Trips Places Foods Stories Newsletters
Loading...
Top Destinations
Latest Places
Most Popular Places Random Place Lists Itineraries
Add a Place
Download the App
Top Destinations
View All Destinations »

Countries

  • Australia
  • Canada
  • China
  • France
  • Germany
  • India
  • Italy
  • Japan

Cities

  • Amsterdam
  • Barcelona
  • Beijing
  • Berlin
  • Boston
  • Budapest
  • Chicago
  • London
  • Los Angeles
  • Mexico City
  • Montreal
  • Moscow
  • New Orleans
  • New York City
  • Paris
  • Philadelphia
  • Rome
  • San Francisco
  • Seattle
  • Stockholm
  • Tokyo
  • Toronto
  • Vienna
  • Washington, D.C.
Latest Places
View All Places »
The wall commemorating 11,908 Jewish victims of the Shoah from Frankfurt.
Börneplatz Memorial
Entrance to the munitions area of the lower part of the bunker
Simserhof
Carlos Calderón Yruegas calls the villa his personal playground.
Villa Tabaiba
Apples and pears, Spitalfields Market.
Brick Lane Roundels
Latest Places to Eat & Drink
View All Places to Eat »
The sign declares this the number-one gumbo shop in town.
Gumbo Hut Shioya
The pavlova comes crowned with jewel-like fruit.
Central Park Boathouse
The Village Tavern of Long Grove - exterior.
The Village Tavern
Hunter House Hamburgers
L’Escamoteur
Loading...

No search results found for
“”

Make sure words are spelled correctly.

Try searching for a travel destination.

Places near me Random place

Popular Destinations

  • Paris
  • London
  • New York
  • Berlin
  • Rome
  • Los Angeles
Trips Places Foods Stories Newsletters
Sign In Join
Places near me Random place
All Belarus Minsk Site of the Russian Social-Democratic Workers' First Congress

Site of the Russian Social-Democratic Workers' First Congress

The secret meeting held in this building would forever change the world.

Minsk, Belarus

Added By
Henrik Johansson
Email
Been Here
Want to go
Added to list
CAPTION
Site of the First Congress of the Russian Communist Party   hrnick / Atlas Obscura User
Site of the First Congress of the Russian Communist Party   hrnick / Atlas Obscura User
Site of the First Congress of the Russian Communist Party   hrnick / Atlas Obscura User
Site of the First Congress of the Russian Communist Party   hrnick / Atlas Obscura User
Been Here
Want to go
Added to list

About

For three days in March 1898, this house hosted the first congress of what would become the Russian Communist Party. The event was held in utmost secrecy in the Minsk, Belarus, home belonging to the railway worker Rumyantsev. All participants knew what would happen if they were caught—the cover story for the meeting was that they were celebrating the name day of Rumyantsev's wife. No minutes were taken from any of the six sessions held but the resolutions were recorded, and a stove was kept burning in the next room so that participants could quickly destroy any information recorded, if needed.

One of the participants at the First Congress of the Russian Social-Democratic Workers’ Party was Vladimir Lenin, who was in his 20s at the time. He smuggled a draft program for the party, which he had drawn up in 1895, to Rumyantsev's house written in milk between the lines of a book to avoid detection.

Although the meeting was held without being detected by the authorities, five of the nine delegates elected by the Congress were arrested within a month. The First Congress of the Russian Social-Democratic Workers’ Party never united the Russian Social Democracy and a wave of police repression followed the meeting. It would take years before the party functioned as intended—its second congress wasn't held until 1903. Still, the first congress of the Russian Social-Democratic Workers’ Party was the seed of a movement that would forever change the world.

Related Tags

Social Movements Lenin Communism Politics

Community Contributors

Added By

hrnick

Published

May 24, 2022

Edit this listing

Make an Edit
Add Photos
Sources
  • https://www.jstor.org/stable/1846254
  • https://www.prlib.ru/en/history/619092
  • http://domrsdrp.museum.by/en
  • https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1st_Congress_of_the_Russian_Social_Democratic_Labour_Party
  • https://encyclopedia2.thefreedictionary.com/First+Congress+of+the+Russian+Social+Democratic+Labor+Party
Site of the Russian Social-Democratic Workers' First Congress
31а prasp. Niezaliežnasci
Minsk
Belarus
53.907874, 27.57162
Visit Website
Get Directions

Nearby Places

Lee Harvey Oswald's Apartment in Minsk

Minsk, Belarus

miles away

Cat Museum

Minsk, Belarus

miles away

Nyamiha Metro Station Memorial

Minsk, Belarus

miles away

Explore the Destination Guide

Photo of Minsk

Minsk

Belarus

Places 11

Nearby Places

Lee Harvey Oswald's Apartment in Minsk

Minsk, Belarus

miles away

Cat Museum

Minsk, Belarus

miles away

Nyamiha Metro Station Memorial

Minsk, Belarus

miles away

Explore the Destination Guide

Photo of Minsk

Minsk

Belarus

Places 11

Related Places

  • Yermo, California

    Liberty Sculpture Park

    A collection of anti-communist sculptures stands watch in the Mojave Desert.

  • Hanoi, Vietnam

    Statue of Lenin

    A gift from the Soviet Union in the 1980s, this is the only statue of the Soviet dictator in Southeast Asia.

  • The barracks.

    Recsk, Hungary

    Recsk National Memorial Park

    For decades, Hungary's Communist Party insisted this gulag had never existed.

  • Newchurch-in-Pendle, England

    The Last Clarion House

    At this snack-shack in the bucolic British countryside, you can still get a slice of socialism with your spot of tea.

  • Wild Boar a la Tito.

    Warsaw, Poland

    Oberża Pod Czerwonym Wieprzem

    Order “Proletariat’s Cutlet” at this communist-themed restaurant allegedly once visited by Lenin.

  • The many heads of social justice.

    Alexandria, Egypt

    Tamr Hena Museum

    Part shoe store, part sociopolitical art gallery, part zoo.

  • Site of the First National Congress of the Chinese Communist Party

    Shanghai, China

    Site of the First National Congress of the Chinese Communist Party

    The powerful party began with a secret meeting in this shikumen in 1921.

  • Saint Petersburg, Russia

    Lenin's Hut

    A replica of the straw hut where Vladimir Lenin lived in hiding, disguised as a hay farmer, in 1917.

Aerial image of Vietnam, displaying the picturesque rice terraces, characterized by their layered, verdant fields.
Atlas Obscura Membership

Become an Atlas Obscura Member


Join our community of curious explorers.

Become a Member

Get Our Email Newsletter

Follow Us

Facebook YouTube TikTok Instagram Pinterest RSS Feed

Get the app

Download the App
Download on the Apple App Store Get it on Google Play
  • All Places
  • Latest Places
  • Most Popular
  • Places to Eat
  • Random
  • Nearby
  • Add a Place
  • Stories
  • Food & Drink
  • Itineraries
  • Lists
  • Video
  • Podcast
  • Newsletters
  • All Trips
  • Family Trip
  • Food & Drink
  • History & Culture
  • Wildlife & Nature
  • FAQ
  • Membership
  • Feedback & Ideas
  • Community Guidelines
  • Product Blog
  • Unique Gifts
  • Work With Us
  • About
  • FAQ
  • Advertise With Us
  • Advertising Guidelines
  • Privacy Policy
  • Cookie Policy
  • Terms of Use
Atlas Obscura

© 2025 Atlas Obscura. All Rights Reserved.