A Short History of the WorldWells, H. G. (Herbert George)
History
A Short History of the World
Wells, H. G. (Herbert George)
World history
The Russian masses, however, were resolute to end the war. At any
cost. There had come into existence in Petrograd a body representing
the workers and common soldiers, the Soviet, and this body clamoured
for an international conference of socialists at Stockholm. Food riots
were occurring in Berlin at this time, war weariness in Austria and
Germany was profound, and there can be little doubt, in the light of
subsequent events, that such a conference would have precipitated a
reasonable peace on democratic lines in 1917 and a German revolution.
Kerensky implored his Western allies to allow this conference to take
place, but, fearful of a worldwide outbreak of socialism and
republicanism, they refused, in spite of the favourable response of a
small majority of the British Labour Party. Without either moral or
physical help from the Allies, the unhappy “moderate” Russian Republic
still fought on and made a last desperate offensive effort in July. It
failed after some preliminary successes, and there came another great
slaughtering of Russians.
The limit of Russian endurance was reached. Mutinies broke out in the
Russian armies, and particularly upon the northern front, and on
November 7th, 1917, Kerensky’s government was overthrown and power was
seized by the Soviets, dominated by the Bolshevik socialists under
Lenin, and pledged to make peace regardless of the Western powers. On
March 2nd, 1918, a separate peace between Russia and Germany was signed
at Brest-Litovsk.
A VIEW IN PETERSBURG UNDER BOLSHEVIK RULE
A VIEW IN PETERSBURG UNDER BOLSHEVIK RULE
A wooden house has been demolished for firewood
_By courtesy of Messrs. Hodder & Stoughton_
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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