Foolish Gloating

Published in Pravda No. 40, May 8 (April 25), 1917.

Rabochaya Gazeta gloats and crows over the recent resolution of the Central Committee which has revealed (in connection, be it noted, with the now published declaration of the representatives of the Bolshevik group in the Soviet) certain disagreements within our Party.

The Mensheviks may gloat and crow as much as they like. It does not worry us in the least. The Mensheviks have no organisation. Chkheidze and Tsereteli are one thing—they are ministers without portfolios; the Organising Committee is another thing—they are Social-Democrats without a policy; the “defencists” are a third thing—they support Plekhanov. Martov is a fourth thing—he will not support the loan. Small wonder that people who have neither an organisation nor a party crow and caper light-heartedly at discovering a fault in somebody else’s organisation.

We have no reason to fear the truth. Yes, comrade workers, the crisis has revealed certain shortcomings in our organisation. We must set to work to correct them!

The crisis revealed a very feeble attempt to move “slightly leftward” of the Central Committee. Our Central Committee did not yield, and we do not doubt for a moment that harmony within our Party is already being restored, a harmony that is voluntary, intelligent, and complete.

Every day proves the soundness of our line. To put it through effectively, the proletarian masses must be thrice as well organised as they are now. Every district, every block, every factory, every military company must have a strong, close-knit organisation capable of acting as one man. Each such organisation must have direct ties with the centre, with the Central Committee, and those ties must be strong, so that the enemy may not break them at the first blow; those ties must be permanent, must be strengthened and tested every day and every hour, so that the enemy does not catch us unawares.

Comrade workers! Let us build a strong proletarian mass organisation everywhere, from the bottom up, both among the working-class mass and in the army, and let us start lt immediately. We shall not be put out by the malicious glee of our enemies, we shall not be daunted by occasional errors and shortcomings. We shall correct them. The future is working for us.

Source: Marxist Internet Archive