Discussion about the Essence of the Proletarian State in the CPSU between 1919 and 1923

Abstract

The author considers a still relevant topic, i.e. the formation of the state mechanism of Bolshevist Russia. The history of the first years of Soviet rule was one of the most politicized issues, and its academic reconstruction is still in progress. The author aims to clarify the reasons for the discrepancy between the Bolsheviks’ pre-revolutionary views on the dictatorship of the proletariat and the political realities of the period of civil war. The methodological basis of the research is the recognition of integrity of the historical process: while having opposite objectives, the autocratic and the Bolshevist regimes were both characterized by the weakness of civil society and the domination of the state in the political system. The author maintains that the transfer of power during 1918 from workers to the party state management was caused by the absence of prerequisites for a socialist revolution. The article describes V.I. Lenin’s views on these prerequisites, as well as his polemics with groups of “democratic centralism” and “working opposition”. The analysis conducted allows the author to draw a conclusion that both the fractional groups and the majority of the Central Committee of the CPSU were wrong. The opposition insisted that the Marxist provision requiring the transfer of power to workers be implemented, while V.I. Lenin emphasized the scholastic character of these requirements and urged to proceed from political realities.