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

AGAINST BOYCOTT45the “punitive” closing down of state-owned factories andending with capitalist conspiracies against the workers,have increased poverty among the mass of the workingclass to an unprecedented extent. And now, some Social-Democratic functionaries say, there are signs of a risingchallenge among the masses, a mustering of strength bythe proletariat. This rather vague and indefinite impressionis supported by a stronger argument, namely, indubitableevidence of a business revival in certain branchesof industry. The growing demand for workers should inevitablyintensify the strike movement. The workers willbe bound to attempt to make up for at least some of thetremendous losses they sustained in the period of repressionand lock-outs. Finally, the third and most powerfulargument is the one that points not to a problematical orgenerally expected strike movement, but to a single greatstrike already decided upon by the workers’ organisations.At the beginning of 1907, the representatives of 10,000textile workers discussed their position and outlined stepsfor strengthening the trade unions in that industry. Thedelegates have met again, this time representing 20,000workers, and they resolved to call a general strike of thetextile workers in July 1907. This movement may involveup to 400,000 workers. It originates in the Moscow region,i.e., the biggest centre of the labour movement in Russiaand the biggest trade and industrial centre. It is in Moscow,and only in Moscow, that the mass workers’ movementis most likely to develop into a wide popular movementof decisive political importance. As for the textileworkers, they are the worst paid and least developed elementof the total of the working class, who participatedleast of all in previous movements and who have the closestconnections with the peasantry. The initiative of such workersmay be an indication that the movement will embracemuch wider strata of the proletariat than before. As regardsthe connection between the strike movement and the revolutionaryupswing of the masses, this has already beendemonstrated repeatedly in the history of the Russian revolution.It is the bounden duty of the Social-Democrats to concentratesupreme attention and special efforts on this move-