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

AGAINST BOYCOTT47Must we make every effort to support and develop it, andtry to convert it into a general revolutionary upswing, andthen into a movement of an aggressive type? Undoubtedly.There can be no two opinions about this among the Social-Democrats (except, perhaps, those contributing to Tovarishch).But do we need the boycott slogan for developingthe movement at this very moment, at the beginning ofthis partial upswing, before it has definitely passed intoa general upswing? Is this slogan capable of promoting themovement today? This is a different question, one which,in our opinion, would have to be answered in the negative.A general upswing can and should be developed from apartial upswing by direct and immediate arguments andslogans without any relation to the Third Duma. The entirecourse of events after December fully confirms the Social-Democraticview on the role of the monarchist constitution,on the necessity of direct struggle. Citizens, weshall say, if you do not want to see the cause of democracyin Russia going steadily faster and faster downhill as itdid after December 1905 during the hegemony of the Cadetgentlemen over the democratic movement, then supportthe incipient workers’ movement, support the direct massstruggle. Without it there can be no guarantee of freedomin Russia.Agitation of this type would undoubtedly be a perfectlyconsistent revolutionary-Social-Democratic agitation. Wouldwe necessarily have to add to it: Don’t believe in theThird Duma, citizens, and look at us, Social-Democrats,who are boycotting it as proof of our protest!Such an addition under prevailing conditions is notonly unnecessary, but sounds rather odd, sounds almostlike mockery. In any case, no one believes in the ThirdDuma, i.e., among the strata of the population that arecapable of sustaining the democratic movement there isnot and cannot be any of that enthusiasm for the constitutionalinstitution of the Third Duma that undoubtedlyexisted among the public at large for the First Duma,for the first attempts in Russia to set up any kind of institutionsprovided they were constitutional.ner. Consequently, in the event of the success of our struggle the questionwould be just as we have stated it.