Collected Works of V. I. Lenin - Vol. 13 - From Marx to Mao

18V. I. LENINin such a manner as if the ultra-reactionary nature ofthe Third Duma by itself makes such a method of struggleor such a slogan as the boycott necessary and legitimate.The impropriety of such an argument is absolutely clearto any Social-Democrat, since there is no attempt herewhatever to examine the historical conditions of the boycott’sapplicability. The Social-Democrat who takes a Marxiststand draws his conclusions about the boycott notfrom the degree of reactionariness of one or another institution,but from the existence of those special conditionsof struggle that, as the experience of the Russian revolutionhas now shown, make it possible to apply the specific methodknown as boycott. If anyone were to start discussingthe boycott without taking into consideration the twoyears’ experience of our revolution, without studying thatexperience, we would have to say of him that he had forgottena lot and learned nothing. In dealing with the questionof boycott we shall start with an attempt to analysethat experience.IThe most important experience of our revolution in makinguse of the boycott was, undoubtedly, the boycott ofthe Bulygin Duma. 5 What is more, that boycott was crownedwith complete and immediate success. Therefore, our firsttask should be to examine the historical conditions underwhich the boycott of the Bulygin Duma took place.Two circumstances at once become apparent when examiningthis question. First, the boycott of the BulyginDuma was a fight to prevent our revolution from going over(even temporarily) to the path of a monarchist constitution.and by its make-up, is the product of a reactionary coup; (4) the governmentwill take advantage of the participation of the popular massesin the Duma elections in order to interpret that participation as apopular sanction of the coup d’état—the Fourth Delegate Congressof the All-Russian Union of Teachers and Educational Workers resolves:(1) that it shall have no dealings whatever with the ThirdDuma or any of its bodies; (2) that it shall take no part as an organisation,either directly or indirectly, in the elections; (3) that it shall,as an organisation, disseminate the view on the Third State Duma andthe elections to it as expressed in the present resolution.”