Valerian Polyansky

“ The new culture should cover all areas of life and creativity, cover not partially superficially, but deeply and in all their breadth. We know: there is a proletarian politics; but how much more politicking, poisoning her, bourgeois in spirit, is being fed to her at every step! There is a comradely bond and comradely discipline; in them the soul, in them the strength of the class organisation ”

“ Only the development of an independent spiritual culture can give the class a holistic upbringing that irrevocably guides the collective wave and thinking. This happened among the Bourgeois classes, this was their strength; it was not enough for the proletariat, this is its weakness. If they were completely independent culturally, then in even the most difficult and new environment, the old world could not prompt them with their thoughts, inspire them with their moods, corrupt them with their poison, make them their blind instrument. ”

“ Criticism, on the other hand, fully achieves its goal when it indicates the best instead of the worst; and therefore it must be based on the independent creativity of the proletariat. Thus, cultural independence is the only way to conquer the spiritual treasures hitherto accumulated by mankind. We see: the work ahead is enormous, the difficulties and obstacles in the path of the work to which we call our comrades are enormous. But the proletariat did not come into the world for easy tasks. ”

“ Yes, comrades, the cultural emancipation of the proletariat is necessary, the struggle for it is urgent; it is a struggle for a real true class self-determination.
However, it does not at all mean a simple break with the entire rich culture of the old world. No, the proletariat is the legitimate heir of all its valuable gains, spiritual as well as material ”

“ And when it seemed that the enormous growth of international socialism was going to finally consolidate the independent tactics of the proletariat in all areas, then a world war broke out with it, an unprecedented crisis of proletarian class consciousness. ”

“ Because they were faced with a new, unprecedentedly difficult question and did not have enough deep, holistic education behind them to solve it firmly and steadily, in their own way, from the point of view of their tasks and their ideals. Unable to solve it in this way, the working class submitted to someone else's decision, to one bound by the surrounding environment of the capitalist world. ”

“ But don't we see how often their petty selfishness, careerism, the competition of personal ambitions, the thirst for power on the part of some, blind trust and not conscious submission on the part of others, are often undermined by the legacy of the old society with its fragmentation, the struggle of all against all, suppressing the power of some and the slavish obedience of others. ”

“ This backwardness was doubly reflected on the fate of the Russian proletariat, by the fact that it made it impossible for the workers of the foremost countries to support our revolution in its struggle for peace, in its struggle for life against the enemies who surrounded it from below from within. Іt is the working class who will direct its greatest efforts to create what it lacks so much, let cultural independence be an alternative, and henceforth constant, slogan. ”

“ The workers' movement is moving along different paths towards our great goal – world socialism. It emerged as purely economic and professional, then cooperative; it also began to develop into a political force ”

“ And we believe: their collective strength in their mighty growth and self-organisation will overcome everything, achieve everything. Long live Proletarian Culture, the great weapon of the victory of World Socialism! ”