Irakli
Tsereteli was
born in Georgia, Russia, in 1881. He studied law at Moscow University
where he became involved in the reform movement. After taking part
in a student demonstration he was sentenced to five years exile
in Eastern Siberia.
On his release from prison Tsereteli joined
the Social Democratic Labour Party(SDLP).
At the party's Second Congress in London
in 1903, there was a dispute between Vladimir
Lenin and Julius Martov, two of
SDLP's leaders. Lenin argued for a small party of professional revolutionaries
with a large fringe of non-party sympathizers and supporters. Martov
disagreed believing it was better to have a large party of activists.
Julius Martov based his ideas on the
socialist parties that existed in other European countries such
as the British Labour Party. Lenin argued
that the situation was different in Russia as it was illegal to
form socialist political parties under the Tsar's autocratic government.
At the end of the debate Martov won the vote 28-23 . Vladimir
Lenin was unwilling to accept the result and formed a faction
known as the Bolsheviks. Those who
remained loyal to Martov became known as Mensheviks.
Tsereteli, along with George Plekhanov,
Pavel Axelrod, Lev
Deich,
