Marxism Research Network
Unofficial English Translation

Fang Guangshun and Wu Gaojie: A Study of Lenin's Thoughts on the Construction of Grassroots Organizations of Proletarian Political Parties

Fundamental Principles of Marxism

Whether the Party's primary-level organizations can be built into strong fighting bastions is a major issue concerning the life and death of the proletarian party. This question has always received high priority from classic Marxist writers. From the time he led the establishment of the Bolshevik Party, Lenin placed primary-level organization building in a position of vital importance. He proposed a series of important ideas and took a range of critical measures centering on every aspect and the entire process of building the Party's primary-level organizations. At the same time, Lenin waged an unremitting struggle against erroneous views that neglected the building of these organizations. He resolutely criticized the Mensheviks' erroneous organizational propositions, such as "autonomism," "negation of Party discipline," and "blurring the boundaries of Party organizations." He proposed the organizational principles of the proletarian party and established solid primary-level organizations, laying a firm political and organizational foundation for the victory of the October Revolution. After the success of the October Revolution, the Bolshevik Party became the governing party. The Party's primary-level organizations were tasked with new missions and duties, faced new situations and problems, and the significant role of governing party primary-level organization building became even more prominent. Lenin opportunely proposed ideas and measures for the building of the governing party's primary-level organizations, profoundly expounded on their status and role, and made overall deployments for their political, ideological, and work-style building. This formed a systematic and complete Marxist theory on the primary-level organization building of a governing party.

I. The primary-level organizations of the proletarian party are the foundation of the Party's entire strength

Constructing a systematic and rigorous organizational system that connects higher and lower levels, and basing the Party's strength in primary-level organizations, is a basic principle of the proletarian party. The organizational structure of the Communist League—the world's first proletarian party established under the leadership of Marx and Engels—was composed of "communities, circles, leading circles, the Central Authority, and the Congress." They believed that the primary-level organizations of the Communist Party should fully exert their role as the leadership core in relation to other social organizations, "making every one of its communities a center and nucleus of the workers' associations" and "being responsible for the character of the members they admit." Lenin inherited and developed Marx and Engels' theory of party building, combining it with the practice of the Bolshevik Party's own construction and its leadership of the revolution and national development, thereby advancing the Marxist theory of primary-level party building to a new stage. Beginning with his leadership in founding the Bolshevik Party, Lenin established organizational principles requiring that every Party member must join one of the Party's organizations; this laid a profound foundation for the building of primary-level organizations. In the practice of leading the Bolshevik Party through the revolution, Lenin waged a persistent struggle against opportunist factions and various erroneous ideas that denied the Party's organizational principles and undermined its primary-level organizations. He established primary-level organizations that adhered to the Party's nature while remaining flexible in form, thereby expanding the Party's influence. Against the backdrop of the October Revolution's victory and the Bolshevik Party becoming the governing party, Lenin attached even greater importance to the indispensable status of primary-level organizations. He actively recruited members to expand the Party organization while simultaneously and continuously purging unqualified members. This purified the primary-level organizations, expanded the Party’s influence, and allowed these organizations to play their vital roles as fighting bastions, bridges and links, and vanguard models. During this period, Lenin's scientific analysis and profound discourse on the status and role of the Party's primary-level organizations laid a deep ideological and theoretical foundation for strengthening their construction.

(1) The Party's primary-level organizations are the cells of the Party

The proletarian party is an organizational system composed of advanced elements. The formation and consolidation of its cohesion and combat effectiveness benefit from a complete organizational system that integrates the top and bottom. The Party’s central organization is the leadership core and command center; the Party's strategic decisions and work deployments can only be transformed into concrete actions and achieve practical results through the active and effective work of primary-level organizations. To this end, Lenin likened the Party's primary-level organizations to the systematic and complete cells of the organism, pointing out that the health and soundness of these cells play a foundational role in the Party’s unity and strength. Lenin expounded on the status and role of primary-level organizations as cells from the perspective of the Party's organizational system. First, the proletarian party is the sum of its cells. Lenin refuted P.B. Axelrod's erroneous view of confusing organized elements with unorganized elements within the Party, proposing that "the Party should be the sum of its organizations" and that it "should be composed of many different organizations (in the narrow sense of the word)." Here, he likened the Party to a whole systematically and organically composed of different cells—that is, the sum of its cells. In Lenin's view, whether the Party possesses a high degree of organization is a matter of life and death, just as a biological organism would lose its life if separated from its cells. Therefore, every member of the Russian Social Democratic Labour Party (RSDLP) [1] must participate in one of the Party's organizations. Second, the primary-level organization is the "basic organizational cell of the Party." To better exert the role of these organizations, one must both leverage the leadership core role of the central organization and the foundational role of the primary-level organizations, making them truly the basic organizational cells of the Party. This requires Party organizations at all levels to truly implement the principle of democratic centralism, ensuring the Party's cells are full of vitality and maintaining the Party's advanced nature and combat effectiveness. Finally, as cells, primary-level organizations will grow and change along with the expansion of the Party's ranks and the development of the revolutionary cause. As the revolutionary situation evolves, primary-level organizations, like cells, undergo continuous optimal recombination to adapt to the environments of revolution and construction and the new needs of the Party's tasks. Lenin advocated forming "broader" Party branches on the basis of small groups, following the principle of simplifying forms while emphasizing quality, according to the state of the revolutionary struggle and organizational development.

(2) The Party's primary-level organizations are the bridge connecting the Party with the masses

The communist cause pursued by the proletarian party is a great cause for the vast majority of people to seek the interests of the vast majority. Maintaining close ties with the masses [2] is an important condition for awakening their consciousness, winning their support, and relying on their strength to achieve their liberation. Primary-level organizations exist and operate among the masses; they know the masses best and are most easily understood by them, serving as the bridge and link for the Party’s close contact with the masses. On one hand, the goals and pursuits of the proletarian party need to be centrally embodied through close contact with the masses. Lenin pointed out: "The political party is the bridge of the minority in the working class to the rest of the worker masses. If this minority does not know how to lead the masses, how to closely link with the masses... it is not a party and has no value." The proletarian party adheres to dialectical and historical materialism, advocates the "mass viewpoint of history," and emphasizes uniting and mobilizing the masses to participate in the great struggle for their own liberation to form a burgeoning revolutionary situation. Since primary-level organizations are closest to the masses, the proletarian party must "establish Party branches in all departments of work... maintaining 'close contact with the masses.'" On the other hand, primary-level organizations are the specific organs for this contact. The Bolshevik Party emphasized: "Branches are the organizations that link local workers and peasant masses with the Party's leading organs," acting as a bridge for higher-level organs to connect with local workers and peasants. Therefore, they must handle the transmission of directives downward and report upward, providing timely feedback on the masses' demands. Lenin led by example, relying on the Party's local primary-level organizations to maintain close contact with the people, reading their letters and listening to their voices, thereby winning their trust. In late 1920, "Ivan Petrovich Turunian, Secretary of the Bakurey Volost [3] Party organization, brought and delivered to Lenin the complaints of Bakurey communists regarding the counter-revolutionary behavior of local authorities." Through the primary-level organization, Lenin wrote back with instructions to stop the erroneous actions of certain local grain officials, winning the understanding and support of the masses. Thus, the primary-level organization functioned as a "transfer station" for feeding back the emotional state of the masses.

(3) The Party's primary-level organizations are the fighting bastions of the Party in grass-roots social organizations

The Party's primary-level organizations must center their efforts on the Party's central tasks in every period, doing a good job in disseminating Party policies and organizing mobilization, so that the Party's leadership is reflected in the implementation of various policy resolutions by these branches. During the Stolypin reaction [4], the revolution was at a low ebb, and almost all local Party organizations suffered brutal suppression. Within the Party, there emerged "Liquidationism," which advocated abolishing the secret RSDLP, and "Otzovism" (Recallism), which advocated recalling the Duma group and refusing to utilize any legal forms of struggle. Lenin profoundly criticized these erroneous trends of thought regarding organizational issues, advocating for both the consolidation and defense of secret organizations and the vigorous development of semi-legal and legal organizations. He proposed that in order to maintain close contact with the masses and unify revolutionary forces, "every branch... should become a 'stronghold for agitation, propaganda, and practical organizational work among the masses.'" After the victory of the October Revolution, in the face of foreign armed intervention and domestic White Guard rebellions, the Red Army led by the Bolshevik Party still demonstrated a spirit of daring to sacrifice and daring to win precisely "because there were Communist Party branches in the Red Army, which played a massive role in propaganda and agitation." "Beside every military commander stood a Party political commissar... many Communist Party branches were established in every unit, and every headquarters became a center of propaganda and agitation." The Party's ideological and political education enabled the Red Army to "know what they were fighting for and what they were sacrificing for," and the role of the Party branches in the Red Army as fighting bastions was fully exerted. To achieve the victory of the socialist revolution, the role of primary-level organizations must be actively utilized to "persistently and unremittingly carry out communist work in trade unions, cooperatives, and other mass worker organizations. Communist Party branches must be established within these organizations," allowing them to serve as fighting bastions and members to act as vanguard models, uniting and mobilizing various social organizations and the masses to participate in the great cause of consolidating Soviet power and building socialism. Practice has verified the important role of primary-level organizations and raised the tasks and requirements for strengthening their construction.

II. Upholding centralized, unified leadership and improving theoretical quality are the core of primary-level party organization building

The foundation of the Party's political unity and ideological consistency lies at the primary level. In their own construction, the primary-level organizations of the proletarian party must adhere to the dominance of politics and the precedence of ideological theory, taking the maintenance of the Party Central Committee’s centralized, unified leadership and the continuous strengthening of ideological and theoretical armament as the core requirements. The proletarian party is a political organization; political character is its essential attribute, and strengthening the dominant position of political building is an inevitable requirement for the construction of the proletarian party. Lenin believed: "A class cannot maintain its rule if it does not look at problems correctly from a political perspective." The core of primary-level organization building is the Party's political construction: centering on the Party's central work, implementing the Party's political line, disseminating the Party's political propositions, and mobilizing the masses to participate in the great cause led by the Party. Lenin attached great importance to the Party's ideological building, proposing that "only a party guided by advanced theory can realize the role of advanced fighters." The ideological and theoretical construction of primary-level organizations takes a position of precedence because ideological theory is the soul; it plays the role of strengthening the foundation and consolidating the soul [5] for all aspects of the Party's construction.

(1) Primary-level organizations must uphold the authority of the Party Central Committee and its centralized, unified leadership

The task of the political construction of primary-level organizations is to exert their political functions, ensuring that organizational functions serve political functions to better implement the Party's political line. The core is to uphold the authority of the Party Central Committee and its centralized, unified leadership. On one hand, primary-level organizations must implement the various resolutions of the Party Central Committee. In the early days of the RSDLP, the Party was permeated with a serious "circle habit" (kruzhkovshchina), characterized by a state of fragmentation and handicraft methods of work. To change this status quo, centralism and adherence to Party spirit must be adopted; primary-level organizations must implement the Central Committee's resolutions and uphold its authority. After the Second Congress of the RSDLP, due to serious disagreements on organizational issues, the Mensheviks—ignoring the provisions of the Party Constitution—refused to implement the Congress's resolutions and refused to obey the decisions of the Central Committee, advocating for...

"The Party does not need centralism, but rather an'autonomism' of anarchism, such that every individual and every Party organization has the right not to execute Party resolutions." This Menshevik viewpoint seriously undermined the implementation of Party resolutions within primary-level Party organizations and threatened to turn such resolutions into mere scraps of paper at the grassroots. Lenin pointedly noted: "Since the Second Congress, the Party has been torn asunder, and this situation is now even more serious: the tactics of the minority have gravely weakened the Party. It is striving to destroy the authority of the Central Committee." The Mensheviks' opportunism on organizational matters was resolutely opposed and refuted by the vast majority of local committees. After Party delegates conveyed the spirit of the Congress [6] to local organizations, "of the 18 organizations that expressed an opinion before the end of 1903, 14 condemned the conduct of the Mensheviks." On the other hand, primary-level Party organizations must abide by the Party Constitution. Lenin attached great importance to the status of the Party Constitution in Party building and its role in maintaining the authority of the Party Central Committee. He pointed out: "Organization is, first of all, the formulation of statutes." The Party Constitution constitutes a "general resolution on the forms and norms of Party organization"; it is formulated, amended, and voted through by the National Congress of the Party and possesses the highest authority. For a proletarian party to achieve unified goals and unified action, it must strictly abide by the Party Constitution. Lenin not only demanded that "all members obey the Party Constitution" but also proposed that "all resolutions of the Central Committee must be implemented by Party organizations at all levels." Primary-level Party organizations are both members of the "entirety" and the fundamental building blocks of Party organizations at every level. Requiring every organization and every Party member to strictly observe the various provisions of the Party Constitution clarified the obligation of primary-level organizations to carry out all resolutions of the Central Committee, effectively maintaining the Party’s unity and solidarity.

(2) Primary-level Party organizations must arm the minds of Party members with scientific theory

"Unity in organization is meaningless without unity in ideology." The construction of primary-level Party organizations must both "shape the form" and "cast the soul." The core of the ideological construction of primary-level Party organizations lies in arming the minds of Party members with Marxism through practical and effective means. On one hand, "a proletarian party is a revolutionary and advanced party, situated at the very forefront of ideological and cultural development, and masters the objective laws of cultural development"; it is the true force capable of educating and leading Party members and the masses. On the other hand, "workers could not have had Social-Democratic consciousness. This consciousness could only be brought to them from without." Without the armament of scientific theory, one cannot persist in the correct direction of struggle. First, one must go deep into the grassroots to actively carry out theoretical propaganda and unify the thinking of Party members and the masses. After the October Revolution, Lenin went deep among workers, peasants, the Red Army, and all sectors of society, "delivering speeches at various factory branch representative meetings and factory committee representative meetings... and addressing Communist Party members being mobilized to the front." Through theoretical preaching to primary-level members, he improved their correct understanding and grasp of the grave situation facing Soviet Russia—as well as the various policies and resolutions promulgated by the Party. Using the Party branch as a basis to carry out theoretical propaganda for the masses and to discuss the decrees, decisions, and instructions promulgated by the Soviet government helps to arm and educate the masses with theory, enhancing the determination and perseverance of Party members and the masses in overcoming difficulties. Second, emphasis must be placed on the publication of Marxist newspapers, periodicals, and books to provide teaching materials for theoretical education in primary-level organizations. In Russia, where economy and culture were relatively backward and ideological schools were diverse, various erroneous trends of thought posed a great threat to Marxism and exerted a serious influence on Party members and the masses. Criticizing and resisting these erroneous trends was an important task facing the construction of primary-level Party organizations. Lenin resolutely criticized these erroneous trends, waged an unremitting struggle, innovated and developed Marxism, and supported and helped Party organizations at all levels to carry out active ideological struggle. During periods when the revolutionary struggle was particularly arduous, Lenin and the Bolshevik Party overcame various difficulties to publish periodicals such as Iskra [7], Vperyod [8], and Proletary [9], as well as Marxist theoretical works. Through primary-level organizations, they secretly transported newspapers published abroad, along with Party resolutions, leaflets, and pamphlets into the country to actively carry out ideological and theoretical propaganda. "Under conditions of extreme secrecy, the Bolsheviks organized a sub-system for political education in many ways. Usually, Party classes were conducted in some form within the branches." During the period of the New Economic Policy, Lenin personally presided over the publication of Marxist books, organized the compilation of Marxist textbooks, and translated and published Marxist classics, creating favorable conditions for primary-level Party organizations and the broad masses of Party members to study Marxism. Finally, the Party branch must take the propagation of Marxism and the enhancement of Party members' political cultivation as an important task. Specific national conditions meant that many Party members had low levels of literacy; therefore, the political and theoretical cultivation of the broad membership had to be continuously improved. Primary-level Party organizations stand at the forefront of the ideological and theoretical education of members. The 10th Congress of the Russian Communist Party (Bolsheviks) required that Party branches "regularly hold open branch meetings to propagate Communist ideas" and "adopt every means available to the branch to eliminate the lack of political common sense among members, paying attention to ensuring that every member receives a Party education." Under Lenin’s guidance, primary-level Party organizations utilized learning formats such as report meetings, discussion forums, and work reports to enhance the Marxist theoretical cultivation and political consciousness of the broad membership, strengthening their ability to distinguish between true and false Marxism and effectively resisting the influence of various erroneous trends of thought.

III. Improving the Organizational System and Maintaining Advancement and Purity are Key to the Construction of Primary-level Party Organizations

A strong and powerful primary-level organization must possess a sound organizational system and consistently maintain the Party's advancement and purity. This is a critical link in the construction of primary-level organizations of a proletarian party, and democratic centralism is the important guarantee for making this link sound and vigorous. In the process of leading the Bolshevik Party, Lenin established the principle of democratic centralism to guide and standardize the construction of primary-level Party organizations, allowing them to grow continuously. The statutes of the Bolshevik Party led by Lenin explicitly stipulated: "All organizations of the Party are built on the principle of democratic centralism." This requires that primary-level Party organizations be produced through democratic elections, adhering simultaneously to the principle of the minority being subordinate to the majority and the maintenance of the Party's centralized and unified leadership, so as to enhance the cohesion and combat effectiveness of primary-level Party organizations. Lenin insisted on the comprehensive coverage of primary-level Party organizations in all fields of society and the continuous improvement of the quality of Party members, so as to ensure that the system of primary-level organizations was rigorous and maintained its advancement and purity.

(1) Constructing primary-level Party organizations according to the requirements of categorized construction and comprehensive coverage

Lenin attached great importance to the issue of the comprehensive coverage of Party branches at the societal grassroots. At the Second Congress of the Communist International, he emphasized the importance of democratic centralism and required that primary-level Party organizations be established in all organizations, associations, and groups of the proletariat and the exploited laboring masses. Party branches or Party groups were to be established not only in socio-political organizations but also in social organizations such as "trade unions, military units, cooperatives, educational institutions, and sports clubs." This fully reflected the breadth, diversity, and close ties to the masses inherent in the establishment of primary-level Party organizations. First, "establish rural Party branches." The October Revolution achieved victory through armed uprisings in central cities, and the Party had a strong social foundation in the cities, but "in the countryside, Bolshevik branches were almost completely non-existent." Therefore, Lenin attached great importance to the establishment of rural primary-level Party organizations and called for their active promotion, proposing that not only should grassroots organizations for peasant self-education and self-organization—such as "Committees of Poor Peasants"—be established, but that Party members should be actively recruited to consolidate the Party’s rural primary-level organizations, thereby breaking free from the influence of the rural bourgeoisie and small-proprietor interests. Summarizing the experience of the Bolshevik Party, Lenin admonished the various parties of the Communist International: "The establishment of rural Soviets requires long-term preparatory work, and the method for this is the establishment of Communist Party branches." The main work of establishing rural Party branches was to propagate Communism and lay the foundation for the establishment of Soviets in the countryside. Second, establishing Party branches in cities. The primary-level organizations of the Bolshevik Party in cities had long been in an underground state; their organizational construction faced many difficulties, the organizational system was insufficiently sound, and the role of the Party organization was not fully exerted. Lenin required the "establishment of Communist Party branches in all forms of workers' organizations, so that the Party may exercise regular leadership... over the entire workers' movement." Finally, "establish a Communist Party branch in every military unit." Persistence in the Party's leadership over the Red Army was the fundamental guarantee for achieving victory in military struggles and consolidating Soviet power; establishing Party branches in the army was an important manifestation and organizational guarantee of the Party's leadership. In response to the "Military Opposition" [10] which opposed the establishment of a regular Red Army and the implementation of iron discipline in the military—slandering military regulations as "despotic serfdom"—Lenin conducted a profound critique. Under Lenin’s leadership, the Red Army required that "in addition to military commanders, political commissars must be appointed, held by reliable and selfless Communists, and a Communist Party branch must be established in every unit to build internal ideological links and conscious discipline."

(2) "Cleansing" unqualified members to ensure the advancement and purity of primary-level Party organizations

Within the Party's organizational system, members are the cells of the organization. Whether members are advanced and pure directly affects whether the Party organization possesses cohesion and combat effectiveness. The Party branch is the first gate for the development and management of members; therefore, Lenin insisted on the principle of "not pursuing an increase in the number of members, but paying attention to the improvement of the quality of members." He required that when Party branches absorb new members, they must strictly abide by the provisions and procedures of the Party Constitution, and strictly investigate, test, and cultivate them. First, utilize various methods to test members. Under the conditions of being the governing party, the Party's organizational activities and the situation of its members improved. To prevent those "seeking benefits" from infiltrating the Party, the Bolshevik Party used forms such as "Communist Subbotniks" [11] (voluntary Saturday labor) and the mobilization of members to fight at the front as "tests" for members. This tempered the revolutionary will of members and cleared out unqualified elements attempting to infiltrate the Party. Second, adopt democratic methods to carry out Party purges. Lenin believed that "the opinions of the non-Party proletarian masses and, in many cases, those of the non-Party peasant masses are extremely precious." Primary-level Party organizations are closest to the masses, and the laboring masses are very sensitive; they see the performance and style of Party members in practical work as clear as day. Therefore, one must listen to the opinions of the masses and clear out from the Party ranks those members perceived by the masses to be pleasure-seeking, corrupt, degenerate, or bureaucratized. Finally, extend the probationary period for Party entry and tighten the requirements for Party sponsors. To prevent speculators or those seeking private gain from infiltrating the Party ranks, Lenin advocated for extending the probationary period and emphasized testing new members during this time. At the same time, he tightened the conditions and requirements for Party sponsors. Lenin suggested: "Those sponsoring workers for Party membership must have three years of Party standing; for peasants and Red Army soldiers, four years; for others, five years." Moreover, "sponsors must be responsible for those they introduce; if they introduce someone recklessly, they shall be subject to Party discipline, up to and including expulsion from the Party." Absorbing new members is one of the main tasks of the Party branch. Lenin required that in the process of developing members, the various provisions of the Party Constitution must be strictly implemented: "The issue of Party entry shall be pre-examined by the Party branch and decided by the general assembly of the Party organization." This strengthened the investigation of members and reinforced their education.

IV. Maintaining Party Discipline and Clearing Out Degenerate Elements are the Focus of the Construction of Primary-level Party Organizations

The core of the issue of conduct [12] for a proletarian party is the relationship between the Party and the masses. Whether the conduct of primary-level Party organizations is good or bad affects the Party's image, its nature and purpose, and the gain or loss of public support. The Party’s organization is at the grassroots, the Party’s combat effectiveness is at the grassroots, and whether the Party’s conduct is excellent is also determined at the grassroots. The construction of the Party's conduct must start from primary-level organizations; the key to close ties between the Party and the masses lies in whether primary-level Party organizations and the broad membership maintain excellent conduct. Lenin attached great importance to the issue of conduct in primary-level Party organizations. He waged an unremitting struggle against improper conduct within the Party and Soviet state organs, and against unhealthy tendencies in primary-level organizations from cities to the countryside. He used ideological critique, disciplinary constraints, institutional construction, and active containment to curb bureaucratism and procrastination, and to clear out corrupt and degenerate elements. This enabled Party members and cadres to build a solid ideological concept of serving the masses, bringing them into closer contact with the masses, maintaining the Party's advancement and purity, and consolidating the Party’s governing foundation.

(1) The struggle against bureaucratism and procrastination is an important task for primary-level Party organizations

After the victory of the October Revolution, especially during the period of the New Economic Policy, bureaucratism and procrastination within the Party and state organs grew and tended to spread, seriously affecting the relationship between the Bolshevik Party and the masses. Lenin was deeply pained and worried by this; he used—

sharp terms such as "bureaucratic idiocy," "damn red tape," "pompous buffoons," and "abscesses" to attack this phenomenon, even characterizing "our state as a workers' state with bureaucratic distortions." Bureaucracy is a complex socio-historical phenomenon. In Russia, with its backward economy and culture and a long history of feudal autocratic rule, it possessed deep ideological roots, behavioral inertia, and social foundations. While the establishment of the Soviet system fundamentally uprooted the political origins of bureaucracy and red tape found under the old regime, these malpractices remained a reflection of diverse social factors, and their eradication would require long-term, arduous effort. Lenin believed that bureaucracy and red tape were the products of economic and cultural factors: their economic root lay in the "atomization and dispersion of small-scale producers," their cultural root was "mainly related to the low cultural level of Russia," and their institutional root was that "due to the long environment of war, the Party implemented a 'combat command system' for appointing and dismissing cadres, leading to a prevailing style of administrative command and bureaucratic habits across all departments of Party and state organs."

Therefore, it was necessary to mobilize the strength of the entire Party to oppose bureaucracy and red tape, especially by leveraging the active role of primary-level Party organizations and Communist Party members. First, it required promoting the "originality of the primary-level organizations." To overcome red tape and bureaucracy, one must "encourage the greatest possible local initiative, autonomy, and enterprising spirit" and "use local experience and local supervision to check the work of central organs," using primary-level organizations to drive the cultivation of conduct in higher-level and even central organs. Second, primary-level Party organizations must "strengthen practical ties with non-Party personnel." The root of problems in conduct lies in Party organizations and members becoming detached from the masses, utilizing their political status and the public power held by the ruling party for personal gain. Primary-level Party organizations are closest to the masses; as long as primary-level members do not change from "servants of society into masters of society," they can fundamentally build an ideological and political dike against red tape and bureaucracy. To this end, on the one hand, they must care for the masses and solve practical problems, "striving by all means to strengthen the ties between Communist Party members and honest non-Party personnel," which is the "only way to revitalize our sometimes stagnant Party branches." On the other hand, they must discover and recommend "the best and most steadfast" workers and peasants to participate in management work, "placing them in appropriate positions (including the Workers' and Peasants' Inspection) [13]." This is both a guarantee for victory in the "struggle against bureaucracy" and an effective method to "help us eliminate the malady of Party branches being detached from the masses." Finally, primary-level Party organizations must prioritize the work of raising the ideological and cultural level of the masses to provide the conditions and foundation for mass participation in management and supervision. This is because overcoming red tape and opposing bureaucracy cannot be achieved by propaganda alone; it requires "the help of the masses of the people."

(2) Primary-level Party organizations must struggle against disciplinary violations in accordance with Party systems and discipline.

During the Civil War, the number of grain requisition teams reached 43,000. These teams were of varying quality, and the crude behavior of some caused strong dissatisfaction among the peasantry. As Lenin pointed out, there existed within primary-level Party organizations "errors and violations of law and discipline by Communist Party members who have partially detached themselves from the peasants and caused peasant hostility." Resolving illegal and undisciplined behavior within the Party was an urgent political task. Strengthening the construction of the Party's disciplinary system is an important lever for solving these problems, as systems possess fundamentality and stability. First, the Party's disciplinary system must be improved to constrain the behavior of members. The Rules of the Russian Communist Party (Bolsheviks) stipulated: "Strict observance of Party discipline is the primary duty of all Party members and all Party organizations." Primary-level Party organizations, being at the forefront of enforcing discipline and conducting disciplinary supervision, must play an active role in the unremitting struggle against violations. For various degrees of violations, the Party Rules stipulated six methods of handling: "internal Party censure, public censure, temporary removal from responsible Party and Soviet work, temporary removal from all Party and Soviet work, expulsion from the Party, and expulsion from the Party with notification of their faults to administrative and judicial authorities." The key to maintaining the majesty of discipline lies in execution. Lenin emphasized that Party discipline must be enforced with gravity and members must be strictly constrained so that phenomena such as cadres using their authority for personal gain, power-for-money trades, and lawless behavior are effectively curbed.

Second, the Party must oppose factional activities and maintain Party unity. After the Civil War, Soviet Russia's national economy faced severe difficulties, various erroneous tendencies appeared in the ideological sphere, and debates occurred within the Party regarding trade unions and cultural issues, seriously affecting the Party's solidarity and unity. Lenin believed that maintaining Party unity, strengthening Party leadership, and overcoming factional activities and their harms must begin with the primary-level Party organizations. He pointed out: "In the practical struggle against factionalism, every Party organization must pay close attention and absolutely not permit any factional speech." This thought grasped the foundation for influencing the Party's advanced nature and purity and for exerting its cohesion and combat effectiveness, establishing the entire Party's ideological, political, and operational unity on the basis of the Party Rules and organizational principles. The fundamental principle for primary-level Party organizations in conducting intra-Party struggle is to persist in and implement democratic centralism, never permitting phenomena that jeopardize the Party's unity, the development of the Party's cause, the consolidation of Soviet power, or the transition to socialism. To this end, all Party members and various social organizations must, under the "general leadership of the Russian Communist Party, fulfill their tasks as part of the tasks of the dictatorship of the proletariat."

(3) Primary-level Party organizations must severely punish corruption.

Corruption is a fatal "malignant tumor" that erodes the proletarian ruling party. Lenin regarded graft and bribery as one of the "three great enemies" facing the ruling party and called on the whole Party to "struggle against graft and bribery—this genuine Russian phenomenon." During the New Economic Policy period, corruption grew to some extent, appearing not only in the central and local organs of the Party and government but also becoming relatively serious within primary-level Party organizations. Lenin pointed out that the "bad tendency in the localities is: old officials, landlords, bourgeois, and other scum who have crept into the Communist Party abuse their power, sometimes committing illegal acts and bullying the peasants." In some primary-level organizations, some Party cadres sought personal gain through power, with themselves and their families enjoying preferential treatment, which caused mass dissatisfaction and became the "source of disintegrating the Party and lowering the prestige of its members." Lenin put forward strict requirements for the severe punishment of corruption: on the one hand, punishing corruption with a stern attitude and powerful means. To prevent mutual shielding among Party cadres—influenced by factors like office, power, and status—which would mitigate or exonerate "criminal responsibility," Lenin advocated that "the court's punishment of Communist Party members must be stricter than that of non-members," demanding that Party and Soviet organs never be soft on corruption, and even advocating for the use of "terroristic means for purging." On the other hand, formulating severe laws to punish corruption. During the revision of the draft decree on graft and bribery, Lenin inquired, "Has the punishment been reduced? It should be submitted to the Council of People's Commissars for review. The punishment can only be increased." This determined attitude of "increasing" punishment strengthened the confidence of the Party and the masses in eradicating corruption, effectively curbing privilege and corrupt behavior, and safeguarding the Party's image.

V. The Party's central task is the guideline for the construction of primary-level Party organizations.

Primary-level Party organizations are both the cells and foundation of the Party's organizational system and the bedrock and core strength for the victory of the Party's cause. The realization of the Party's ultimate goal, its strategic goals in a given historical period, and the implementation of its policies and tactics ultimately depend on the hard work of Party organizations at all levels, especially the primary-level organizations and all Party members. This requires that primary-level Party organizations, in their own construction, must implement the Party's line, principles, and policies, execute the Party's strategic tasks and work requirements, and organically integrate the building of primary-level organizations with the fulfillment of the Party's tasks in specific periods and fields. Therefore, the construction of a proletarian party, especially the construction of primary-level organizations, must be carried out around the Party's central work. In the practice of leading primary-level Party building, Lenin always deployed tasks according to the Party's central work for a given period, requiring primary-level organizations to maintain alignment with the Party's supreme leadership. While obeying the Party's centralized and unified leadership and implementing the Party's central tasks, they were to exercise the right of autonomous decision-making, creating a situation where the entire Party is united and struggles together.

(1) The Party's central task determines the working methods and organizational forms of primary-level Party organizations.

The organizational forms and working methods adopted by primary-level Party organizations are determined by the Party's central task in a given period. Organizational forms and working methods that adapt to the requirements of the central task can better leverage the role of primary-level organizations, better complete the central task, and thus improve all aspects of the Party's work. Lenin's requirements for the organizational forms and working methods of primary-level organizations were always adjusted in a timely manner according to developments in the situation. During the period when the Party was being suppressed by autocratic rule, he emphasized that primary-level organizations should combine clandestine and public organizations to preserve revolutionary strength and conduct effective struggle; during the struggle to organize armed uprisings and seize power, he emphasized that primary-level organizations should go deep into factories, armies, and various places in the countryside to train members suited for armed struggle around the central task of seizing power; following the victory of the October Revolution and the establishment of Soviet power, he emphasized that primary-level organizations must adapt to the new situation and new tasks of a ruling party, actively conducting propaganda and agitation around consolidating Soviet power and implementing the New Economic Policy to develop the Party organization, expand its influence, and strengthen its power. In leading the practice of primary-level Party building, Lenin not only emphasized the necessity of building primary-level organizations around the Party's central work but also comprehensively discussed the tasks and requirements for such construction. On the one hand, this involved combining obedience to the Party Central Committee's centralized and unified leadership with maintaining a certain "right of autonomous decision" for primary-level organizations. During the period of founding the Bolshevik Party and conducting revolutionary struggle, Party organizations at all levels were frequently subjected to cruel suppression and destruction by the Tsarist government, and Party leaders and core members lived abroad for long periods while facing a rapidly changing revolutionary situation; local conditions were complex and varied. The principle of democratic centralism required that primary-level Party organizations not only implement the Central Committee's resolutions and instructions but also possess a certain degree of autonomy when handling affairs specific to their locality or field, being able to "autonomously handle all matters specifically related to the Party work under its charge" and having "the right of autonomous decision within its own internal work," so as to effectively exert the initiative and proactivity of primary-level organizations. On the other hand, the organizational forms of primary-level Party organizations must be continuously adjusted and improved to suit the needs of the revolution. That organizational forms serve the central task is a characteristic and advantage of the proletarian party. Lenin advocated that the Party's organizational forms and methods of activity should persist in combining clandestine struggle with legal struggle: "Bolshevik cells were established in legal and semi-legal organizations such as trade unions, workers' associations, and clubs; the scope of the Party's influence was expanded, leadership over mass organizations became more effective, and they were less susceptible to destruction." In order to carry out work flexibly, a primary-level Party branch should not be as large as a district or sub-district organization; "the form of work must have the greatest possible flexibility to adapt to local living conditions," making the construction of primary-level Party organizations more suited to practical needs and thus achieving practical results.

(2) The Party's central task determines the core content of the construction of primary-level Party organizations.

The construction of primary-level Party organizations includes various aspects such as political, ideological, organizational, and disciplinary construction, but influenced by the Party's central task in different periods, the core content of this construction will change, allowing the primary-level organizations to function better in practice. During the New Economic Policy period, proceeding from the central task of the Bolshevik Party, Lenin stipulated the core contents for building Party branches in factories, cities, and the countryside. First, he emphasized replenishing the strength of factory Party branches. Due to the impact of the Civil War, the number of workers had suffered serious losses, and a process of...

The phenomenon of "losing class character" emerged, with factory Party branches facing risks such as "degeneration" [14], "laxity," and "idling." With the end of the Civil War and the onset of the period of economic construction, Lenin emphasized that "the focus of the Party's work should shift toward the workers, changing the situation where the number of Party members in the branches of large factories and major industrial districts is extremely small. The Central Committee and provincial committees should transfer large numbers of communists from state organs and other departments back to the factories. When transferring members to production sectors, one must take care not to pursue the mere quantity of members engaged in production, but rather to improve the quality of the factory Party branches." Second, the Party branches must "actively participate in the economic and political life of the state." The implementation of the New Economic Policy (NEP) and the introduction of the tax in kind brought new changes to Soviet Russia, which many did not fully understand. To win the understanding and support of the masses and to achieve the transition to socialism via the NEP, Lenin required that "every Party member must place themselves more among the non-Party masses... they should do more work among the peasants and propagate the significance of the tax in kind to them." In the cities, Party branches were to "actively participate in the election and work of factory committees, staff executive committees, and economic supervision committees through their own members, ensuring these bodies work in the spirit of the Russian Communist Party." Finally, urban Party branches were to drive the development of rural Party branches and promote cultural construction. To develop Russia—where the small-peasant economy was dominant—toward socialism through the cooperative system, it was necessary to strengthen the education of peasants and consolidate the worker-peasant alliance. Lenin required the integration of the Party’s grassroots organizations in the cities with those in the countryside, "assigning" every urban branch to a corresponding rural branch, so that the worker branch would "frequently take every opportunity and occasion to satisfy the various cultural needs of its brother branch." This practice effectively raised the cultural, ideological, and theoretical levels as well as the work capabilities of rural Party branches and peasant members, gradually improving the situation of cultural backwardness in the countryside and strengthening the Party’s power in rural areas and its leadership over the peasantry.

(3) The Party's central task determines the focal point of the construction of the Party's grassroots organizations. The implementation and completion of the Party's central task determines the work priorities and focal points of grassroots Party organization building. During the period of revolutionary struggle, the seizure of power must be placed at the forefront; during the "Socialist Fatherland is in Danger" [15] period, "everything for the front" must be the priority; and during the implementation of the NEP, the focus must shift to consolidating and expanding the Party organization and transforming the Russia of the NEP into a socialist Russia. After the October Revolution, Lenin proposed specific requirements for grassroots Party building based on the Party’s central work. First, actively fulfill the responsibility of recruiting members to expand the strength of Party branches. Addressing the situation during the Civil War where the number of members could not meet demand, Lenin suggested recruiting members from among the advanced and conscious masses. Under the active work of grassroots organizations, over 200,000 advanced workers and peasants joined the Party, and thousands of members headed to the front lines. Second, maintain close ties with the masses to enhance the influence of Party branches. Lenin identified "expanding our influence over the working masses" as a focus, requiring organizations at all levels and individual members to take the initiative in forging close ties with the masses, protecting the interests of poor peasants, consolidating the worker-peasant alliance, and increasing the influence and trustworthiness of the Party branches. Finally, concentrate efforts on strengthening Party branches within the Red Army and conducting ideological and propaganda work. The Red Army was the proletarian military created by the Bolshevik Party and served as the solid foundation of Soviet power. Establishing grassroots organizations within the Red Army was an important guarantee for strengthening the Party’s leadership over the military and improving its political quality and combat effectiveness. According to statistics, "at that time, there were 300,000 communists in the national army and navy, accounting for half of the total Party membership; one in five Red Army soldiers was a communist, and 50,000 communists sacrificed their lives in the Civil War." Because the fledgling Soviet regime "had an army and established discipline through the Party branches of every regiment," and "maintained" Party and military discipline "by relying on branches, workers, and political commissars," the combat effectiveness of the military was greatly enhanced.

VI. Conclusion The Communist Party of China (CPC) is a proletarian political party established according to Marxist-Leninist principles. It has inherited and developed the fine traditions and successful practices of proletarian grassroots organization building, innovating and creating in light of China's reality and integrating these efforts into the Great Project of Party Building, the New Great Project of Party Building, and the New Great Project of Party Building in the New Era. Xi Jinping has pointed out: "Every level must attach importance to the grassroots, care for the grassroots, and support the grassroots, increasing investment and strengthening the construction of the contingent of leaders to ensure that grassroots Party organizations have the resources and capacity to serve the masses."

First, we must attach high importance to the status of grassroots Party organizations in both theory and practice, profoundly recognizing the logic that "grassroots Party organizations are the foundation of the Party's governing edifice; if the foundation is solid, the edifice stands firm; if the foundation is loose, the edifice collapses." Second, the political and ideological construction of grassroots Party organizations must be given a prominent position, striving to raise the ideological and theoretical levels of grassroots organizations and all members, while continuously improving the political judgment, political understanding, and political execution of Party cadres. Third, the system of the Party's grassroots organizations must be refined, resolutely preventing the occurrence of phenomena such as "some grassroots Party organizations being weak, lax, or even paralyzed, or existing in name only." Fourth, we must take the rectification of conduct, the enforcement of discipline, and the fight against corruption as important graspable points for grassroots Party building in the New Era, "using fine conduct as a guide, strict discipline as a safeguard, and the punishment of corruption as a means to clear obstacles, driving the Party's self-revolution to be interconnected and progressive across all levels." Fifth, we must persist in having grassroots Party building serve the Party's central work, further transmitting the pressure of comprehensively and strictly governing the Party to the grassroots level, and educating and guiding grassroots organizations and the vast number of Party members to perform great deeds and achieve success in the cause of building a strong nation and the rejuvenation of the Chinese nation.