DECISION “ON THE EXPULSION OF ZINOVIEV AND TROTSKY FROM THE CC CPSU(B)”

JOINT PLENARY MEETING OF THE CC AND CCC CPSU(B)

October 21-23, 1927155

DECISION “ON THE DISCUSSION”

The joint Plenary Meeting of the CC and CCC approves the decision on the “draft platform” of 

Trotsky, Zinoviev, Muralov and others passed by the Political Bureau of the CC and the Presidium of the CCC on September 8, 1927, and decrees:

l. In line with the decision of the Tenth Party Congress to publish the theses of the CC on congress procedure not later than a month before a congress, and in accordance with the decision of the Plenary Meeting of the CC and CCC in August 1927 the theses approved by the present Plenary Meeting of the CC and CCC shall be published for discussion at Party meetings and in the press as soon as the plenary meeting is ended.

2. On the basis of the decision of the Plenary Meeting of the CC and CCC in August 1927, a Discussion Bulletin, in which counter-theses, amendments to the theses of the CC, concrete suggestions on the theses, critical articles and so on are to be printed, shall be published by Pravda.

3. The discussion shall be conducted in accordance with the following decision of the Tenth Party Congress:

“It must be a strict rule that unquestionably necessary criticism of shortcomings in the Party, every analysis of the Party’s general line or study of its practical experience, executive control and the methods of rectifying mistakes, and so on, shall be directed by every organisation not towards a discussion in groups forming round some ‘platform’ and so on, but towards a discussion by all members of the Party.”*

4. The Political Bureau of the CC and the Presidium of of the CCC shall make sure that the discussion is conducted within a framework and in a tone compatible with the Party spirit and comradely relations.

The CPSU in Resolutions etc.,

8th Russ. ed., Vol. 3, p. 541

DECISION “ON THE EXPULSION OF ZINOVIEV AND TROTSKY FROM THE CC CPSU(B)”

The joint Plenary Meeting of the CC and CCC held in August 1927 displayed the greatest patience and conciliation with regard to Trotsky and Zinoviev, giving these comrades the opportunity to honour their promise of August 8 to put an end to elements of factional activity, and limited itself  to a last warning.

However, Trotsky and Zinoviev have-again deceived the Party and most flagrantly broken their pledge. 

Far from putting an end to “elements of factional activity” they have increased the factional struggle against the Party and its unity to a point bordering on the formation of a new anti- Leninist party jointly with bourgeois intellectuals.

In view of this, the joint Plenary Meeting of the CC and CCC decrees: Comrades Trotsky andZinoviev shall be expelled from the CC.

Further, the Joint Plenary Meeting of the CC and CCC decrees that all the information about the divisive activities of the leaders of the Trotskyite opposition (the organisation of an illegal anti- Party printshop for the destruction of the Party, the bloc with the renegades Maslow, Ruth Fischer and Souvarine for the destruction of the Comintern, and so on), and also about the group led by V. Smirnov and Sapronov shall be submitted for consideration by the Fifteenth Party Congress.

The CPSU in Resolutions etc.,

8th Russ. ed., Vol. 3, p. 542