for fundamental investment in inof the declaration of Rakovsky and his dustry.
comrades. We hope to publish the balance After some delay, we have ittnally ro But the task did not consist of simply We repeat our demand of October 4, of it in an early issue. Ed. ceived the declaration of comrades Rak repeating in the declaration what was said 1929: the thorough adjustment of the five ovsky, Muralov, Kosslor and Kasparove in the theses, but to assist the Party, even year plan, as to its internal parts and as In its declaration made to the Central with which these comrades addressed them a small part of it, to assimilate what was to the needs of the working class the reCommittee and the Central Control Comselves to the Party a little before the six said in the theses or at least a part of vision of the collective agreements in the mission on October 4, 1929, the Bolshevik teenth Congress. By a fatal chance, the it. With the stifling of the it sense of an improvement of the material Leninist Opposition pointed out the need copies of the declaration sent to us at the is very difficult to check what was the imconditions of the working class, the scrupfor a unification of all the Communist and time were seized. In spite of this great mediate repercussion of the first declaration ulous examination of the results of the unrevolutionary forces around the five year delay, the document which publish en in the ranks of the Party. It cannot, howinterrupted working week considered as plan of industrialization, for the struggle tirely retains its importance. In spite of ever, be doubted that the declaration a temporary, exceptional measure, admisagainst agrarian capitalism and against the terseness of formulation, the document Rakovsky, which made a breach in the sable only with the agreement of the workthe Right wingers. Such a unification, empresents clear estimations of the economic wall of lies and calumnies built up by the ers, the establishment of a bond between bracing also the Democratic Centralista, and political processes, calling by their Stalinists, was one of the causes for the the nominal wage and the increase of the on the basis of a recognition of a mononame the dangers which are not far off but revival of the rabid struggle against the budget, the reestablishment of the real lithic Party, is still most indispensable to quite cloge.
Left Opposition before the Congress. Still, activity of the trade uniong.
day when the solid proletarian ranks must This declaration is intimately linked we have another living verification of the with the declaration that Rakovsky made The policy of the Party in the country: be opposed to an advancing Thermidor. To question which interests us, outside of the formal abolition of the complete collectiat the time when Centrism turn to the the extent, however, that the realization of Comrade Feroci, one of the vization, halting of the de Kulakization in the slogan for unification of all Communist Left still preserved its freshness and was leaders of the new Italian Opposition, has mass, and the explusion of the Kulaks from not sufficiently checked by experience. And forces signifies the end of the period of the told in an article of the great impression the countryside, except in isolated cases political monopoly at the same time, these two documents are Centrism, the Cenproduced by Rakovsky declaration even provided for by law, but without bringing distinguished as trist bureaucracy will fight against it with two steps of different on the Central Committee of the Italian the already expelled Kulaks back to their stages on the same road. The first declarathe same fury as in the past. The slogan Communist Party, and certainly, upon its former localities.
tion recorded the turn of the leadership in of the unification of all the revolutionary Left section especially. Thus, the declarathe sense which the Opposition defended Communists can be realized solely by the The Poor Peasants Unions tion of Rakovsky not only did not bring for the past number of years. At the same masses of the Party in the struggle against Exceptional attention by the state to anybody to capitulate, but on the contrary, the Centrist bureaucracy.
time, it warned against the possible dangers served as one of the impulsions the the movements of the collectives, by giving on the new road, demanded the activity of The Class Relationships formation of the new Italian Opposition.
them necessary financial and technical aid, the Party to surmount these dangers, and The new declaration publish now creation of Unions of Poor Peasants. This What are the class relationships within put the forces of the Opposition at the dis for the first time, draws the balance to the measure is indispensable for creating the country? The political situation is posal of the Party This manner of posing policy of the Left turn at the very moment political base for the collective farms characterized by distrust on the part of the the question in the spirit of the united of a new half turn to the Right. All these movement and as a political support both Party thoroughly merited towards its front policy appeared to some capitulaleadership, and the growth of the distrust for loan policies and social culture in the circumstances are submitted in the docutionist or at the very least, semi capitulacountry.
ment to a clear appreciation to which little of the working class, of the poor and middle tionist. To be sure, these accusations didn can be added today. We consider it necespeasantry towards the Party and the proThe question of settling the problem come from every serious source.
sary to emphasize only two points.
letarian dictatorship, which is not merited.
of providing the country with food products Already at that time, we pointed out The Unton of Peasant Poor The leadership has discredited itself by and agricultural raw materials, through that politics does not consist of a simple In the declaration, they mention that manifesting with material evidence the unconsolidating the building of collectives, repetition of formulae that can gerve in principled character of its policy which has while preventing the creation of the Union while conserving the rhythm of industrial every eondition of life. Rakovsky did not of the Poor Peasantry, the Stalinist leaderchanged so many times in a few weeks (for development, is now put before the Party.
entertain the slightest illusion about the ship nevertheless tolerates this organizainstance: the resolution of the Moscow It is an unquestionably heavy task, but it political line of Centrism at the time of the tion in the Ukraine. It should merely be Party Committee on the abolition is converted into a practical, even technical the Left turn. He clearly and plainly developNew Economic Policy, which was itself added that if the attempt by Stalin Buch task, if the political premises for its solued his appreciation of Centrism in the abolished after a few weeks because, we arin Rykov Kamenev and others 1924 25, tion are created.
theses written at the same time ag the frst were told later, it was a mistake of the to suppress the organization of the poor We propose no new program to declaration.
Ukrainian peasantry did not succeed, it is. typist. In the eyes of the working Party, we are only fighting for the reestabmasses, the leadership of the Party has dis The pretty thin character of this critic solely thanks to the firm opposition of the lishment of the old program tested in hard credited the Party and the trade unions.
18m was branded above all by the fact that revolutionary wing of the Ukrainian Party combats and in glorious victories, and of at its head was inscribed Paz, for whom und Neither the first nor the second has been leadership of comrade Rakovsky.
the tact line of the Communist Party the accusation of capitulation against Rakable to give the proletariat any defense The second point we wish to speak of (Bolsheviks. ovsky was against the bureaucrats. On the contrary, necessary solely in order to here deals with the capitulators. The deApril 1930.
abandon the revolutionary ranke, in which the Party and the trade unions seemed to Christian Rakovsky.
claration establishes, with perfect justice Kossior.
support the bureaucrats against the work he was but a bird of passage. We cannot, and pitilessly, that these people have lost Muralor.
however, forget that in bloc with Paz any right at all to the confidence of the ers.
against Rakovsky, there was also found Party and the working class. In natural The poor peasantry has treated the In the meantime, the Centrist leadership, comrade Treint, who, with all tho miscollectivization with great disconnection with this, the declaration recomplete takes he has committed and still commita, peats that no persecutions will prevent the which does not permit Unions of Poor Peatrust. The facts are witness to that. In sants in a part of the territory of the 18 yet, we should Hke to hope, no chance Leninist Opposition from fulfiling Its duty it, it has seen, on the one hand, a deprivaS. is obliged to admit them in the Ogure in the area of the revolutionary to the very end.
tion from the tax exemptions it enjoyed up Ukraine, and to put in their hands the work struggle.
October 22, 1930. TROTSKY.
to then, and on the other, the danger of of collectivization. The Committees of being submitted to the middle peasants and Poor Peasants in the Ukraine were mainthe Kulaks who joined in with the collecsantry.
should participate which recognizes the tained because they knew how to defend tive farms. The facts show that even in themselves and did not permit the policy Theoretically, this problem is golved principles of the united Party and the road the communal farms, the cards are staked with relative ease insofar as it is a question of reform.
of liquidation of the years 1924 25 to go on the peasant proprietor. The socalled of the working class and the agricultural We demand the liberation of the incarfurther than to transform them from orgroups of poor peasants are a fiction analday laborers. The matter is more difnganizations of a semi compulsory type into cerated Oppositionists, and the withdrawal ogous to what, for the workers, are selfcult with the middle peasant.
Will he be organizations of a free type.
of the application of Article 58. We decriticism, purging of the Party, patronage, satisfied with the reesablishment of the and the other shoddy bureaucratic substimand the recall of Trotsky from exE. and revolutionary legality, or will ile and his reinstatement into the Party.
tutes for Party and workers democracy.
he ask for the Neo and suppleThe agricultural workers, willy nilly, We demand that the Central Commitmentary demands which are incompatible had to enter the collective farms, for there tee publish the existing documents of the with the existence of the proletarian dicwas no other way out for them.
Opposition in the period of 1927 30, and tatorship! How is the middle peasantry also the articles by Lenin on the national special role will be played in the to be satisfied without ceasing the struggle BULLETIN of the RUSSIAN OPPOSITION question as well as his political testament.
coming period by the middle peasant. He against the Kulak? It is already a ques These demands are only preliminary. The The latest issue of the official organ of the is becoming again the central ngure in the tion that can be settled with clarity in question of Party and workers democracy Russlan Bolshevik Leninist Opposition. pubclass struggle. The love of the Centrists practice. We can only affirm with pre must be posed in all amplitude before the lished as a double number, has just been (and the Right wingers for the middle cision that the establishment of Party and Congress itselt.
receivel. Some of the material contained peasantry was pure demagogy. means workers democracy and the Union of Poor Without Party and workers democracy, in this highly interesting issue is as follows: of hunting down the Bolshevik Leninist Peasantry against which the bureaucracy Oppositionists. In effect, the Centrists and all the corrections will inevitably be conrevolts, is the means by which the demands Success of Socialism and the Dangers of Adthe Right wingers gave the middle perverted into deformations. Only the revoluof the middle peasantry can be kept within venturism. Declaration of comrade Raksantry an apparatus, the mouth of which tionary control of the masses is in a posilimits compatible with the foundations of ovsky and Others Statement of Rakovutters more threats than words, threats the proletarian dictatorship. Democracy in tion to keep the apparatus under its hand.
sky, Muralov and Others to the Cen.
which influence by violence and arbitrariWe deem indispensable the reorganization the Party, as well as Soviet democracy in tral Committee of the Russian Party ness, and apropos of which Lenin said that the country, will be the shield against unof the Central Committee and the Central Comrade Selin tchenko in stalit humiliates the Soviet citizens who are bridled bureaucratic arbitrariness. Without Control Commission and the restitution to inist Exile. New Victim of obliged to be in contact with it.
the establishment of a free regime within the Congress and the Party of the rights Stalin (Comrade Kote Zinzadze)
The Middle Peasant in the Colleetives the Party, the middle peasantry will not torn away from them formally and trans Lessons of the Moscow In the complete collectivization, the believe that revolutionary legality is really ferred to the and Trial. What Next? middle peasant has seen primarily a means established.
We deem indispensable the suppression The Bloe of Right amil Left. Disorderly to extort bread and other products for himof the post of general secretary and to The period of politically deceitful sloRetreat Trotsky: self and to overwhelm with good will the diminish the role of the Party secretary gans is passed. Only an honest and conOn Thermidorianism poor peasantry with the aid of his live and to the execution of technical functions, scientious Communist policy can save the Bonapartismdead stock (Instruments, beasts, etc. Inwith the transference of the political funcproletarian dictatorship. The Sixteenth ConNotes of a Journalist stead of the example of which Lenin and tions to the Political Bureau as a whole.
gress of the Party takes on an exclusively. Letters from the the program of our Party speak the llyserious importance. It is most likely, how We deem indispensable the changing Proing example which should convince and ever, that the Centrist leadership will seek of the present method of allocating work blems of the Inpersuade the middle peasant of the advan to make it the most insignificant Congress to the members of the Party.
tages of the collectives he is offered a ternational Opever held. Even though the Congress is We demand the complete reorganizanoose. To a collectivization of this sort, position. Ete.
already on the threshold, no matter what tion of the Organizing Bureau, which is toetc. etc.
he has replied with his usual procedure: the discussions are in the Party, we can day the principal prop of the apparatus dicthe active and passive strike, or entrance have no illusions. The Party cannot permit tatorship.
25 Cents a Copy into the collective in order to break it up such a contempt of its rights. Especially We demand the extension to all the from within, by technical disarmanent (demust it reject it at such a critical moment. elective organs of the Party of the system Order from struction of beasts, etc. existing at the elections of the Central THE MILITANT The Demands of the Opposition The political task now put before the Committee and the Central Control Com 84 East 10th Street New York, Party consists reestablishing the con The whole world has seen the Centre mission.
If the number on your wrapper 18 fidence whose lack facilitates the work of Right bureaucracy at work. The results We demand a substantial reduction of the subterranean Thermidorian forces. No are at hand. Every member of the Party the Party apparatus, as well as that of the serious struggle against advancing capital sees them around him. We demand a free trade unions, cooperatives, the state. in ism is imaginable unless the principal post discussion in the Party and free elections order to liberate resources and to destine then your subscriptiod to the tions of the Party have arst been consoli to the Congress. In the discussions and them for additional investment in the con expired. Renew imm.
dated the proletariat and the poor per the elections, every shade of Opposition struction of Soviet and collective farms, avoid missing or No. 17 18 61