AnarchismBolshevismBourgeoisieDemocracyLeninRussian RevolutionSocialismWorkers PartyWorking ClassZinoviev

The New International, Febraury, 1918 Page Three ganization attainable under the circum labor of counter revolutionary mobiliza to the acid test. We also are being sub The Tseretelli Kerensky Policy is distances, and thus to reduce to a minimum tion against the party of the proletariat, jected to this test, and we shall emerge rectly intended to disarm and weaken the the number of probable victims. The facts there issue forth rascals of anonymous, from it more strengthened; more united, left wing of the Revolution. If, with the are well known. Blood has been spilled. semi anonymous, or publicly branded va than from any previous trial. Life is with aid of these methods, they succeed in And now the influential press of the rieties, who circulate accusations of brib us and fighting for us. The new recon establishing order, they will be the first bourgeoisie, and the other newspapers ery: blood has flowed because of the Bol struction of power, dictated by an ineluc. after us, of course to fall as victims serving the bourgeoisie, are attempting to sheviki, and the Bolsheviki were acting table situation, and by the miserable half of this order.
But they will not sucput on our shoulders the entire burden of under the orders of Wilhelm.
heartedness of the ruling parties, will ceed. The contradiction is too profound, responsibility for the consequences for We are at present passing through days change nothing and will solve nothing the problems are too enormous, to be disthe poverty, the exhaustion, the disaffec of trial. The steadfastness of the masses, We must have a radical change of the posed of by mere police measures.
tion and the rebelliousness of the masses. their self control, the fidelity of their whole system. We need revolutionary After the days of trial will come the To accomplish this end, to complete this friends, all these things are being put power.
days of progress and victory.
The Russian Revolution WTovernment throw ally creative interne opposition there the diferences basear ich By ANTON PANNEKOEK TITH the overthrow of Czarism, the In the Council itself this result met with the proletariat for struggle and power. staff to continue production. Where landBut in Russia their task looked still more owners refused to cultivate their land, it the hands of those who heretofore different classes in the Russian social or hopeless, because of disorganization had to be expropriated and put into the had constituted the opposition. In the der appeared more clearly. The Social through the war and the mismanagement hands of the peasants. By giving land Duma this was the bourgeois opposition of Democratic Labor Party, the Bolshe of the Czar; they did not see fit to recon to the peasants without regard for the the Cadets, and, from the Left, the Social viki (Lenine, Zinovief, Kamenef) which struct without the co operation of the bour rights of the landowners, it could be exRevolutionists (peasant delegates) with as a militant party had already gained geoisie; they relied upon the abilities of pected that the peasants would put their Kerensky and the Menshiviki with great influence among the industrial pro the bourgeois politicians to bring order in products at the disposition of the rest of Tscheidse as their best known representa letariat even under Czarism, became more the chaos. All this tends to prove that the population. Agricultural implements tives. At the same time that the reaction and more the representative of the Petro those Menshiviki, although they call them and machinery had to be given to the ary Duma disappeared the Provisional grad workers. But in the Council they selves Socialists and although they repre peasants at low prices. By regulation of Government was formeci from the Duma constituted a minority; the majority of the sent working classes, mentally are much the transport and strong measures against opposition.
delegates, those of the soldiers, were peas closer to the bourgeoisie than to the revolu extra profits, it would be possible to reduce Here the same development as in a ants; their mode of thought corresponded tionary Socialists.
the high cost of living. And by socializnumber of previous revolutions occurred best with the moderate Socialism of the The further developments under the ing the most important industries, which so again; although the masses are instruSocial Revolutionists and the Menshiviki. coalition government have shown how far made big war profits, especially also mental in making the revolution, a comThey believed in continuing the war as completely these timid views were in dis the large banks, as well as by strongly mittee of bourgeois politicians constitutes a war to defend the revolution against cord with actual conditions. Being a drawing on private capitals, it would be had to keep the possible to open big resources of income.
itself as government and assumes a popular Czar; the same slogan of a war of de middle of the road between the struggling And no doubt a revolutionary government character by assimilating a few wellknown leaders of the masses. But confence with which, in 1914, in Germany classes; it could not support the workers would start at once to repudiate national and France the masses were swept into the trary to previous experiences in Western against the capitalists nor the capitalists debts, which sucked the Russian people European revolutions in which the maswar, here again served its purpose; prac against the workers; it had to refer the by their enormous interests to the benefit ses fell apart in powerless atoms immedi tically they were social patriots. They peasants eager for land to the future con of West European bond holders. The stitutional assembly, because it dared not Russians would be crazy if they patiently ately after the action a higher develop approved of their leaders, Kerensky, Skobeleff, Tchernoff, Tseretelli, constituting break with the land owners. It had to ment was reached now: the revolutionary continued to pay interest on bonds issued masses constituted their own powerful orthe government in a ministry together with preach patience and compromises to all by the Czar and by so doing to pay tribute ganization. In accordance with the exrepresentatives of the bourgeoisie. sides without satisfying anybody; it did to the helpers of their hangman for being ample of 1905 the delegates of factories This problem forms the main point of not dare to tackle any problem seriously his accomplices. In this way the yearly and the revolutionary army corps organ differences between the Leninites and the and had simply to let things drift along. budget of the State would be materially relieved.
ized into a Council of Workers and Sol majority of the Council. The Bolsheviki And meanwhile the antagonism became But for all these measures there was diers as a kind of permanent parliament, demand: no participation in a bourgeois stronger and difficulties greater.
defending the active force of the revolu government, but the government the There has been written much about the one necessary condition: a speedy end to tion and the democracy of the masses hands of the Council. The Council of anarchy prevalent in Russia. The bour the war that sacrificed all production to against the members of the bourgeois gov Workers and Soldiers, together with the geois did not mean by this the disorder munition output, and tied millions of men ernment. From the very start this Council peasants also organized at a congress, conin the production and distribution, but the at the front, exhausting all resources. For acted as the organ of democratic distrust stitute the whole of the Russian working forced the bourgeoisie and the governfact that the workers were on their feet and this reason, peace, the struggle for peace was in the center of agitation of the Bolof the masses against the bourgeois gove people. This has to decide its own affairs ment to recognize them which actually sheviki. Peace not only was an economic ernment; the bourgeois press lamented the alone the bourgeoisie is not required intolerable accessory government; the for this: we don recognize its right to meant the beginning and the necessary necessity, in order to prevent bankruptcy Council considered itself the organ of the count as a class.
condition for a new social roder. The and hunger: peace also was the most bourgeoisie called for a strong governimportant demand of the class struggle popular revolution against Imperialism It may seem strange that the Bolsheand war. In its name Lenine and other ment, as the only means to restore order The Russian against the bourgeoisie.
viki wanted to give the power to an inRussian revolutionaries were greeted by and they emphasized that here as always bourgeoisie did not want peace, but war; stitution in which they formed only a Tscheidse on their return from Switzera Socialistic government only could re even if for the present it had to suppress minority and which could not be expected sult in disorder. And indeed, the situation and conceal its own imperialistic aims, land to Petrograd through Germany after to act according to their views. This, the closure of other routes by the English however, was perfectly logical, a body vation in a capitalistic government, which co operation with the Entente was untenable. They could only see sal still it realized the necessity of sticking to Government. And at the same time the representing exclusively peasants and Council addressed all workers and Socialwould keep the proletarians in submission in the great world struggle between Gerworkers would be compelled to take such by force, so as to have them work and many and England it could not be neutral.
ists in neutral as well as in warring countires with the proud appeal to break with classes independent of theories, and do economic measures required for those slave obediently and without protest for And more so because a Russian governtheir imperialistic governments and to hold what we wish it to do if only it is septhe profits of the bourgeoisie. But there ment could not bear the war expenses a Congress for peace in defiance of the arated completely from a coalition with was another way out. The inefficiency without the financial aid of England.
of the government did not result from its Congress of the great betrayal staged the bourgeoisie in the interests of the latter.
Therefore the party of the revolutionStockholm by Troelstra, Branting and Socialism which only existed in fool ary proletariat stood opposed to the ProWhy did the Menshivik leaders and the ing the proletariat with nice talk and Scheidemann.
vsional Government. What the governmajority of the Council oppose this solu fine slogans but in the lack of Socialism. ment has been blamed for by the BolsheSoon the Council of Workers and Sol tion and why did they cling to the bour What a real Socialist government should viki was not only its impotence, as a rediers acted against the Provisional Gov geois politicians? Why did they not take have done under the circumstances has sult of its class character, to achieve imernment, and at once the inner contradic full control at the outbreak of the revolu been stated repeatedly by the Bolsheviki.
tions in the groups of the revolution be tion, why not May 2nd? Why did they It is their credit to have formulated against also that it followed a war policy, which provements in economic conditions, but came clear. Not yet the deeper and genturn the power, conquered by the workers the old phrases of the social patriots, a characterized it as the servant of the Eneral class conflicts :workers, peasants and in the streets, over to the bourgeoisie? The program of immediate demands based on tente. The provisional Government concapitalists, but the more superficial an answer is not difficult: they shrinked be the exigencies of the actual conditions in sidered the secret treaties, between the tagonism between the imperialistic policy fore the gigantic task of re organizing so Russia, a program that could save the Czar and the English and French Govof the bourgeoise demanding from the re ciety, backed only by the proletariat country and the proletariat from the un ernments, as an obligation on its part, and volution a more energetic carrying on of against all of the property interests. At tenable conditions and could pave the road notwithstanding repeated demands and the war and the masses craving for peace. the beginning of the revolution, they stated for development towards Socialism. In promises to publish these treaties, it failed The demonstrations in the beginning of this clearly in a manfeso: Russia with this respect also the Bolsheviki have been to do so. This fact alone brands the ProMay under the auspices of the Council its enormous population of peasants and the vanguard of revolutionary Socialsim visional Governments as bourgeois govforced the bourgeoisie to give in: Miljukof its primitive capitalistic development is not throughout the world.
ernment secretly plotting with other bourand Gutschkof, the imperialistic leaders, yet ripe for Socialism and therefore it is In the first place there was the manage geois governments about war and peace, abdicated. The Provisional Government necessary that at present the bourgeoisie nent of pro Where capitalists considering the masses only as obedient was re organized in accordance with the must rule, a kind of would be Marxian closed their factories as a weapon against tools. How far this so called revolunew balance of power: a number of So theory, that does not realize that Socialism the workers, or because they did not see tionary government with Socialist cialist (Menshiviki) leaders entered the only can result from a long process of fit to exploit with sufficient profit, the fac ministers was from being a real revoluministry as representatives of the Coun struggles, in which the degree of ripeness tories had to be expropriated and put into tionary administration is shown also by cil.
of society depends upon the ripeness of the hands of the workers and the technical the fact that it maintained the whole ex