Prague Party Conference
Encyclopedia
The Prague Party Conference was the sixth party conference of Vladimir Lenin
's Bolshevik faction of the Russian Social Democratic Labour Party
. It was in Prague
January 5-17 1912, 18 Bolsheviks attended. Stalin and Sverdlov were in exile at the time and couldn't attend. Georgi Plekhanov
claimed he was too ill to attend. At the conference, Lenin and his supporters broke away from the rest of the party and formed their own, purely Bolshevik, party.
The conference was meant to be secret (Lenin instructed: "No-one, no organisation must know about this.") but every detail was known by the Okhrana.
Seven people were elected to the Central Committee
: Lenin, Zinoviev
, Malinovsky
(later revealed to be a spy for the Okhrana), Ordzhonikidze
, Spandaryan
(Stalin's best friend), Sverdlov
(Soviet president 1917-19) and Goloshchekin. The latter four set up a Russian Bureau to direct the party along with Kalinin and Stalin, who led the Bureau. This ensured the domination of Bolsheviks in Russia as opposed to the emigres who were considered "null and void" by Ordzhonikidze. Spandaryan called for the emigre group to be dissolved.
After the conference, on Lenin and Zinoviev's recommendation, Joseph Stalin
was co-opted to the Bolshevik Central Committee
. Elena Stasova
was made Secretary to the Russian Bureau. Stepan Shahumyan
and Mikhail Kalinin
(Soviet president 1919-46) became candidate Central Committee members. Ironically, Kalinin was suspected of being an Okhrana agent so was not a full member. Both were Stalin's comrades in the Caucasus.
Lenin wrote to Maxim Gorky
: "At last we have succeeded, in spite of the Liquidator scum, in restoring the Party and its Central Committee. I hope you will rejoice with us over the fact."
Stalin said: "This conference was of the utmost importance in the history of our Party, for it drew a boundary line between the Bolsheviks and the Mensheviks and amalgamated the Bolshevik organizations all over the country into a united Bolshevik Party."
Vladimir Lenin
Vladimir Ilyich Lenin was a Russian Marxist revolutionary and communist politician who led the October Revolution of 1917. As leader of the Bolsheviks, he headed the Soviet state during its initial years , as it fought to establish control of Russia in the Russian Civil War and worked to create a...
's Bolshevik faction of the Russian Social Democratic Labour Party
Russian Social Democratic Labour Party
The Russian Social Democratic Labour Party , also known as Russian Social Democratic Workers' Party or Russian Social Democratic Party, was a revolutionary socialist Russian political party formed in 1898 in Minsk to unite the various revolutionary organizations into one party...
. It was in Prague
Prague
Prague is the capital and largest city of the Czech Republic. Situated in the north-west of the country on the Vltava river, the city is home to about 1.3 million people, while its metropolitan area is estimated to have a population of over 2.3 million...
January 5-17 1912, 18 Bolsheviks attended. Stalin and Sverdlov were in exile at the time and couldn't attend. Georgi Plekhanov
Georgi Plekhanov
Georgi Valentinovich Plekhanov was a Russian revolutionary and a Marxist theoretician. He was a founder of the Social-Democratic movement in Russia and was one of the first Russians to identify himself as "Marxist." Facing political persecution, Plekhanov emigrated to Switzerland in 1880, where...
claimed he was too ill to attend. At the conference, Lenin and his supporters broke away from the rest of the party and formed their own, purely Bolshevik, party.
The conference was meant to be secret (Lenin instructed: "No-one, no organisation must know about this.") but every detail was known by the Okhrana.
Seven people were elected to the Central Committee
Central Committee
Central Committee was the common designation of a standing administrative body of communist parties, analogous to a board of directors, whether ruling or non-ruling in the twentieth century and of the surviving, mostly Trotskyist, states in the early twenty first. In such party organizations the...
: Lenin, Zinoviev
Zinoviev
Zinoviev, Zinovyev, Zinovieff , or Zinovieva is a Russian surname and may refer to:* Aleksandr Zinovyev , a Russian logician, sociologist, writer, and satirist* Alexander S...
, Malinovsky
Malinovsky
Malinovsky , or Malinovskaya is a Slavic surname.*Alexey Malinovsky , a Russian historian and academician*Mark Malinovsky , a Russian revolutionary...
(later revealed to be a spy for the Okhrana), Ordzhonikidze
Ordzhonikidze
Ordzhonikidze may refer to:People:*Grigoriy Ordzhonikidze , a Georgian Bolshevik and Soviet political leader*Sergei Ordzhonikidze, a Russian diplomat*Iosif Ordzhonikidze , a mayor of Moscow...
, Spandaryan
Spandaryan
Spandaryan may refer to:*Spandaryan, Shirak, Armenia*Spandaryan, Syunik, Armenia*Spandarian Reservoir, Syunik, Armenia*Silikyan, Yerevan, Armenia...
(Stalin's best friend), Sverdlov
Sverdlov
Sverdlov may refer to:* Yakov Sverdlov, Bolshevik leader* Sverdlov class cruiser, Soviet cruiser class* Sverdlov, Armenia...
(Soviet president 1917-19) and Goloshchekin. The latter four set up a Russian Bureau to direct the party along with Kalinin and Stalin, who led the Bureau. This ensured the domination of Bolsheviks in Russia as opposed to the emigres who were considered "null and void" by Ordzhonikidze. Spandaryan called for the emigre group to be dissolved.
After the conference, on Lenin and Zinoviev's recommendation, Joseph Stalin
Joseph Stalin
Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin was the Premier of the Soviet Union from 6 May 1941 to 5 March 1953. He was among the Bolshevik revolutionaries who brought about the October Revolution and had held the position of first General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union's Central Committee...
was co-opted to the Bolshevik Central Committee
Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union
The Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union , abbreviated in Russian as ЦК, "Tse-ka", earlier was also called as the Central Committee of the All-Union Communist Party ...
. Elena Stasova
Elena Stasova
Elena Dmitrievna "Lyolia" Stasova was a Russian communist revolutionary who became a political functionary working for the Communist International . She was a Comintern representative to Germany in 1921. From 1927 to 1938 she was the president of International Red Aid...
was made Secretary to the Russian Bureau. Stepan Shahumyan
Stepan Shahumyan
Stepan Gevorgi Shahumyan was a Bolshevist Russian communist politician and revolutionary active throughout the Caucasus. Shahumyan was an ethnic Armenian and his role as a leader of the Russian revolution in the Caucasus earned him the nickname of the "Caucasian Lenin", a reference to the leader...
and Mikhail Kalinin
Mikhail Kalinin
Mikhail Ivanovich Kalinin , known familiarly by Soviet citizens as "Kalinych," was a Bolshevik revolutionary and the nominal head of state of Russia and later of the Soviet Union, from 1919 to 1946...
(Soviet president 1919-46) became candidate Central Committee members. Ironically, Kalinin was suspected of being an Okhrana agent so was not a full member. Both were Stalin's comrades in the Caucasus.
Lenin wrote to Maxim Gorky
Maxim Gorky
Alexei Maximovich Peshkov , primarily known as Maxim Gorky , was a Russian and Soviet author, a founder of the Socialist Realism literary method and a political activist.-Early years:...
: "At last we have succeeded, in spite of the Liquidator scum, in restoring the Party and its Central Committee. I hope you will rejoice with us over the fact."
Stalin said: "This conference was of the utmost importance in the history of our Party, for it drew a boundary line between the Bolsheviks and the Mensheviks and amalgamated the Bolshevik organizations all over the country into a united Bolshevik Party."