Bolshevism: The Enemy of Political and Industrial DemocracySpargo, John
History
Bolshevism: The Enemy of Political and Industrial Democracy
Spargo, John
Communism -- Soviet Union; Soviet Union -- History -- Revolution, 1917-1921
No one can read this declaration without a deep sense of the lofty and
sincere citizenship of the brave men who adopted it as their expression.
The fundamental loyalty of these leaders of the common soldiers, their
spokesmen and delegates, is beyond question. Pardonably weary of a war in
which they had been more shamefully betrayed and neglected than any other
army in modern times, frankly suspicious of capitalist governments which
had made covenants with the hated Romanov dynasty, they were still far from
being ready to follow the leadership of Bolsheviki. They had, instead,
adopted the sanely constructive policy of Tchcheidze, Tseretelli, Skobelev,
Plechanov, and other Socialists who from the first had seen the great
struggle in its true perspective. That they did not succeed in averting
disaster is due in part to the fact that the Revolution itself had come too
late to make military success possible, and in part to the failure of the
governments allied with Russia to render intelligent aid.
VII
The Provisional Government was reorganized. Before we consider the actions
of the All-Russian Congress of Peasants' Delegates, one of the most
important gatherings of representatives of Russian workers ever held, the
reorganization of the Provisional Government merits attention. On the 17th,
at a special sitting of the Duma, Guchkov and Miliukov explained why they
had resigned. Guchkov made it a matter of conscience. Anarchy had entered
into the administration of the army and navy, he said: "In the way of
reforms the new government has gone very far. Not even in the most
democratic countries have the principles of self-government, freedom, and
equality been so extensively applied in military life. We have gone
somewhat farther than the danger limit, and the impetuous current drives us
farther still.... I could not consent to this dangerous work; I could not
sign my name to orders and laws which in my opinion would lead to a rapid
deterioration of our military forces. A country, and especially an army,
cannot be administered on the principles of meetings and conferences."
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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