Alexander Shlyapnikov, 1885–1937: Life of an Old Bolshevik by Barbara C. Allen (review)

What should be the relationship between a communist party and trade unions? Alexander G. Shlyapnikov never doubted, from the moment he became politically conscious, that he had the right answer to this question: nothing less that the subordination of the former to the latter. This partiality was solidly anchored in his belief that there was a very close link between the fate of communism in the Soviet Union and the well-being of the industrial working class.

Born in 1885 into poverty, Shlyapnikov's upbringing as a persecuted Old Believer shaped his personality, even though he became an atheist in his middle teens; indeed, it helped him develop powers of argumentation, critical thinking skills, steadfastness, even stubbornness in defending his views. During an early childhood spent in the small provincial town of Murom in Vladimir Province, this highly intelligent and intensely ambitious lad learned to appreciate studiousness, hard work, honesty, compassion, and sobriety; he also discovered that, despite his work ethic, more than one path of social mobility was closed to him because of his class – hence his distrust and anger towards the authorities and his desire for social justice. His decision to become a metalworker introduced him to revolutionary socialism. Arrested by the police in January 1904 for his underground work, he landed in prison where he met Bolsheviks; largely under their influence, he identified himself as a Bolshevik by the end of 1905. Drafted into the army in January 1907, he was sentenced to two years in a fortress for having refused to take an oath of service to Tsar Nicholas II. From January 1908 until late 1916, Shlyapnikov worked abroad (Switzerland first, then France and Scandinavia) as a skilled metal turner and fitter. A steadfast Bolshevik and a crafty underground activist who smuggled literature and people and evaded the police, he proudly organized factory workers on behalf of the revolution, while learning from West European socialist parties and trade unions. Like most Old Bolsheviks, Shlyapnikov was devoted to Lenin and respectful of his intellect, his learning, and his dedication to international revolution, but he was occasionally critical of his tactics (his factionalist methods of struggle, for example) and policies (his advocacy of national self-determination that ran against Shlyapnikov's conviction that all workers had common interests). In a nutshell, Allen remarks, "he addressed Lenin as a partner, not a lackey." (75) During these years, Shlyapnikov became convinced that workers should not depend on intelligenty (intellectuals) to accomplish their goals; instead, they should take their fate into their own hands. This commitment to worker power ran consistently throughout his life and would be the source of much grief.

Shlyapnikov was the most senior Bolshevik in Petrograd in February 1917. He called for the Petrograd Soviet of Workers' and Soldiers' Deputies to form a provisional socialist coalition government until a constituent assembly could design a new political system, and for an end to the war. He was soon edged out of the central party leadership, however, following the return from exile of Kamenev, Stalin, and in April, Lenin himself. Nevertheless, he played an active role in that tumultuous year – as a prominent member of the Petrograd Soviet involved in long and arduous tariff negotiations with representatives of the Society of Factory Owners; a key figure in rebuilding the Petrograd Metalworkers' Union and transforming it into a strong national union; finally, after helping establish both the Workers' Militia and the Red Guard, a participant in the Bolshevik seizure of power in October 1917. Such an involvement on the part of a man who believed that only revolution could bring about real change should not surprise. As People's Commissar of Labour in Lenin's first government until October 1918, Shlyapnikov tried to use his power in order to increase the role of trade unions in economic policy-making and planning as well as in government. For him, the role of trade unions was crucial in the transition to socialism. Committed to...