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"Without clarifying the class nature of our political parties, without taking into account the interests and mutual position of the classes of our revolution, not a single step forward can be made in determining the immediate tasks and tactics of the proletariat." 1 . These words of V. I. Lenin could be used as an epigraph to a book under review, the authors of which intended to study Lenin's theoretical legacy on the history of classes and political parties in Russia extensively and systematically .2
Lenin's concept of the place and role of classes and parties in public life is widely reflected in Soviet historical literature. The authors of the monograph tried to sum up the results of the work done over many years. The preference that Soviet historians gave to the proletariat and its vanguard, the Marxist-Leninist Party, is particularly noticeable here. The other direction of research is quite understandable. But we must not forget (as the materials of the book also remind us) that V. I. Lenin always considered the working class and its party in interaction with other classes and parties. It is well known that the "wealth of forms, shades, and methods of struggle of all classes" was concentrated on a very short period of time in Russia. V. I. Lenin was always interested in accurate accounting of "available class values" 3 . What are these forces? How do they group against each other? He answered these questions in relation to specific historical conditions: the peculiarity of the class structure of Russian society was deduced from the analysis of its economic development.

Based on the data processed by V. I. Lenin, the book concludes that the capitalist mode of production was established in Russia by the beginning of the 80s of the XIX century. By this time, a large industrial bourgeoisie had formed, the proletariat as a class had been formed, and a class split in the countryside was emerging. The combination of advanced and backward forms of economic relations, the interweaving of two heterogeneous social wars-these are the characteristic features of the social system of Russia, which V. I. Lenin paid special attention to. Chronologically sequentially, starting from the post-reform period, the authors show

1 V And Lenin PSS T 17, page 27

2 The book was prepared at the Department of History of Soviet Society of the Academy of Social Sciences under the Central Committee of the CPSU Authors: G. I. Bovykin, K. V. Gusev, M. P. Kim, I. D. Kovalchenko, Yu. I. Karablev, R. Ya. Laverychev, L. F. Morozov, V. P. Naumov, V. I. Pogudin, Yu. A. Polyakov, S. M. Sovokin, L. M. Spirin, V. M. Shapov Editorial Board: M. P. Kim (Editor-in-chief), K. V. Gusev, A.M. Demin, I. D. Kovalchenko, V. P. Naumov, S. I. Shchirba.

3 V. I. Lenin. PSS. Vol. 43, p. 240.

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the alignment of class forces and the ideological and political struggle in Russia.

The book contains statements by V. I. Lenin about the peculiarities of the maturation of class contradictions in Russia. They became much more noticeable during the revolution of 1905-1907, when the interests and points of view of individual classes were manifested much faster than before. At this time, types of political parties emerged that, according to V. I. Levin, corresponded to "all the main classes of Russian society" .4 The Octobrists and Cadets, the Socialist-Revolutionaries and Mensheviks, the Proletarian social-democracy - each of these parties has shown its face, has shown itself in action. The Lenin characteristics summarized in the book reveal whose interests were defended by the main political parties of Russia. Although materials about individual parties are distributed throughout the book and there are no summary essays on the history of political parties, an attentive reader can get a fairly complete picture of their development.

Tracing, for example, the evolution of the Cadet party, V. I. Lenin pointed out that its turn to counter-revolution was an inevitable result of "the development of the class consciousness of the Russian bourgeoisie."5 Thoroughly bourgeois, V. I. Lenin wrote about the cadet party, but at the same time this party was not firmly connected with any one class of Russian society. Hence the extreme vagueness and inconsistency of its program. V. I. Lenin exposed the Cadets ' desire for a deal with the monarchy, and in this he saw them in common with the Octobrists. The development of events in 1917 showed how correct Lenin's analysis was. Despite the inclusion of the republic clause in the Cadet party's program, even during this period the main concern of its leaders was to preserve the monarchy.

The further we went, the closer the line of conduct between the Cadets, Mensheviks, and Social Revolutionaries became. In this respect, the remark of V. I. Lenin given in the book is interesting. "In fact," he said in August 1919, " if you look closely, if you think carefully about what the struggle against the Soviet government is about, you will come to the conclusion: the opponents of the Soviet government are divided into two large groups. Both defend capitalism against socialism. One group does this brutally, and with the grossest self-interest; these are the landlords, capitalists, Kulaks, Denikins, Kolchaks, Black Hundreds, and Cadets. Another group defends capitalism "ideologically", that is, disinterestedly or without direct personal gain, out of prejudice, out of the cowardice of the new; these are the Mensheviks and Social Revolutionaries. These are the last "ideological" defenders of capitalism. " 6
In the future, representatives of bankrupt political parties who fled abroad after the defeat of the White armies in the civil war tried to change their tactics in the hope of restoring capitalism in Russia. These processes did not receive sufficient coverage in the monograph, although V. I. Leni" at one time considered it very instructive to trace the main aspirations, techniques, and trends of the Russian counterrevolution abroad." The book highlights the role of the Social Revolutionaries and Mensheviks in organizing banditry and riots on the territory of the Soviet Republic. It is overlooked, however, that in the complex conglomerate of White emigrant movements, the monarchical emigration also stood out for its anti-Soviet "activism". She relied on the remnants of the white army, trying to keep her cadres abroad until the right moment. In the 20s and 30s, the counter - revolutionary Russian General Military Union had an extensive network of branches in various countries of Europe, America, and China. The open and hidden monarchists, the so-called Republican Democrats, who pinned their hopes on the evolution and "internal organic rebirth" of proletarian power, and many other groups and groupings of white emigration-all of them have failed, and their fate is particularly instructive, since it is directly connected with the fate of the classes and social strata of Russia to which history has pronounced its verdict.

The materials of the book convincingly show how V. I. Lenin was able to creatively approach the analysis of the history of classes and parties, to penetrate into the very essence of social processes, to notice both the great and the small. Both before and after the Great October Socialist Revolution, Lenin's assessments served as a compass for developing the correct strategy and tactics of the Communist Revolution.

4 V. I. Lenin. PSS. Vol. 14, p. 26.

5 V. I. Lenin. PSS. Vol. 20, p. 99.

6 V. I. Lenin. PSS. Vol. 39, p. 169.

7 See V. I. Lenin. PSS. Vol. 44, p. 40.

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parties. Take, for example, the "left-bloc" tactics of the Bolsheviks, which are discussed in various chapters of the book. Noting the zeal and extreme flexibility of the "left-bloc" tactics, V. I. Lenin turned to the experience of the world liberation movement: "All the victorious moments of these movements,"he wrote," are always connected with the success of these tactics, with the direction of the struggle along this path, despite the vacillations and betrayals of liberalism. " 8 The whole theory of the modern revolutionary movement, in which the communist parties of capitalist countries struggle to unite democratic and progressive forces around the working class, also serves as a convincing confirmation of these words.

While admitting the tactics of "blocs," the Bolsheviks never ceased their ideological and political struggle against the agents of bourgeois influence. This decisive line is clearly shown in the book by the example of the bloc with the "left" Social Revolutionaries in late 1917 and early 1918. When the vacillation of this party on the most important and fundamental questions of the development of the revolution became apparent, the vacillation that then resulted in an open anti-Soviet revolt, the break of the agreement became inevitable.

In a country where the peasantry constituted the absolute majority of the population, the question of establishing proper working-class relations has always been central to the Communist Party's policy. The entire content of the book testifies to the outstanding role of V. I. Lenin in the development of fundamental ideas in the union of the working class and the working peasantry. The last chapters explain in detail how V. I. Lenin concretized these ideas in relation to the transition period and the new economic policy. In the transition to NEP, the party and the Soviet government had to establish a link between the peasant economy, using commodity-money relations in the interests of socialist construction. It was necessary to preserve and strengthen the command positions of socialism in the country's economy, master the laws of the market, solve the problem of "who is who" by combining economic and administrative measures in this struggle, and develop the creative initiative of the masses of the people and, above all, the working class.

Considerable literature has been written about NEP. Soviet historians and economists collected and summarized many facts, revealed the essence and significance of complex socio-economic processes that led to the elimination of exploiting classes and the change in the entire social structure of society in the USSR. Still, there are issues on which there is no consensus. These include some aspects related to understanding the process of economic displacement of capitalist elements in industry and trade. The book presents various views of Soviet historians and economists on the question of which frontier to consider the beginning of an attack on private capital in these areas of the national economy. In this connection, it may be useful to recall some facts.

The transition to a new economic policy affected all areas of economic life, and the Communists had to learn a lot here. The Soviet state deliberately made certain concessions, taking the first steps on the path of NEP. A year passed by when Lenin was able to say that the goal pursued by the retreat had been achieved and put forward the task of regrouping forces. The resolution of the XI Congress on the report of the Central Committee of the Party stated that the Congress "considers it its next task to regroup the party forces in order to ensure the full practical implementation of the policy adopted by the party." 9 From the very beginning of NEP, many Communists were sent to economic work. V. I. Lenin wrote in 1922 that "it is no longer a question of institutions, but of people and of testing practical experience." And required: "One by one to find those who know how to trade..." 10 . The beginning of the regrouping of party forces affected primarily the financial authorities - a large group of Communists moved to the People's Commissariat of Finance from the apparatus of the People's Commissariat of Food. By 1924, more than 7,000 Communists were working in local financial authorities. At the end of the recovery period, the Central Committee of the Party sent 3,000 Communists to work in cooperative, commercial, and credit institutions. 11
Putting forward the task of regrouping forces, V. I. Lenin simultaneously emphasized,

8 I. Lenin. PSS. Vol. 21, p.

9 "The CPSU in resolutions and decisions of congresses, conferences and plenums of the Central Committee", part I. Ed. 7-e, p. 600.

10 V. I. Lenin. PSS. Vol. 54, p. 180.

11 See Izvestia of the Central Committee of the RCP (b), No. 3, III. 1923, p. 40; No. 1, X. 1924, p. 6; No. 4, IV. 1924, p. 68.

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that the struggle against capitalism has not subsided; on the contrary, it "has become a hundred times more fierce and dangerous, because we do not always clearly see where the enemy is against us and who our friend is" 12 . In this struggle, the Communist Party and the Soviet State relied on nationalized industry, on the development of state trade and cooperation, and this sector was constantly strengthened. The transition to a hard Soviet currency, the struggle to increase labor productivity and reduce prices for industrial goods, the strengthening of the state's influence on regulating market prices, tax, credit, and tariff policies - all these measures were aimed at limiting the activity of private capital. Although the growth of capitalist elements under the conditions of NEP took place both in commodity turnover and in industry up to the autumn of 1926, the economic offensive against private capital went on and developed in parallel. In wholesale trade, for example, the share of the socialized sector in 1924-1925 reached 90.6%. And even in retail trade, where the role of the private sector was quite large, its share in these years consistently fell in comparison with cooperative and state-owned trade. Therefore, we can assume that the beginning of the offensive against the capitalist elements of the city was already evident at the end of the reconstruction period. And it is no accident that the XIV Congress of the CPSU (b) in December 1925 He noted "the economic offensive of the proletariat on the basis of a new economic policy and the progress of the U.S.S.R. economy towards socialism." 13
Among other problems that can be the subject of creative discussion, the authors of the book highlight the study of the nature of changes in the social nature of the Soviet working class, the composition and sources of its formation, changes in the overall social structure of society, and the emergence of new social groups associated with the socialist mode of production.

The variety of issues, the breadth of historical coverage, and the authors ' creative approach to historiographical analysis all attract the reader's attention. The monograph not only raises certain questions, but in many cases offers its own solutions. However, the heterogeneity of the style and structure of individual chapters and sections is striking. Unfortunately, the book lacks personal and subject indexes, as well as historical references about the main political parties. But the main thing is that a generalizing work has been created on an important problem.

L. K. Shkarenkov

12 V. I. Lenin. PSS. Vol. 45, pp. 94-95.

13 "The CPSU in resolutions and decisions of Congresses, conferences and plenums of the Central Committee", Part II. Ed. 7-e, p. 196.

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