A Letter to American Workingmen, from the Socialist Soviet Republic of RussiaLenin, Vladimir Il'ich
Philosophy
A Letter to American Workingmen, from the Socialist Soviet Republic of Russia
Lenin, Vladimir Il'ich
Socialism; World War, 1914-1918 -- Economic aspects
German imperialism was stronger because of the wonderful organization
and ruthless discipline of "its" armies, but as far as colonies are
concerned, is much weaker than its opponent. It has now lost all of its
colonies, but has robbed half of Europe and throttled most of the small
countries and weaker peoples. What a high conception of "liberation"
on either side! How well they have defended their fatherlands, these
"gentlemen" of both groups, the Anglo-French and the German capitalists
together with their lackeys, the Social-Patriots.
American plutocrats are wealthier than those of any other country
partly because they are geographically more favorably situated. They
have made the greatest profits. They have made all, even the weakest
countries, their debtors. They have amassed gigantic fortunes during
the war. And every dollar is stained with the blood that was shed by
millions of murdered and crippled men, shed in the high, honorable
and holy war of freedom.
Had the Anglo-French and American bourgeoisie accepted the Soviet
invitation to participate in peace negotiations at Brest-Litovsk,
instead of leaving Russia to the mercy of brutal Germany a just peace
without annexations and indemnities, a peace based upon complete
equality could have been forced upon Germany, and millions of lives
might have been saved. Because they hoped to reestablish the Eastern
Front by once more drawing us into the whirlpool of warfare, they
refused to attend peace negotiations and gave Germany a free hand to
cram its shameful terms down the throat of the Russian people. It
lay in the power of the Allied countries to make the Brest-Litovsk
negotiations the forerunner of a general peace. It ill becomes them
to throw the blame for the Russo-German peace upon our shoulders!
The workers of the whole world, in whatever country they may live,
rejoice with us and sympathize with us, applaud us for having burst the
iron ring of imperialistic agreements and treaties, for having dreaded
no sacrifice, however great, to free ourselves, for having established
ourselves as a socialist republic, even so rent asunder and plundered
by German imperialists, for having raised the banner of peace, the
banner of Socialism over the world. What wonder that we are hated by
the capitalist class the world over. But this hatred of imperialism and
the sympathy of the class-conscious workers of all countries give us
assurance of the righteousness of our cause.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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