Concerning the Question of the Strategy and Tactics of the Russian Communists

Stalin’s important article on the strategy and tactics of the Russian communists based on the lectures that he delivered at different times at the workers’ club in the Presnya District and to the Communist group at the Sverdlov University. It was first published in Pravda issue No. 56, March 14, 1923. The Chinese translation is included in Vol. 5 of the Complete Works of Stalin.

The article consists of two parts. The first part mainly discusses the connotation of several concepts and the relationship between them. In this part, Stalin explained the strategic principles of proletarian party from seven aspects. Firstly, Stalin explains the relationship between two aspects: the objective or spontaneous aspect and the subjective or conscious aspect. Stalin distinguished the objective and subjective aspects of the strategy and tactics of the working-class movement. The objective, spontaneous aspect is the group of processes that include the economic development of the country, the development of capitalism, the disintegration of the old regime, the spontaneous movements of the proletariat and of the classes around it, the conflict of classes, etc.—all these are phenomena whose development does not depend on the will of the proletariat. The subjective aspect of the movement is the reflection in the minds of the workers of the spontaneous processes of the movement. It is the conscious and systematic movement of the proletariat towards a definite goal. It is this side of the movement that interests us because, unlike the objective side, it is entirely subject to the directing influence of strategy and tactics. But contrarily in respect to the subjective side of the movement, the field of application of strategy is broad and varied, because strategy can accelerate or retard the movement, direct it along the shortest path or divert it to a more difficult and painful path, depending on the perfections or shortcomings of strategy itself. Secondly, Stalin explained the relationship between the theory and program of Marxism and pointed out that strategy and tactics must be based on Marxist theory and program. Thirdly, Stalin explained the connections and differences between the strategy and the strategic plan, and explained that the most important function of strategy is to determine the main direction which ought to be taken by the working-class movement, and along which the proletariat can most advantageously deliver the main blow at its enemy in order to achieve the aims formulated in the programme. A strategic plan is a plan of the organization of the decisive blow in the direction in which the blow is most likely to achieve the maximum results. Fourthly, on the question of tactics. Tactics are a part of strategy, subordinated to and serving it. A most important function of tactics is to determine the ways and means, the forms and methods of fighting that are most appropriate to the concrete situation at the given moment and are most certain to prepare the way for strategic success. Fifthly, it introduces the forms of political and military struggle and points out that they are not immutable. We should use all the right forms of struggle in time according to the changes in the environment. The task of the party is to master all forms of struggle. Sixthly, it introduces the organizational forms and puts forward the organizational forms of the military and political organizations. The task of the Party is to master all these forms of organization, bring them to perfection and skillfully combine their operations at each given moment. Seventhly, explain the significance of slogans and instructions, and the importance of political slogans The Party’s duty is skillfully and opportunely to transform agitation slogans into action slogans, or action slogans into definite and concrete directives.

The second part explains the strategic plan of the Party in the different stages of its development. Stalin summed up the history of the Party into three historical changes, and explained the changes of the strategic plan of the Party in each historical period. The first historical turn began at the beginning of the 20th century, which opened the period wherein the Russo-Japanese war occurred and ended with the February Revolution in 1917. During this period, two strategic plans were at question in the Party: the plan of the Mensheviks which advocated that the main blow should target the Tsarism along the line of a coalition between the liberal bourgeoisie and the proletariat. The other one was the Bolshevik strategic plan, which determined that the revolution’s main blow should target Tsarism along the line of a alliance between the proletariat and the peasantry, while the liberal bourgeoisie was to be neutralized.

The second historical turn began with the February Revolution in 1917, and ended with the October Revolution in 1917. Two controversial strategic plans were on the agenda of the Soviets at that time: the plan by Mensheviks plus the Socialist-Revolutionaries, and the plan by Bolsheviks. The tactic of the Menshevik plus Socialist-Revolutionary parties took the line of the gradual but steady removal of the Soviets from power and give all power to the hands of the “Pre-parliament,” the prototype of a future bourgeois parliament. The Bolshevik tactic planned the main blow along the line of liquidating the power of the bourgeoisie by the allied forces of the proletariat and the poor peasants, along the line of organizing the dictatorship of the proletariat in the form of a Soviet Republic.

The third historic turn began with the October Revolution. Two tactical plans were at issue in political circles of Russia at that time: the tactical plan of the counterrevolutionaries, who had drawn into their ranks the active sections of the Mensheviks and Socialist-Revolutionaries, and the tactical plan of the Bolsheviks. The Socialist-Revolutionaries and Mensheviks planned a course towards the overthrow of the Soviet Government by means of Army based revolts or foreign intervention, and aimed to restore the capitalist order in Russia. The Bolsheviks, on the contrary, planned along the line of internally strengthening the dictatorship of the proletariat in Russia and extending the sphere of operation of the proletarian revolution to all countries of the world by combining the efforts of the proletarians of Russia with the efforts of the proletarians of Europe and with the efforts of the oppressed nations of the East against world imperialism.

Stalin said in his article that he did not think that he had put forward anything new and different from Comrade Lenin, but a condensed and schematic exposition of the fundamental views of Comrade Lenin.

The “Concerning the Question of the Strategy and Tactics of the Russian Communists” includes Stalin’s detailed explanation on the strategy and tactics of the proletarian party on the basis of Leninism. It has important theoretical value and methodological significance for the proletarian party to timely formulate specific lines, policies, slogans, so forth.