The 10th Congress of the Russian Communist Party (Bolsheviks) was held during March 8–16, 1921 in
Moscow, Russia. The congress dealt with the issues of the party opposition, the
New Economic Policy, and the
Kronstadt Rebellion, which started halfway through the Congress. The Congress was attended by 694 voting delegates and 296 non-voting delegates.[1]
The
New Economic Policy was decided. Foreign trade, banks and heavy industry would stay in state hands, the rest was privatized.
After Trotsky's closed session report on the difficulties quelling the
Kronstadt rebellion, over a quarter of the delegates (300) volunteered for the cause, led by the opposition parties eager to prove their loyalty.[3]
Party unity
The congress intricately examined party unity and dissent during the meetings. The congress adopted resolution "On Party Unity," which effectively and immediately dissolved all party factions. Lenin also introduced “On the Syndicalist and Anarchist Deviation in our Party”, which the congress also adopted.[4]: 119–29
The result of the
debate on the trade unions was a rejection by the congress of the views of
Trotsky, who was supported by the
9th Secretariat, the
Workers' Opposition and the
Democratic Centralists. The resolution On the Role and Tasks of the Trade Unions,[5] which incorporated
Lenin's definition of the role of the trade unions as educational organizations and schools of administration, economic management, and communism, was adopted by a majority vote.[6]
New Economic Policy
The New Economic Policy (NEP) was cautiously introduced by Lenin in his general speech to the tenth party congress.[7] Trotsky outlined the NEP to the congress in two speeches. Trotsky described war communism as "dictated not by economic, but by military needs, considerations and conditions," while also arguing that the notion that communism could be achieved through such means was absurd and reserved for "dreamers." The change to the NEP from war communism was designed "to alleviate [the peasant's] condition, to give more to the small farmer, and assure him of greater security in private farming."[8] However, many of the economic changes came too late, as widespread famine and starvation took place throughout 1921.[7]
Resolutions
On Party Unity
The dissolution of all factions was ordered by the congress. The congress also gave the Central Committee the power to apply discipline against factional activity, including party expulsion.[4]: 119
On the Syndicalist and Anarchist Deviation in Our Party
The congress ordered a purge of the party to restore it to a "condition of soundness."[4] The congress also resolved to "recognize the necessity for a determined and systematic struggle against" syndicalist and anarchist deviations and that these ideas were incompatible with those of the Russian Communist Party.[4]: 119–129
On the Control Commissions
Control Commissions were established to create and strengthen party unity by combatting careerism and bureaucratization.[4]: 119–129
On the Role and Tasks of Trade Unions
The congress established that the role of trade unions was to further the support for proletarian dictatorship, and to act as a school of communism.[4]: 119–129
On the Replacement of the Requisitions with a Tax in Kind
State requisitions and procurements of raw material, such as grain, were replaced with a monetary tax. The poorest peasants and farms would be exempt from the tax and those that exhibited increase in productivity under these new rules will be subject to advantages in the form of tax reduction.[4]: 119–129
References
^Lenin, Vladimir.
"Tenth Congress of the R.C.P.(B.)". Lenin's Collected Works, 1st English Edition, Progress Publishers, Moscow, 1965, Volume 32, pages 165-271. Retrieved 27 December 2013.
^On Party Unity 16 March 1921; Soviet History Archive (marxists.org) 2002
Speeches by V. I. Lenin at the Tenth Congress of the R.C.P.(B.), Collected Works, 1st English Edition, Progress Publishers, Moscow, 1965, Volume 32, pages 165–271
Further reading
Lenin, Vladimir. "Tenth Congress of the R.C.P.(B.)". Lenin's Collected Works, 1st English Edition, Progress Publishers, Moscow, 1965, Volume 32, pages 165–271. Retrieved 27 December 2013.
On Party Unity 16 March 1921; Soviet History Archive (marxists.org) 2002
Avrich, Paul (1970). Kronstadt, 1921. Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press. pp. 194–195. ISBN 0-691-08721-0. OCLC 67322.
On the Role and Tasks of Trade Unions [Abridged]; 16 March 1921; Soviet History Archive (marxists.org) 2002.
Tenth Congress of the Russian Communist Party (Bolshevik) The Great Soviet Encyclopedia, 3rd Edition (1970–1979).
The Bolshevik Revolution 1917–1923: 1–3. New York: The McMillan Company, 1952.
E. H. Carr Carr, Edward Hallett.
McNeal, Robert Hatch. Resolutions and Decisions of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union: The Early Soviet Period. 2. Vol. 2, 1974.
Z-Library single sign on.