The toiler. [volume] (Cleveland, Ohio) 1919-1922, 1921-04-23
THE PROCEEDINGS OF THE End CONGRESS OF THE 3rd COM
n.@=#ssss-ss~ MUNIST NTERNA TI0NAL: Moscow 1920
9TH Instament.)
THIRD SITTING OF CONGRESS.
(Petrograd Pravda, July 2S, 1920.)
Lenin's Report on National and Colonial
0r,aSfiouc

On jury 20 Jne congress llStened 10 COm-
rade Lenin who made report upon the
results of the work of the committee of the
Congress on national and colonial questions.
''The fundamental characteristics of i'm
perialisnl," says Comrade Lenin. sis the di
viding up of the world into small handful
of oppressors and an overwhelming majority
of oppressed.
"At the present moment 70 per cent of
the entire population of the globe-that is,
more than one and three-fourths billion
people-are under the yoke of mperialist
powers. This yoke expresses itself in the
most varied forms of exploitation of man by
man. This question acquires great import
ance, and as result of it's complicated and
varied character in different countries it is
one of particular difficulty.
'The Soviet idea is spreading everywhere,
even in the most backward countries. AS
result the question has come up, and was
discussed in the committee, whether the
Communist international should support the
bourgeois-democratic parties of oppressed
nationalties.
"We came to the conclusion that the bour-
geois-democratic parties of oppressed ma
tionalities are of various kinds. Some of
them have adopted reformist tactics, and
are adapting themselves to the political re-
gime existing in given country, harmonic
ing their activities with the interests of the
ruling countries Of course we shall not give
any support to such parties. Here we have
the essential difference between Conlmun-
lists and refornlists, because the latter sup
port ourgeois-democratic movements in
politics. However, reformists, in fact, al
ways come out against revolutionary move
ments in colonies and senicolonial States.
On the other hand, Communists should sup
port the ational-revolutionary movements,
but only when these movements are in fact
revolutionary.
"The peaSantry is usually the support of
such national-revolutionary movements. In
such countries, the Communist Party is not
able to attain success unless it supports the
PEASANTS Here we come to the question as
f5 what shoulH be the work of a Communist
Party in precapitalist countries (for ex-
ample, our Turkestan), where one must note
practically complete absence of industrial
proletariat
However, Communist Party even in the
precapitalist countries has a wide field for
activity, inasrnuch as you have in these
backward countries also exploitation of the
population by trading capital, and semi
feudal relationship in agriculture
"The struggle of agricultural toilers
against landlord exploitation is the basis
upon which you can buid an organization
of toilers, even in backward countries.
"In such countries it is quite possible to
establish Soviet authority. The experiences
lics-for example, Turkestan-show that the
Soviet movement can be successful not only
in proletarian countries, but even in those
countries where precapitaliSt relations exist
In these countries you experience great diff
ficuty in organizing Soviets, but without
question it is possible to arouse an indepen.
dent revolutionary consciousness and move
ment even in these countries. The. Soviet
idea is very simple, and can be understood
not only by the proletariat, but also by the
broader nonproletarian masses.
Here we come to another very important
point which has aroused rather lively de-
bates in the committee. Can countries with
precapitalist relations in production pass tt
Communism without going through the
period of capitalism
On this point Comrade Lenin notes that
if the victorious proletariat having State
authority in it's hands in the most develop
ed industrial countries, will come To the as.
sistance of the Orient with all its organi
zation and State means, then the backward
countries will be able to attain Communism
without passing through the capitalist stage
of development.
Zone must abandon scientific prejudices
that each country must absolutely pass
through capitalist exploitation; the power
of Soviets, when there is powerful in
dlistrial proletariat uprising on a worlt
scale, can be established in those countries
in which the capitalist development has MOI