Lenin on the Practice and Thought of the Russian Communist Party (Bolsheviks) Daring to Engage in Self-Revolution

Daring to engage in self-revolution is a distinctive hallmark that distinguishes a Marxist political party from other political parties, and it is an inevitable requirement for a proletarian party to fulfill its historical mission. In the practice of leading the Russian Communist Party (Bolsheviks) [RCP(B)] in exploring the path of socialist development, Lenin consistently adhered to self-revolution, that is, daring to openly acknowledge the Party’s own errors, to struggle against these errors, and to draw lessons from them, ensuring that the Party always advanced along the correct political line. Taking history as a mirror enables one to understand the rise and fall of states. In the New Era of socialism with Chinese characteristics, revisiting Lenin’s thought holds significant importance for strengthening the Party’s self-building.

勇于自我革命是马克思主义政党区别于其他政党的显著标志，是无产阶级政党实现其历史使命的必然要求。列宁在领导俄共(布)探索社会主义发展道路的实践中，始终坚持自我革命，即敢于公开承认党自身的错误，同这种错误作斗争，并从中吸取经验教训，确保党始终前进在正确的政治路线上。以史为鉴，方可知兴替。在中国特色社会主义新时代，重温列宁的思想对于加强党的自身建设具有重要意义。

I. The Practice of Lenin Leading the RCP(B) in Self-Revolution

一、列宁领导俄共(布)自我革命的实践

(A) Lenin Led the Party in a Resolute Struggle against “Revolutionary Phrase-Mongering”

(一)列宁领导党同“革命空谈”进行坚决的斗争

In the early period after the October Revolution, on the question of whether the Soviet government should sign the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk with Germany, some within the RCP(B) spread “revolutionary phrase-mongering” and opposed signing the treaty. Lenin waged a resolute struggle against this, which was an important attempt by Lenin to lead the RCP(B) in carrying out self-revolution.

十月革命胜利初期，在苏维埃政权要不要同德国签订布列斯特和约的问题上，俄共(布)内有的人散布“革命空谈”,反对签订和约。列宁对此进行了坚决斗争，这是列宁领导俄共(布)进行自我革命的一次重要尝试。

From January to March 1918, Soviet Russia was in the early period after the revolutionary victory, the smoke of the First World War still lingered, and the newborn Soviet government was surrounded by imperialist powers, facing the danger of attack and subversion. With the aim of extricating itself from imperialist attacks and consolidating state power, the Soviet government sent a delegation to negotiate with the German delegation, striving to sign a peace treaty, withdraw from the war, and gain a breathing space. At this time, a “Left Communist” group headed by Bukharin emerged within the RCP(B). They advocated continuing the war against German imperialism, using the war to support the proletarian revolution in Germany. This was a “Left” trend of thought. Lenin led the RCP(B) in a resolute struggle against it and subjected the “Left” trend of thought to severe criticism. For example, Lenin wrote articles such as “On Revolutionary Phrase-Mongering,” “On the Itch,” and “A Painful but Necessary Lesson,” and led the Party Central Committee to hold meetings on February 17, February 18, and February 23, 1918, emphasizing the necessity of signing the peace treaty and criticizing the ideological errors of the “Left Communist” group. Lenin pointed out: “The ‘slogan’ of waging a revolutionary war in February 1918 is a meaningless phrase, devoid of any real, objective basis. Emotionalism, wishful thinking, anger, and indignation—these are the sole content of this slogan at present. And a slogan with only this content is called revolutionary phrase-mongering.” [1]1 V. I. Lenin, “On Revolutionary Phrase-Mongering,” *Collected Works*, Vol. 27, p. 3. (This note provides the source of the quotation; the specific edition may vary.) Clearly, Lenin’s characterization of the “Left Communist” group’s position as “revolutionary phrase-mongering” was a profound and severe critique of the “Left” trend of thought. He also pointed out that the harm of “revolutionary phrase-mongering” lay in its benefit to German imperialism in launching attacks against the Soviet government, thereby causing the defeat of the cause of the Soviet Russian proletariat.

1918年1月至3月，苏俄正值革命胜利初期，第一次世界大战的硝烟仍在弥漫，新生的苏维埃政权处于帝国主义的包围中，面临着被攻击和被颠覆的危险。苏维埃政权着眼于摆脱帝国主义攻击和巩固政权的目的，派出代表团同德国代表团谈判，力求签订和约，退出战争，赢得喘息机会。此时俄共(布)出现了以布哈林为首的“左派共产主义者”集团。他们主张继续同德国帝国主义进行战争，以战争支持德国的无产阶级革命。这是一种“左倾”思潮。列宁领导俄共(布)对其进行了坚决的斗争，对“左倾”思潮进行了严厉的批判。如列宁写作《论革命空谈》《论疥疮》《沉痛的但是必要的教训》等文章，领导党中央先后于1918年2月17日、2月18日、2月23日举行会议，强调必须签订和约并批评“左派共产主义者”集团的思想错误。列宁指出：“主张在1918年2月进行革命战争的‘口号’是一句毫无内容的空话，没有一点现实的、客观的根据。感情用事，一厢情愿，怒气冲冲，愤愤不平，就是这个口号在目前的唯一内容。而仅有这种内容的口号就叫作革命空谈。”显然列宁把“左派共产主义者”集团的主张称为“革命空谈”,是对“左倾”思潮的深刻的、严厉的批判。他还指出，“革命空谈”的危害性在于有利于德国帝国主义对苏维埃政权发动攻击，使苏俄无产阶级的事业遭致失败。

At the same time, with a view to thoroughly explaining the harmfulness of the “Left Communists’” “revolutionary phrase-mongering,” Lenin exposed and criticized their various “pretexts.” The most deceptive “pretext” of the “Left Communists” was that signing this peace treaty “is a disgrace, a betrayal of Latvia, Poland, Courland, and Lithuania.” They sought to use this as an excuse to oppose the signing of the treaty. Lenin, however, believed that this seemingly internationalist argument showed that the “Left Communists” had fallen into the trap set by the Russian bourgeoisie (the Russian bourgeoisie was precisely using such arguments to oppose the signing of the treaty). Lenin said: “This argument is a trap into which the Russian bourgeoisie deliberately tried to drag the Russian Bolsheviks, and into which some Bolsheviks, fond of phrase-mongering, inadvertently fell.” [2]2 V. I. Lenin, “A Painful but Necessary Lesson,” *Collected Works*, Vol. 27, p. 38. It can be seen that the “Left” blindly echoed the views of the Russian bourgeoisie, unaware that this was precisely the situation the Russian bourgeoisie was happy to see, because they knew that continuing the war with Germany would have a high probability of overthrowing the Soviet government and returning state power to the bourgeoisie. At the same time, the bourgeoisie of England and France also approved of Russia continuing to fight against Germany, their ambitions clear for all to see. They hoped to use the war to pin down German forces while weakening the newborn Soviet government and undermining the proletarian revolution. Lenin pointed out: “The English and French bourgeoisie set a trap for us: ‘Go on, dear friends, fight now; we will gain great benefit from it. The Germans will plunder you, having ‘made enough’ in the East, they will sell cheaply in the West, and incidentally, they will cause the Soviet government to collapse… Fight, dear ‘allies’ the Bolsheviks, we will help you!’” [3]3 V. I. Lenin, “On the Itch,” *Collected Works*, Vol. 27, p. 62. Thus, Lenin clearly saw Russia’s real predicament and the harmfulness of engaging in revolutionary phrase-mongering, namely, that it would not only fail to extricate Soviet Russia from the war but would instead subject the Soviet government to continued enslavement by German imperialism, placing it in dire straits. As Lenin said: “If we refuse to sign the peace treaty offered to us, then ‘the most severe defeats will force Russia to conclude a separate peace treaty even more disadvantageous.’ Facts proved the situation even worse… Whoever opposes the immediate signing of even an extremely harsh peace treaty is ruining the Soviet government.” [4]4 V. I. Lenin, “On Revolutionary Phrase-Mongering,” *Collected Works*, Vol. 27, p. 5. Therefore, “it is necessary to oppose revolutionary phrase-mongering, it is absolutely necessary to oppose revolutionary phrase-mongering.” [5]5 V. I. Lenin, “On Revolutionary Phrase-Mongering,” *Collected Works*, Vol. 27, p. 11.

同时，着眼于透彻说明“左派共产主义者”“革命空谈”的危害性，列宁对其多种“托词”进行了揭露和批评。“左派共产主义者”最具迷惑性的“托词”是，签订这一和约“是一种耻辱，是对拉脱维亚、波兰、库尔兰和立陶宛的背叛”。他们力图以此为借口，反对和约的签订。列宁却认为这种貌似国际主义的论据表明“左派共产主义者”已落入了俄国资产阶级的圈套(俄国资产阶级正是以这样的理由反对签订和约的)。列宁说：“这种论据是资产阶级有意要把俄国布尔什维克拖进去的圈套，而一部分布尔什维克却由于喜欢空谈无意中陷入了这个圈套。”可以看出，“左派”一味地附和俄国资产阶级的观点，殊不知这正是俄国资产阶级乐于看到的局面，因为他们知道，继续同德国进行战争，将有极大可能颠覆苏维埃政权并使政权重新回到资产阶级手中。与此同时，英、法两国资产阶级也赞同俄国继续对德作战，其野心昭然若揭。他们就是希望利用战争牵制住德国的兵力，同时削弱新生的苏维埃政权，破坏无产阶级革命。列宁指出：“英法资产阶级给我们设了一个圈套：亲爱的，你们现在去打吧，我们会因此获得很大的好处。德国人会掠夺你们，在东方‘赚足了’,在西方就会廉价出让，顺便又可以使苏维埃政权垮台……打吧，亲爱的‘同盟者’布尔什维克，我们会援助你们的!”可见，列宁清楚地看到俄国的真实处境和进行革命空谈的危害性，即它不仅不会使苏俄摆脱战争，反而令苏维埃政权继续遭受德国帝国主义的奴役，置它于水火之中。如列宁所说：“如果我们拒绝签订向我们提出的和约，那么‘最严重的失败将迫使俄国缔结更加不利的单独和约’。事实证明情况更坏，……谁要反对立刻签订即使是极端苛刻的和约，谁就是在断送苏维埃政权。”因此，“必须反对革命空谈，一定要反对革命空谈”。

Thanks to Lenin’s unremitting efforts, a unified opinion was finally reached within the RCP(B). The Soviet government signed a peace treaty with Germany on March 3, 1918, and withdrew from the war. This meant that Lenin had won the struggle against the “Left” error on this issue. During this period, Lenin pointed out the harmfulness of the “Left’s” errors, identified the reasons for their mistakes, advocated a resolute struggle against these errors, and led the Party in earnest practical efforts. It can be said that this was an important attempt at “self-revolution” by a proletarian party after seizing state power. It shows that the meaning of self-revolution lies in the Party’s daring to struggle against all kinds of errors within the Party, regardless of whether these errors are ideological or practical. Carrying out inner-Party struggle and correcting errors within the Party is the only way to ensure that the Party’s cause advances in the correct direction.

由于列宁的不懈努力，俄共(布)内最终达成一致的意见。苏维埃政权于1918年3月3日同德国签订和约，退出了战争。这意味着列宁在此问题上赢得了同“左倾”错误作斗争的胜利。在这一时期，列宁指出了“左派”错误的危害性，指明了他们犯错误的原因，主张坚决地同这一错误作斗争，并且领导党努力地进行了实践。可以说，这是无产阶级政党掌握政权后进行“自我革命”的一次重要的尝试。它表明自我革命的含义在于党要敢于同党内的各种错误作斗争，而不管这种错误是思想上的还是实践中的。开展党内斗争，纠正了党内的错误，才能确保党的事业朝着正确的方向前进。

(B) Lenin Conducted Profound Introspection and Self-Criticism over the Great Debate on the Role of Trade Unions

(二)列宁就工会作用大争论进行深刻的反省和检讨

Just after the end of the Soviet Russian Civil War, a great debate erupted within the RCP(B) over the role of trade unions, and during the course of the debate, several political factions with their own platforms emerged within the Party. Lenin considered this a “luxury” that delayed the Party’s work and an act that “undermined the unity of the Party,” which must never be allowed to happen again. This is also an instance of Lenin leading the Party in self-revolution.

苏俄国内战争刚结束时，俄共(布)内就工会的作用发生了一场大争论，并且在争论的过程中党内出现了几个有着各自纲领的政治派别。列宁认为这是一种耽误党的工作的“奢侈行为”,是“破坏党的统一”的行为，以后决不能再发生。这也是列宁领导党进行自我革命的一个事例。

From November 2 to 6, 1920, the Fifth All-Russian Conference of Trade Unions was held in Moscow, at which it was proposed that the methods of trade union work must be changed, that is, the military methods of administrative command should be replaced by democratic methods, in order to meet the needs of peaceful construction tasks. However, Trotsky opposed the adoption of new working methods in trade union work. He raised the slogan of “purge” of the trade unions, demanding “tightening the nuts” and the immediate “nationalization of the trade unions.” What he meant was that the trade unions needed to be rectified, cadres adept at acting on military orders should be transferred to work in the trade unions, the mode of administrative command management in trade union work should be strengthened, and the trade unions should replace the functions of the Soviet regime in managing the economy, arguing that henceforth the state power would no longer manage economic work. If his proposals were implemented, they would inevitably lead to a change in the nature of the trade unions and greatly weaken the functions, role, and organizational strength of the Soviet regime. Therefore, the entire Party, from top to bottom, engaged in debate and discussion on the nature and role of the trade unions. At this time, political factions with their own platforms formed within the Party, such as the “Trotskyite faction,” the “Workers’ Opposition,” the “Democratic Centralists,” the “Buffer Group,” the “Nogin faction,” the “Ryazanov faction,” and the “Ignatov faction.” They each held meetings to expound their platforms and views, and each published articles in newspapers and periodicals to propagate and disseminate their platforms and views. In view of this situation, and in view of the ideological and political errors of the various political factions, Lenin wrote articles such as “On the Trade Unions, the Current Situation and the Mistakes of Comrade Trotsky,” “The Party Crisis,” and “Once Again on the Trade Unions, the Current Situation and the Mistakes of Comrades Trotsky and Bukharin,” conducting serious criticism and struggle. In March 1921, the Tenth Congress of the Russian Communist Party (Bolsheviks) adopted the “Resolution on the Role and Tasks of the Trade Unions,” reaffirming the Party’s correct views on the role and tasks of the trade unions, bringing this tumultuous debate to a close. After the debate ended, Lenin engaged in profound self-reflection, pointing out that this intra-Party debate and discussion was a “luxury” that wasted time and delayed the Party’s work, and was an erroneous act harmful to the Party’s ideological unity and unity of action.

1920年11月2日至6日，全俄工会第五次代表会议在莫斯科举行，会上提出必须改变工会工作的方法，即用民主的方法代替行政命令的军事方法，以适应和平建设任务的需要。然而托洛茨基却反对在工会工作中采用新的工作方法。他提出了“整刷”工会的口号，要求“拧紧螺母”和立即实现“工会国家化”。他的意思是，需要对工会进行整顿，把善于按军事命令行事的干部调到工会工作，强化工会工作中的行政命令管理方式，并且用工会取代苏维埃政权管理经济的职能，认为以后国家政权将不再管理经济工作。如果按照他的主张实施，势必导致工会性质的改变，并大大削弱苏维埃政权的职能、作用和组织力量。因此俄共(布)全党上下围绕工会的性质和作用问题展开了争论和讨论。这时，党内形成了“托洛茨基派”“工人反对派”“民主集中派”“缓冲集团”“诺根派”“梁赞诺夫派”“伊格纳托夫派”等有着自己纲领的政治派别。他们各自举行会议，阐述自己的纲领和主张，并且各自在报刊上发表文章，宣传和传播各自的纲领和主张。鉴于这种局面，鉴于各种政治派别思想上、政治上的错误，列宁写作《论工会、目前局势和托洛茨基同志的错误》《党内危机》《再论工会、目前局势及托洛茨基同志和布哈林同志的错误》等文章，进行了严肃的批判和斗争。1921年3月俄共(布)第十次代表大会上通过《关于工会的作用和任务的决议》,重申党关于工会作用和任务的正确观点，使这场沸沸扬扬的争论落下帷幕。争论结束后，列宁进行了深刻反省，指出这场党内辩论和争论是一种浪费时间、耽误党的工作的“奢侈行为”,是一种危害党的思想统一和行动统一的错误行为。

At the Tenth Congress of the Russian Communist Party (Bolsheviks), Lenin pointed out that the debate on the trade union question “was indeed a completely impermissible luxury; by conducting this debate, we undoubtedly made a mistake, failing to recognize that we had placed in the primary position a question which, according to objective conditions, should not have occupied that position; we indulged in this luxury without realizing that we thereby greatly diverted attention from the urgent, serious, and imminent crisis issues.” In Lenin’s view, at that time the Party was engaged in a life-and-death struggle against domestic and foreign enemies, and was facing urgent problems such as crop failure, economic disruption, and army demobilization that needed to be solved. Under these most difficult circumstances, the Party should not waste time discussing and debating meaningless questions, but should focus on the Party’s primary issues, and especially, there should not be many political factions with their own platforms within the Party. Lenin also pointed out the harmfulness of this debate, saying: “All our enemies (and they are countless) in their countless foreign newspapers repeatedly repeat and spread the rumors that our bourgeois and petty-bourgeois enemies disseminate in the Soviet Republic, saying: where there is debate there is contention, where there is contention there is discord, where there is discord the Communists will weaken, so seize the opportunity, and when they are weakened, crush them! This has become the slogan of our enemies.” It can be seen from this that Lenin had already recognized that disputes between different political views within the Party were extremely harmful; they would not only cause an unstable political situation domestically, but also weaken intra-Party unity, weaken the dictatorship of the proletariat, and could even lead to its collapse. With a view to avoiding such consequences, Lenin proposed at the Congress that major debates should no longer be allowed within the Party: “The Party Congress should draw the necessary lessons from this matter, incorporate them into the Central Committee’s political work report, establish them, affirm them, and turn them into obligations that the Party must observe, into law.” At the Tenth Party Congress, Lenin also led the Congress in formulating the “Resolution on Party Unity,” proposing that all political factions within the Party must be immediately dissolved, and that no such political factions should be allowed to form in the future. If anyone committed such an error again, even if they were a member of the Party Central Committee, the Party would expel them from its ranks. In Lenin’s thinking, opposing major debates within the Party and opposing factional activities within the Party aimed to strengthen Party unity and centralized, unified strength. He led the Party in achieving this goal through struggle. This was an important event in Lenin’s leadership of the Party’s self-revolution. He saw the serious consequences of major intra-Party debates and the serious consequences of factional activities within the Party, subjected them to severe criticism, and demanded that such phenomena be eliminated in the future. This process was the process of the Party’s self-revolution.

列宁在俄共(布)第十次代表大会上指出，工会问题的辩论“这种奢侈行为确实是完全不能容许的；我们进行这场辩论，无疑是犯了错误，我们没有认识到，我们在这场辩论中把根据客观条件不应占首要地位的问题，放到了首要地位；我们搞起这种奢侈行为，却没有认识到，我们因此而大大转移了对紧要的、严重的、迫在眉睫的危机问题的注意力”。在列宁看来，当时的党正在同国内外敌人进行殊死搏斗，正面临歉收、经济破坏和军队复员等亟待解决的难题，在这种最艰难的情况下，党内不应该浪费时间去讨论和争论那些无意义的问题，而应聚焦党内的首要问题，尤其是党内不应该出现许多具有各自纲领的政治派别。列宁还指出这种辩论的危害性，他说道：“我们所有的敌人(他们多得数不胜数)在他们那些数不清的外国报刊上，一再重复并扩散我国资产阶级和小资产阶级敌人在苏维埃共和国里散布的流言蜚语，他们说：有辩论就有争执，有争执就有纠纷，有纠纷共产党人就会削弱，所以要抓住时机，趁他们削弱的时候压他们一下!这已经成了我们敌人的口号。”由此可见，列宁已经认识到党内不同政见的争论极其有害，它不仅会造成国内不稳定的政治局面，还会削弱党内团结，削弱无产阶级专政甚至会导致其覆灭。着眼于避免这样的后果，列宁在大会上提出党内不容许再出现大争论现象，“党代表大会应当从这件事中吸取应有的教训，把它补充到中央的政治工作报告里去，把它确定下来，肯定下来，变成党必须遵守的义务，变成法律。”在党的十大上，列宁还领导大会制定了《关于党的统一》的决议，提出必须立即解散党内的各种政治派别，以后不允许再形成这样的政治派别。如果有人再犯这样的错误，即使他是党中央委员，党也要把他开除出党。在列宁的思想上，反对党内进行大争论和反对党内的派别活动，目的在于加强党的团结和集中统一力量。他领导党通过斗争达到了这样的目的。这是列宁领导党进行自我革命的一个重要的事件。他看到党内大争论的严重后果，看到党内派别活动的严重后果，对其进行严肃的批评，要求今后杜绝这些现象。这个过程就是党自我革命的过程。

(3) Lenin acknowledged certain mistakes in the War Communism policy during the domestic war and resolved to correct the errors with a new policy

(三)列宁承认国内战争战时共产主义政策的某些失误，并决心以新政策来改正错误

During the process of the Soviet Russian domestic war, the Russian Communist Party (Bolsheviks) and the Soviet regime adopted extraordinary measures such as the “grain requisition system,” “closure of markets,” and “rationing system.” Upon subsequent reflection, they admitted their mistakes. This is a typical example of Lenin leading the Party in self-revolution.

在苏俄国内战争过程中，俄共(布)和苏维埃政权采取了“粮食征集制”“封闭市场”“供给制”等非常措施。事后反思，承认错误。这是列宁领导党进行自我革命的典型事例。

In 1921, just after the three-year domestic war ended, the Soviet regime encountered a severe political and economic crisis. Facing the crisis, Lenin publicly acknowledged the mistakes of the War Communism policy

1921年，长达三年的国内战争刚结束，苏维埃政权遭遇严重的政治经济危机。面对危机，列宁公开承认战时共产主义政策的失误，承认在粮食收集等方面存在错误，带领全党努力探寻其错误根源，并及时调整方针政策和措施。1918—1920年，为了适应战争的形势，集中一切力量粉碎国外武装干涉和国内敌对势力的叛乱，俄共(布)和苏维埃政权决定实施战时共产主义政策。战时共产主义政策的实行，虽为捍卫十月革命的胜利果实、巩固新生的苏维埃政权创造了必要的物质前提，但随着实践的发展，严重的问题也暴露出来。面对这些问题，列宁认为“犯错误对一个先进阶级的战斗的党并不可怕，可怕的是坚持错误，虚伪地不好意思承认错误和纠正错误”。在俄共(布)第十次代表大会上，列宁对战时共产主义的问题和失误进行了深刻的检讨，并要求纠正它。

First, Lenin recognized the problems and errors of the surplus grain appropriation system. The surplus grain appropriation system, in order to ensure grain supplies to the front and to the cities, forced peasants to hand over to the state all agricultural products except for their own rations and seed grain. The government paid the peasants a certain amount of money, but in practice it often collected the peasants’ grain without compensation. As a result of this policy and measure, eighty percent of the peasants made enormous sacrifices, delivering their surplus grain or even all their grain to the state free of charge. These peasants themselves were left in a state of hunger and cold. Therefore, as soon as the civil war ended, they could no longer tolerate the state’s grain appropriation system and resorted to disturbances and uprisings to oppose this policy and measure. The most influential of these was the Kronstadt incident [6]6 The Kronstadt incident: A rebellion in March 1921 by sailors and soldiers at the Kronstadt naval base near Petrograd, who opposed the Bolsheviks’ war communism policies and demanded political freedoms. It was brutally suppressed by the Red Army. that broke out in March 1921, which seriously threatened the existence of the Soviet regime. Against this backdrop, Lenin and the Russian Communist Party (Bolsheviks) [RCP(B)] first recognized and publicly acknowledged the errors of the grain appropriation system, and second, announced that the RCP(B) and the Soviet regime had decided to immediately change the grain policy and improve the peasants’ production and living conditions. As Lenin pointed out: “We must immediately show the broad masses of the peasantry that, without departing from the revolutionary path, we are prepared to change policy so that the peasants can feel that the Bolsheviks are willing to do everything possible to immediately improve their unbearable situation.” [7]7 V. I. Lenin, *Collected Works*, Vol. 32, p. 215. (Reference to standard Chinese edition; exact source not specified in original.) This policy was the New Economic Policy (NEP), which replaced the surplus grain appropriation system with a grain tax system, its purpose being to win the political support of the broad peasantry by improving their living conditions and to establish a solid worker-peasant alliance. Soon afterward, in *Four Years of the October Revolution*, Lenin straightforwardly and publicly admitted the mistake. He pointed out: “We planned (or perhaps it would be more accurate to say we conceived without adequate planning) to organize state production and distribution in a small-peasant country along communist lines, by direct order of the proletarian state. Life has shown us we were wrong.” [8]8 V. I. Lenin, *Collected Works*, Vol. 33, p. 43. It can be seen that Lenin was fully aware of the errors and problems of the surplus grain appropriation system and saw that only by implementing the grain tax system “can it meet the tasks of the proletariat; only such a grain policy can consolidate the foundations of socialism and enable socialism to achieve complete victory.” [9]9 V. I. Lenin, *Collected Works*, Vol. 32, p. 222. That is to say, Lenin demanded that the grain tax system be used to correct the errors and problems of the grain appropriation system.

首先，列宁认识到余粮征集制的问题和失误。余粮征集制，即为了保证对前线和城市的粮食供应，迫使农民向国家上交除口粮和种子之外的其余全部农产品。政府支付一定数量的货币给农民，但在实践中往往是无偿地收取农民的粮食。由于这一政策和措施，百分之八十的农民都作出了巨大牺牲，无偿地向国家交付了他们的余粮甚至全部粮食。这些农民自身却处于饥寒交迫的境地。因此，国内战争一结束，他们便无法容忍国家的粮食征集制，以举行骚动和暴动来反对这一政策和措施。其影响最大的是于1921年3月爆发的喀琅施塔得事件，严重威胁到苏维埃政权的存在。在此背景下，列宁和俄共(布)一是认识到并公开承认粮食征集制的失误，二是宣布俄共(布)和苏维埃政权决定立即改变粮食政策，改善农民的生产条件和生活条件。如列宁指出：“我们必须立即向广大农民群众表明，在决不离开革命道路的条件下，我们准备改变政策，使农民能够感到布尔什维克愿意不惜一切代价马上改善他们不堪忍受的状况。”这一政策便是用粮食税制代替余粮收集制的新经济政策，其目的在于通过改善农民的生活条件，争取广大农民在政治上的支持，建立巩固的工农联盟。不久，列宁在《十月革命四周年》中直截了当地公开承认错误。他指出：“我们计划(说我们计划欠周地设想也许较确切)用无产阶级国家直接下命令的办法在一个小农国家里按共产主义原则来调整国家的产品生产和分配。现实生活说明我们错了。”可见列宁充分意识到余粮征集制的失误和问题，并看到只有实行粮食税制“才能适应无产阶级的任务，只有这样的粮食政策才能巩固社会主义的基础，才能使社会主义取得完全的胜利”。也就是说，列宁要求以粮食税制来纠正粮食征集制的失误和问题。

Second, Lenin recognized the problems and errors of “closing the market” and advocated allowing free trade to correct this error. As is well known, another important element of the policy of war communism was the abolition of commodity exchange and the closing of the market. After the war ended, Lenin admitted: “We made many mistakes in this area, went too far: we went too far in the nationalization of commerce and industry, in the prohibition of local exchange. Is this a mistake? Of course it is a mistake.” [10]10 V. I. Lenin, *Collected Works*, Vol. 32, p. 222. Clearly, he deeply recognized that closing the market would hinder the development of small-scale production and the improvement of the productive forces. He proposed that after implementing the grain tax system, it was also necessary to quickly restore commodity exchange and market relations. As he said: “In essence, two things can satisfy the small peasant. First, a certain freedom of exchange is needed, a certain freedom for the small private owner. Second, goods and products are needed. What is the use of freedom of exchange if there is nothing to exchange? What is the use of freedom of trade if there is nothing to trade?” “Freedom of exchange is freedom of trade... freedom of exchange and freedom of trade mean commodity exchange between small owners.” [11]11 V. I. Lenin, *Collected Works*, Vol. 32, pp. 215-216. His meaning was that only through freedom of exchange and freedom of trade, maintaining and developing exchange relations mediated by money, could the peasants’ production and life be brought onto a normal track of development, thereby creating sufficient economic conditions for Soviet Russia’s transition to socialism.

其次，列宁认识到“封闭市场”的问题和失误，并主张以允许自由贸易来纠正这一失误。众所周知，战时共产主义政策中的另一重要内容是取消商品交换和封闭市场。战争结束后，列宁承认“我们在这方面犯了很多错误，走得太远了：我们在商业国有化和工业国有化方面，在禁止地方流转方面走得太远了。这是不是一种错误呢?当然是一种错误”。显然，他深刻认识到封闭市场将不利于小生产的发展和生产力的提高。他提出，在实施粮食税制后还要迅速恢复商品交换和市场关系。正如他说：“实质上可以用两个东西来满足小农。第一，需要有一定的流转自由，需要给小私有主一定的自由。第二，需要弄到商品和产品。如果没有什么可以流转，那还算什么流转自由；如果没有什么可以交易，那还算什么贸易自由!”“流转自由就是贸易自由，……流转自由和贸易自由，这就是指各个小业主之间进行商品交换。”他的意思是，只有通过流转自由和贸易自由，保持和发展以货币为媒介的交换关系，才能使农民的生产和生活步入正常的发展轨道，从而为苏俄向社会主义过渡创造充足的经济条件。

It is not difficult to see that the New Economic Policy, which replaced the surplus grain appropriation system with the grain tax system and replaced the closed market with free trade, is precisely a typical example of Lenin leading the Party in self-revolution. This practice not only enabled Lenin to develop his thinking on commerce in the autumn of 1921, but also reflected the fine character of the RCP(B) in not fearing to admit mistakes, calmly viewing mistakes, and earnestly correcting mistakes, demonstrating that they put self-revolution into practice.

不难看出，以粮食税制代替余粮征集制、以自由贸易代替封闭市场的新经济政策，正是列宁领导党进行自我革命的典型事例。这一实践不仅使列宁1921年秋形成了关于发展商业的思想，更体现出俄共(布)发扬了不怕承认错误、冷静看待错误、认真改正错误的优良品格，表明他们将自我革命落到了实处。

(4) Lenin severely criticized the erroneous tendency within the Party of being incapable of economic work and demanded its rapid overcoming

(四)列宁严厉批判了党内不会做经济工作错误倾向，要求迅速予以克服

During the implementation of the New Economic Policy, the inability of Communists to manage and their unwillingness to do business became a major problem for the development of the Party’s cause, and many of them were unwilling to learn management and learn to do business. Recognizing the danger of this inadequacy and overcoming it was also an important practice of Lenin leading the Party in self-revolution.

在实施新经济政策过程中，共产党人不善于经营和不会做生意成为党的事业发展面临的重大问题，而且他们中的许多人不愿意学习经营和学习做生意。认识这种能力不足的危险并克服，这也是列宁领导党进行自我革命的一个重要实践。

As mentioned above, the policy of war communism ended with the implementation of the New Economic Policy, meaning that Soviet Russia abandoned the method of “direct transition” and adopted the method of “indirect transition” to socialism. However, the development of new things was not smooth sailing, and the implementation of new policies inevitably encountered unavoidable contradictions and problems. For example, at the Eleventh Congress of the RCP(B), Lenin publicly admitted that during the New Economic Policy period, Communists were incapable of economic work, and even less skilled at leading economic work. He believed that Communists were doing very poorly and were very unskilled in economic construction. As Lenin said: “We do not know how to manage. This is the basic lesson. If we cannot prove within the next year that we know how to manage, the Soviet regime will be unable to survive.” [12]12 V. I. Lenin, *Collected Works*, Vol. 33, p. 277. Clearly, Lenin soberly saw the danger of this error. In his thinking, this error was specifically embodied in three “political lessons”:

如前所述，战时共产主义政策以新经济政策的实施而告终，意味着苏俄放弃用“直接过渡”的方式而采用“迂回过渡”的方式向社会主义过渡。可新事物的发展并不是一帆风顺的，新政策的实施必定会遇到不可回避的矛盾与问题。如，列宁在俄共(布)第十一次代表大会上，公开承认新经济政策时期共产党人不会做经济工作，更不善于领导经济工作。他认为共产党人对于经济建设搞得很不好，很不熟练。诚如列宁所言：“我们不会经营。这是基本的教训。如果我们不能在最近一年内证明我们会经营，那苏维埃政权就无法生存下去。”显然，列宁清醒地看到这一错误的危险性。在他的思想上，这一错误具体体现在三个“政治教训”上：

The first political lesson was the failure to fully realize the importance of establishing a solid worker-peasant alliance. Lenin pointed out: “The new economy we tried to establish has not been combined with the peasant economy. Has it been combined now? Not yet. We are only beginning to seek this combination.” [13]13 V. I. Lenin, *Collected Works*, Vol. 33, p. 278. As early as the Ninth All-Russian Congress of Soviets held in December 1921, Lenin pointed out that the most fundamental and essential issue of the Russian revolution and all future socialist revolutions was the relationship between the working class and the peasantry, and the need to establish a solid alliance between the working class and the peasantry. This was also the essence of Soviet Russia’s implementation of the New Economic Policy. Yet the Communists had done very poorly in this regard, failing to adequately demonstrate to the peasantry that the Communists were their most sincere and reliable helpers and allies. Lenin also pointed out that the failure to further consolidate the worker-peasant alliance was not only the main lesson of the past year’s implementation of the New Economic Policy, but improving work in this area was the main political criterion for completing the tasks of the following year.

第一个政治教训是没有充分意识到建立巩固工农联盟的重要性。列宁指出：“我们试着建立的新经济并没有同农民经济结合起来。现在是否结合了呢?还没有。我们只是开始寻求这种结合。”早在1921年12月召开的全俄苏维埃第九次代表大会上，列宁就指出，俄国革命和未来一切社会主义革命最根本、最本质的问题就是工人阶级同农民的关系，就是要在工人阶级与农民之间建立起巩固的联盟。这也是苏俄实行新经济政策的实质。可共产党人在这方面却做得很不够，未能充分地向农民证明共产党人是他们最真诚、最可靠的帮手和联盟者。列宁还指出，未能进一步巩固工农联盟不仅是过去这一年实施新经济政策的主要教训，而改善这方面的工作更是完成下一年度任务的主要政治准则。

The second lesson was that the Communists did not understand and were unwilling to learn to do business. He said: “The trouble is that the responsible Communists, although excellent, everyone knows they are loyal and honest, have suffered penal servitude, are not afraid of death, yet they do not know how to do business, because they are not businessmen, have not learned and are unwilling to learn this trade, and do not understand that they must learn from the beginning.” [14]14 V. I. Lenin, *Collected Works*, Vol. 33, p. 279. His meaning was that managing the economy requires a commercial mind; if one is not skilled, has no experience, and is unwilling to study seriously, even if the Communists have the strongest socialist enthusiasm, initiative, and excellent qualities, they still cannot manage the economy well. Reality proved that the Communists’ performance in this regard was indeed inferior to that of ordinary trained shop assistants. Lenin believed that all Communists should see this, admit this fact, and with the conviction that they did not understand this trade and must learn from the beginning, humbly learn to do business, changing this new problem of the Party’s inability to lead the economy.

第二个教训是共产党不懂得和不愿意学习做生意。他说道：“问题在于负责的共产党员虽然优秀，人人知道他忠诚老实，受过苦役折磨，不怕死，可是他不会做生意，因为他不是生意人，没有学过也不愿学这一行，他不懂得应当从头学起。”他的意思是，经营经济需要商业头脑，倘若不懂行，没有经验，而且不愿意认真地学习，即便共产党人有再强烈的社会主义热情、积极性和优秀的品格，依旧无法管理好经济。现实证明，共产党人在这方面的表现确实不如那些经过训练的普通店员。列宁认为，全体共产党人应该看到这一点，承认这一事实，要带着不懂这一行、要从头学起的信念虚心学习做生意，改变党不善于领导经济这一新的问题。

The third lesson is that Communists failed to correctly understand state capitalism. He said: “On the question of state capitalism, our press and our Party committed an error, namely, they became infected with an intellectualist attitude, lapsed into liberalism, and, with an air of cleverness, tried to understand state capitalism by consulting old textbooks. Yet those books dealt with something entirely different—state capitalism under the capitalist system—and not a single one of them wrote about state capitalism under the communist system. Even Marx never wrote a single word on this question.” [15]15 Lenin, “Report on the Tax in Kind,” 9 June 1921, *Collected Works*, vol. 32, p. 342. The “old textbooks” refer to pre-revolutionary Marxist literature, which discussed state capitalism only under bourgeois rule, not under a proletarian dictatorship. At that time, Soviet Russia had already completed the shift in the focus of its work, and the primary task was to use state capitalism to develop the economy. During this period, Soviet Russia’s state capitalism included the implementation of the concession system, the leasing system, the cooperative system, commission purchasing and sales, and so on. Realizing state capitalism was conducive to rapidly restoring and developing production, raising the level of productive forces, and obtaining necessary products to meet the people’s living needs. If state capitalism could not be correctly understood at this juncture, it would affect the implementation of this policy. Proceeding from this, Lenin demanded that the broad masses of Party members understand the necessity and importance of implementing state capitalism, learn to engage in commerce, and achieve results in the process of developing production and the economy.

第三个教训是共产党人不能正确理解国家资本主义。他说道：“在国家资本主义问题上，我们的报刊和我们的党都犯了一个错误，就是染上了知识分子习气，堕入了自由主义，自作聪明地来理解国家资本主义，并且去翻看旧本本。可是那些书里写的完全是另一回事，写的是资本主义制度下的国家资本主义，而没有一本书写到过共产主义制度下的国家资本主义。连马克思也没有想到要就这个问题写下片言只语。”当时苏俄已完成工作重心的转移，首要的任务就是利用国家资本主义发展经济。这一时期苏俄的国家资本主义包括实施租让制、租赁制、合作制、代购代销等等。实现国家资本主义有利迅速地恢复和发展生产，提高生产力水平，并且可以获得必要的产品以满足人民生活的需要。这个时候如果不能正确理解国家资本主义，就会影响这一政策的实施。由此出发，列宁要求广大党员懂得实施国家资本主义的必要性和重要性，学会经商，在发展生产和发展经济的过程中取得成就。

Facts show that, in the process of implementing the New Economic Policy, the Communists failed to rapidly improve the production and living conditions of the peasants, improve the worker-peasant relationship, and consolidate and develop the worker-peasant alliance. Their unwillingness and inability to learn to do business, and their ineffectiveness in leading the economy, were all obstacles and problems facing the development of the Russian Communist Party (Bolsheviks) and the Soviet regime. Lenin clearly pointed out these problems, severely criticized the relevant persons and matters, and demanded that they quickly correct their shortcomings and problems. This also reflects the spirit of the Russian Communist Party (Bolsheviks) daring to engage in self-revolution.

事实说明，共产党人在实施新经济政策过程中，未能迅速地改善农民的生产条件和生活条件，改善工农关系，巩固和发展工农联盟。他们不懂得和不愿意学习做生意，不能有效地领导经济等，都是俄共(布)和苏维埃政权发展面临的障碍和问题。列宁明确地指出这些问题，对相关的人和事进行了严厉的批评，要求他们迅速改正缺点和问题。这也体现出列宁和俄共(布)勇于自我革命的精神。

II. Lenin’s Thought on the Important Significance of the Party Daring to Acknowledge Its Own Mistakes and Engage in Self-Revolution

二、列宁论党敢于承认自身错误和自我革命重要意义的思想

After the October Revolution, in the process of consolidating the Soviet regime and restoring the national economy, Lenin not only led the Russian Communist Party (Bolsheviks) in the practice of self-revolution, but also expounded important ideas on the significance of the ruling party acknowledging its own mistakes and engaging in self-revolution. His ideas include the following:

十月革命后在巩固苏维埃政权和恢复国民经济的过程中，列宁既领导俄共(布)进行了自我革命的实践，又就执政党承认自身错误和自我革命的意义阐述了重要的思想。他的思想有下述内容：

First, daring to acknowledge mistakes and daring to engage in self-revolution is conducive to Communists clarifying their mission and advancing the development of the Party’s cause. The historical mission of the proletarian political party is to establish a communist society and realize human liberation. Whether this cause can proceed smoothly is necessarily linked to whether the proletarian ruling party can persist in self-revolution. As Marx and Engels said: “Only in revolution can they cast off all the old filthy things that cling to them and become capable of rebuilding society.” [16]16 Marx and Engels, *The German Ideology* (1845–46), *Collected Works*, vol. 5, p. 52. In the thought of Marx and Engels, the Party’s self-revolution and the realization of its historical mission have a logical necessity; the process of realizing communism is precisely the process of Communists continuously engaging in self-revolution. On this basis, Lenin stated: “Not afraid to acknowledge one’s mistakes, not afraid to make repeated efforts to correct them—that is how we shall reach the summit of the mountain.” [17]17 Lenin, “Speech at the Third All-Russia Congress of Soviets of Workers’, Soldiers’ and Peasants’ Deputies,” 24 January 1918, *Collected Works*, vol. 26, p. 472. His meaning was that the Bolshevik Party, as the ruling party of the world’s first worker-peasant state, had no governing experience to draw upon, and the problems it faced were dynamically changing. Therefore, the Party would inevitably encounter problems and make mistakes in the process of governing. But as long as all Party members dared to acknowledge and correct their mistakes and persisted in self-revolution, they would certainly be able to defuse risks and reach the “summit of the mountain” of victory, that is, to realize the lofty goal of communism. Facts show that Lenin earnestly implemented this idea in practice. For example, he acknowledged that Communists had committed the error of “revolutionary phrase-mongering,” advocated immediate correction and the unification of Party thinking, so that the entire Party could clearly recognize the revolutionary situation; he acknowledged that the debate within the Party over the role of the trade unions was a “luxury” that hindered the Party from concentrating its energy on the central work and main tasks, and that the emergence of political factions with different programs within the Party would lead to the Party’s disintegration ideologically and organizationally; he acknowledged the inappropriateness of the policy of War Communism, promptly adjusted the policy to promote the implementation of the New Economic Policy, and accelerated the pace of the transition to socialism; he acknowledged that during the implementation of the New Economic Policy the Party was not good at doing business and leading the economy, and demanded that the Party rapidly change this situation. In Lenin’s thought, whether the Party’s cause proceeds smoothly depends on whether the Party’s self-revolution is carried out resolutely and thoroughly. This is what he meant when he said: “We now understand our tasks far more clearly, concretely, and distinctly than before; we are not afraid to openly point out our mistakes in order to correct them.” [18]18 Lenin, “The Immediate Tasks of the Soviet Government,” April 1918, *Collected Works*, vol. 27, p. 244. The meaning here is that the ruling Russian Communist Party (Bolsheviks) can advance its cause only if it is not afraid to point out its mistakes, acknowledge its mistakes, resolutely correct them, or in other words, dares to engage in self-revolution.

第一，敢于承认错误、勇于自我革命有利于共产党人明确使命，推进党的事业发展。无产阶级政党的历史使命就是建立共产主义社会，实现人的解放。这一事业是否能够顺利进行，与无产阶级执政党能否坚持自我革命有必然联系。正如马克思、恩格斯所言：“只有在革命中才能抛掉自己身上的一切陈旧的肮脏东西，才能胜任重建社会的工作。”在马克思、恩格斯的思想上，党的自我革命与实现历史使命具有逻辑必然性，实现共产主义的过程就是共产党人不断自我革命的过程。列宁在此基础上指出：“不怕承认自己的错误，不怕三番五次地作出努力来改正错误，这样，我们就会登上山顶。”他的意思是，布尔什维克党作为世界上第一个工农国家的执政党，没有任何执政经验可以借鉴，而它所面临的问题又是动态变化的，所以党在执政过程中不可避免地会遇到问题，会犯错误，但只要全体党员敢于承认并纠正错误，坚持自我革命，就一定能够化解风险并到达胜利的“山顶”,即实现共产主义的远大目标。事实表明，列宁在实践中认真贯彻这一思想。如承认共产党人犯了“革命空谈”的错误，主张立即纠正并统一党内思想，使全党认清革命形势；承认党内关于工会作用问题的争论是一种“奢侈行为”,妨碍党集中精力应对中心工作和主要任务，且党内出现各种不同纲领的政治派别将导致党从思想上和组织上发生瓦解；承认战时共产主义政策的不适应性，及时调整政策推进新经济政策的实施，加快向社会主义过渡的步伐；承认党在实施新经济政策期间不善于做生意和领导经济，要求党迅速改变这样的局面。在列宁的思想上，党的事业进行得是否顺利取决于党自我革命的开展是否坚决、是否彻底。这就是他所说的：“我们现在远比过去更明确、更具体、更清楚地了解自己的任务；为了纠正错误，我们不怕公开指出自己的错误。”这里的意思是，执政的俄共(布)只有不怕指出自己的错误，承认自己的错误，坚决改正错误，或者说勇于自我革命，才能地推进自己的事业。

Second, daring to admit mistakes and being courageous in self-revolution is conducive to promoting theoretical innovation and continuously advancing the development of theory. Self-revolution not only enables a proletarian ruling party to discard the old and embrace the new, but also allows the party, on the basis of grasping objective laws and social development trends, to break down traditional concepts and institutional mechanisms that hinder the revolutionary cause, promote changes in the ideological sphere, and drive the development of theory. First, in the process of criticizing the military opposition, Lenin put forward the proposition and thought of establishing Party organizations and a commissar system within the Red Army. After the victory of the October Revolution, in order to strengthen the construction of the Red Army, Lenin proposed the idea of employing old military specialists. However, this issue sparked a debate within the Party at the Eighth Congress of the Russian Communist Party (Bolsheviks). A group of people formed the so-called “military opposition,” which opposed a regular Red Army and the imposition of iron discipline in the army, and denied the necessity of absorbing old military specialists. In response to this situation, Lenin sternly pointed out: “The whole error of your opposition lies in the fact that, because you link your experience with this guerrilla mentality, and link those unforgettable heroic traditions with this guerrilla mentality, you do not want to know that this is now a different period. Now, the primary issue is that there should be a regular army, and that we should transition to a regular army with military specialists.” [19]19 V. I. Lenin, “Speech on the Military Question at the Eighth Congress of the Russian Communist Party (Bolsheviks),” March 19, 1919. It was also in this process that Lenin put forward the proposition of establishing Party organizations and a commissar system within the Red Army, thereby perfecting military theory and thought. Second, in the process of opposing the “Left deviation,” Lenin formed the proposition and thought of implementing state capitalism. In April 1918, having gained a clear understanding of the domestic situation, Lenin put forward the idea of shifting the focus of work, that is, advocating for the transfer of the Party’s and the state’s focus of work from political and military struggle to economic construction, state management, and the development of production. During this period, Lenin pointed out that “state capitalism” was a necessary stage for the Soviet regime’s transition to socialism. However, the “Left Communists” denied the necessity of this transitional stage, advocating for immediate nationalization and opposing the implementation of state capitalism. In view of this, in his article “On the ‘Left-Wing’ Childishness and Petty-Bourgeois Mentality,” Lenin criticized the erroneous views of the “Left deviation” and demonstrated the importance and necessity of implementing state capitalism. He pointed out: “State capitalism would be a huge step forward, even if… we pay a greater price than now, because it is worth paying the price ‘for the sake of learning,’ because it benefits the workers, because eliminating disorder, economic disruption, and laxity is more important than anything else, because allowing the anarchy of the small private owner to continue is the greatest and most serious danger, which will undoubtedly bury us (if we do not overcome it), while paying a greater tribute to state capitalism will not only not bury us, but will lead us to socialism by the most reliable path.” [20]20 V. I. Lenin, “On the ‘Left-Wing’ Childishness and Petty-Bourgeois Mentality,” May 5, 1918. Clearly, Lenin recognized that there was nothing in state capitalism that the Soviet regime should fear; on the contrary, for Russia at the current stage, it had practical progressiveness. Lenin not only demonstrated the importance of the theory of state capitalism, but also proposed specific measures for implementing state capitalism, such as implementing a special “buyout” of civilized capitalists, learning from the organizers of trusts, i.e., the capitalists, etc., thereby promoting the rapid development of the Soviet Russian economy. Finally, in criticizing the Mensheviks’ erroneous idea that Russia lacked the conditions for achieving socialism and their opposition to the October Revolution, Lenin also put forward the thought of the particularity of Russia’s path of social development, promoting theoretical innovation. The important role of Lenin’s above practices is self-evident: they not only formed a distinctive Russian socialist theory that pointed the way forward for the Soviets, but also strengthened the Bolshevik Party’s pace toward communism.

第二，敢于承认错误、勇于自我革命有利于促进理论创新，不断推动理论的发展。自我革命不仅能够使无产阶级执政党革故鼎新，还能使党在把握客观规律和社会发展趋势的基础上，破除阻碍革命事业的传统观念和体制机制，促进思想领域的变革，推动理论的发展。首先，列宁在批评军事反对派的过程中提出了要在红军中建立党的组织和建立政委制的主张和思想。十月革命胜利后，为了加强红军建设，列宁提出启用旧军事专家的思想，然而党内却就此问题在俄共(布)第八次代表大会上发生争论。一部分人组成了所谓的“军事反对派”,即反对正规的红军和在军队中实行铁的纪律，否认有必要吸收旧的军事专家。针对此情况，列宁严厉指出：“你们反对派的全部错误在于，你们由于把自己的经验同这种游击习气连在一起，把那些永志不忘的英雄主义传统同这种游击习气连在一起，你们不想知道现在是另一个时期。现在，首要问题是应该有正规军，应该过渡到拥有军事专家的正规军。”也是在此过程中，列宁提出要在红军中建立党的组织和建立政委制的主张，完善了军事理论和思想。其次，列宁在反对“左倾”的过程中形成了实施国家资本主义的主张和思想。1918年4月，列宁在看清国内局势之际提出转变工作重心的思想，即主张将党和国家的工作重心由政治斗争和军事斗争向经济建设、管理国家和发展生产方面转移。期间，列宁指出“国家资本主义”是苏维埃政权向社会主义过渡的必经阶段。可“左派共产主义者”却否认这一过渡阶段的必要性，主张立即实行国有化，反对实施国家资本主义。鉴于此，列宁在《论“左派”幼稚病和小资产阶级性》一文中，对“左倾”的错误观点进行批评，论证了实施国家资本主义的重要性和必要性。他指出：“国家资本主义将是一个巨大的进步，哪怕……我们付出的代价要比现在大，因为‘为了学习’是值得付出代价的，因为这对工人有好处，因为消除无秩序、经济破坏和松懈现象比什么都重要，因为让小私有者的无政府状态继续下去就是最大、最严重的危险，它无疑会葬送我们(如果我们不战胜它的话),而付给国家资本主义较多的贡赋，不仅不会葬送我们，反会使我们通过最可靠的道路走向社会主义。”显然，列宁认识到国家资本主义中没有任何能够让苏维埃政权感到可怕的东西，相反，对于现阶段的俄国来说，它具有现实的进步性。列宁不仅论证了国家资本主义理论的重要性，更提出实施国家资本主义的具体措施，如对文明的资本家实行特殊的“赎买”、向托拉斯的组织者即资本家学习等等，推进了苏俄经济的快速发展。最后，列宁还在批判孟什维克关于俄国不够实现社会主义的条件并反对十月革命的错误思想中，提出了俄国社会发展途径特殊性的思想，促进了理论的创新。列宁上述实践的重要作用是不言而喻的，不仅形成了独具特色的俄国社会主义理论为苏维埃指明前进道路，更坚定了布尔什维克党迈向共产主义的步伐。

Third, daring to admit mistakes and being courageous in self-revolution is conducive to strengthening the Party’s organizational construction in the process of self-criticism, and enhancing the Party’s advanced nature and purity. Lenin once pointed out: “Self-criticism is absolutely necessary for any party that is full of vitality and vigor.” [21]21 V. I. Lenin, “The Tasks of the Youth Leagues,” October 2, 1920. In his thought, the process of a proletarian party’s self-criticism is the process of self-revolution, the process of its self-improvement. As a proletarian party, especially a proletarian ruling party, only by engaging in self-criticism, or in other words, only by engaging in self-revolution, can it temper and generate its advanced nature and purity, and become the advanced detachment of the proletariat. After the victory of the October Revolution, most Party members within the Russian Communist Party (Bolsheviks) still maintained the true character of vanguard fighters, neither arrogant nor rash, and dutifully fulfilling their responsibilities. However, some Party members, after the victory of the revolution, relaxed their ideological remolding, became contaminated with old bad ideas and styles, and caused undesirable phenomena such as bureaucracy, formalism, and hedonism within the ruling party. Lenin deeply recognized the harmfulness of this phenomenon in practice, believing that if the growth of bureaucracy was allowed to go unchecked, it would not only harm the interests of the proletariat and the broad masses of the people, but also damage the good image of the proletarian ruling party and state organs, seriously weakening the Party’s advanced nature and purity. Starting from this thought, he put forward a series of measures to oppose bureaucracy, such as using the power of the legal system to oppose bureaucracy, opposing bureaucracy by streamlining institutions, and opposing bureaucracy by strengthening inner-party supervision. It is worth pointing out that in September 1921, Lenin wrote the article “On the Purge of the Party,” solemnly proposing that the broad masses of workers and peasants are very capable of identifying bureaucrats within the Party, and that it is necessary to accept the critical opinions of the broad masses of workers and peasants regarding Party organizations, and to expel from the Party those elements who have become divorced from the masses of workers and peasants. He said: “When carrying out a purge of the Party, paying attention to the opinions of non-Party workers is an important matter. This can bring us great results, and can make the Party a class vanguard much stronger than before, a vanguard that has closer ties with its own class and is better able to lead its class to victory amidst numerous difficulties and dangers.” [22]22 V. I. Lenin, “On the Purge of the Party,” September 20, 1921. What he refers to here as paying attention to the opinions of non-Party workers means that the ruling party should accept the criticism of the workers and peasants, act according to their opinions, and expel from the Party those elements who have become divorced from the masses. In his thought, this process is the process of the ruling party’s self-revolution. After undergoing this process, the advanced nature and purity of the proletarian ruling party will be greatly enhanced, and it will be better able to play the role of the proletarian vanguard in practice.

第三，敢于承认错误，勇于自我革命有利于在自我批评过程中加强党的组织建设，增强党的先进性和纯洁性。列宁曾指出：“自我批评对于任何一个富有活力、朝气蓬勃的政党来说都是绝对必要的。”在他的思想上，无产阶级政党自我批评的过程就是自我革命的过程，就是其完善自身的过程。作为无产阶级政党特别是无产阶级执政党，只有进行自我批评，或者说只有进行自我革命，才能锤炼和产生其先进性和纯洁性，成为无产阶级的先进部队。十月革命胜利后，俄共(布)内大部分党员依旧保持先锋战士的本色，不骄不躁，恪尽职守，可仍有一部分党员在革命胜利后放松了思想改造，沾染了旧的不良思想和作风，造成了执政党内的官僚主义、形式主义以及享乐主义等不良现象。列宁在实践中深刻认识到这个现象的危害性，认为如果放任官僚主义滋长而不顾，不仅会侵害无产阶级和广大人民群众的利益，更会损害无产阶级执政党和国家机关的良好形象，严重削弱党的先进性和纯洁性。由这样的思想出发，他提出了反对官僚主义的一系列措施，如利用法制的力量反对官僚主义，通过精简机构反对官僚主义，通过加强党内监察反对官僚主义等等。值得指出的是，列宁在1921年9月撰写《关于清党》一文，郑重提出，广大工农群众很会识别党内的官僚主义者，必须接受广大工农群众对党组织的批评意见，把那些脱离工农群众的分子清除出党。他说：“进行清党时，重视非党劳动者的意见是一件重要的事情。这样能使我们收到很大的效果，能使党成为比以前坚强得多的阶级先锋队，成为同本阶级有更紧密的联系、更能在重重困难和危险中引导本阶级走向胜利的先锋队。”他这里所说的重视非党劳动者的意见，即指执政党应接受工农群众的批评，按工农群众的意见办事，把脱离群众的分子清除出党。在他的思想上，这个过程就是执政党自我革命的过程。在经过这个过程后，无产阶级执政党的先进性和纯洁性将得到大大的提高，更能够在实践中发挥无产阶级先锋队的作用。

III. Profound Implications for the Self-Revolution of the Communist Party of China

三、对中国共产党自我革命的深刻启示

The practice and thought of Lenin and the Russian Communist Party (Bolsheviks) on self-revolution have important implications for strengthening the construction of the Communist Party of China in the New Era.

列宁及俄共(布)自我革命的实践和思想对新时代加强中国共产党的建设具有重要的启示作用。

First, Lenin resolutely opposed engaging in major debates within the Party, opposed the emergence of political factions with different platforms within the Party, and demanded that the Party’s political building be used as a means to safeguard the authority of the Party Central Committee and the Party’s leading position. Lenin’s practice and thought in this regard enlighten us that we must take political building as the guide and strengthen Party building. Since the 18th National Congress of the CPC, the Party Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core has attached great importance to the Party’s political building, placing the Party’s political building in the foremost position. This is both an inheritance of the distinctive features of a Marxist political party and a development of the advantages of a political party with unique Chinese characteristics. In 2016, in his speech at the ceremony marking the 95th anniversary of the founding of the Communist Party of China, Xi Jinping pointed out: “Ensuring rigorous political activities within the Party is the foundation of comprehensive and strict governance of the Party. For the Party to govern itself strictly, it must first start with strict political activities within the Party; for strict governance of the Party, it must first start with strict political activities within the Party.” [23]23 The Fifth Plenary Session of the 19th Central Committee of the CPC was held in October 2020 and adopted proposals for the 14th Five-Year Plan (2021-2025) for National Economic and Social Development and the Long-Range Objectives Through the Year 2035. It can be seen that in his thinking, the Party’s political building is of utmost importance and is an important foundation for comprehensively and effectively advancing Party building. Later, in the report to the 19th National Congress of the CPC, Xi Jinping again pointed out: “Place the Party’s political building in the foremost position. Making our stand clear on political matters is a fundamental requirement for our Party as a Marxist political party. The Party’s political building is the fundamental building of the Party, determining the direction and effectiveness of Party building.” [24]24 1.8 billion mu is approximately 120 million hectares. It is not difficult to see that, with the development of practice, the important role of the Party’s political building has been elevated to an incomparable height. In the report to the 20th National Congress of the CPC, Xi Jinping once again raised this issue. He said: “Strengthen the Party’s political building, strictly enforce political discipline and political rules, implement the main responsibility of Party committees (leading Party groups) at all levels, and improve the political judgment, political understanding, and political execution of Party organizations and Party cadres at all levels.” [25] In short, strengthening the Party’s political building is one of the important measures to strengthen the centralized and unified leadership of the Party Central Committee. As for how to strengthen the Party’s political building, the New Era has put forward new requirements. First, enhance the “Four Consciousnesses” and strengthen the “Four Confidences.” [26] In particular, it is necessary to enhance the consciousness of the core and the consciousness of alignment, so that the Party is closely united around the Party Central Committee, consciously maintaining a high degree of consistency with the Party Central Committee in thought, politics, and action, aligning with the Party Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core, aligning with the guiding principles and spirit of the Party Central Committee, further eliminating the bad habit of forming cliques and factions, and taking firm steps toward the beautiful vision of the country’s prosperity, development, and long-term stability. Second, resolutely uphold the “Two Establishments” and earnestly achieve the “Two Upholds.” [27] It is necessary to deeply understand that the Party’s establishment of Comrade Xi Jinping’s core position in the Party Central Committee and

首先，列宁坚决反对党内搞大争论，反对党内出现具有不同纲领的政治派别，要求以党的政治建设为手段来维护党中央权威和党的领导地位。列宁这方面的实践和思想启示我们必须以政治建设为统领，加强党的建设。党的十八大以来，以习近平同志为核心的党中央高度重视党的政治建设，将党的政治建设摆在首位，这既是对马克思主义政党鲜明特征的继承，又是对独具中国特色的政党优势的发扬。2016年习近平在庆祝中国共产党成立95周年大会上的讲话中指出：“严肃党内政治生活是全面从严治党的基础。党要管党，首先要从党内政治生活管起；从严治党，首先要从党内政治生活严起。”可见在他的思想上，党的政治建设至关重要，是全面、有效地推进党的建设的重要基础。而后在党的十九大报告中，习近平再次指出：“把党的政治建设摆在首位。旗帜鲜明讲政治是我们党作为马克思主义政党的根本要求。党的政治建设是党的根本性建设，决定党的建设方向和效果。”不难看出，随着实践的发展，党的政治建设的重要作用已被提升到一个无可比拟的高度。在党的二十大报告中，习近平又一次提出这个问题。他说：“加强党的政治建设，严明政治纪律和政治规矩，落实各级党委(党组)主体责任，提高各级党组织和党员干部政治判断力、政治领悟力、政治执行力。”总之，加强党的政治建设，是加强党中央的集中统一领导的重要措施之一。至于如何加强党的政治建设，新时代又有了新要求。第一，增强“四个意识”、坚定“四个自信”。尤其是要增强核心意识和看齐意识，使党紧密地团结在党中央周围，自觉在思想上、政治上、行动上同党中央保持高度一致，向以习近平同志为核心的党中央看齐，向党中央的的指示精神看齐，进一步消除团团伙伙的恶习，向党和国家兴旺发达、长治久安的美好愿景迈开坚定的步伐。第二，坚决拥护“两个确立”、切实做到“两个维护”。要深刻认识党确立习近平同志党中央的核心、全党的核心地位，确立习近平新时代中国特色社会主义思想的指导地位，对党和国家事业发展具有决定性意义。坚决维护习近平总书记党中央的核心、全党的核心地位；坚决维护党中央权威和集中统一领导。这既是党深入推进各项任务的重要举措，又是贯彻路线方针政策的关键所在。

Secondly, Lenin acknowledged that the Party and state power had committed errors during the period of the civil war, and proposed replacing the grain requisition system with a tax in kind, permitting free trade, so as to improve the production and living conditions of the peasants and to facilitate the establishment of a solid worker-peasant alliance. The above practice and thought have important implications for the Chinese Communist Party in the New Era in solving the problems of peasants, agriculture, and rural areas. First, attach great importance to the “three rural” issues. Since the 18th National Congress of the CPC, solving the “three rural” issues has become the top priority of the Party’s work throughout the country. Xi Jinping pointed out: “We must view the issues of agriculture, rural areas, and peasants from a grand historical perspective. Only by deeply understanding the ‘three rural’ issues can we better understand our Party, our country, and our nation. It must be recognized that in comprehensively building a modern socialist country and realizing the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation, the most arduous and heavy tasks remain in the countryside, and the broadest and deepest foundation also lies in the countryside.” His meaning is that although current work on the “three rural” issues has achieved notable results, it still faces important problems such as an unstable agricultural foundation, relatively large income gaps, and unbalanced urban-rural development. Only by stabilizing peasants, agriculture, and rural areas can we better respond to risks and challenges, accelerate agricultural modernization, comprehensively promote rural revitalization, and take the urbanization path with Chinese characteristics. Second, consolidate and expand the achievements of poverty alleviation. As is well known, our country achieved a comprehensive victory in the battle against poverty at the end of 2020. On this basis, the Fifth Plenary Session of the 19th Central Committee of the CPC [23]23 The Fifth Plenary Session of the 19th Central Committee of the CPC was held in October 2020 and adopted proposals for the 14th Five-Year Plan (2021-2025) for National Economic and Social Development and the Long-Range Objectives Through the Year 2035. clearly proposed the important task of “achieving an effective connection between consolidating and expanding the achievements of poverty alleviation and rural revitalization,” indicating that the work of poverty alleviation is not yet over, and the task of preventing poverty-stricken areas from relapsing into poverty remains heavy. This is because, although a considerable number of households that have been lifted out of poverty have had their basic living standards guaranteed, their foundation is still fragile, their income levels are still not high, and they can relapse into poverty at the slightest risk. Therefore, it is necessary to ensure an effective connection between consolidating and expanding the achievements of poverty alleviation and rural revitalization, and there must never be a situation where comprehensive poverty alleviation is declared on one side while large-scale relapse into poverty occurs on the other. Regarding how to further consolidate the achievements of poverty alleviation, the Party Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core has proposed specific measures, such as improving dynamic monitoring and assistance mechanisms to prevent relapse into poverty, strengthening follow-up support for relocation from inhospitable areas, promoting multi-channel employment, strengthening social management, etc., to promote the effective implementation of the rural revitalization strategy. In the report of the 20th National Congress of the CPC, Xi Jinping made important discussions on revitalizing the countryside and agriculture. He said: “Comprehensively promote rural revitalization. In comprehensively building a modern socialist country, the most arduous and heavy tasks remain in the countryside. Adhere to the priority development of agriculture and rural areas, adhere to the integrated development of urban and rural areas, and smooth the flow of urban and rural factors. Accelerate the building of an agricultural powerhouse, solidly promote the revitalization of rural industries, talent, culture, ecology, and organizations.” He also put forward the following specific requirements: firmly hold the red line of 1.8 billion mu [24]24 1.8 billion mu is approximately 120 million hectares. of arable land, turn all basic farmland into high-standard farmland, strengthen support for agricultural science and technology and equipment, improve the mechanism for ensuring the income of grain-growing peasants and the mechanism for compensating major grain-producing areas, and ensure that the Chinese people’s rice bowls are firmly held in their own hands. We must establish a “big food concept” and build a diversified food supply system. These instructions of Xi Jinping are the ideological guide for the entire Party and the people of the whole country to consolidate the major achievements of poverty alleviation, further revitalize agriculture and rural areas, and promote the construction of a modern socialist country.

其次，列宁承认国内战争时期党和国家政权犯有错误，提出以粮食税制取代粮食征集制，允许自由贸易，以改善农民的生产条件和生活条件，以利于建立巩固工农联盟。上述实践和思想对于新时代中国共产党解决农民问题、农业问题和农村问题具有重要的启示。第一，高度重视“三农”问题。党的十八大以来，解决“三农”问题已成为全党工作的重中之重。习近平指出：“我们要坚持用大历史观来看待农业、农村、农民问题，只有深刻理解了‘三农’问题，才能更好理解我们这个党、这个国家、这个民族。必须看到，全面建设社会主义现代化国家，实现中华民族伟大复兴，最艰巨最繁重的任务依然在农村，最广泛最深厚的基础依然在农村。”他的意思是，尽管当前“三农”工作取得显著成效，但仍面临农业基础不稳、收入差距较大、城乡发展不平衡等重要问题，只有稳住农民、农业和农村，才能更好地应对风险挑战，加快农业现代化，全面推进乡村振兴，走独具中国特色的城镇化道路。第二，巩固拓展脱贫攻坚成果。众所周知，我国在2020年底取得脱贫攻坚战的全面胜利，在此基础上，党的十九届五中全会上又明确提出要“实现巩固拓展脱贫攻坚成果同乡村振兴有效衔接”的重要任务，表明脱贫工作尚未结束，防止脱贫地区返贫的任务还很重。这是因为，尽管有相当一部分脱贫户的基本生活有了保障，但其基础仍然脆弱，收入水平仍然不高，稍有风险便可再次返贫。由此，必须做好巩固拓展脱贫攻坚成果同乡村振兴的有效衔接，绝不能出现这边宣布全面脱贫，那边又出现规模性返贫的情况。针对如何进一步巩固脱贫攻坚成果，以习近平同志为核心的党中央提出具体措施，如健全防止返贫动态监测和帮扶机制、强化易地搬迁后续扶持、促进多渠道就业、加强社会管理等等，推进乡村振兴战略的有效实施。在党的二十大报告中，习近平就振兴乡村和农业作出了重要的论述。他说：“全面推进乡村振兴。全面建设社会主义现代化国家，最艰巨最繁重的任务仍然在农村。坚持农业农村优先发展，坚持城乡融合发展，畅通城乡要素流动。加快建设农业强国，扎实推动乡村产业、人才、文化、生态、组织振兴。”他还提出了如下具体的要求：牢牢守住十八亿亩耕地红线，把基本农田全部建成高标准农田，强化农业科技和装备支撑，健全种粮农民收益保障机制以及主产区利益补偿机制，确保中国人的饭碗牢牢端在自己手中。要树立“大食物观”,构建多元化食物供给体系。习近平这些指示，是全党和全国人民巩固脱贫攻坚重大成果、进一步振兴农业和农村、促进社会主义现代化国家建设的思想指南。

Finally, during the New Economic Policy period, Lenin acknowledged that Communists were not adept at managing the economy and found themselves in a passive position in their work. He strongly demanded that Communists overcome an arrogant and conceited mentality and earnestly learn skills so as to take command of economic construction. This also has an important enlightening effect on overcoming the “danger of insufficient capability” for Chinese Communists in the New Era. Since the 18th National Congress of the CPC, the Party Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core has attached great importance to the “four tests” facing

最后，新经济政策时期列宁承认共产党人不善于管理经济，在工作中处于被动的局面，他强烈要求共产党人克服狂妄自大的心态，认真学习本领，以便于驾驭经济建设事业。这对于新时代中国共产党人克服“能力不足”的危险同样具有重要的启示作用。党的十八大以来，以习近平同志为核心的党中央高度重视党面临的执政考验、改革开放考验、市场经济考验、外部环境考验“四大考验”和精神懈怠危险、能力不足危险、脱离群众危险、消极腐败危险“四种危险”。如习近平在党的十八届六中全会上指出：“新的历史条件下，国际国内形势发生了很大变化，党面临的‘四大考验’、‘四种危险’是长期的、复杂的、严峻的。”又如他在党的十九届六中全会第二次全体会议中指出：“要勇敢面对‘四大考验’,坚决战胜‘四种危险’,继续推进新时代党的建设新的伟大工程，毫不动摇把党建设得更加坚强有力。”其中，“能力不足危险”是“四种危险”之一，具体表现在六个方面，即：学习能力不足、政治领导能力不足、改革创新能力不足、科学发展能力不足、依法执政能力不足、驾驭风险能力不足。可以说，我们党清醒地认识到如果能力不足、本领不强，就无法化解前进道路中的各种风险，更不能实现民族复兴的伟大梦想。因此，如何提高这些能力是加强党的建设面临的突出问题。这就要求：第一，加大学习力度，以专业系统的学习解决能力不足的危险。加强学习型政党建设是提升执政能力的首要举措，在《关于新形势下党内政治生活的若干准则》中明确指出，为了适应时代进步和事业发展要求，广大党员应“广泛学习经济、政治、文化、社会、生态文明以及哲学、历史、法律、科技、国防、国际等各方面知识，提高战略思维、创新思维、辩证思维、法治思维、底线思维能力，提高领导能力专业化水平”。可见，共产党员不仅要重视学习、勤于学习、善于学习，更要将学习到的先进成果运用到执政和发展过程中。只有主动学习、刻苦学习，才能克服能力不足的危险，进而提高共产党的执政能力。第二，坚持实践的观点，在实践中解决能力不足的危险。当今世界正面临百年未有之大变局，严峻的国际国内形势也反映出加强党的建设是一个复杂而曲折的过程。在此过程中，要想练就过硬本领，就必须正视自身不足，在实践中总结经验、探索规律，努力提升自我的综合能力。第三，坚定理想信念，以鲜明的政治自信解决能力不足的危险。习近平指出：“有了坚定的理想信念，站位就高了，眼界就宽了，心胸就开阔了，就能坚持正确政治方向，在胜利和顺境时不骄傲不急躁，在困难和逆境时不消沉不动摇，经受住各种风险和困难考验，自觉抵御各种腐朽思想的侵蚀，永葆共产党人政治本色。”显然，只有坚定理想信念，即坚定马克思主义信仰和共产主义远大理想，坚定道路自信、理论自信、制度自信、文化自信，我们才能固本培元，增强党的创造力、战斗力和凝聚力，化解能力不足的危险，担起时代赋予的新使命、新任务。习近平在党的二十大报告中提出，“全党必须牢记，全面从严治党永远在路上，党的自我革命永远在路上，决不能有松劲歇脚、疲劳厌战的情绪，必须持之以恒推进全面从严治党，深入推进新时代党的建设新的伟大工程，以党的自我革命引领社会革命”。可见，全体党员特别是党的干部经受住考验，保持继续斗争的勇气和精神，是中国共产党永葆执政地位和人民的江山万年青的组织保证和政治保证。

Online editor: Tongxin

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