Brest-Litovsk Peace Conference (1917-1918); Soviet Union -- History -- Revolution, 1917-1921
On the night of the 4th the "loyal" regiments began to arrive. During
the session of the Executive Committee the Taurida Palace resounded to
the strains of the Marseillaise. The expression on the faces of the
leaders suddenly changed. They displayed a look of confidence which had
been entirely wanting of late. It was produced by the entry into the
Taurida Palace of the Volynsk regiment, the same one, which, a few
months later, was to lead the vanguard of the October revolution, under
our banners. From this moment, everything changed. There was no longer
any need to handle the delegates of the Petrograd workmen and soldiers
with kid gloves. Speeches were made from the floor of the Executive
Committee, which referred to an armed insurrection that had been
"suppressed" on that very day by loyal revolutionary forces. The
Bolsheviki were declared to be a counter-revolutionary party.
The fear experienced by the liberal bourgeoisie during the two days of
armed demonstration betrayed itself in a hatred that was crystallized
not only in the columns of the newspapers, but also in the streets of
Petrograd, and more especially on the Nevsky Prospect, where individual
workmen and soldiers caught in the act of "criminal" agitation were
mercilessly beaten up. The junkers, army-officers, policemen, and the
St. Georgian cavaliers were now the masters of the situation. And all
these were headed by the savage counter-revolutionists. The workers'
organizations and establishments of our party were being ruthlessly
crushed and demolished. Arrests, searches, assaults and even murders
came to be common occurrences. On the night of the 4th the then
Attorney-General, Pereverzev, handed over to the press "documents" which
were intended to prove that the Bolshevist party was headed by bribed
agents of Germany.
The leaders of the Social-Revolutionist and Menshevik parties have known
us too long and too well to believe these accusations. At the same time,
they were too deeply interested in their success to repudiate them
publicly. And even now one cannot recall without disgust that saturnalia
of lies which was celebrated broadcast in all the bourgeois and
coalition newspapers. Our organs were suppressed. Revolutionary
Petrograd felt that the provinces and the army were still far from being
with it. In workingmen's sections of the city a short period of
tyrannical infringements set in, while in the garrison repressive
measures were introduced against the disorganized regiments, and certain
of its units were disarmed. At the same time, the political leaders
manufactured a new ministry, with the inclusion of representatives of
third-rate bourgeois groups, which, although adding nothing to the
government, robbed it of its last vestige of revolutionary initiative.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account