Ban on Factions

1920 brought about varying splits in the Communist (Bolshevik pre-March 1918) party, angering Lenin. For example, The Democratic Centralists and Workers' Opposition led by Alexander Shlyapnikov. Lenin regarded these as distractions within the party when unity was needed in order to neutralise the major crises of 1921, such as the famines, and Kronstadt Rebellion. Factions were also commencing to criticize Lenin's leadership. Consequently, the 10th Party Congress legislated a "ban on factions" to eliminate factionalism within the party in 1921. [ T.Fiehn, C.Corin Communist Russia under Lenin and Stalin (2005)]

Members of the party were defined as a split if they did not toe the party line after party policy was concluded by the Central Committee and if they showed dissent to that policy. If accused of factionalism members would subsequently be expelled from the Party, such as Trotsky and Zinoviev on November 12th 1927. As Lenin stated:

"all members of the Russian Communist Party who are in the slightest degree suspicious or unrealiable ... should be got rid of"

Despite initially being passed as a temporary measure by Lenin, it would be latter abused by Stalin in his struggle for power. Lenin's proclamations that the measure was temporary may well have been seen as sincere by some, but arguably it was a method in which Lenin could distance himself from the ban if it proved unacceptable to party opinion. [S.Fitzpatrick The Russian Revolution (2008)] The ban therefore essentially eliminates any remaining democracy in the democratic centralism. This democracy deficit was illustrated by calls by Trotsky and The Declaration of 46 echos in 1923, but more significantly the autumn purges of 1921. Every Communist was subpoenaed in front of a purge commission and forced to justify their credentials as a revolutionary, or face being dubbed as a "careerist" or a "class enemy". (i.e. those who joined the Bolshevik Party only because they were now being painted as the "winning" party)Lenin argued this was necessary as to not cause the direction of the revolution to be deviated from its original aims. As T.H. Rigby wrote it would be near inconceivable to believe that opposition was nonexistent amongst the 25% of the party that were deemed "unworthy". [Rigby, Communist Party Membership ]

References

#T.Fiehn C.Corin, Communist Russia under Lenin and Stalin (2005)
#S.Fitzpatrick, The Russian Revolution (2008)
#Rigby, Communist Party Membership

External links

* [http://www.marxists.org/archive/trotsky/1918/xx/principles.htm] The Principles of Democracy and Proletarian Dictatorship