250 THE CLASS STRUGGLE DOCUMENTS 253 To the British Soldiers.
Now igånt it clear that English and Amerioan soldiers are being fooled when they believe that a mob of robbers and crimipals have seized power in Russia and are murdering right and left. Here is an example of a Scotch soldier taken prisoner in sqnare fight. He says himself he did not know what sort of people he was fighting, till he was in their hands. He had probably been told by his officers and by some rag like the Daily Maile that the nost terrible things would bappen to him, if he fell in the hands of the bloodthirsty bolsheviks. Of course he was told that, be cause the rich peopło who rule England must hide from English workmen the thith about the Ring siad people and theft letölution. But what happens in fact when an English soldier gets into the hands of the Red army? The Russian soldier, who is a working man of peasant like the English soldier. looks 7pak him at once They comrade and sees that his interests hie not in killing his prisoner bat in treating him as a fellow worker, who has the same hard life of toil as he has. But the Russian workman and peasant is trying to improve his lot He has turned out his criminal government and put an end to the rich parasites that have lived so long at his expense. landlords, warprofiteers, bankors, kodustrial bosses. He is making a new world here now, where only those people rule, who labour by muscle and brain. Therefore every workingman and peasant from any country in the world, no matter what language tre speaks is welcome to him and will find a home in Russia. He wants to make Rossia the refuge of all those who are oppressed under the cruel regime of Kapitalism and wago slavery. He has abolished that regime in his country and invites fellow workers of other lands to come and see what he has done and then go hoine and do the same.
For this reason a special order has been inssued by the commander of the Red army on the Archangel and Murman fronts to all soldiers of the Red army to treat all prisoners with the utmost kindness and consideration, to provide for their material wants and to send them down to the bases, where they will be we come as fellow workers. The commander of every batallion is responsible for the safety of prisoners taken. If any prisoner is shot, then he answers for it with bis life before the military revolutionary. tribunal the republic.
Comrades!
Great events are taking place. We have just been celebrating the aniversary of the great Russian proletarian Revolution. This revolution has overthrown the government of the landlords and capitalists. It has brought to the working class of Russia not only political but also economic liberty.
The big landlorus have been driven of the land, the land has become the common property of the people and those who toil are utilising it for the good of the people. The capitalists have been deprived of the factories, works and mines; these are now being controlled by the workers themselves.
By the February Revolution the Russian people liberated themselves of the tsar autocracy with its evils; a capitalist governement was establishod. The Russian middle class tried to introduce a system of government similar to yours, a system the main object of which is the exploitation of the working class and its subjugation to a few trusts magnates. The capitalist governments have not only unmercifully exploited the people but have been and are using them as gun fodder for almost five years.
The Russian working class however did not fight through its revolution in order to continue the murderous fratricidal war, or to maintain such a system of slavery as you have in Great Britain. The Russian working class has overthrown the capitalist government and established an entirely new system of government by the working class. Soviéts (Coun: cils) of Workers Soldiers and Peasants Deputes have been established whieh have complete political power and are managing the industries of the country for the wellfare of the working people. In each village, town or district such Soviets are at work. These are united in one central body which is being c! ected every the months at the all Russian Congress of the Soviets. The People Commissaries such as the people commissaryfor foreign affairs, for home affairs, for war and so forth are appoinied by.
this central body and are directly responsible to the working, people.
instead of lawers and selfseeking professinal politicians the workers and peasants are themselves managing their affairs. We communists are acting in accordance with the principle. The emancipation of the working class is the task of the workers themselves. The fact that the Russian working class is striving for its. economic and political liberty induced the British capitalists to use all means in order to prevent us from establishing Socialism. The British, French and American capitalists know pretty well that as soon as the truth about the Russian workers revolution becomes evident to the proletarians of their res.
pective countries these will follow our example and liberate themselves of wageslavery. Therefore they supported our conterrevolutionary capitalists, landlords and generals against the Soviets of the working people. Now