The revolutionary storm that broke out in Russia in 1905 dispelled the twilight of the political stagnation that had engulfed Europe for decades after the defeat of the Paris Commune. It accelerated the course of historical development to an extraordinary degree, giving rise to new, powerful forms of class struggle, which the pre-imperialist epoch had not known. At the same time, the new conditions of the revolutionary struggle of the proletariat made new and difficult demands on its party.