Volume 8 contains the works of Lenin written between January and July 1905, during the early period of the first Russian revolution. Most of the book consists of articles published in the underground Bolshevik newspapers Vperyod and Proletary.
The articles âThe Autocracy and the Proletariatâ, âThe Fall of Port Arthurâ, âEuropean Capital and the Autocracyâ, and âDebacleâ give an analysis of the military defeat and political crisis of the autocracy and predict the inevitability of the revolution in Russia.
The articles âTwo Tacticsâ, âShould We Organise the Revolution?", âNew Tasks and New Forcesâ, âOn the Provisional Revolutionary Governmentâ, âThe Revolutionary- Democratic Dictatorship of the Proletariat and the Peasantryâ, and âThe Revolutionary Army and the Revolutionary Governmentâ examine and develop the revolutionary tactics of the Bolshevik Party and expose and criticise the opportunist tactics of the Mensheviks.
Lenin's campaign against the splitting activities of the Mensheviks and for preparing the Third Congress of the RSDLPâthe first Bolshevik congressâis unfolded in his articles âTime to Call a Halt!", âA Brief Outline of the Split in the RSDLP", âGeneral Plan of the Third Congress Decisionsâ, âDraft Resolutions for the Third Congress of the RSDLP", âThe First Stepâ, âWhat the Bonapartists Are Up Toâ, âThe Second Stepâ, and âOpen Letter to Comrade Plekhanov, Chairman of the Council of the RSDLP"
A considerable part of the volume consists of documents pertaining to the Third Congress of the RSDLPâLenin's reports and speeches at the Congress, and resolutions drafted by him on the armed uprising, on the provisional revolutionary government, on support to the peasant movement, on the events in the Caucasus, and on other questions.
The volume includes articles directed against bourgeois liberalism, such as âThe Agrarian Programme of the Liberalsâ, âPolitical Sophismsâ, âThe First Steps of Bourgeois Betrayalâ, "'Revolutionaries' in Kid Glovesâ, and âThe Struggle of the Proletariat and the Servility of the Bourgeoisie".
Fourteen articles and briefer items, published for the first time in the Collected Works of Lenin, are devoted to an analysis of the revolutionary events in Russia and to questions pertaining to the Third Congress of the RSDLP
In his article âRevolution in Russiaâ, Lenin for the first time evaluates the events of January 9 as the beginning of the revolution and salutes the insurgent proletariat. His articles âThe First Stepsâ, âThe Eve of Bloody Sundayâ, âThe Number of Killed or Woundedâ, âThe Battles on the Barricadesâ, and âSt. Petersburg After January 9" deal with the early days of the revolutionary struggle in St. Petersburg and with the growing political consciousness of the Russian proletariat.
In his âFirst of Mayâ leaflet, Lenin sets forth the tasks of the proletariat and the peasantry in the revolution and calls for the preparation of the popular armed uprising.
The item âConferences of the Committeesâ reports on the conferences of the local committees which went on record for the immediate convocation of the Third Party Congress. The article âFrom the New-Iskra Campâ exposes the systematic deception of the Party by the Mensheviks.
The documents âResolution on the Armed Uprisingâ, âSpeech on the Procedure of the Discussion of the Resolutions on the Relations Between Workers and Intellectuals Within the Social-Democratic Organisationsâ, âResolution on the Publication of the Congress Proceedingsâ, and âDraft Resolution on the Events in the Caucasusâ pertain to the materials of the Third Congress of the RSDLP
In the short article âThe New Russian Loanâ Lenin deals with the decline of the tsarist government's credit abroad due to the military defeats and the growing discontent within the country.
