Library:History of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union

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https://www.marxists.org/reference/archive/stalin/works/1939/x01/index.htm

Introduction

The struggle for the creation of a social-democratic labour party in Russia (1883—1901)

Abolition of serfdom and the development of industrial capitalism in Russia. Rise of the modern industrial proletariat. First steps of the working-class movement

Narodism (populism) and Marxism in Russia. Plekhanov and his “emancipation of labour” group. Plekhanov's fight against narodism. Spread of Marxism in Russia

Beginning of Lenin’s revolutionary activities. St. Petersburg League of Struggle for the Emancipation of the Working Class

Lenin’s struggle against narodism and “legal Marxism.” Lenin’s idea of an alliance of the working class and the peasantry. First Congress of the Russian Social-Democratic Labour Party

Lenin’s fight against “Economism.” Appearance of Lenin’s newspaper Iskra

Brief summary

Formation of the Russian Social-Democratic Labour Party. Appearance of the Bolshevik and the Menshevik groups within the party (1901—1904)

Upsurge of the revolutionary movement in Russia in 1901—1904

Lenin’s plan for the building of a Marxist party. Opportunism of the “Economists.” Iskra’s fight for Lenin’s plan. Lenin’s book What is to be Done? Ideological foundations of the Marxist party

Second Congress of the Russian Social-Democratic Labour Party. Adoption of program and rules and formation of a single party. Differences at the Congress and appearance of two trends within the party: the Bolshevik and the Menshevik

Splitting activities of the Menshevik leaders and sharpening of the struggle within the party after the second congress. Opportunism of the Menshevik. Lenin’s book, One step forward, two steps back. Organizational principles of the Marxist party

Brief summary

The Mensheviks and the Bolsheviks in the period of the Russo-Japanese war and the first Russian revolution (1904—1907)

Russo-Japanese war. Further rise of the revolutionary movement in Russia. Strikes in St. Petersburg. Workers’ demonstration before the Winter Palace on January 9, 1905. Demonstration fired upon. Outbreak of the Revolution

Workers' political strikes and demonstrations. Growth of the revolutionary movement among the peasants. Revolt on the Battleship Potemkin

Tactical differences between Bolsheviks and Mensheviks. Third party congress. Lenin’s Two tactics of Social-Democracy in the Democratic Revolution. Tactical foundations of the Marxist party

Further Rise of the Revolution. All-Russian Political Strike of October 1905. Retreat of Tsardom. The Tsar’s manifesto. Rise of the Soviets of workers’ deputies

December armed uprising. Defeat of the uprising. Retreat of the revolution. First State Duma. Fourth (Unity) Party Congress

Dispersion of the First State Duma. Convocation of the Second State Duma. Fifth Party Congress. Dispersion of the Second State Duma. Causes of the defeat of the First Russian Revolution

Brief summary

The Mensheviks and the Bolsheviks in the period of the Stolypin reaction. The Bolsheviks constitute themselves an independent marxist party (1908—1912)

Stolypin reaction. Disintegration among the oppositional intelligentsia. Decadence. Desertion of a section of the party intelligentsia to the enemies of Marxism and attempts to revise the theory of Marxism. Lenin’s rebutal of the revisionists in his Materialism and empiriocriticism and his defense of the theoretical foundations of the Marxist party

Dialectical and historical materialism

Bolsheviks and Mensheviks in the period of the Stolypin reaction. Struggle of the Bolsheviks against the liquidators and Otzovists

Struggle of the Bolsheviks against Trotskyism. Anti-party August bloc

Prague party conference, 1912. Bolsheviks constitute themselves an independent Marxist party

Brief summary

The Bolshevik party during the new rise of the working-class movement before the first imperialist war (1912—1914)

Rise of the revolutionary movement in the Period 1912—1914

The Bolshevik newspaper Pravda. The Bolshevik group in the Fourth State Duma

Victory of the Bolsheviks in the legally existing organizations. Continued rise of the revolutionary movement. Eve of the imperialist war

Brief summary

The Bolshevik party in the period of the imperialist war. The second revolution in Russia (1914—March 1917)

Outbreak and causes of the imperialist war

Parties of the Second International side with their imperialist governments. Disintegration of the Second International into separate chauvinist parties

Theory and tactics of the Bolshevik Party on the question of war, peace and revolution

Defeat of the tsarist army. Economic disruption. Crisis of Tsardom

The February revolution. Fall of Tsardom. Formation of soviets of workers’ and soldiers’ deputies. Formation of the provisional government. Dual power

Brief summary

The Bolshevik party in the period of preparation and realization of the October socialist revolution (April 1917—1918)

Situation in the country after the February revolution. Party emerges from underground and passes to open political work. Lenin arrives in Petrograd. Lenin’s April theses. Party’s policy of transition to socialist revolution

Beginning of the crisis of the provisional government. April conference of the Bolshevik Party

Successes of the Bolshevik Party in the capital. Abortive offensive of the armies of the provisional government. Suppression of the July demonstration of workers and soldiers

The Bolshevik Party adopts the course of preparing for armed uprising. Sixth party congress

General Kornilov’s plot against the revolution. Suppression of the plot. Petrograd and Moscow soviets go over to the Bolsheviks

October uprising in Petrograd and arrest of the provisional government. Second congress of soviets and formation of the soviet government. Decrees of the second congress of soviets on peace and land. Victory of the socialist revolution. Reasons for the victory of the socialist revolution

Struggle of the Bolshevik Party to consolidate the soviet power. Peace of Brest-Litovsk. Seventh party congress

Lenin’s plan for the initial steps in socialist construction. Committees of the poor peasants and the curbing of the kulaks. Revolt of the “left” socialist-revolutionaries and its suppression. Fifth congress of soviets and adoption of the constitution of the RSFSR

Brief summary

The Bolshevik party in the period of foreign military intervention and civil war (1918—1920)

Beginning of foreign military intervention. First period of the civil war

Defeat of Germany in the war. Revolution in Germany. Founding of the Third International. Eighth party congress

Extension of intervention. Blockade of the soviet country. Kolchak’s campaign and defeat. Denikin’s campaign and defeat. A three-months’ respite. Ninth party congress

Polish gentry attack Soviet Russia. General Wrangel’s campaign. Failure of the Polish plan. Rout of Wrangel. End of the intervention

How and why the Soviet Republic defeated the combined forces of British-French-Japanese-Polish intervention and of the Bourgeois-Landlord-Whiteguard counter-revolution in Russia

Brief summary

The Bolshevik party in the period of transition to the peaceful work of economic restoration (1921—1925)

Soviet Republic after the defeat of the intervention and end of the civil war. Difficulties of the restoration period

Party discussion on the Trade Unions. Tenth party congress. Defeat of the opposition. Adoption of the New Economic Policy (NEP)

First results of NEP. Eleventh party congress. Formation of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. Lenin’s Illness. Lenin’s co-operative plan. Twelfth party congress

Struggle against the difficulties of economic restoration. Trotskyites take advantage of Lenin’s illness to increase their activity. New party discussion. Defeat of the Trotskyites. Death of Lenin. The Lenin enrolment. Thirteenth party congress

The Soviet Union towards the end of the restoration period. The question of socialist construction and the victory of socialism in our country. Zinoviev-Kamenev “new opposition.” Fourteenth party congress. Policy of socialist industrialization of the country

Brief summary

The Bolshevik party in the struggle for the socialist industrialization of the country (1926—1929)

Difficulties in the period of socialist industrialization and the fight to overcome them. Formation of the anti-party bloc of Trotskyites and Zinovievites. Anti-soviet actions of the bloc. Defeat of the bloc

Progress of socialist industrialization. Agriculture lags. Fifteenth party congress. Policy of collectivization in agriculture. Rout of the bloc of Trotskyites and Zinovievites. Political duplicity

Offensive against the kulaks. The Bukharin-Rykov anti-party group. Adoption of the first five-year plan. Socialist emulation. Beginning of the mass collective-farm movement

Brief summary

The Bolshevik party in the struggle for the collectivization of agriculture (1930—1934)

International situation in 1930—1934. Economic crisis in the capitalist countries. Japanese annexation of Manchuria. Fascists’ advent to power in Germany. Two seats of war

From the policy of restricting the kulak elements to the policy of eliminating the kulaks as a class. Struggle against distortions of the party policy in the collective-farm movement. Offensive against the capitalist elements along the whole line. Sixteenth party congress

Policy of reconstructing all branches of the national economy. Importance of technique. Further spread of the collective-farm movement. Political departments of the machine and tractor stations. Results of the fulfilment of the five-year plan in four years. Victory of socialism along the whole front. Seventeenth party congress

Degeneration of the Bukharinites into political double-dealers. Degeneration of the Trotskyite double-dealers into a white-guard gang of assassins and spies. Foul murder of S. M. Kirov. Measures of the party to heighten Bolshevik vigilance.

Brief summary

The Bolshevik party in the struggle to complete the building of the socialist society. Introduction of the new constitution (1935—1937)

International situation in 1935—1937. Temporary mitigation of the economic crisis. Beginning of a new economic crisis. Seizure of Ethiopia by Italy. German and Italian intervention in Spain. Japanese invasion of central China. Beginning of the second imperialist war

Further progress of industry and agriculture in the USSR. Second five-year plan fulfilled ahead of time. Reconstruction of agriculture and completion of collectivization. Importance of cadres. Stakhanov movement. Rising standard of welfare. Rising cultural standard. Strength of the soviet revolution

Eighth congress of soviets. Adoption of the new constitution of the USSR

Liquidation of the remnants of the Bukharin-Trotsky gang of spies, wreckers and traitors to the country. Preparations for the election of the supreme soviet of the USSR. Broad inner-party democracy as the party’s course. Election of the supreme soviet of the USSR

Conclusion