12th Congress of the Russian Communist Party (b)

The 12th Congress of the RCP(b) was held during 17-25 April 1923 in Moscow.

This was the last congress of the Lenin regime, however Lenin was unable to attend.

Much of this Congress was taken up with Stalin's struggle against the Georgian National Communists. Stalin dominated the Congress with Grigoriy Ordzhonikidze and Mamia Orakhelashvili, moving against the Old Bolsheviks Budu Mdivani and Filipp Makharadze.

Stalin accused the latter of:
* "Violation of party discipline" - contact Lenin directly not through party channels
* "Disobeying decisions of the Central Committee of the RCP(b)"
* "Demanding special economic concessions for Georgia"
* "local chauvinism" and "imperialism": - they were accused of oppressing smaller nations such as the Ossetians and Abkhazians
* "The desire to obtain privileged positions for Georgians"

Ordzhonikidze went further:
* Collaboration with Mensheviks during 1918-1920
* Retaining class enemies (landlords) in the Georgian Communist party
* Granting political amnesty to Mensheviksas well as "leftism" and "adventurism"

At this Congress the problems of nationalism were redefined so that local chauvinism became identified as the main problem rather than Great Russian chauvinism.

Mirsäyet Soltanğäliev attended this Congress, but was subject to attack immediately afterwards in the Tartar newspaper "Eshche" and arrested during May 1923. He was roundly condemned by Stalin at the Fourth Conference of the Central Committee of the Russian Communist Party (b) with the Workers of the National Republics of the Regions, held 9 - 12 June 1923.

References

* "Muslim National Communism in the Soviet Union" by Alexandre Bennigsen and S. Enders Wimbush, University of Chicago Press, 1979
* [http://www.marx2mao.com/Stalin/TC23.html verbatim Report] accessed May 26, 2008