AnarchismBolshevismBourgeoisieCommunismCommunist PartyKronstadtRadekRussian RevolutionSocialismSovietSyndicalismWorking Class

70 THE WORKERS COUNCIL JUNE 1, 1921 71 JUNE 1, 1921 THE WORKERS COUNCIL The International Lesson of Kronstadt By KARL RADEK When on March 2nd the tidings reached across the White Guard fronts, the sailors went home in great frontier that the sailors at Kronstadt rose in revolt numbers on furlough. They learned that there was against the Soviet government, the White Guard Press no direct danger threatening from the White Guards of the whole world raised a shout of great joy. The and at the same time they heard complaints coming Kronstadt sailors who had carried the revolution to from all sides about the Government requisitions of every nook and corner of Russia, who had been the food products. In the Ukraine they learned about the bitterest opponents of the bourgeoisie, these sailors relentless struggle carried on by the Soviet Governhave now broken away from Soviet Russia, who is ment against Machnov and his band, who under the there now to fall back upon? So argued the various flag of anarchism were committing pillage and arson mouth pieces of the Russian counter revolution, some among the population, and disturbing railway traffic.
of which were already figuring out the number of Some of these sailors never returned from their furdays left for Soviet Russia to live.
lough, others joined the Machnov crowd.
The suppression of the sailors revolt in itself does But the Kronstadt sailor is a revolutionist at heart.
not diminish the significance of this event. It is of He does not stand for the return of the White Guard great importance to gain a clear conception of the general, the landowner, or the capitalist. He did not nature of the Kronstadt revolt in order to understand regard his protest against the burdens imposed upon not only the present situation in Russia but also to the peasantry by the revolution and against the disget some light on one of the most important problems cipline and order demanded by it, of a counter reof the world revolution in general, namely, the pro volutionary nature. On the contrary, he regarded his blem of the relations between the Communist Party opposition in the light of furthering the October reand the proletarian masses, in other words the pro volution. We brought about the revolution, we blem of the dictatorship: party dictatorship or class proclaimed the motto of All the Power to the Soviets.
dictatorship, as some erroneously state it.
The Soviets therefore should exercise power, they The Uprising should represent the masses as a whole, and not the The Kronstadt revolt was undoubtedly more than Communist Party alone, as is the case to day. We a local event, although it naturally had its own local must create a real Soviet power. While this state of features. The disaffection of the sailors was due mind prevailed an extensive discussion within the Commainly to their opposition to the regime of discipline munist Party was started upon all the questions that and order imposed upon them by the Soviet governhad accumulated during the three years of the civil ment.
war and had stirred up the ranks of the party. In The sailors of Kronstadt played an important part the Communist press and at Communist gatherings during the revolution of 1905 and 1917 in the work it was publicly stated that during the long period of destroying the government apparatus. Owing to of struggle the organism of Soviet Russia had bethe reckless nature of the sailor, and owing to the come affected with parasitic bureaucratic elements.
fact that there is a high percentage of skilled workers The necessity of clearing the Communist Party from among them, they were enabled to become an im careerists and place seekers, was brought to light. All portant revolutionary factor. But during the last three this of course reached Kronstadt and the peasant years, the revolutionary proletarian elements in the psychology of the sailors somewhat transformed by fleet were extremely weakened. Thousands upon thou the lies circulated in the navy, assimilated all this sands of fighters in all army corps, in all the Soviet and formed a distorted conception of the situation in institutions on work of defense as well as of reconSoviet Russia. This conception comprised all the struction, were recruited from the old Kronstadt tendencies of anarchism which tends in opposition to sailors. The insignificant number of old comrades who every form of centralisation and bureaucracy; it also had remained at Kronstadt, occupied commanding contains the Socialist Revolutionary which regards posts and formed the Communist apparatus of the the peasantry as the foremost revolutionary force, and fleet, and it was just against those that the new crew lastly also the syndicalist tendencies demanding that rebelled. From where were these new crews recruit the worker like the peasants should be the absolute ed? Finland and the Baltic provinces are no longer owner of the products produced by his labor.
in the hands of Soviet Russia, and these new sailors The Kronstadt rebels felt that they were not alone could be recruited only from the South of Russia and in this matter. They heard extremely exaggerated refrom the Black Sea coast. Thus the majority of the ports of peasant movements from the Russian White sailors manning the fleet consists of peasants from the Guard papers published in Finland; they heard Ukraine.
about the poverty prevailing in Petrograd and about On the whole it may be said that this revolt was in strikes; they heard of the keen disappointment of the the first place the expression of the discontent of the workers everywhere at the absence of an improvement Ukrainian peasant. Following the termination of the in their conditions at the conclusion of the war. It was in this atmosphere that the organizations of the the peasant, the workman, or the Red Armist, The socialist revolutionists of the Right Wing as well sailors in Kronstadt rose with the slogan real Soviets, as of the Left, of the Anarchist and individual but this was accompanied with the slogan Down Mensheviks were carrying on their activity. Above with the Communists. For this latter slogan Miliukov all in the back ground, unseen by the sailors, were is prepared to pay the price of accepting the slogan the avowed counter revolutionists and the monarch for a real Soviet Government: for, in the event of the istic conspiracy of the Artillery officer Koslovsky. fall of the Communist Party, there falls also the only Eventually the sailors having risen against the power in Soviet Russia, which has led the struggle Soviet Government realized that they would have to against world capital, and the only power, which is pay dearly for it, and therefore, came out in open capable now, providing it has peace, to carry out the mutiny. The Soviet Government could not tolerate economic re construction of the country, and the only such a situation for long. Troops, under the leader power, as the greatest section of the revolutionary ship of the Storm Battalion of Red Cadets, sent to proletariat and peasant masses, to guide the ship Kronstadt by the Party Conference, which was in through the rocks and secure the ultimate aim of the session in Moscow at the time, marched at night across revolution.
the already cracking ice of the Gulf of Finland. The Soviets without Communists will represent the resistance was very stubborn, but not so stubborn as wavering, disunited, and exhausted workers, and it might have been in view of the weapons at the they will be compelled to allow the bourgeois forces, disposal of Kronstadt. Not only was the faith of the which the Communist Soviet Government bents to its sailors in the possibilities of success shaken, but also service and over which it keeps a strong control, to their confidence in the justice of their cause. The operate without any control at all. The counter relatter became more obvious as the counter revolution, volutionary emigrés will return to Russia and will hitherto concealed in the background became more fill all the administrative departments of these nonand more exposed to the light of day.
Party Soviets, and in fact, take complete power in Thus, Kronstadt was taken in one assault. As the their hand. Then, the time will come when this seizure fallen victims were being taken to their graves, White of power will be clothed in the juridicial forms that Guard newspapers arrived in Russia, from Paris, Ber the counter revolution will regard necessary. Miliulin, and Prague, which proved how right was the kov organ in a dispute with a doctrinaire Socialist Soviet Government in regarding the mutiny at Kron Revolutionary goes so far as to defend the Soviets, stadt, not as the beginning of a third revolution, but not only as organs of administrations, but also as as an attempt of a new counter revolution.
organs of State power. The Soviets are not merely consultative or legislative organs, but the organ of The New Plan of the Counter Revolution State power as a whole, only as such can they take When the Russian counter revolutionaries heard of the place of the State power of the Bolsheviks, only the mutiny in Kronstadt, they forgot the chasm that as such can they be the starting point for the building divided them from Kronstadt.
up of a regular organization in the provinces, which With unusual insight and clarness, they saw the can maintain contact with the people. It is of course, significance of the Kronstadt events. Miliukov organ understood that after they have performed this Posledini Novosti, and Obtchee Delo, the organ temporary function, they will be re elected (issue of Bourtzev, both declared their convictions and re of March 18th. Miliukov, the founder and leader solve to support. not only the Kronstadt sailors, but of the ideas of the liberal Cadet Party, this blind, immediately to draw up a plan of tactics based on doctrinaire, West European Parliamentarian, underthe acceptance of the Kronstadt slogans. The tactical stands that the defeat of the Communist Party of plan developed in these papers consisted in the re Russia will destroy the only power which enables cognition that every counter revolutionary attack, Soviet Russia to be a great world factor for revoluwhich openly operates with the forces of the Allies, tion, and that without the dictatorship of the Comor with representatives of the old regime, of the munist Party, Soviet Russia will fall a victim to the junkers and the capitalists, is doomed to failure. The counter revolution. He thus bases the counter remasses, they say, do not believe in the honesty of the volution on the one and certain point, e. the deintentions of the Allies. They know perfectly well struction of the Communist Party of Russia.
that when the Allies set their forces against Soviet In peasant Russia, after the destruction of the Russia they do so in order to convert Russia into Communist Party, the peasantry in the Soviets will their colony. They, and particularly Miliukov, are consolidate itself, as a conservative bourgeois class, convinced that the defeat of Denikin, and Koltchak and all other things will be added later, and the others, were due to the fact, that as representatives of the Russian junkers, they repelled the peasLessons of Kronstadt Mutiny ants.
The tactical plan of the Russian counter revolution Miliukov first conclusion therefore, in which to overthrow the Soviet Government by rousing the he is energetically supported by Savinkov, is that the petty bourgeois, peasant, and semi proletarian masses counter revolutionary movement in Russia can only against the Communist Party, under the cry of securbe successful when it springs from within and appears ing a genuine Soviet government by means of a to be free from feudal tendencies. Miliukov however. third revolution, will fail. The Communist Party on the basis of the Kronstadt events draws yet another of Russia is sufficiently able, sufficiently elastic, and conclusion. He recognized that the demand for the sufficiently bound with the masses to thwart this plan.
Constituent Assembly has no attractions, either for The fact however, that the Russian counter revolu