letters. Odessa was ‘Osip’, Tver ‘Terenty’, Pskov ‘Pasha’. Lenin’s sister Maria was ‘the little bear’, Trotsky ‘the Pen’. Consignments of newspapers from the printing works were ‘beer’ from ‘the brewery’. [Krupskaya 69–71] If all these obstacles were overcome, and some estimate that only one in a hundred copies got through, once in Russia the materials then had to be distributed as widely as possible around the vast country. Consequently, provincial Party cells were mainly occupied in newspaper distribution. The Party and the newspaper would thus become one and the same thing.
However, the problem causing the splits was bigger than all these practical issues. It was the question of questions. Who would control what went into the papers? On the one side, the old hands, especially Plekhanov and Axel’rod, believed they had a natural right to predominance since they were the founders of the movement. On the other, younger and more energetic spirits, like Lenin and Martov, wanted their say. They believed the spirit of exile had softened the revolutionary edge of the elders. Both factions, however, needed each other. A major split in such a small and weak group, comprising only a few thousand activists at most, would have been suicidal, or so it seemed then. Consequently, compromises ruled the day. Two newspapers came out. Iskra ( The Spark ) was dominated by Lenin and Martov. The symbolism of the title was obvious, indicating not only the editors’ belief that Russia was ready to catch fire but also their own apparent weakness as a mere spark, though one with the potential to start an uncontrollable fire. The elders produced a less frequently appearing journal Zarya ( The Dawn ). Without reading too much into it, the title itself suggests a slower, less violent and more evolutionary process of change. The compromise did not run smoothly. Party unity and harmony seemed far away. Frequent quarrels and disputes broke out. In May 1902 Lenin complained to Plekhanov that he had dealt with one of Lenin’s articles in a summary manner. ‘If you have set yourself the aim of making our common work impossible, you can very quickly attain this aim by the path you have chosen. As far as personal and not business relations are concerned, you have already definitely spoilt them or, rather, you have succeeded in putting an end to them completely.’ [CW 34 103] Lenin was taking a chance alienating Plekhanov and was all too obviously relieved when a reconciliation was brokered in June. ‘A great weight fell from my shoulders when I received your letter, which put an end to thoughts of “internecine war” … That I had no intention of offending you, you are of course aware.’ [CW 34 104–5] Lenin implied that his nervous illness had been to blame. A break with Plekhanov at that point might have been fatal to Lenin’s career.
In the middle of all this Lenin wrote and produced one of his best known works entitled, like Chernyshevsky’s influential novel, What is to be Done? It appeared in March 1902. In it Lenin tried to formulate his views on what the Russian Social Democratic Party should be. Also like Chernyshevsky, Lenin apologized in the Preface for the ‘serious literary shortcomings’ of the pamphlet since he had to work in great haste. [SW 1 100] Indeed the subtitle of the 150-page pamphlet is ‘Burning Questions of our Movement’, defined as ‘the character and main content of our political agitation; our organizational tasks; and the plan for building, simultaneously and from various sides, a militant, All-Russian organization.’ [SW 1 99] The Preface also makes clear what Lenin’s prime intention was – to challenge Economism. Lenin’s response to the burning questions revolved around discussion of the relationship of the Social Democrats to the spontaneous mass movement; the difference between so-called trades-union politics and Social Democratic politics; and finally, promotion of
However, the problem causing the splits was bigger than all these practical issues. It was the question of questions. Who would control what went into the papers? On the one side, the old hands, especially Plekhanov and Axel’rod, believed they had a natural right to predominance since they were the founders of the movement. On the other, younger and more energetic spirits, like Lenin and Martov, wanted their say. They believed the spirit of exile had softened the revolutionary edge of the elders. Both factions, however, needed each other. A major split in such a small and weak group, comprising only a few thousand activists at most, would have been suicidal, or so it seemed then. Consequently, compromises ruled the day. Two newspapers came out. Iskra ( The Spark ) was dominated by Lenin and Martov. The symbolism of the title was obvious, indicating not only the editors’ belief that Russia was ready to catch fire but also their own apparent weakness as a mere spark, though one with the potential to start an uncontrollable fire. The elders produced a less frequently appearing journal Zarya ( The Dawn ). Without reading too much into it, the title itself suggests a slower, less violent and more evolutionary process of change. The compromise did not run smoothly. Party unity and harmony seemed far away. Frequent quarrels and disputes broke out. In May 1902 Lenin complained to Plekhanov that he had dealt with one of Lenin’s articles in a summary manner. ‘If you have set yourself the aim of making our common work impossible, you can very quickly attain this aim by the path you have chosen. As far as personal and not business relations are concerned, you have already definitely spoilt them or, rather, you have succeeded in putting an end to them completely.’ [CW 34 103] Lenin was taking a chance alienating Plekhanov and was all too obviously relieved when a reconciliation was brokered in June. ‘A great weight fell from my shoulders when I received your letter, which put an end to thoughts of “internecine war” … That I had no intention of offending you, you are of course aware.’ [CW 34 104–5] Lenin implied that his nervous illness had been to blame. A break with Plekhanov at that point might have been fatal to Lenin’s career.
In the middle of all this Lenin wrote and produced one of his best known works entitled, like Chernyshevsky’s influential novel, What is to be Done? It appeared in March 1902. In it Lenin tried to formulate his views on what the Russian Social Democratic Party should be. Also like Chernyshevsky, Lenin apologized in the Preface for the ‘serious literary shortcomings’ of the pamphlet since he had to work in great haste. [SW 1 100] Indeed the subtitle of the 150-page pamphlet is ‘Burning Questions of our Movement’, defined as ‘the character and main content of our political agitation; our organizational tasks; and the plan for building, simultaneously and from various sides, a militant, All-Russian organization.’ [SW 1 99] The Preface also makes clear what Lenin’s prime intention was – to challenge Economism. Lenin’s response to the burning questions revolved around discussion of the relationship of the Social Democrats to the spontaneous mass movement; the difference between so-called trades-union politics and Social Democratic politics; and finally, promotion of
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