5th Congress of the Russian Social Democratic Labour Party

The 5th Congress of the Russian Social Democratic Labour Party was held in London between May 13 and June 1, 1907. The 5th Congress had the largest attendance of the Congresses of the unified RSDLP. Thirty-five sessions of the Congress were held in the Brotherhood Church in Hackney, during which stormy debates took place.

338 delegates attended the Congress. There were:

300 of the delegates had voting rights.Vladimir Lenin was a delegate, representing the Upper Kama region.

During the Congress, the Bolshevik and Menshevik factions of the party clashed. The Bolsheviks argued in favour of preparations for an armed uprising against Czarist rule, which Menshevik leader Julius Martov denounced as 'putschist'. Another disagreement was how the party should relate to the trade union movement. The Mensheviks argued for creating a 'Workers' Congress', as a first step towards transforming the party into a West European-style legal Social Democratic party.

On both of these issues the Bolsheviks were supported by Polish and Latvian Social Democrats, guaranteeing a revolutionary majority at the Congress.

In the clashes between the Bolshevik–Polish–Latvian and the Menshevik–Bundist sides, Trotsky (who had escaped from captivity) acted as an intermediary (attending as a non-voting delegate). Having adopted a 'centrist' position, he was the sole person at the Congress who could mediate between the two sides.

Another debated issue was "expropriations". To support their political activities, the RSDLP and other revolutionary groups in Russia (such as the Socialist Revolutionary Party and various anarchist factions) used "expropriations", a euphemism for armed robberies of government offices or private businesses. Lenin and the most militant Bolsheviks supported continued "expropriations", while the Mensheviks advocated a non-violent approach to revolution. The 5th Congress, passed a resolution which condemned participation in or assistance to all violent activity, including "expropriations", as "disorganising and demoralizing", and called for all party militias to be disbanded. This resolution passed with 65 percent supporting and 6 percent opposing (others abstained or did not vote). All Mensheviks and even some Bolsheviks voted in favor. Ironically, one of the most famous "expropriations" (the 1907 Tiflis bank robbery, organized by a small group of Bolsheviks) took place only weeks after this vote.

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