The Capri Party School (Russian: Каприйская школа), known by its official name as "The First Higher Social Democratic Propaganda and Agitational School for Workers." was an educational organisation established by the
Vpered
Vpered ( rus, Вперёд, p=fpʲɪˈrʲɵt, a=Ru-вперёд.ogg, ''Forward'') was a subfaction within the Russian Social Democratic Labour Party (RSDLP). Although Vpered emerged from the Bolshevik wing of the party, it was critical of Lenin. ...
ists, a sub-faction in the
Bolshevik
The Bolsheviks (russian: Большевики́, from большинство́ ''bol'shinstvó'', 'majority'),; derived from ''bol'shinstvó'' (большинство́), "majority", literally meaning "one of the majority". also known in English ...
faction of the
Russian Social Democratic Workers Party
The Russian Social Democratic Labour Party (RSDLP; in , ''Rossiyskaya sotsial-demokraticheskaya rabochaya partiya (RSDRP)''), also known as the Russian Social Democratic Workers' Party or the Russian Social Democratic Party, was a socialist pol ...
. It was established by
Maxim Gorky
Alexei Maximovich Peshkov (russian: link=no, Алексе́й Макси́мович Пешко́в; – 18 June 1936), popularly known as Maxim Gorky (russian: Макси́м Го́рький, link=no), was a Russian writer and social ...
,
Alexander Bogdanov, and
Anatoly Lunacharsky
Anatoly Vasilyevich Lunacharsky (russian: Анато́лий Васи́льевич Лунача́рский) (born Anatoly Aleksandrovich Antonov, – 26 December 1933) was a Russian Marxist revolutionary and the first Bolshevik Soviet People ...
, with Gorky providing the accommodation and funds essential to enable it to run. Its curriculum primarily reflected the viewpoint of these three founders who were part of the Russian
intelligentsia, but hoped to influence Russian workers through the creation of a workers intelligentsia who would in turn develop
proletarian culture
Working-class culture is a range of cultures created by or popular among working-class people. The cultures can be contrasted with high culture and folk culture, and are often equated with popular culture and low culture (the counterpart of high ...
.
The activities of the school was criticized by the editorial board of the ''
Proletary
''Proletary'' (The Proletarian) was an illegal Russian Bolshevik newspaper edited by Lenin; it was published from September 3, 1906 until December 11, 1909. A total of fifty issues having appeared. Active participants in the editorial work were M ...
'' newspaper. In response, the
Bolshevik Centre established the
Longjumeau Party School in 1911.
The school was open from August to December, 1909.
Nikifor Vilonov was appointed its secretary.
See also
* ''
The Philosophy of Living Experience'' (1913): This is a book which Bogdanov probably based on the course he developed firstly at the Capri Party School and subsequently at the Bologna Party School. He quotes from unpublished work by
Fedor Kalinin and Vilonov.
References
{{reflist
Russian Social Democratic Labour Party
Bolsheviks
1909 establishments in Italy
1909 disestablishments in Italy
Educational institutions established in 1909
Educational institutions disestablished in 1909