Russian Social Democracy (Enter Marxism) Flashcards
Chart the progression of Marxism from obscure western idea to dominant force in Russian thought
Plekhanov Enters the Scene:
Came from military family, not rebellious, sent to military schools (Govt army reforms of 1870s)
- Joins Land and Liberty 1876, REJECTS terror -> founds Black Repartition 1879 after split
1883 Emancipation of Labour Group
- First Marxist group in Russia - Analyzes stats/data of Russia (SOPHISTICATION) -> find working class tiny compared to Germany - BUT growing FASTER than anyone else -> trends over time. Within only 1-2 decades, would be on par w/ Europe. NOW Marx's vision of proles leading revolt true (How could it? Its a peasant society? Oh...because workers are COMING)
DECLINE OF PEASANT COMMUNE KEY
- Books on persuasive decline of peasant commune (Communal Property in Moscow District -> STAT / SCENTIFIC EVIDNECE THAT IT IS)
-> NOW SEES NECESSITY OF INTERIM BOURGEOISIE AND CAPITALISM -> CONSTITUTIONAL REGIME
- Peasant commune now no longer kickstarter to socialism -> therefore tactics need to change AWAY FROM PEASANTRY AGITATION
- BECAUSE THEY’D WANTED TO AGITATE PEASANTS TO USE THE COMMUNE TO SKIP CAPITALISM. WHEN FAITH IN COMMUNE SHATTERED _> NEED TO NOT FOCUS ON PEASANTS AS MUCH
Capitalism would produce the productive system necessary for socialist economy and the class which would overthrow it to get socialism
-> NEED FOR WORKERS/INDUSTRY/CAPITALISM TO GET CONDITIONS FOR SOCIALISM -> COINCIDES WITH INDUSTRIALIZATION VIA RAILWAY
Lenin’s Takes and Bolshevism:
- READS MARX IN 1880S -> once its seen as valid because of industrialization happening around him (railway reforms, etc) -> Engels in 90s
- Emphasizes importance of capitalist transformation on peasant class -> argues peasants ARE workers now because of seasonal migration to country -> could use urban workers to propagandize once they go home to countryside.
Capitalism not JUST growing like Plekhanov, them -> Therefore capitalism already exists in Russia (extreme even for Marxists)
- Heroic Scenario: intelligentsia elites will spark and propagandize the working class to lead the people (peasants/everyone else) in revolution
- Also will create Bourgeoisie from peasants too -> will agitate for political freedom and be temporary allies in political revolution that precedes social
OVERALL: thinks capitalism and disruption good because creating necessary PRECONDITIONS for revolution -> migration of peasants into cities
Evidenced by: - 1891
- Spoke out against feeding hungry -> sees famine as means to speed up process by destroying peasant ties and forcing them to cities -> industrialization, make them think about unfairness of capitalism -> show unfairness of state
Explain the idea behind Lenin’s thread approach. How did this contrast to terror, TTP, and PW?
Background: Working class being created at unprecedented rate (industrialization/Plekhanov) AND already exists because of seasonal peasant migration to factories and urban settings (90s, etc)
Therefore need to disseminate propaganda into nascent working class about their destined role as leaders in revolution -> ideas of scientific socialism
- Broad propagation -> create durable organizations that TRANSFORM a general economic struggle among workers into a COORDINATED CLASS ASSAULT
- This will result in political freedoms in political revolution that sees absolutism destroyed by workers rising up WITH ALL CLASSES
- All this LED BY ELITE REVOLUTIONARY PARTY -> inherently top down because of need to propagandize (Kautsky, Lenin explicitly endorses him in “Friends of the People”
THEREFORE:
- Need consolidated THREADS between party and workers
Contrast to Populism:
- Populism meant to REPLACE SPD / western style party with terror
- Here trying to ADAPT THAT system UNDER AUTOCRACY
- Propagating and ADVOCTAING for change instead of trying to instigate it themselves
- Does NOT mean conspiracy like populism (assassinations, etc) -> conspiracy with goal of overthrowing autocracy BECAUSE NO MASS MOVEMENT POSSIBLE
- instead, threads stragey INCLUDES MASS ORGANIZATION WITHIN CONSPIRACY
What is to be Done? (1902) written in exile:
- TRYING TO IMPORT WESTERN MASS MOVEMENT STRATEGY INTO HOSTILE ENVIRONMENT OF ABSOLUTISM
- Threads strategy -> EXPAND underground and elite structure to include threads of the masses
- Therefore LENIN REJECTS TERRORISM -> WANTS heroic scenario with underground threads that allude police and maintain contact w/ workers -> operating UNDER AUTOCRACY -> SUBVERSIVE MASS MOVEMENT BASED ON SOCIALIST IDEALS
- CONTRAST TO TO THE PEOPLE -> PEASANTS TURN POPULISTS OVER TO POLICE. HERE WORKERS HAVE SYMPATHY
Explain the Split of 03 pls :)
- 2nd party congress -> Mensheviks form (only 51 members in party at this point lmao)
- BECAUSE -> what constiutes a member?
- Lenin: accept party program, pay dues, participate in party organization -> had to be ACTIVE
- Martov: anyone who coops in any capacity -> more amorphous (not prof revs)
Bund:
constituants speak Yiddish, want rights to USE PROPAGANDA IN YIDDISH NOT RUSSIAN -> focus on Warsaw, other western cities. Have THREE periodicals (45,000 circulation) -> MASSIVE organization comparitively
- BOLSHEVIKS AND MENSHEVIKS HAVE 10,000 EACH -> congress only reps of each party -> meant to UNITE parties like all these.
- LENIN ENVISIONS ONE PARTY -> DICTATORIAL -> VS FEDERATION OF PARTIES THAT BUND WANTS
- Bund walks out. Gets ANOTHER vote lmao -> Lenin gets definition he wants -> WE ARE BOLSHEVIKS (majority) BUT splits party
- Final issue: Wants more control over Iskra editorial masthead -> hammers through cuts number of editors. Plekhanov thinks this too much -> he and Martov join sides, Lenin resigns in protest. Lenin locked out from Iskra lmao Needs new links
Impact:
- Going into 1905, in dissaray (inner conflict) -> when chaos arrives, miss opportunity BECAUSE OF INFIGHTING
- story of 1905 is story of normal people
- Lenin still has followers in Russia because of Krupskaya Iskra censorship and distribution control -> Bolsheviks retain power
Explain some of the challenges the Autocracy and emerging capitalist society were facing at this time. What specifically caused worker unrest?
Industrial crash
- Depression of 1900 brings industrial boom brought on by railway to end
- Foreign capital slows, heavy industry output slows
- Widespread strikes and such , unemployment
- Turns crirics against the west -> see industrialization as dangerous path -> govt helped cause depression
- Industrialists form cartels
Combine this with:
- urbanization of mass factories.
- Nick II and Alex III handing out guarantees of purchasing stock, investing heavily in factory start ups by capitalists
- Leads to MASSIVE factories in industrial areas of cities like SPB and Moscow
Witte instead WANTS OPPOSITE -> no restrictions on what employers can do w/ workers
- What happens: Zubatov approach in aftermath 1900-> unions, etc OVERSEEN AND FUNDED by police -> antisemitic language used
- Witte shuts this down and gets favour of tsar (see 1905 notes)
These result in:
Peasant disturbances 1902:
1902 Disturbances in southern provinces of Volga
- Productivity and overpop issues worsened by paying redemption payments (Witte is convinced that need to abolish commune -> peasants need individual land holdings to industrialize instead )
Emergence of socialism:
Socialist Revolutionary Workers Party 1902 (Chernov) -> capitalism has altered Russia, therefore Marx applicable
- Now COMBINE peasant revolution (direct) idea with Marxian historical stages -> peasants AND workers will have roles in rev. SRs saw revolutionary POTENTIAL that was CREATED BY CAPITALISM
- Propaganda resumes in factories AND countryside
- ALSO incorporated terrorism to a degree -> “Fighting Organization” (assassinate minister of interior) -> see this as PROPAGANDA BY DEED -> REVS WANT IMMEDIATE ACTION AND DRAMA
- RIVALS of Marxist soc dems
Nationalisms: Trying to secure autocracy
- RUSSIAN popularity, only national identity officially recognized
- Contrast to Poles -> 63 rebellion (disloyal) therefore need to INTEGRATE them by destroying Polish identity (under Alex II)
- “Russian Poland” province -> run by governors -> learn Russian in school
- Alex III wants “demonstrations of popular monarchism” wants security of loyal workers against revs
- Means RUSSIAN popularity, only national identity officially recognized
- Contrast to Poles -> 63 rebellion (disloyal) therefore need to INTEGRATE them by destroying Polish identity (under Alex II)
- “Russian Poland” province -> run by governors -> learn Russian in school
Explain the initial origins of Marxism in Russia and how it was received upon release
Initial Marx/Engels takes:
- “Backwards, autocratic” -> DIFFERENT situation so reluctant to engage w/ them. Focused on capitalist countries “more developed” like Eng/Ger -> wrong stage of development
- No faith in populist vision of COMMUNE/socialism scheme -> explicitly disagree (remanent of primitive economy)
1881 Zasulich convos. Marx questioning personal approach/failures -> gets fan letter from Zasulich urging him to reconsider commune (now emigre after escape)
- 1882 agree to write new intro to 1882 Russian addition of Communist Manifesto -> SEEN AS VALIDATION
- 1890s Engels changes thinking. Marx died. Because of industrialization, govt reforms about this (railway and Witte) -> leads to proles -> therefore Marxism can apply to russ
Marxism AVAILABLE in RUSS -> Das Kapital gets past censors because they don’t see it as threatening 1872
Opinions of populists -> warning AGAINST upcoming capitalism -> seen as justification that we CAN’T let capitalism take hold -> NEED TO BYPASS (so not follow strict Marxist outline, apply it to own situation) so not APPLICABLE to Russia
How did Lenin’s thread approach materialize IRL?
GENERAL ECONOMIC / UNUNIFIED DISCONTENT INTO UNIFIED NATIONAL SOC MOVEMENT
Connecting to workers:
- 94-6
- Establishing connections w/ soc dem circles THROUGH
- Union of Struggle for the Liberation of the Working Class -> writes legal pamphlets for workers
- Krupskaya teaching workers literacy -> Lenin interrogates her on this
- Strikes of 96: Cotton factories do a general strike - NOT instigated by int or socialists ->Protestors wrote pamphlets/papers THEMSELVES
- CONTRAST to more “anarchic” worker uprisings of past
- Also -> underground socialist movement SUPPORTING STRIKE -> EVIDENCE THAT SOC DEM STRATEGY COULD WORK UNDER ABSOLUTISM AS OPPOSED TO POPULISM
- Distributed leaflets and such -> communicated w/ strike officials (supporting role) -> leaflets show that underground press can work
Development of national body:
1898 First national party congress (Minsk)
- all members promptly arrested but image remains of unity (Russian Social Democratic Party)
- Would have consolidated provincial threads into NATIONAL organ
Iskra created 1900
- Martov, Plekhanov
- Switzerland -> London LETTERS from provincial chapters which emerge, etc chapters -> so still get broad Russian content
- Jewish forced into Pale of Settlement, recruited by revs (paid) to smuggle. Across border. If State hadn’t been so antisemitic, might have had higher standard of living and didn’t need money. DISTRIBUTED BY PARTY IN UNDERGROUND
- Krupskaya in charge of all this network -> gender -> always makes sure Lenin’s messages keep trickling in -> even going against party -
By organizing distribution and getting news from ALL OVER Russian committees -> national character / project emerges
IDEOLOGICALLY -> streamlining of thought throughout movement
Ideology propagated by Iskra:
- Peasants integral part of anti-absolutist coalition
- Workers lead
- So will nationalisms -> all in all autocracy on last legs
- NATIONALISMS ALLOW THIS TO BE PROPAGATED -> Pale of Settlement
SECOND PARTY CONGRESS
moves to Geneva 1903
- CREATE CENTRAL PARTY INSTITUTIONS
- CONSENSUS ON PROGRAM AND PARTY TACTICS FINALLY
- Consolidation of soc dem movement
- HOWEVER -> ISKRA board falls apart -> split between Bolsheviks and Mensheviks
OVERALL:
- concentrating party/elite authority in order to propagate and integrate workers into socialist ideology -> spark revolution
