The Proletarian Class and the Proletarian Party

This piece appeared in 1905 (pre-revolutionary Russia, likely in a Bolshevik journal) as part of a row over the first paragraph of Party rules. Its core content was a critique of Martov’s formulation of membership (“accept the program and pay dues”) in favor of Lenin’s position that members must actively work in party organizations. Stalin insisted that a Party member not only accepts socialist ideas but must fight for them in a united cadre; the party is not a loose club of sympathizers but a “fighting organization” of conscious leaders. Thus he concluded only those fully committed – “one who fully accepts the program, tactics and organizational principle and works in a Party organization” – can be a proper member.

In terms of historical importance, this article has been cited as an early example of Stalin’s organizational thinking. It solidified the idea that the Bolshevik Party must be a tight “fortress” (as Stalin later put it) as opposed to Martov’s more inclusive concept. Published just before the 1905 Revolution’s climax, it attempted to prepare the party for mass struggle by emphasizing discipline. Its significance was later amplified in Stalinist historiography as part of the narrative that Stalin backed Lenin’s strict centralism from the start. The essay itself is sometimes identified by quoting its military imagery or by its subject; it did not have a catchy alternate title, but it is often referred to in compilations as Stalin’s reply to Martov on the nature of Party membership.

This modern Critical Reader’s Edition includes an illuminating afterword tracing Stalin's intellectual relationships with revolutionary philosophers and politicians (including Hegel, Feuerbach, Engels, and Ricardo), containing unique research into his intellectual development and economic-metaphysical theories, religious impulses masquerading as materialism, a comprehensive timeline of his life and works, a glossary of Lenin-Stalinist terminology, and a detailed index of his work works. Combined with the scholarly amplifying material, this professional translation is an indispensable exploration of Stalin’s world-changing philosophy which he manifested into one of the most terrifying authoritarian regimes ever created.