Little has been written about the attitude of revolutionary Russia towards A. Bebel, an outstanding figure in the German and international labor movement. So far, this topic has not yet been studied 1 .

In their writings and letters, K. Marx and F. Engels described in detail the complex and at the same time integral nature of A. Bebel, constantly helping him to form as the leader of the German Workers ' Party. While appreciating his political activities at the head of the party and as a representative of the SPD in the Reichstag, Marx and Engels at the same time criticized the mistakes he made in principle, while Bebel, recognizing these mistakes, corrected them, which helped to strengthen his authority among the working masses. In this unity "between the founders of Marxism and the Workers' Party of August Bebel and Wilhelm Liebknecht " lay "the real strength of the German workers 'movement." 2
V. I. Lenin paid great attention to German social-democracy, supporting the left wing in it - A. Bebel, V. Liebknecht, K. Zetkin, F. Mehring, R. Luxemburg and K. Liebknecht, whose most important merit was that "they sharply contrasted the reformist line with the line of social revolution - not only as an abstract appeal,but also as a social revolution." but also as a basis for practical action. " 3 While paying tribute to the success of the SPD and its left wing, Lenin also exposed the individual mistakes and blunders made by the left-wing social Democrats.

Even at the dawn of the social-democratic movement in Russia, when illegal workers ' circles were being formed and introduced to Marxism, Bebel's works, translated into Russian by Plekhanov's Emancipation of Labor group and delivered to Russia illegally, were widely distributed among them. His performances in the Reichstag also made a strong impression on the participants of the circles. One of the leaders of the first St. Petersburg circles, M. I. Brusnev, recalled that in conversations on political topics, he even used Russkie Vedomosti, where reports appeared on meetings of the German Reichstag with speeches by social-democratic deputies, including Bebel. "Bebel," Brusnev recalled, "was our ideal, and we wanted to develop future Russian Bebels from our working-class listeners." 4 With the revolutionary activity of the head of ger-

1 See Ovcharenko N. August Bebel, Moscow, 1963, p. 203.

2 Geschichte der deutsdien Arbeiterbewegung. Bd. 1. Brl. 1966, S. 417.

3 Istoriya Kommunisticheskoi partii Sovetskogo Soyuza [History of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union], vol. 1, Moscow, 1964, p. 520.

4 Brusnev M. And the emergence of the first social-democratic organizations; Proletarian Revolution, 1923, No. 2, p. 20.

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The workers of the Putilov Factory 5 also met in an underground Marxist circle . At the turn of the 1980s and 1990s, Marxist ideas began to spread among the workers of Moscow, where one of the leaders of the workers ' circles was M. N. Lyadov, who translated Bebel's book "Woman and Socialism" into Russian; several chapters of this book, printed on a hectograph by the Workers ' Union organization, were studied in circles 6 . In 1893, at a student party, Lyadov gave a lecture on the status of women under capitalism, outlining the contents of the book. This lecture, Lyadov recalled, "caused a great discussion, which greatly interested the young students and gave us several sympathizers who were interested in Marxism." 7
Baku workers also knew about Bebel's activities, his participation in the international congresses of the Second International, and his speeches in the Reichstag, since the newspaper Kaspiy published excerpts from these speeches (for example, in the article about his report to the congress of the Social Democratic Party in Halle, about his speech in the Reichstag on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the revolution 1848, etc.) 8. His works were introduced to the workers of Batum and Tiflis by M. Tskhakaya, who led illegal Marxist circles in these cities (in which, along with factory workers, some employees of commercial establishments also participated) 9 .

Bebel's works were also read by the workers of Ukraine. Thus, one of the participants of the first social - democratic circle in Yekaterinoslav recalled that among the members of this circle (consisting of workers of the largest Bryansk factory in that city and a number of craft workshops), illegal literature was distributed, they got acquainted with the working-class movement not only in other regions, but also abroad, especially in Germany, and speeches were used Bebel's pamphlets were distributed for reading 10 . In Kiev, during mass arrests in connection with the defeat of the St. Petersburg "Union of Struggle for the Liberation of the Working Class", the police seized the book "Woman and Socialism" in German from one of the arrested members of this union .11 In 1903, when a group of people from the Bialystok Social Democratic Committee were arrested, the police found Bebel's pamphlet "Academicians and Socialism"in their possession .12
The leader of the German workers ' party's devotion to the cause of the oppressed in all countries, and his indomitable will to fight for the interests of the working class, have repeatedly shown themselves in relation to Russia. Thus, in 1896, he highly appreciated the address sent by the Moscow social-democratic organization to French workers on the occasion of the 25th anniversary of the Paris Commune; despite the draconian measures of persecution by the Moscow Okhrana, more than 600 signatures of workers (28 factories and plants)were collected under this address13 . "The Russian workers," the address said, " ...armed with the ideas of scientific socialism, have taken to the common red Cross.-

5 Staraya gvardiya (1895-1925). Moscow: l. 1926, p. 113.

6 Lyadov M. How the Moscow workers ' organization was born. In: At the Dawn of the working-class movement in Moscow, Moscow, 1923, p. 53, 65; Literature of the Moscow Working-class Union, Moscow, 1930, p. 34.

7 Lyadov M. Uk. soch., p. 70.

8 Samedov V. Y. Spreading Marxism-Leninism in Azerbaijan. Baku 1962, p. 378, 381-382.

9 Masculia A.V. Mikha Tskhakaya, Moscow, 1968, p. 20.

10 On the first circle of the Social-Democratic Workers ' Party of Yekaterinoslav in 1894-Proletarian Revolution, 1922, No. 7, pp. 163, 164.

11 Бистренко П. П. З історії поширення марксизму і створення перших соціал- демократичних організацій на Україні. Київ. 1958, с. 103.

12 TsGAOR USSR, f. 102, 7 d-vo, op. 200, d. 550, l. 5.

13 Worker, Geneva, 1896, N 1-2, pp. 41-42.

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the national banner of the proletariat of the whole world... We cherish the hope that the moment is not far off when the chains of absolutism will be broken and the Russian proletariat will be able to openly take part in the arena of world history."14 A similar address was sent by St. Petersburg workers 15 . The sending of addresses was a sign of the growing international solidarity of the advanced strata of Moscow and St. Petersburg workers.

In the same year, 1896, when the St. Petersburg Union of Struggle for the Emancipation of the Working Class issued an appeal to the workers of Europe (in connection with the mass strikes of St. Petersburg workers in 1895 and the bloody events on Khodynka), prominent figures of the international labor movement, including Bebel, helped to spread this appeal in their countries and territories. they called for solidarity with the workers of Russia and help in their struggle against tsarism16 . When 60 representatives of the Social-Democratic Party, including Bebel, were elected to the German Reichstag in 1898, the Kremenchug social-Democratic illegal circle celebrated this victory as its own holiday: at the apartment of the house-painter Fr. A solemn meeting was held in Khukhria, where speakers called on those present " to fight for political freedom and the overthrow of Russian despotism."17 . In 1902, on the occasion of May Day, the proletariat of Russia welcomed a number of figures of the international labor movement, including Bebel 18 .

Bebel highly appreciated the significance of the general political strikes in Southern Russia in 1903, which attracted the attention of workers in many other countries. Welcoming these strikes, he noted in his speech to the Reichstag that they were of global significance .19 One of the social-Democratic orators, speaking at a huge meeting of striking Kiev workers in July 1903, said: "Our friends, the workers of Europe, greet us and say that such a formidable and powerful stream has never been seen in Russia." 20
The illegal social democratic press, which originated in Russia in the second half of the 90s of the 19th century, as well as collections published by Social Democrats in exile, regularly and in detail acquainted their readers with the situation and struggle of the German workers, with the struggle of the SPD, showing both the difficult conditions of its activities and its successes. At the same time, Bebel's works and speeches were constantly used. The organ of the RSDLP, the magazine Rabochiy, detailed materials about the Hamburg (1897) Congress of the SPD, about the speech of its leader; the magazine described the image of Bebel as an orator in the following words: "From the first time, this man... it doesn't make an impression, but it only lasts until he appears on the speaker's podium. As soon as Bebel is on the podium, the whole hall instantly changes, as if an electric current passes through the entire assembly and new life flows into it. " 21 Social democrats-

14 Ibid., p. 103.

15 Istoriya rabochikh Leningradki [History of Leningrad Workers], vol. 1, l. 1972, p. 204.

16 History of the working class of the USSR. The working class of Russia from the birth to the beginning of the XX century. Moscow, 1983, p. 356.

17 TsGAOR USSR, f. 6935, op. 2. d. 104, l. 3.

18 History of the working class of the USSR. The working class of Russia from the birth to the beginning of the XX century, p. 425.

19 From the past, Moscow, 1923, p. 39.

20 Pravdin B. Revolutionary days in Kiev. Geneva. 1903, p. 33.

217, Geneva, 1899, N 5-6, p. 87.Bebel is a remarkable speaker, and there are many testimonies about the extraordinary power of his influence on the minds and hearts of his listeners. Here are some of them. His speeches were inspiring, incendiary, they caused "a huge uplift of the soul, a desire for struggle, for work, for activity, when it seemed that there were no obstacles that would be insurmountable for the sake of happiness and well-being."

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The Life magazine, publishing Bebel's speech against opportunism at the Hanover Party Congress (1899), also published a portrait of him .22
Bebel's writings and speeches, which were based on a Marxist worldview, developed a number of important theoretical problems facing the international working-class movement as a whole, and also solved specific cardinal questions of tactics and strategy of German social-democracy, helped the proletarian revolutionaries of tsarist Russia to develop and solve similar problems that faced them, but under different conditions-in the Soviet Union. under conditions of extreme violence, terror, national oppression and complete lack of political freedoms.

When Lenin was in Berlin for a short time in 1895, he got acquainted with the SPD's experience of legal and illegal work, and met with one of its leaders, V. Liebknecht .23 In 1900, after his exile in Shushenskoye, Lenin visited a number of cities in European Russia, met with members of local social-democratic committees, and discussed plans to publish the Iskra newspaper in exile, which played a historic role in the defeat of economism and the creation of a revolutionary social - democratic party in Russia. On Bebel's recommendation, Munich was chosen as the publication site for Iskra, and he also gave a number of other tips that Lenin highly appreciated .24 When the German authorities were preparing to destroy the Iskra printing house, it was Bebel who warned Lenin about this, and the printing house was hastily transferred from Bavaria to another location .25
Iskra's pages regularly included materials about the SPD's activities and Bebel's speeches. During the Reichstag elections in 1903, the party collected three million votes. Iskra assessed the SPD's success as follows:"This is not only a new victory for German social democracy, but also for the whole cause of international socialism." 26 In the next issue, Iskra reported on the party's active campaign, and in particular on Bebel's speeches at various locations in the country, including at the Krupp factory in Essen, where he was "met and followed by enthusiastic cheers from the crowd."27 . Summing up the results of the election campaign, Iskra noted that Liebknecht and Bebel's campaigning "was not in vain." 28 This victory of the SPD was also welcomed by local party organizations in Russia29 .

In No. 44 of Iskra, 1903, a special large supplement was published - "The Beginning of German Social-Democracy", dedicated to-

the benefits of oppressed humanity"; a storm of applause greeted his appearance at workers ' meetings. "Working mothers raised their children, holding them out, as if giving them to him, the international leader of the proletariat "(V. D. Bonch-Bruevich in memory of August Bebel. In: Bonch-Bruevich V. D. Izbr. soch. Vol. II. M. 1961, p. 141, 142). "A. Bebel is a truly lion's figure of the Second International, full of intelligence and power, surrounded by a halo of the widest popularity and respect even for political enemies" (Kollontai A.M. From my life and work. Odessa. 1921, p. 30). Bebel's faith in the ideals of socialism "was truly boundless... And, most importantly, he was able to infuse the same fervent faith into the hearts of others, igniting enthusiasm and inspiration in them" (Maysky I. August Bebel, Moscow, 1923, p. 31).

22 Zhizn', London, 1902, No. 1.

23 Vladimir Ilyich Lenin. Biographical chronicle (hereinafter-V. I. Lenin. Biochronics). Vol. 1, p. 105.

24 F. Hitzer Under the name of Dr. Iordanov. M. 1981, p. 18; Muravyova L. L., Sivolap-Kaftanova I. I. Lenin in Munich. M. 1976, p. 25.

25 Kalmykova A.M. Fragments of memories. - Byloye, 1926, N 1, p. 79.

26 The Socialist victory in Germany. Iskra Publ., 1903, No. 42.

27 Pre-election campaigning in Germany. - Ibid., No. 43.

28 Elections in Germany. - Ibid., No. 47.

29 For example, it was reported in Rabochy Bulletin No. 5 of the Perm Committee of the RSDLP in July 1903 (see Leaflets of the Perm Bolsheviks. Perm. 1958, pp. 98-99).

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dedicated to the 40th anniversary of this party, one of the founders of which, along with W. Liebknecht, was Bebel. Iskra also paid great attention to the struggle waged by Bebel at the Dresden Party Congress (1903) against the opportunism of E. Bernstein and G. Vollmar.: "It's only natural that such a huge one should have a huge one... the party, which one... German social - democracy is considered, painful phenomena are noticed here and there, a process of suppuration appears here and there, abscesses appear"; and however unpleasant this may be, A. Bebel continued, and even disgusting, the party should not, has no right to refuse the operation. We need the most thorough criticism, the most radical operation against opportunism; "When we have to wash our dirty laundry," said A. Bebel, " we are not afraid to do this washing openly in front of the whole world... They will not be harmed by this washing. " 30 In conclusion, Iskra stressed that the mass of grassroots party members opposed the opportunists, supporting criticism in the Bebel spirit. On Bebel's behavior at this congress (as in 1899 at the Hanover Congress) Lenin wrote that it would long remain "a model for upholding Marxist views and fighting for the truly socialist character of the workers 'party." 31
Iskra's distribution agents and leaders of local RSDLP organizations repeatedly appealed to the editorial office and personally to Lenin to help them purchase books and texts of Bebel's speeches. Writing to Lenin in a letter dated March 26 (April 8), 1903, about the situation in the Kiev Social-Democratic Organization and its most urgent tasks, V. V. Vakar, a member of the Kiev Committee of the RSDLP, wrote that there was a need to " clothe... social-democratic ideas in the flesh and blood, concretize... general... arguments about the arbitrariness and violence of the autocratic government " 32, i.e., the need for topical denunciations of the political, legal, economic and spiritual oppression to which workers were subjected in the Ukraine; but this, Vakar continued, is difficult to establish, because there is a lack of relevant literature, for example: "It's been a long time since there has been such popular propaganda literature as..... brochure... Bebel's "Socialist Society", and yet, the author of the letter emphasized, " pamphlets of this kind, introducing the workers in a popular and interesting form to the basics of social - democratic teaching, are absolutely necessary. There is a huge demand for them. " 33
Similar requests to expel Bebel's works were received from other social-democratic organizations. The study of some of his works was included in the curriculum of Marxist circles. Thus, the program compiled by a group of propagandists at the Moscow Committee of the RSDLP included the study of the book "Woman and Socialism" 34 .

Lenin repeatedly stressed the importance of bringing forward leaders from the advanced strata of the working class who could devote themselves to the cause of enlightenment and organization of the proletariat. "The history of the working-class movement in all countries shows that the best-placed strata of the workers are the first and easiest to perceive the ideas of socialism," and from these strata "every vital working-class movement has advanced the idea of socialism... leaders of the workers, their own... Bebeley. And our Russian labor movement promises to keep up with the European one in this respect, " 35 I am deeply confident-

30th Congress of German Social-Democrats. Iskra Publ., 1903, No. 48.

31 Lenin V. I. PSS. Vol. 23, p. 369.

32 Український історичний журнал, 1960, N 2, с. 135.

33 Ibid.

34 Milyutina N. On the eve of the First Revolution in Moscow, Moscow, 1926, p. 90.

35 Lenin V. I. PSS. Vol. 4, pp. 268-269.

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Lenin wrote about it. In his book What is to be Done?, which laid the ideological foundations of the new type of party he was creating, Lenin shows Bebel as an example of the rise of a remarkable agitator among the working masses, combining " knowledge of the working environment and the freshness of socialist beliefs with that professional training without which the proletariat cannot wage a stubborn struggle against the superbly trained ranks of its enemies"36 . Ideas about the importance of promoting class-conscious social-democratic workers, workers-revolutionaries, and "our Bebels" permeated many of Lenin's subsequent works; they played an invaluable role in educating the vanguard of the revolutionary masses of Russia, in training that stratum of revolutionary workers who were boundlessly devoted to Marxism, who were ready to give their all, and if necessary, to the task of creating a revolutionary movement. and life in the struggle for the triumph of this teaching. Here is what the professional revolutionary M. M. Essen recalled about this, telling about her first meeting with Lenin in Geneva: "Lenin said a lot about the need to involve the workers in direct revolutionary leadership work, that they should definitely be introduced to the committees. We must have our own Bebels, Lenin said. " 37
In this way the Leninist cohort of proletarian fighters was formed, bearing on their shoulders all the difficulties and dangers associated with the creation of a new type of party - the revolutionary party, born in 1903 at the Second Congress of the RSDLP and fundamentally different from the parties of the Second International, "which were incapable of revolutionary action."38 When, at the Second Congress, the RSDLP split into two opposing trends - the Bolshevik and Menshevik-a fundamental and irreconcilable struggle developed between them, not only on fundamental ideological but also on organizational issues. These differences between the Bolsheviks and Mensheviks were not understood by the leaders of German social-democracy, including Bebel, who were influenced by long-standing relations with Martov, Plekhanov and other Mensheviks.

At the end of 1904, Bebel made an attempt to unite the Bolsheviks and Mensheviks, for which he proposed to convene a unification conference, but the Mensheviks refused this proposal, not wanting to recognize Lenin as a representative of the revolutionary faction of the RSDLP39 . A new attempt to overcome the split within the RSDLP was made by Bebel on February 3, 1905, when the first Russian Revolution had already begun and the fundamental differences between the Mensheviks and the Bolsheviks had become even more acute - now also on tactical issues. Bebel proposed to organize an arbitration court to reconcile these two trends, but the Third Congress of the RSDLP opposed this proposal .40
At the same time, Bebel not only opposed the Mensheviks ' attempts to prevent the Bolshevik delegation, together with Lenin, from participating in the Amsterdam Congress of the Second International, but also demanded official recognition of the Bolsheviks as equal members of the Russian section of the Second International; he also made rather strict comments to Plekhanov, stopping the latter's attempts to interrupt the speeches of the Bolshevik Lyadov at this congress .41
36 Ibid., vol. 6, p. 133.

37 Essen M. M. Pervy shturm [The First Assault], Moscow, 1957, p. 96.

38 On the 80th anniversary of the Second Congress of the RSDLP. Resolution of the Central Committee of the CPSU of March 31, 1983. - Kommunist, 1983, N 6, p. 3-4.

39 Tyutyukin S. V. Lenin and the emergence of Bolshevism on the international arena. - History of the USSR, 1969, N 2, p. 43.

40 Third Congress of the RSDLP. Protocols, Moscow, 1959, p. 49, 51 - 52, 57, 58, 312.

41 Lyadov M. Iz zhizni partii [From the Life of the Party], Moscow, 1956, p. 52.

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Lenin did his best to reveal to Bebel and other SPD leaders the fundamental nature of the differences between the Bolsheviks and Mensheviks. He demanded the same patient explanation from all the Bolsheviks who happened to be in Germany at that time.

Bebel enthusiastically welcomed the Russian revolution. In his speech to the Reichstag, he expressed the party's hope for the victory of this revolution, and in the newspaper Die Neue Zeit wrote:: "The Western European proletariat wishes the Russian proletariat victory... He knows that what the proletariat of one large country has won will benefit the proletariat of all other countries. It is possible that this time the sun of freedom will rise in the East and the West will be the receiving party, not the giver. " 42 With what enthusiasm and sympathy for the working people of revolutionary Russia the German workers listened to Bebel's frequent speeches can be judged, for example, by the following description of one of the meetings: "A thousand-headed, breathless crowd... Chair to chair, person to person,.. faces with bright, inspired eyes. Bebel says... Thousands of eyes are fixed on that head of silver-white hair, and thousands of ears are listening to the fiery words spoken with youthful fervor. " 43 At these rallies of solidarity of the German proletariat with the Russian revolution, more than 500,000 marks were raised to help its victims .44
Such a powerful form of struggle of the Russian proletariat as the general political strike in October 1905 received a special response in the international labor movement. Conscious of the great significance of the experience of this strike, Bebel, in his report to the Jena Congress of the SPD in 1905, opposed the anarcho-syndicalists and reformists; he declared that the German reaction's attempt to take away universal suffrage from the working class should be met with a mass political strike: "Pitiful is the class, pitiful is the nation that does not sacrifice all its benefits to the save your honor! " he exclaimed enthusiastically .45 Warning the young trade union leaders of the danger of narrow-shop isolation and the neutrality of the trade unions in relation to the political party of the working class and its class struggle, Bebel emphatically (to the warm applause of the congress, as Lenin emphasized) said:: "Comrades,.. think about what you are doing; you are going down a fateful path, the end of which will bring you destruction! " 46
When there was a threat of armed action by Kaiser Germany against the Russian revolution, Bebel boldly opposed such threats. Thus, in November 1905, he declared:"We will do everything we can to protest against such interference in other people's affairs." 47
In their efforts to discredit the Bolsheviks, to tear the working class away from them, and thus prevent the victory of the revolution, the liberal-monarchist bourgeoisie of Russia used all sorts of methods, including false and slanderous ones. One of these methods was an attempt to take advantage of the authority of an outstanding German revolutionary among the proletariat of Russia and present him as an opponent of the Bolshevik tactics of bringing the revolution to complete victory over tsarism, with its further development into a socialist one. For this purpose

42 Cit. by: F. Hitzer Uk. soch., p. 286.

43 See Gluzberg M. S. August Bebel, Moscow, 1959, p. 16.

44 F. Hitzer Uk. soch., p. 286. According to other sources, German Social Democrats and trade union members collected about 1.5 million marks (ibid.).

45 Cit. by: Congress of German Social-Democracy in Jena. - Proletarian, Geneva, 1905, N 20.

46 Lenin V. I. PSS. Vol. 11, p. 327.

47 Cit. by: Ovcharenko N. Uk. soch., p. 186.

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The bourgeois press began to assert that Bebel made no distinction between bourgeois-democratic and socialist revolutions, between bourgeois and proletarian democracy, and that the Bolsheviks, disregarding his opinion, opposed the revolutionary leader so respected by the workers of all countries. In this way, the bourgeois liberals tried to use his authority among the working masses in order to declare Lenin's tactics of removing the bourgeoisie from the leadership of the revolution incorrect and harmful to the proletariat.

Such a false method of "refuting" Bolshevik tactics and striving to oppose it to Bebel as the "defender" of liberalism was mercilessly exposed by Lenin and the Bolshevik press. In his book Two Tactics of Social - Democracy in the Democratic Revolution, Lenin spoke of this technique, which the bourgeoisie applies everywhere and always: in each given country, it tries to prove that "the social-Democrats of a given country are the most unreasonable", and that their comrades in the neighboring country are "good boys". He gives the following example: the German bourgeoisie has hundreds of times exposed the French socialists to Bebel and his comrades in the "good boys" party, and the French bourgeoisie has exposed the "good boy" Bebel to its socialists. Lenin replied to the Russian bourgeois liberals with such an old trick: "only the lads and ignoramuses will be caught in this bait." 48 Therefore, " to assure the Russian reader that Bebel... to ever leave in the shade the falsehood and treachery of bourgeois democracy, on the one hand, and the socialist aims of the working class, on the other, is to lay the greatest lie on the leader of the revolutionary German social - democracy."49 Quoting Lenin's unmasking of the bourgeois-liberal lie, the Bolshevik Proletarian also included Bebel's response to the slanderous trick: "It is obvious," wrote Bebel, "that a significant part of Russian liberals are working according to the same recipes that the German liberals once worked according to. Liberalism is the same everywhere. " 50 Bebel goes on to reveal the true essence of the tsarist manifesto of October 17, 1905, and the goal that the Russian bourgeoisie pursued in it: "I have never dreamed of advising my Russian comrades... stop their revolutionary activities and submit to the constitution given by the tsarist grace of the State Duma, which is a dirty mockery of the people. This Russian State Duma is just a comedy that the tsar staged as a concession to the revolution, hoping to break its strength, and a significant part of Russian liberals... it readily agrees to accept concessions in order to avoid such a hateful revolutionary struggle"; the State Duma is "spoiled lentil soup" .51
Along with exposing the bourgeois-liberal attempts to distort Bebel's opinion on the revolutionary tactics of the proletariat, Lenin and the Bolsheviks also exposed similar efforts of the Mensheviks to justify (referring to Bebel) their Duma tactics of blocking with bourgeois liberals. 52 The struggle against such Menshevik assertions was particularly acute at the Fifth Congress of the RSDLP (1907), where the overwhelming majority sided with Lenin, who condemned the Menshevik perversions of Bebel's parliamentary tactics and the very tactics of Menshevism as treacherous to the interests of the proletariat.

48 Lenin V. I. PSS. Vol. 11, p. 55, ed.

49 Ibid., p. 296.

50 Bebel's reply to Russkiye Vedomosti. - Proletarian, 1905, N 23.

51 Ibid.

52 Lenin V. I. PSS. Vol. 15, pp. 323-324.

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During the revolution of 1905 - 1907, the Bolshevik Party, relying on the political freedoms wrested from the proletariat by a secret order, organized the publication of its own legal newspapers in the center and in the localities, the publication of works by Karl Marx, F. Engels, V. I. Lenin, V. Liebknecht, A. Bebel and other proletarian revolutionaries. Thus, in May 1905, the book Christianity and Socialism prepared for publication by the editorial board of Proletariya was published (the preface to which was edited by Lenin 53). In the same year, in Odessa, the Bolshevik publishing house Vperyod published two works by Bebel: "Our Goals" and "On Bernstein"; in 1906, in St. Petersburg His books "The Professional Movement and Political Parties", "The Law against Socialists in Germany", and "The Social Composition of the Social Democratic Party in Germany"were published. The trade unions born during the revolution published various articles in their journals about the German labor movement, about Bebel's speeches, and about the publication in Russian of his books and articles, the content of which was widely used in revealing the tasks of the trade union movement in Russia. Here are some examples.

The Moscow magazine Rabochy Soyuz and the Ekaterinoslav Vestnik Truda briefly described Bebel's speech at the Mannheim Congress of the SPD (1906); the Kharkiv magazine Soyuz and the Voronezh Golos Truda used Bebel's book "The Trade Union Movement and Political Parties" to explain the tasks of the trade union movement, where the author pointed out that trade unions should not be allowed to participate in trade unions. stand aside from the socio-political struggle and that all its issues should be discussed from the point of view of the interests of the working class as a whole; the same book was recommended for reading about the trade union movement by the Odessa magazine Soyuz; the magazine Uralskaya Nedelya, published in Yekaterinburg, expounded Bebel's views on the question of relations between trade unions and social the Democratic Party; his works and speeches were repeatedly used in the pages of the magazine "Baku Worker" and others .54 Even in Omsk, far away in Siberia, the magazine Sibirsky Prikazchik, reporting on the greetings of the Mannheim Congress to the Russian revolution, noted that the resolution was proposed by Bebel and it was unanimously adopted by the congress. In a note to the published text of the resolution, the journal said that in the next issue it would give a detailed account of the work of the Mannheim Congress and its decisions, but this issue stopped publication of the journal: it was banned by the authorities .55
During the first Revolution in Russia, a 4-volume collection of Bebel's speeches in the Reichstag and at party congresses was prepared for publication .56 Many Bolshevik associates of Lenin (S. G. Shaumyan, F. E. Dzerzhinsky, B. M. Knunyants, S. Spandaryan, Ya. M. Sverdlov, I. I. Skvortsov-Stepanov, V. D. Bonch-Bruevich, etc.) used Bebel's works and speeches when writing their articles for newspapers and magazines, in speeches at congresses, meetings,etc. N. K. Krupskaya, A. V. Lunacharsky, P. N. Lepeshinsky, E. D. Stasova, G. M. Krzhizhanovsky, M. N. Lyadov, and others later recalled Bebel's revolutionary activities and his attitude to the Russian labor movement.

After the third June coup d'etat of 1907, during the years of the Stolypin reaction, the Bolshevik Party retreated in an organized manner, leading its ranks underground, and at the same time developed a new political strategy.-

53 V. I. Lenin. Biochronika, vol. 2, p. 84.

54 Rabochy Soyuz, Moscow, 1906, No. 1, p. 15; Soyuz, Kharkiv, 1906, No. 3, p. 4; Golos Truda, Voronezh, 1906, No. 2, p. 6; Soyuz, Odessa, 1906, No. 1, p. 31; Uralskaya nedelya, Yekaterinburg, 1907, N 2 18; Bakinsky Rabochy, Baku, 1908, N 5-6, p. 4; and others.

55 Sibirsky, clerk. Omsk, 1906, N 10, p. 15.

56 Ovcharenko N. Uk. soch., p. 193. Because of the reaction that came after the defeat of the revolution, the publication was not carried out.

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new forms of activity. It was necessary to keep in touch with the broad masses of the working class, to prevent them from falling into pessimism and losing their revolutionary perspective; it was necessary to use the new conditions for a comprehensive study of the lessons of the recent revolution and to strengthen the unity of their ranks for future class battles.

In developing new tactics, the Bolshevik Party also made critical use of the experience of the struggle of German social-democracy under Bismarck's exclusive law against socialists. On the basis of the instructions of Marx and Engels, this party was able to create various legal societies, organizations, cash registers, etc., through which, under the leadership of Bebel, a great deal of work was carried out to develop the class consciousness of the workers and create strong ties between them, which then allowed them to withstand all the repressions of the authorities. S. G. Shaumyan, a staunch Leninist, urged the Bolsheviks of Transcaucasia to use this experience. In a number of his articles (for example, "Workers' Organizations and Reaction"), he explained that with such work" no reaction will be terrible to us, just as it was not terrible to the German workers "in the era of" exceptional laws", and then " we will boldly and confidently move forward... "up to the complete destruction of the chains of slavery that bind us"57 . Another Transcaucasian Bolshevik, an associate of Lenin, S. Spandaryan, also turned to the experience of the German Social Democrats during these years .58
In the Moscow Organization of the Bolsheviks, during the years of the reaction, not only the works of Marx, Engels, Lenin, and Liebknecht were studied in illegal circles, but also such works of Bebel as "Woman and Socialism," "The State of the Future," "Christianity and Socialism," "Our Goals," and "The Standing Army and the People's Militia."59 The experience of the SPD, especially Bebel, in working in parliament was critically used (taking into account the mistakes they made, which were then corrected by the party). This helped the Bolsheviks to correct the mistakes of the workers ' deputies of the Third Duma, especially in the first period of their activity, and also to fight against the danger from the Otzovists.

In August 1907, the Stuttgart Congress of the Second International was held. B. M. Knunyants, who participated in the congress as part of the RSDLP delegation together with Lenin, spoke about Bebel's speeches at this congress and the persistent struggle that developed at the congress between Marxists and anarcho-syndicalists over the question of the tasks of the struggle against militarism. In discussing the question of the struggle against militarism, Knunyants wrote, Bebel defended the following idea: this struggle should be an integral part of the tactics of social-democracy in all countries .60 But since Bebel's draft resolution on this question was too general, Lenin, together with R. Luxemburg and Y. Markhlevsky, worked out amendments to the resolution and agreed on the final text of the latter with Bebel .61 The Congress unanimously adopted this resolution, which "further emphasized the importance of militarism for the domestic policy of the bourgeoisie."62
At the same Congress, for the first time, Lenin's open struggle against the opportunist leaders of the Second International unfolded, relying on-

57 Shaumyan S. G. Izbr. soch. Vol. 1. Moscow, 1978, p. 280.

58 Spandaryan S. Articles, Letters and documents, Moscow, 1958, p. 133.

59 Andreev A. A. The struggle of Revolutionary workers for the Preservation and strengthening of the RSDLP during the Years of Reaction. In: Vanguard role of the Proletariat in the Revolutionary Movement of Russia (1895-1917), Moscow, 1973, p. 46.

60 Knunyants B. M. VII Congress of the New International. In: Knunyants B. M. Selected proc. Yerevan, 1959, p. 395.

61 Krutikova N. I. From the History of V. I. Lenin's Struggle against Opportunism in the International Arena, Moscow, 1955, pp. 75-76, 99-102; Falkovich S. M. Proletariat of Russia and Poland in the Joint Revolutionary Struggle (1907-1912), Moscow, 1975, p. 57.

62 Knunyants B. M. Uk. soch., p. 406.

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the Mensheviks, including Plekhanov. In his attempt to denounce the Bolshevik tactics of the recent revolution, and to contrast these tactics with the philistine "we should not have taken up arms," Plekhanov tried to take advantage of the fact that Bebel, in his welcoming speech to the Congress, while recounting the successes of the international labor movement, accidentally omitted to mention the Russian revolution. The enemies of Bolshevism - both German opportunists and Mensheviks - interpreted this blunder of Bebel's as a condemnation of the Russian revolution and the tactics of Bolshevism. So, Plekhanov immediately declared to the Bolsheviks: "You see, nothing about Russia. This is because he (Bebel. - P. L. ) now considers us anarchists. It was you, the Bolsheviks, who did your best. " 63
Lenin categorically rejected this attempt by the opportunists to denounce Bolshevik tactics in the revolution, using the authority of Bebel, and, moreover, defended the latter against the false claims of the opportunists that Bebel also opposed the tactics of the Bolsheviks. Plekhanov's statement "that Bebel purposely omitted to mention the Russian revolution in his welcoming speech, that Bebel did not want to talk about Russia" was, Lenin wrote, "just the crude buffoonery of a socialist deeply respected by liberals", and this statement "should not have been taken seriously for a moment, should not even have allowed the possibility that there is at least some truth in these words. " 64 Lenin had no doubt that the leader of German social democracy " forgot about Russia by accident. Mistakes happen to the best and most experienced speakers... In the same way, it is profoundly unfair to speak at all of the "present" opportunist Bebel. There is no data for such a generalization. " 65 While emphasizing that the Bolsheviks were right to criticize Bebel's earlier mistakes, and that "we must criticize the latter fearlessly and openly if we want to be true to the spirit of Marx and help Russian socialists rise to the modern tasks of the working-class movement," Lenin immediately warned of the following:: "Don't let Russian anarchists and syndicalists, liberals and Social revolutionaries try to gloat over our criticism of Bebel. We will say to these gentlemen: eagles sometimes go below the hens, but the hens will never rise like eagles! " 66
During the years of the Stolypin reaction, Bebel and other leading representatives of international social-democracy looked with hope on the revolutionary social-Democrats of Russia, admiring their courage and steadfastness in the struggle. Thus, Bebel repeatedly called on the international proletariat to protect the victims of reaction, and he also protested against the tsarist trial of social-democratic deputies of the Second Duma: "Socialists of all countries," he declared, " are obliged to help heal the wounds inflicted on Russian social-democrats."67 . In the autumn of 1908, he wrote:: "Someday... the history of the Russian Revolution will be written, and the whole world will admire the heroism, self-denial, and power of irresistible self-sacrifice that socialists of all nationalities have discovered in the tsarist state. " 68
On February 9 (22), 1910, Bebel turned 70 years old. Lenin and other members of the Central Committee of the RSDLP and the editorial board of the newspaper Sotsial-Demokrat wrote in their greeting to the hero of the day: on behalf of the RSDLP and all Russian workers, we send " warm greetings... to the foremost fighter of the international

63 Cit. by: Krutikova N. I. Uk. soch., p. 219.

64 Lenin V. I. PSS Vol. 16, p. 186.

65 Ibid., p. 187.

66 Ibid., pp. 187-188.

67 Cit. by: Social-democratic deputies of the Second Duma and the International proletariat. - Zvezda, St. Petersburg, 1911. N32.

68 Cit. In: Istoriya Kommunisticheskoi partii Sovetskogo Soyuza [History of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union], vol. 2, Moscow, 1966, p. 247.

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and to the leader of German social-democracy";"in your person we honor the workers' leader, who has shown by his example that the emancipation of the workers must be the work of the workers themselves. " 69
At the end of 1910, when the legal weekly newspaper Zvezda began to appear in St. Petersburg, which was experiencing great financial difficulties due to constant harassment by the authorities and the police, Bebel obtained support from the SPD board for the Bolsheviks ' request for financial assistance to the newspaper: 3 thousand marks70 were sent to Zvezda . The Bolshevik Zvezda regularly published materials about the international labor movement, including the German one, about the struggle within it against opportunism, about Bebel's role in this struggle, and about his speeches at SPD congresses and in the Reichstag.

Zvezda gave a detailed account of the German Reichstag elections in 1912, and Bebel's speeches in which the tasks of the workers ' Party were put forward during the election campaign. Bebel taught the working class that the most important thing for social democracy in elections is to educate the masses, to organize as many workers as possible around the class banner, and not just to pursue mandates; therefore, he opposed the revisionists who proposed to block with the bourgeois liberals, because, they say, the most important thing is more mandates. The victory of the German Social-Democrats in the elections (compared to 1907, the number of their deputies in 1912 increased from 53 to 110 ) was welcomed by Zvezda, as well as by the Social-Democratic group of the Third Duma, which sent a telegram to Bebel.

During the election campaign for the Fourth Duma, the Bolsheviks fought against the Menshevik liquidators who advocated unity with the Cadets, while the Bolshevik press also used Bebel's various speeches against such blockades and exposed the liquidators 'and Cadets' attempts to justify their tactics by referring to Bebel. At a meeting of representatives of the 28 press organs of St. Petersburg in 1913, the Mensheviks sided with the cadet newspaper Rech, which called not to develop "anarchy" (as the bourgeois press called the rapid growth of the working-class movement in Russia after the bloody Lena massacre in 1912), but with the help of the Duma to seek partial concessions from Tsarism. The Mensheviks tried to justify this tactic of uniting with the Cadet bourgeoisie by referring to Bebel's participation in the Berne Conference (in May 1913) of French and German socialist parliamentarians, together with those few bourgeois liberals who were forced - at least for the sake of appearances, even with antics - to support a resolution condemning the chauvinism and militarism of the bourgeois governments of their countries. Thus, at this meeting, Bebel forced the liberals to officially express their sympathy for the Social Democrats ' struggle for peace. But at the same time, the Bolshevik magazine Prosveshchenie emphasized, this does not mean that Bebel's tactics can be equated with those of Menshevism: the latter supports the liberals, who have renounced all struggle, and Bebel has distributed his revolutionary point of view on war and peace in millions of copies, so that everyone can see how it differs from the liberal ones views 72 .

The Bolshevik press also covered Bebel's struggle against the colonial policy of imperialism and against those" socialists " in words and chauvinists in deeds who supported this policy (such as the former leader of the Italian Socialist Party

69 Lenin V. I. PSS. Vol. 47, p. 301.

70 Poletaev N. G. Zvezda [Star]. - October, Moscow, 1928, N 5, p. 168.

71 Results of the German elections. - Zvezda, 1912, N 2.

72 On a liberal occasion. - Prosveshchenie, St. Petersburg, 1913, N 6, p. 65.

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Bebel's passionate struggle for peace and his speeches at the Basel Congress of the Second International (in 1912) were particularly well received by the Russian working class.

During these years, Bebel's authority in Russia has continuously increased, especially among young people. Thus, in 1912, the social-democratic youth organization "Future", which was under the ideological influence of the SDKPiL, worked in Warsaw; propaganda work was carried out there in circles consisting of 10 to 15 people; each circle had its own name: "Circle of Marx","Circle of Bebel" 72 . In 1913, when International Women's Day was celebrated for the first time in Russia, the works and speeches of Bebel were widely used, who, as K. Zetkin wrote, "raised his powerful voice, heard by millions of people, for the complete liberation and equal rights of women"74 . In the festive issue of the Bolshevik Pravda dedicated to this Day, photos of prominent figures of the international movement for the protection of women workers-K. Zetkin, E. Marx - Eveling, V. Zasulich and others were placed, and in the center-a photo of Bebel; in the same issue, it was reported that the editorial board received welcome articles to Russian workers from K. Zetkin. Zetkin, Bebel and other workers ' movement figures 75 .

An article on Women's Day sent to Pravda in February of the same year and intercepted by the police called on women workers to celebrate Women's Day together with the workers, to participate in the economic and political struggle, without fear of failure or even defeat; the article ended with the following words:: "Without exercise, there is no master," says Bebel. Only in the struggle do forces grow stronger, consciousness develops, and unity and cohesion grow. " 76
On August 13, 1913, A. Bebel died suddenly (in Switzerland). This news was placed in a mourning frame in the newspaper Severnaya Pravda (which replaced Pravda, which was closed by the authorities). For more than a month, the newspaper published a special section titled "To Bebel's Death" with condolences from various work collectives and students, from political exiles, workers and employees from different cities of multinational Russia. Thus, the workers of the Nobel plant in St. Petersburg wrote in their condolences: "We deeply feel the loss of the great leader of German social-democracy, we are mentally grieving, but we do not give in to despair.. believing that his memory will never die, always remembering his glorious name with delight. " 77 From the village of Tulun (Irkutsk province), 23 political exiles in their telegram sent to Berlin noted:: "We are deeply shocked by the loss of the unforgettable leader of the German and international proletariat... August Bebel"78 . The newspaper published condolences from M. Gorky 79 and from Bolshevik deputies of the Fourth Duma, and reported that, despite police prohibitions, meetings of trade unions of trade workers and employees of St. Petersburg, Moscow, and Baku responded to Bebel's death. Despite the presence of a police bailiff, a meeting of 50 representatives of the health insurance fund of the workers of the Ekaterinoslav Bryansk plant honored the memory of the 80 worker leader with a stand-up .

73 TsGAOR USSR, f. 6935, op. 1, d. 97, ll. 9, 16.

74 Tsetkin K. Zavety Lenina zhamenam vsego mira [Lenin's Testaments to Women All over the World]. Moscow, 1975, pp. 5-6.

75 Pravda, 17. II. 1913, No. 40.

76 On the history of celebrating International Women's Day in Russia. - Krasny-archiv, 1938, N 2, p. 7.

77 Severnaya Pravda, St. Petersburg, 1913, N 4.

78 Ibid., No. 20.

79 As early as 1906, M. Gorky referred Bebel to those who, along with Marx and Lenin, "taught me all my life and continue to teach" (Gorky M. Poln. sobr. soch. Vol. 26, Moscow 1953, p. 205).

80 Essays on the history of the Dnipropetrovsk regional Party organization. Dnepropetrovsk. 1979, p. 108.

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Money for the monument to Bebel (for example, from the workers of the St. Petersburg leather factory Paramonov) began to arrive from the workers through the Bolshevik deputies of the Fourth Duma, and money was sent in memory of Bebel to support the Bolshevik press (for example, from Chernihiv for the newspaper Pravda Truda).81 . The newspaper published detailed correspondence from Zurich about the workers ' farewell to the deceased, the funeral, and the laying of wreaths on behalf of the Central Committee of the RSDLP(b). "It seems," Severnaya Pravda wrote, "that the' old soldier of the Revolution ' has just fallen fast asleep, that he is about to throw off a heavy sleep by a mighty effort of will and say in a dissatisfied tone: "Comrades and comrades! Urgent matters of the party demand that my repose be interrupted. " 82
Severnaya Pravda published Lenin's article "August Bebel" twice (NN6 and 12). It contained a brief biography of the leader of the German workers and his role in the history of the German and international labor movement. "August Bebel... He became the most gifted parliamentarian in Europe, the most talented organizer and tactician, and the most influential leader of international social-democracy, hostile to reformism and opportunism,"wrote Lenin. He also wrote a special letter to G. L. Shklovsky, who was abroad, asking him to inform him in detail about Bebel's funeral .84 On August 17, the deceased was cremated in Zurich, and the urn with his ashes was buried in the local cemetery.

September 20 in Pravda Truda (which replaced Severnaya Pravda, which was closed by the police) on the first page was placed a large article "From the life and work of Bebel", ending with the following words:"In his practical work, in the organization and in parliament, they (the proletarians of Russia - P. L.) will often find answers to their own questions raised by Russian life" 85.

Special articles were devoted to Bebel's death in other print media, such as the magazine Prosveshchenie, the trade union magazines Zhizn Bakery, Golos Zolotoserebryanikov i Bronzschikov, and others. V. D. Bonch-Bruevich's article "In Memory of August Bebel" was published in the Kharkov newspaper "Utro", which spoke about the significance of Bebel for the working class of Russia; the article ended with the following conclusion: "there is no question of proletarian life that you do not work on, that you do not suffer from, that you do not think about the great August Bebel left his strong mind " 86 . When the Moscow Bolsheviks started publishing the newspaper " Our Way "in August 1913, a large article about Bebel's activities was published in two issues. 87 During the summer break in the work of the Fourth Duma, the Bolshevik deputy G. I. Petrovsky visited his constituents in the Ekaterinoslav province. He shared his impressions of these meetings in the autumn of 1913 on the pages of the newspaper Za Pravda: "At every meeting... the loss of the leader of the German workers, A. Bebel, was remembered with sorrow. The mourning resolution was joined by all the workers at whose meeting the question of honoring the memory of the first of the advanced workers arose. " 88 Bolshevik newspapers, as well as the magazines Prosveshchenie, Vestnik Prikazchika, and Rabotnitsa published lists of Bebel's books available for sale (at the office of the central organ of the Bolshevik Party). Since March 1914, the newspaper" Path of Truth " on the front page began to print not only the following articles:-

81 Severnaya Pravda, 1913, No. 28; Za Pravda, 1913, No. 5.

82 At Bebel's tomb. Severnaya Pravda, 1913, No. 5.

83 Lenin V. I. PSS Vol. 23, p. 364.

84 V. I. Lenin. Biochronics, vol. 3, pp. 132-133.

85 Pravda truda, St. Petersburg, 20. IX. 1913.

86 Bonch-Bruevich V. D. Uk. soch., p. 143.

87 From the life and work of A. Bebel. - Our way, Moscow, 1913, NN 15, 16.

88 Petrovsky G. To my impressions. - For the truth, St. Petersburg, 1913, N 8.

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how many chapters from the just-released third volume of Bebel's Memoirs.

The Bolshevik press, while propagandizing Bebel's writings among the workers and teaching them how to use these writings in the daily struggle for their own interests, at the same time warned the workers against the perversions of Bebel's legacy and the slander of Bebel that was being made by the Mensheviks and other non-Marxist movements. For example, Severnaya Pravda published an article "Against A. Bebel", which exposed the claims of the narodnik newspaper Zhivaya Mysl that Bebel was "cunning", "did not want to embark on a decisive path of struggle against the military", and so on. the case of "throwing a stone in the bright memory of A. Bebel" 89 .

During the First World War, Lenin, carefully studying the experience of the struggle of the revolutionary wing of German social-democracy and fighting for the unity of all the anti-imperialist, progressive forces of the international labor movement, repeatedly read various works of Bebel, made extracts from them, wrote comments on them, and so on .90
Lenin and his associates, on the one hand, and V. Liebknecht, K. Zetkin, and A. Bebel, on the other, wrote remarkable pages in the glorious chronicle of international solidarity of the Russian revolutionary social-Democrats with international social-democracy, including the German one. Since the end of the XIX century. Bebel began to follow the Russian workers ' movement closely, and welcomed the revolution of 1905 and 1907 with great enthusiasm. He did much to organize various kinds of assistance to the victims of this revolution, to help the Bolshevik press persecuted by Tsarism; he defended the workers ' deputies of the Second State Duma condemned by Tsarism.

From the moment of its formation as a "class for itself", the Russian revolutionary proletariat studied Marxism and critically mastered the experience of the German labor movement, including with the help of Bebel's works, and treated him with deep respect as an outstanding leader of German social democracy and the international labor movement.

89 Severnaya Pravda, 1913, No. 19.

90 V. I. Lenin. Biochronics, vol. 3, pp. 283, 312, 430.

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