THE REVOLUTIONARY AGE November 30, 1918 The Constituent Assembly in Russia and a have moderutc Socialist Minister of the of land By John Reed AT five minutes past four o clock on the mornthreat over the heads of the Ministers. of Revolu The Russian musscs had three imperative Tchernov of the first Russian Constituent As tionists, the party of Kerensky, of avksentiey wants pouce, land, and some sort of workers sembly was reading aloud the project of funda and of Tchernov. Naturally this party refused co operation in the management of industry. As mental principles of the agrarian law, a sailor to examine the proposition made by the supreme yet, however, these three demands were cx.
shoulder. Pointing to the empty seats of the precise and admitting no equivocation, to adopt peace in conjunction with the Allies; setlleinen Bolsheviks and the Leit Social Revolutionists, he the Declaration of the Rights of the Working and of the land question at the Constituent Assembly: said calmly: Exploited People, to recognize the November rev. sort of government supervision of industry.
gone. It very late and the guard is tired. the Constituent broke all bonds with the Russian vik and right Social Revolutionary thut is to Half an hour later, having passed a resolution Soviet Republic. Therefore, inevitably, the Bol. say, the first three calling for immediate peace, a law confiscating sheviks and the Left Social Revolutionists must months of the Revolution the philosophy of the landed property, and declaring Russia to be a withdraw from such a Constituent, forming as Russian democracy democratic federative republic, the Constituent they do at present an immense majority in the in the following may be roughly summarized formula: Assembly adjourned, nevermore to meet in this Soviets and possessing the confidence of the work. The social revolution is impossible. First, the or any ot! world.
ers and most of the peasants.
Russian proletariut is not prepared; second, at ably the most democratically elected governing majority of this Assembly, the right and capitalistic Europe. Outside of the Constituent the parties of the Soxialist Russin cannot exist in the midst of a body the world has ever seen. Out of about five the Mensheviks, carry on an open war against the Before the coalition of the Soviet lenders with hundred delegates present only 170 were Bole power of the Soviets, inciting in their organs the the buurycois leaders, the Suvicts had cmphasheviks, and some 10 Left Social Revolutionists, people to overturn this power, and by that fact sized the clearly expressed will of the Russian while the rest, about 250 Social Revolutionists of aiding the resistance of the exploiters to the masses, peace, land, industrial deniocracy. But the right and center, 10 Cadets, half a dozen transfer of the land and the factories into the now consider what happened. The Sucialist Mensheviks and United Social Democrats (Gorki hands of the workers.
minister found themselves absolutely unable to party. and the rest Mussulmen, Jews, Ukrani It is clear that the part of the Constituent carry on their class war aguinst the bourgeois acterized as anti Bolshevik. Did this not show the attempt of the bourgeois counter revolution cratic projrosils were brought forward, the bourof to destroy the power of the Soviets.
jected the party and policies of the Council of revisticum mistused, postponed. Tchernov, Socialist People Commissars? No, its significance was In consequence, it is resolved by the Central resisted, Executive Committee: much greater; it demonstrated conclusively and Agriculture, was unable That the Constituent Assembly be dissolved. reforins the law relating to the valuation of ed mildest measure of a whole series of forever the impotence of the old time political state as an expression of the will of the majority: revolt? was there an outcry! The only audible by and uliow the arrest of the peasant Lund Com The next day the Central Exe tee of the All Russian Soviets met at Smolny and passed the following resolution, which led to the beat There was no revolt in Russia; on the contrary, lev, Minister of Lubor, was unable to persuade thu mat Temps, the New York Herald, and Gustave Herve.
mittees, which had been formed at the request of the first Provisional Government itself. Skobehind the dissolution of the Constituent Assembly. The Russian revolution, since its inception trained the incossacksofinale bei der to use the participation of the lubor unions in the ad has diers and Peasants Deputies as the means of or.
dissolved Constituent, for a few days they mut into attempting to restrict the growing iniluence ganization of all the laboring and exploited toredamery plans to meet illegally in Finland or of the actory Shop Committees. Tseretelli himchooses classes for their complete economic and their content postopnoshccepted the dissolution with each one on their own was persuaded to so to self when the Cronstadt workmen and sailors depolitical liberation. During all the first period of the Russian revolution, the Soviets multiplied, grew and expand their attention to the Third Convention of all Cronstadt, and in the name of the Soviets restore Russian Suvicts, which assembled in the seats of not only by the hostility of the Russian bourthe previous commissar. Kerensky, throntenod ness of all illusions about a conciliation with the the Constituent Assembly five days later, and deyeois government, but also by the bourgeois govbourgeoisie, and the vanity of all forms of hour shareds Russipulirever sobie pretiravifcibee toivona ernments of the Allies, and especially the United seios parliamentary democracy; and they have masser repubulcuti Soviets, the invincible suutes, forced upon the war wetry Russian army to emancipate the oppressed classes without played the Internationale and the Marseil. this is limites de Tarnoporno all conciliations of any kind. This rupture was bearded workers and peasants kissed cach other Mcanwhile the Pussian bourgeoisie inauguratrealized by the November revolution, and the with cd a plan of deliberate sabotage in factories, ars rolling down their cheeks.
transfer of all power into the hands of the SoviSo ended the last of the battle between the mines, farms, railroads. In an interview with onc Russian bourgeoisic and prolctariat, between the the great financiers of Russia, Stepan LianoThe Constituent Assembly, elected upon the Soviets and the Constituent, between parliament sov, was told with amazing frankness how the propertied classes were starving the Revolu.
basis of electoral lists which were drawn up be ary democracy and soinething new.
tion. fore the November revolution, is the expression It will be objected that the Soviets are only a coal mines were flooded, factory machinery wreked and the shops closed down, railroads of the old time political relations between Cadets new form of parliamentary democracy, much like and the conciliators then in the primitive Anglo Saxon town meeting. But, were disorganized. In the army the officer class For example, the people could not, while vot as a matter of fact, the Soviet is a new invention.
was also working to destroy the soldiers commiting for the candidates of the Socialist Revolu In the first place it consists of delegates clected and restore the old fashioned tees and scipline so tionary party, distinguish between the right by small units of the working population, with the complacency of Kerensky partisans of Socialism. In this fashion the quently, its members can be recalled and replaced to political re the death penaltors of the left wing: Socialist Constituent, which was to have been the crown by their constituents at any time, and so the ennewspapers were shut down; and military defeat of the bourgeois parliamentary republic: could tire complexion of the local Soviets, and through was brought about. Besides many other proofs vember refolution and the Soviet power. Be matically with the change of mass opinion, which in my possession, publish herewith one of the secret documents discovered in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which sheds a bright light on through them to the laboring and exploited Then consider the All Russian Convention of classes, the November revolution provoked a des Soviets, which meets at least every three months, the Battle of this thin Baron Faschiatti to Baron Sonnino at Rome perate resistance, on the part of the exploiters and oftener nifanyespecial coquestion demands. it: Jussy, August 22 September 4, 1917.
rember revolution manifested itself plainly ns stituent Assembly of all Russia is held four times Diamandi has telegraphed to Bratiano (Rumanthe beginning of the social revolution.
a year. And the authority of the small Soviets is ian premier) from the Stavka, where he is for The working class was forced to convince it not delegated to the larger Soviets, but like them, the moment, using the direct wire between Stavism had outlived its usefulness, that it was abso fields, the workmen in their factories and the sol purpose of transmitting his conversation with lutels incompatible with the realization of so diers in barracks and trenches.
should not attach great importance to the fall of Now in the course of the Russian revolution. Rign. The General added that the troops aban.
class institutions are powerful enough to break which in the short space of eight months lived the resistance of the propociety.
doned Riga on his orders. General classes and lay through almost every known form of government. Kornilov counts also on the impression which the the foundation of Socialist the Soviets, which were founded in order to defall of Riga will produce upon public opinion, to All restriction of the power of the Soviets. fend the interests of the proletariat in the buildthe end of the immediate re cstablishment of disof new Russia, learned by experience what it Soviets. in favor of bourgeois parliamentarism has power conquered by the people of the Republic of ing taken the working class of the world a hun cipline in the Russian army.
It was in April that Lenin came to Petrograd, and the Constituent, would be now a step back dred years to begin to see that the modern con.
ward and signify the failure of the entire work stitutional democratic state is based on a civil with his clear vision of the consequences of soers and Peasants revolution of November. war of the classes. In the beginning the Soviets cialist coalition with the bourgeoisie, as exempli Opened the 18th of January, the Constituent, acquiesced in the bourgeois government, them fied in all the warring countries by the Vander.
because of well known circumstances, gave the selves playing the part of a sort of democratic veldes, the Albert Thomas. the William English power.