Communism -- Soviet Union; Goldman, Emma, 1869-1940; Soviet Union -- History -- Revolution, 1917-1921 -- Personal narratives, American
Though I had an admission card to the reviewing stand I preferred to
remain among the people, to feel myself a part of the great hosts that
had brought about the world event. This was their day--the day of their
making. Yet--they seemed peculiarly quiet, oppressively silent. There
was no joy in their singing, no mirth in their laughter. Mechanically
they marched, automatically they responded to the claqueurs on the
reviewing stand shouting "Hurrah" as the columns passed.
In the evening a pageant was to take place. Long before the appointed
hour the Uritski Square down to the palace and to the banks of the Neva
was crowded with people gathered to witness the open-air performance
symbolizing the triumph of the people. The play consisted of three
parts, the first portraying the conditions which led up to the war and
the rôle of the German Socialists in it; the second reproduced the
February Revolution, with Kerensky in power; the last--the October
Revolution. It was a play beautifully set and powerfully acted, a play
vivid, real, fascinating. It was given on the steps of the former
Stock Exchange, facing the Square. On the highest step sat kings and
queens with their courtiers, attended by soldiery in gay uniforms.
The scene represents a gala court affair: the announcement is made
that a monument is to be built in honour of world capitalism. There is
much rejoicing, and a wild orgy of music and dance ensues. Then from
the depths there emerge the enslaved and toiling masses, their chains
ringing mournfully to the music above. They are responding to the
command to build the monument for their masters: some are seen carrying
hammers and anvils; others stagger under the weight of huge blocks
of stone and loads of brick. The workers are toiling in their world
of misery and darkness, lashed to greater effort by the whip of the
slave drivers, while above there is light and joy, and the masters are
feasting. The completion of the monument is signalled by large yellow
disks hoisted on high amidst the rejoicing of the world on top.
At this moment a little red flag is seen waving below, and a small
figure is haranguing the people. Angry fists are raised and then flag
and figure disappear, only to reappear again in different parts of the
underworld. Again the red flag waves, now here, now there. The people
slowly gain confidence and presently become threatening. Indignation
and anger grow--the kings and queens become alarmed. They fly to the
safety of the citadels, and the army prepares to defend the stronghold
of capitalism.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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