| "Из искры возгорится пламя" ("From a spark a flame will flare up") | |
 The first issue of Iskra | |
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| Staff writers |
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| Founded | 1900 |
| Ceased publication | 1905 |
| Political alignment | Russian Social Democratic Labour Party |
| Language | Russian |
| Circulation | 8,000 |
Iskra (Russian:Искра,IPA:[ˈiskrə],the Spark) was a fortnightly politicalnewspaper ofRussiansocialistemigrants established as the official organ of theRussian Social Democratic Labour Party (RSDLP).[1]
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Iskra was published inexile and then smuggled into Russia.[2] Initially, it was managed byVladimir Lenin, moving as he moved. The first edition was published inLeipzig,[3]Germany, on 1 December 1900 (other sources say 11 December). Other editions were published inMunich (1900–1902) andGeneva from 1903. When Lenin was inLondon (1902–1903) the newspaper was edited from a small office at 37a Clerkenwell Green, EC1,[4] withHenry Quelch arranging the necessary printworks.[5]
Iskra quickly became the most successful underground Russian newspaper since 1850s.[6] It was smuggled into Russia viaRomania, and reprinted on secret presses inKishinev and theCaucasus.[1] Using the networks created to write for and distribute the paper, Lenin andJulius Martov prepared organisationally for theSecond Congress of the RSDLP.[1]
In 1903, following the split of the RSDLP, ChairmanGeorgi Plekhanov chose to seek reconciliation with dissident party members who had walked out on the vote to reduce the number of seats on the editorial board from six to three. He chose to nominate three members, allMensheviks. Lenin resigned shortly before the nominations were finalized, leavingIskra in Menshevik control.[7]
Iskra'smotto was "Из искры возгорится пламя" (Iz iskry vozgoritsya plamya — "From a spark a flame will flare up") — a line from the replyAlexander Odoevsky wrote to the poem byAlexander Pushkin addressed to the anti-tsarDecembrists imprisoned inSiberia. The editorial line championed the battle forpolitical freedom as well as the cause ofsocialist revolution.[2] The paper also ran a number of notablepolemics against "economists", who argued against political struggle in favour of puretrade union activity for the worker's economic interests, as well as theSocialist Revolutionaries, who advocated terror tactics.[8][failed verification] In the bookWhat Is to Be Done?, Lenin argues that trade union activity, although being a good starting point for revolution, would only stay at the level of trade-unionist politics and would not be capable, in itself, of challenging the aristocracy or capitalism. Lenin, on the other hand, argues for avanguard party, made up of professional revolutionaries, to lead the political struggle and raise the average worker to the level of revolutionaries.[9]
As outlined by Lenin inWhat Is to Be Done?,Iskra took the place of a central project to cohere the RSDLP nationally.[2] As one of the editors, Lenin was "allowed a virtual monopoly over communications with party workers in Russia and could count on the acquiescence of his colleagues in his endeavours to put his organizational program into practice."[1]
Initial staff members:
Later:
Some of the staff were later involved in theBolshevikrevolution of October 1917.
Iosif Blumenfeld did the printing.Leo Deutsch was the administrator ofIskra but did not share in the editorial work.[12]
Savva Morozov was one of the people who financed the paper.
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