PART III-REVOLUTIONARY RUSSIA

Viewed in the light of later events, there can now remain no doubt of that the overthrow of the Russian czar was as much a reaction against war as it was a revolution against autocracy. In July, 1917, Premier Kerensky, representing the radical intellectuals, rather than the people as a mass, had attempted to stimulate the enthusiasm of the armies for another general offensive against the Austro-German forces. The effort had failed disastrously, not through any tactical mistakes or through any great lack of equipment or material support, but because the stiffness had gone out of the backbone of the Russian soldier. The propaganda of the Bolsheviki had created this situation, it was said, but propaganda can only crystallize a sentiment: it can never create it. The rank and file of the Russian armies accepted the Bolshevist agitators and their doctrines only because their state of mind was in sympathy. Ivan was willing to face any alternative to further fighting.

This fact Kerensky evidently realized better than anyone after the collapse of the midsummer offensive. Either one of two things an army must possess to fight effectively: iron discipline or enthusiasm. The latter Kerensky had tried to awaken. He had failed. Hastily he tried to establish the other: a rule of "blood and iron," as he termed it. But Kerensky was not of the stuff of which dictators are made. Like Madero of Mexico, he possessed too abundantly the quality of mercy to play the rôle of the Prussian.

Kerensky, undoubtedly, knew of the growing antiwar sentiment in the rank and file of the army. This sentiment prevailed to a much less extent behind the lines, especially among the intellectuals of all shades of opinion, and among the commercial classes. Or, perhaps, it would be more correct to say that these elements saw the necessity of continuing the war more clearly than did the soldiers at the front and therefore feared the results of a premature, or separate, peace.

To give the prowar elements an opportunity to express themselves, to transmit their enthusiasm to the army, perhaps, Kerensky and his associates of the Provisional Government had called a national conference, to be held in Moscow in the latter part of August, 1917. All kinds of organizations and social bodies were invited to send delegates; the zemstvos, the cooperative societies, the Red Cross, the labor unions, the professional leagues and the army itself, through the councils and several of the commanding officers. It was, in fact, a sort of a provisional general assembly whose authority, Kerensky hoped, would be strong enough to impress the army.

The scene in the ancient capital on the gathering of this notable conference, on August 26, 1917, was a picturesque one, especially in the neighborhood of the Grand Opera House, where the sessions were being held. As demonstrations on the part of the Bolsheviki had been threatened, the building itself was surrounded by a chain of soldiers and picked officers were stationed at every few yards, the majority of the guards being cadets from the military academies, notable for their loyalty to the Provisional Government, as distinguished from the Soviets, or soldiers' councils.

The interior of the Opera House was elaborately decorated, the footbridge connecting the auditorium with the stage being hung with festoons of revolutionary red. Among the delegates present, numbering several hundreds, could be distinguished the various national types and costumes of Russia; Tartars in peaked caps, white-robed mullahs from the Volga, Georgians with their gorgeous cassocks and bearded priests with long hair and beards.

The most notable event of the three days' sessions of the conference, which, on the whole, accomplished nothing but an excited debate, was the appearance and speech of General Kornilov, the Cossack chief. As he mounted the platform, the great majority of the delegates in the auditorium rose en masse and cheered loudly. The delegates from the soldiers' councils remained stolidly seated, however, in the boxes where they were grouped together. Officers shouted at them indignantly.

General Kornilov made an impassioned plea for the reestablishment of the death penalty, as the basis for that discipline without which the army could no longer stem the Teutonic invasion.

"The old régime bequeathed to Russia," he said, "an army which, despite the defects in its organization, nevertheless was animated by a fighting spirit and was ready for sacrifices. The measures taken by those who are completely foreign to the spirit and the needs of the army have transformed it into a collection of individual groups which have lost all sense of duty and only tremble for their personal safety. If Russia wishes to be saved, the army must be regenerated at any cost."

Here again the general was cheered by all but the representatives of the army itself, who remained stolidly silent.

None of the elements hid its disappointment over the results of the conference. And the general disappointment was more or less centered on Kerensky. His position was, indeed, a difficult one. He realized the need of a united nation, if the war was to be continued. A radical himself, affiliated with the Socialist Revolutionary Party, at one time the most radical of all factions, he now felt drawn toward the comparatively conservative elements, represented by the Cadets, or Liberals, on account of their prowar attitude. Yet his human sympathies were all with the recalcitrant mujiks who, soldiers now at the front, no longer felt any desire for fighting. Endeavoring to draw these two greater elements together, he stood between and lost the support of each.

The last day of the Moscow Conference marked the beginning of Kerensky's downfall.

Throughout the rest of the month and during the beginning of September, 1917, there was ample evidence that Kerensky was keenly alive to the dangers about him; counter-revolutions from two directions. On the one hand were the conservatives, now thoroughly disgusted with the new régime and the disorganization which it seemed to them to represent. During the first week of September, 1917, it was reported that a plot to reestablish, if not the autocracy, at least a modified form of it, had been uncovered, and a number of titled personages were arrested, among them Grand Duke Michael Alexandrovitch, brother of the former czar, and Grand Duke Paul. General Gurko, too, was accused of writing compromising letters and was exiled from the country.

But more portentous, considering later events, was the reported results of a municipal election held in Petrograd, wherein the Bolsheviki polled an unusually large vote; 174,000, as compared to 182,000 by the more moderate Socialists and 101,000 by the Constitutional Democrats. It was from this quarter that the second counter-revolution threatened.

The conservative elements were to be heard from first. Whether they really attempted a genuine counter-revolution remains to this day somewhat of a mystery. The facts, as reported, bear very much the aspect of an intrigue against the conservatives themselves.

On September 10, 1917, it was announced that General Kornilov, commander in chief, had asked the Provisional Government to eliminate itself and hand over its power to him; that he proclaimed himself dictator. Kerensky himself supplied the first details in a personal proclamation.

Already the next day it was reported that Kornilov was moving troops on the capital and that he had even begun bombarding government positions with heavy guns. All the councils were issuing appeals to their constituents, the soldiers, to refuse support to Kornilov and to rally to the support of the Government, while this danger lasted, at least. And then, on the second day, Kerensky proclaimed himself commander in chief of the Russian military forces, with General Alexiev, chief of the General Staff, as his second in command.

Kornilov now issued a proclamation, or statement, from his headquarters at Mogilev, in which he declared that Kerensky's account of his interview with the emissary, Lvov, was a fabrication in that he, Kornilov, had not sent Lvov to Kerensky, but that Kerensky had sent Lvov to him, Kornilov, with the deliberate purpose of creating a misunderstanding.

"I, General Kornilov, the son of a peasant," added he, in a later proclamation, "declare to all that I require nothing personally; nothing, save the salvation of mighty Russia. I swear to lead the nation by the road of victory over the foe to a constituent assembly, through which the nation will decide its own fate and choose the organization of its own political life."

From later accounts it appears that no fighting of any sort ever took place, or even threatened. A body of Caucasians and other soldiers of other non-Slavic races, all Moslems and speaking no Russian, did indeed appear near Petrograd, and created considerable alarm among councils. Being met by a body of Government troops, a misunderstanding arose and threats of arrest were exchanged. Then came some Caucasians from Petrograd, loyal to the Provisional Government, and interpreted, whereupon it appeared that the supposed rebels had heard of no rebellion and had no intention of attacking. Nevertheless, much capital was made of the incident at the time.

On the 14th General Kornilov was arrested or, rather, he gave himself up to a commission of inquiry which arrived at Mogilev, and henceforward little is heard from him. On the following day Kerensky issued a proclamation definitely declaring Russia a republic, in the following terms:

"General Kornilov's rebellion has been quelled, but great is the confusion caused thereby and again great is the danger threatening the Fatherland and its freedom. Holding it necessary to put an end to the external indefiniteness of the state's organization, remembering the unanimous and rapturous approval of the republican idea expressed at the Moscow Conference, the Provisional Government declares that the constitutional organization, according to which the Russian state is ruled, is a republican organization, and it hereby proclaims the Russian Republic."

To this document Kerensky signed his name as "Minister and President," though the latter title may have referred to his presidency of the Ministry.

Meanwhile almost daily changes were taking place in the personnel of the Cabinet, members of which were resigning, withdrawing their resignations and again resigning. Finally this body was reduced to five members, with Kerensky still at the head, with practically plenary powers. Every official utterance, whether by the premier or any one of his associates, sounded one note: the need of stricter discipline. Evidently there was now a genuine effort being made to counteract the laxness which had been continually increasing since the July defeat.

It was at this time that the name of Kaledine, the hetman of the Don Cossacks, first began to appear prominently in the reports of events. Kaledine had evidently shown himself in sympathy with Kornilov, for an order was now sent to the Don Cossacks to arrest their chief and send him on to Petrograd. To this demand the Cossacks returned an evasive reply, saying that they were holding a congress at which the presence of Kaledine as presiding officer was necessary. One of the accusations against Kaledine was that he was attempting to organize a separate government among his people in southern Russia.

During these exciting days the soldiers' and workmen's councils had indeed given their full support to the Provisional Government against the Kornilov movement. But if Kerensky had hoped thereby to silence the voices of the extremists, the Bolsheviki, and to create solidarity among the radical groups, he was to be strongly disappointed. The effect was directly contrary; within the councils, and especially in the Petrograd Council, there was a strong reaction in favor of the extremists. For at a meeting of that latter body, held in the evening of the 13th, in which the policy of the Council was being discussed, the Bolsheviki for the first time gained a substantial majority, numbering 279 against 150. The resolution bringing out this vote demanded the absolute exclusion from participation in the government of all representatives of the propertied classes, with the usual invitation to all the warring states to come together at a general peace conference. Already the second counter-revolution was lifting. Nor was the developing situation any more reassuring when, on the 19th, Chiesde, Skobeliev, Tsertelli, Chernov and the rest of the Executive Committee of the Petrograd Council resigned on account of the majority vote polled by the Bolsheviki on the 13th.

Meanwhile, from Finland and from the Ukraine, or Little Russia, came rumors of secret conferences wherein was discussed the establishment of separate governments. In Kiev was held a congress of non-Slavic peoples inhabiting Russia, which declared for a "democratic federal republic," in which the separate nationalities should each enjoy a large measure of autonomy.

On September 28, 1917, there assembled in Petrograd what was known as the "Democratic Congress," a conference called by the councils to offset the Moscow Conference. About 1,200 delegates attended, representing, first of all, the various provincial councils, then the zemstvos, labor unions, cooperative societies, peasant organizations, etc.

Kerensky spoke from the platform during the opening session, though he made it plain that he did so in his private capacity, and not as the representative of the Government, which, he declared, would recognize no other authority than that of the Constituent Assembly, when that should have been created.

His tone was aggressive, as though he were facing an opposition, and, indeed, from the volume of the applause accorded him it was obvious that he had only a minority heartily with him. He expressed himself strongly in favor of a cabinet in which should be represented the Constitutional Democrats, and he denounced the local council of Helsingfors, which had refused to prevent the opening of the Finnish Diet, which had been forbidden by the Provisional Government, for it was known that the Finns contemplated the declaration of a separate state. At this point the speaker was hissed from the left.

"You may hiss, my friends," declared Kerensky, "but bear in mind that a German fleet is moving up the Baltic."

At a later session a resolution was passed demanding that there should be no change made in the Cabinet without consulting the Congress. In open defiance of this order Kerensky, on October 4, 1917, completely reorganized his Cabinet, appointing a number of Constitutional Democrats. Three days later there was another reorganization of the Cabinet, after a conference between representatives of the Democratic Congress, the Constitutional Democrats and Premier Kerensky, in which it seemed they had arrived at some sort of a compromise by which they could work together.

One definite result of the Democratic Congress was the organization of a sort of a makeshift constitutional assembly, called the "Temporary Council of the Russian Republic," in which "nondemocratic elements were to have 120 representatives."

At first the Congress insisted that the Cabinet should make itself responsible to this body. This suggestion Kerensky and his associates promptly refused to consider. Finally a compromise was effected by which it was agreed that the temporary council should work together with the Cabinet in an advisory capacity and should have certain initiative powers.

This body was then organized and finally held its first meeting on October 20, 1917.

Meanwhile the Soldiers' and Workmen's Council had held an election to fill the vacancies created by the resignation of most of its officers and executive committee. What political complexion the Council had now assumed may be judged from the fact that Leon Trotzky was elected to the chairmanship. He and several of his political associates had also been elected members of the Temporary Council, or Preliminary Assembly, as it was also called, but this election they utilized only as a means to making an effective demonstration, for at the first session of the body Trotzky made a fiery speech denouncing the Cabinet and the Temporary Council itself as being in the hands of the "bourgeoisie."

"We will have nothing to do with you!" he shouted. "We will go among the soldiers and the workers and the peasants and tell them that you are endangering the revolution." Having concluded, Trotzky and the other Bolshevist members walked out in a body.

Whatever else may be said against the Bolsheviki, they do most assuredly give their opponents sufficient warning of their intended acts. In fact, so continuously did they declare their intention of seizing the powers of government, even to fixing the date, that they gave the superficial impression of being mere boasters.

After being elected chairman of the Petrograd Soviet, Trotzky caused to be formed a military revolutionary committee. In the evening of Sunday, November 4, 1917, a delegation from this committee appeared at the Government staff offices and demanded the right of entry, control, and veto. This demand was flatly refused.

"What you will not concede voluntarily we will take by force," replied the delegates, and went. Thus the events beginning three days later could have been no surprise to the Kerensky Government.

CHAPTER XVI

On November 7, 1917, the Bolsheviki took their first violent action. An armed naval detachment, under orders from the military revolutionary committee of the Soviet, which had established itself in the Smolny Institute building, occupied the offices of the official Petrograd Telegraph Agency and the Central Telegraph Office, the State Bank and the Marie Palace, where the Preliminary Assembly was holding its sessions. In a communication to the Municipal Duma, Trotzky stated that it was not the intention of the Soviet to seize full power, but only to assume control of the city.

Kerensky immediately took measures to oppose these overt acts, but within the next twenty-four hours it became obvious that he had little support among the soldiers in the capital. By next morning he had disappeared, fleeing, as was presently to develop, to the military forces at the front, which he believed might be loyal to the Government.

Meanwhile Trotzky declared the Preliminary Assembly dissolved and issued a proclamation that it was the intention of the new government, when established and in control, to open negotiations with the Germans for a "general democratic peace."

As yet the Bolsheviki had not met with any serious opposition. Orders issued by the Kerensky Government for the opening of the spans of the bridge across the Neva were not carried out. Bolshevist patrols paraded the streets and maintained order. A number of outbursts on the part of the criminal elements, having as their object robbery and looting, were severely suppressed and the ringleaders shot.

"To the Army Committees of the Active Army and to all Councils of Workmen's and Soldiers' Delegates and to the Garrison and Proletariat of Petrograd:

"We have deposed the Government of Kerensky, which rose against the revolution and the people. The change which resulted in the deposition of the Provisional Government was accomplished without bloodshed. The Petrograd Council of Workmen's and Soldiers' Delegates solemnly welcomes the accomplished change and proclaims the authority of the Military Revolutionary Committee until the creation of a government by the Workmen's and Soldiers' Delegates. Announcing this to the army at the front, the Revolutionary Committee calls upon the revolutionary soldiers to watch closely the conduct of the men in command. Officers who do not join the accomplished revolution immediately and openly must be arrested at once as enemies. The Petrograd Council of Workmen's and Soldiers' Delegates considers this to be the program of the new authority:

"First—The offer of an immediate democratic peace.

"Second—The immediate handing over of large proprietarial lands to the peasants.

"Third—The transmission of all authority to the Council of Workmen's and Soldiers' Delegates.

"Fourth—The convocation of an honest Constituent Assembly.

"The national revolutionary army must not permit uncertain military detachments to leave the front for Petrograd. They should use persuasion, but where this fails they must oppose any such action on the part of such detachments by force without mercy.

"The actual order must be read immediately to all military detachments in all arms. The suppression of this order from the rank and file by the army organizations is equivalent to a great crime against the revolution and will be punished by all the strength behind the revolutionary law.

"Soldiers! For peace, for bread, for land, and for the power of the people!

"The Military Revolutionary Committee."

Meanwhile, simultaneously with the uprising, a General Congress of the Soviets of all Russia convened. When Trotzky had stated that there was no intention to take over the powers of the government, he had spoken only for the Petrograd Soviet. This Congress was responsible for the more ambitious program.

Of the 560 members of the Congress, 250 were Bolsheviki, 150 Social Revolutionists, 60 were Minimalists, or Socialists of the Kerensky type, while the rest belonged to the various other minor radical groups.

The Minimalists immediately presented a motion proposing a working compromise with the Kerensky Government, but this was voted down.

The general result of the first session of the Congress was approval of the action of the Petrograd Soviet and the declaration of a new revolutionary government through the Congress. The Bolshevist element were triumphant, completely so.

CHAPTER XVII

The new government was not to gain control without some fighting, however. When the forces of the Soviet attempted to take possession of the Winter Palace, the headquarters of the Kerensky Government, they found the building in possession of a military force determined to give some resistance. Among the troops stationed here was the Women's Regiment, the Death Battalion, whose fame had been spread all over the world. The women immediately surrendered without firing a shot. It seems highly probable that this body was never intended for fighting, and that its surrender was with the full consent of the defenders within the building. The women were marched off and later disarmed; then the fighting began.

Within the square before the palace were stacked great quantities of firewood. Behind these woodpiles the Bolshevist forces immediately took shelter and opened up a steady fire at the windows of the palace.

Next day the bullet-spattered palace, the only visible sign of the revolution, drew vast throngs of the populace to the vicinity of the structure. On the Nevsky Prospect, where machine guns and armored cars and infantry had been massed were to be seen only the usual moving throng of pedestrians, among whom might be seen an occasional bandaged soldier or sailor, who had been wounded during the fight. Of the defenders of the Winter Palace about thirty had been killed or wounded, while the forces of the Soviet had lost only one sailor killed and several were wounded.

In spite of the fact that dispatches were announcing that the Bolsheviki were in a majority only in Petrograd, similar uprisings were taking place all over Russia, notably in Moscow. There the fighting seems to have been of a more determined nature, however, the casualties amounting to seven hundred on both sides. Eventually the Bolsheviki were triumphant.

After Kerensky left Petrograd, he managed, a few days later, to obtain the support of a small force of Cossacks, numbering three or four thousand, under General Krasnov, and with these he began an advance on Petrograd, reaching Gatchina, a few miles distant. Here he was joined by an additional force of military cadets, some light and heavy artillery, and an armored train.

Here he was attacked on Saturday, the 10th, and the fighting which then began lasted until Monday night. The Bolshevist forces included four of the famous Petrograd guard regiments, several battalions of sailors from the fleet, and a large number of armed workmen, known as the Red Guard.

"Our forces," reported a Bolshevist colonel, "were under a continuous shell fire, and many of our men were wounded, though few were killed. At one time a squadron of Kerensky's Cossacks attempted a charge near Tsarskoe Selo. They evidently were not familiar with the fact that officers of veteran regiments were with the Bolshevist forces, and, to their surprise, they were met by organized resistance. A heavy volley, which toppled over many of their horses, caused them severe losses. This was the last active attempt of the Kerensky forces to attack, and afterward they retreated."

Later reports seemed to indicate that the fighting had not been very severe and that the commander of the Kerensky forces, General Krasnov, was only half-hearted in his support of the former Premier. Or it may have been the attitude of his own soldiers which compelled him to begin parleying with the Bolshevist commander, the result of which was that the Cossacks joined the forces of the latter. General Krasnov joined them and made the following report regarding Kerensky:

"At 3 o'clock in the afternoon of November 1 (November 14, new style) I called at Kerensky's headquarters. He appeared nervous and excited.

"'General,' he said to me, 'you have betrayed me. Your Cossacks say they will arrest me and hand me over to the sailors.'

"'If you are an honest man you will go to Petrograd under a white flag and appear before the Revolutionary Committee, where you will negotiate as head of the Government.'

"Kerensky agreed to this and he was promised a guard. He objected to a guard of sailors on the ground that he had enemies among them. He wanted to wait until night, but finally agreed to go in daytime. I ordered Colonel Kishkov, of the Tenth Don Cossacks, to appoint a guard of eight men. A half hour later the Cossacks told me that Kerensky could not be found. I raised the alarm, thinking he could not have left Gatchina."

It is evident that Kerensky could not trust himself to the Bolshevist leaders. There were rumors, but no authentic news came as to his whereabouts. Some reports placed him in Siberia; others with the Cossacks in southern Russia.

CHAPTER XVIII

But before the final defeat of the Kerensky forces the Bolsheviki had consolidated their hold on the political situation and had organized a government. Most of the ministers of the former Kerensky Cabinet had been arrested and were imprisoned in the St. Peter and St. Paul Fortress; they were with the forces which had defended the Winter Palace. On the occasion of their arrest Trotzky made the statement that they would be tried for complicity in the Kornilov revolution, or attempt at revolution, indicating that the Bolsheviki took the attitude that the affair had been the result of an intrigue of Kerensky's.

Nikolai Lenine, whose return to Russia at the beginning of the Revolution had been effected with the aid of Germany, headed the new cabinet as Premier. Leon Trotzky, who posed as an internationalist, was assigned the Department of Foreign Affairs. It may be well to discuss briefly the origin and aims of the political party which had suddenly achieved control.

The Bolsheviki are simply a faction of the Socialist party which may be found in every country where the Socialists are organized. In the United States they are known as the "Impossibilists," signifying that they will accept no compromise in their struggle against capitalism, as compared to their more moderate opponents, the "Opportunists," who are not averse to playing politics with the more conservative parties. In Russia the Bolsheviki are the "Impossibilists," the word Bolshevik being derived from "Bolsho," meaning large, or great. Literally the name indicates "all or nothing." The word was first coined in the summer of 1903, when the split in the Russian Social Democratic party occurred at a general convention, Lenine heading the secessionist movement. It is claimed that the Maximalists of the Social Revolutionists who, during the turbulent period that began in 1904, advocated violent expropriation and committed robberies against the Government to obtain funds, were a different faction.

Fundamentally the Bolsheviki are Marxian Socialists, believing that all history is simply a record of the varying phases of the eternal class struggle between the ruling classes and the oppressed proletariat. Compared to this struggle, between the rulers and the ruled, all other struggles, even the present war, are to them of no significance; they consider them simply quarrels between the capitalist groups of the various countries, while the soldiers forming the armies of the various belligerents are simply—so the Bolsheviki believe—dupes. From the same point of view, if these dupes, the working classes of all nations, were really "class-conscious," realizing their true interests, they would understand that nationalism and patriotism are only tricks of the ruling classes to keep them separated, so that they may be all the more easily controlled.

Theoretically all Socialists of the Marxian school believe this. But when the present war broke out, such Socialists as Kerensky and Tchernov and a great many more in this country, England and France were convinced that the situation was exceptional and that, though the Allied countries were, not, from their point of view, thoroughly democratic, in that the industries are controlled by private persons for private profit, they did, nevertheless, relatively speaking, represent democracy as against such rank autocracy as the German and Austrian Governments.

The Bolsheviki, true to their name, would grant no such concessions. All governments, in their eyes, were against the people, the difference between them being only a question of degree so slight as not to matter materially. The real fight, according to their opinion, is between the great masses of the workers on the one hand and the exploiting traders and other capitalists on the other. Therefore they called on the masses of all countries to unite in a great world-wide brotherhood and overthrow all the governments.

The intellect, the chief exponent, of the Russian Bolsheviki was and is Vladimir Illitch Ulyanov or, as he is more generally known, Nikolai Lenine. He was born in Simbirsk, central Russia, forty-eight years ago, being a scion of the minor landed nobility. His father was an official in the Department of Public Instruction and Lenine received his early education in his native city. After graduating from the local gymnasium he went to Petrograd where he continued his studies in the university, specializing in economics. The early and the picturesque phase of the Nihilist movement was past then, but its seed was sprouting and very many students were radicals and revolutionists, Lenine among them.

But what made Lenine more determined in his revolutionary activities was a tragedy which happened in the family when he was only seventeen years of age. It was then, in 1887, that his elder brother, also a student in the Petrograd University, was arrested for suspected complicity in a revolutionary plot and, after a secret trial, was condemned to death and hung.

Like all men of his type, Lenine was intensely emotional and this tragedy in his life made a deep impression on him and was probably one of the chief factors in determining him to devote his whole career to the revolutionary movement. By this time he had become a convert to the Socialist theories of Karl Marx, and thenceforth he spent all his spare time spreading the propaganda among the working people. At the same time he also continued his studies of economics and various kindred subjects. At the age of twenty-five he published his first essay, "The Economic Significance of the People's Movement." Four years later appeared a historical treatise, "The Development of Capitalism in Russia," just at the moment when two important factions in the general revolutionary movement were carrying on a controversy as to whether the economic development of Russia would be the same as in western Europe. Even as the result of mere research the work was a scholarly masterpiece and was regarded as one of the landmarks in the literature of Russian industrial development.

It was not long before Lenine's activities caused him to become involved with the police, and not only was he compelled to change his name often, as did all revolutionists, but he was finally forced to leave Russia and could only return on short visits on false passports. Most of his time abroad was spent in Switzerland, France, and Austria.

Naturally, he took an active part in the disturbances of 1905, but did not specially distinguish himself, as it was the Social Revolutionists with their program of terrorism who were the most energetic during that period. Then followed the reaction and little was heard of Lenine or his Bolsheviki for a while. But in 1911, when Russian revolutionary activities showed signs of reawakening, Lenine and his associates founded the prominent Socialist daily paper, "Pravda," and took up their propaganda work with renewed activity. In 1913 the Leninites had developed such strength that they were able to elect six representatives to the Duma.

When the war broke out Lenine was in Cracow. He was immediately arrested by the Austrians as a Russian subject, but it was a moment when his past career stood him in good turn, and he was easily able to prove himself an enemy of the Russian Government. Being released, he went to Switzerland, where he remained until March, 1917. On the outbreak of the revolution which resulted in the overthrow of the Czar he at once set out for Russia. The Germans were only too glad to offer him facilities for crossing over to Russian territory, for they were well acquainted with his antiwar theories and had every reason to hope that he would play their game in the Russian capital.

But if Lenine was the scholar, the theorist, of the Bolsheviki, the dynamic power was undoubtedly Leon Trotzky. His real name is Leber Braunstein, and as the name indicates, he is of Jewish origin. He was born in Kherson, a province bordering on the Black Sea, about forty-five years ago. Of well-to-do parents, he obtained an excellent university education and, like Lenine, became active among the university revolutionary societies.

During the disturbances in 1905 he was at the head of the Workmen's Council which directed the general strike, but after the attempted revolution had been suppressed he was arrested and exiled to Siberia. After a few years he escaped by way of Japan, thence to Europe, where he became a familiar figure in the Russian exile colonies in Switzerland and other European countries.

When the war broke out he was in Berlin. Not liking his brand of Socialism for home consumption, the German Government sent him across the frontier into Switzerland. But Switzerland proved too quiet for a man of his turbulent temperament, so he managed to find his way to Paris, where he began publishing a Socialist paper. Here he was allowed to remain until the Russian troops were sent to France. His paper fell into the hands of the Russian soldiers. Trotzky's doctrines were quite as uncompromising as were those of Lenine, so, at the suggestion of the Russian Government, he was requested to move on. He thereupon went to Spain. But the Spanish Government would not tolerate a man of his radical opinions, so he was put aboard a steamer bound for Cuba. From Havana he at once took passage to New York, where he received a cordial welcome from the radical Jewish elements, landing in January, 1917.

During the three months that Trotzky remained in New York he lived in the Bronx section of the city, his friends supplying him with the furniture for a small flat. As a means of livelihood he wrote editorials for the Socialist Jewish papers and was one of the editors of "Novy Mir," a Russian paper published in New York. He also wrote articles for the German Socialist paper, the "Volkszeitung."

Shortly after the news of the March revolution in Petrograd Trotzky, together with a number of other exiles, took passage for home. At Halifax he was taken off the ship by the British authorities, who knew his record. Here he was detained until, at the request of the Kerensky Government, he was released and allowed to proceed to his destination. In Petrograd he joined Lenine and was the executive head of the Bolsheviki.

Of the domestic, the internal, program of the Bolsheviki little need be said, for it could not be brought into effective application until the international problems should be solved. Like other Socialists, they stand for the collective ownership of all public industries and natural resources, including the land. It is part of their doctrine that the big estates of the church and the bigger landlords who live off their rents should be expropriated at once. They hold that all army officers should be elected; that once elected, they should be respected and obeyed so far as military organization is concerned, but they should be made subject to sudden recall, or ejection. Unlike many Socialists, the Bolsheviki do not believe in centralization, even in a democratic government. In other words, they are keen partisans of "states' rights," and believe in local autonomy, superimposed by loose federation. For this reason, they recognize the right of secession on the part of any distinct section of the people who may have special sectional interests, such as radical, religious or national interests.

These are the general principles underlying the Bolshevik movement, apart from the sinister leadership of Trotzky and Lenine, whose treacherous connection with Germany and German gold finally betrayed their party as well as their country and her Allies.

CHAPTER XIX

The first informal notice of the peace negotiations which the Bolsheviki proposed to initiate was issued on November 20, 1917, when the following announcement was issued:

"By order of the All-Russian Workmen's and Soldiers' Congress, the 'Council of the People's Commissaries' had assumed power, with obligation to offer all the peoples and their respective governments an immediate armistice on all fronts, with the purpose of opening pourparlers immediately for the conclusion of a 'democratic peace.'

"When the power of the Council is firmly established throughout the country, the Council will, without delay, make a formal offer of an armistice to all the belligerents, enemy and ally. A draft message to this effect has been sent to all the people's commissaries for foreign affairs and to all the plenipotentiaries and representatives of Allied nations in Petrograd.

"The Council also has sent orders to the citizen commander in chief that, after receiving the present message, he shall approach the commanding authorities of the enemy armies with an offer of a cessation of hostilities for the purpose of opening peace pourparlers, and that he shall, first, keep the Council constantly informed by direct wire of pourparlers with the enemy armies and, second, that he shall sign the preliminary act only after approval by the Commissaries Council."

These instructions were, in fact, sent that same day to General Dukhonin, who had assumed command of the armies at the front since Kerensky's disappearance and seemed to be well inclined toward the new régime, since he had given out an order forbidding the movements of any troops toward Petrograd. But Dukhonin made no response to the above instructions. Finally, three days later, on the 23d, Lenine and Krylenko, the "Commissary of War," got into direct telephone communication with Dukhonin, and asked the meaning of his silence and whether he intended to obey the instructions.

"Before replying," returned Dukhonin, "I would like information on the following points: Has the Council of the People's Commissaries had an answer from the Powers to its appeal to belligerent nations regarding a peace decree? Is it intended to open negotiations regarding an armistice, and with whom—only with Germans or with Turks—or are negotiations to be opened for a general truce?"

"These are questions not to be decided by you," replied Lenine; "all that remains for you is to obey instructions."

"I can only understand," replied Dukhonin, "that immediate negotiations with the Powers are impossible for us; still less are they possible for me in your name. Only the central Government, supported by the army and the country, can have sufficient weight with our enemy to make such negotiations authoritative and to secure results. I, also, consider that it is to the interest of Russia that a general peace should be concluded as soon as possible. But I repeat that the peace necessary for Russia can only be concluded by the central Government."

"In the name of the Government of the Russian Republic and of the Council of the People's Commissaries, we dismiss you from your post for disobeying the Government's orders and for conduct that brings unheard-of calamities to the working classes of all countries, and especially to the armies. Krylenko is appointed commander in chief."

A proclamation was immediately issued, addressed to the army and the navy, authorizing regiments at the front to elect delegates to open negotiations with the enemy, though the power to sign an agreement for an armistice could only be exercised by the Council in Petrograd. The soldiers were urged not to allow their generals to stand between them and the attainment of their ends. Care should be taken, however, that they should be in no danger from unlawful violence. They were urged to maintain the strictest military discipline.

On the following day Trotzky sent a notification of the effort being made to open negotiations with the Germans to the ambassadors of the Allied nations, the text of which was as follows:

"I herewith have the honor to inform you, Monsieur Ambassador, that the All-Russian Congress of Soldiers' and Workmen's Delegates has organized a new Government in the form of a Council of National Commissioners. The head of this Government is Vladimir Illitch Lenine. The direction of the foreign policy has been intrusted to me in the capacity of National Commissioner of Foreign Affairs.

"Drawing your attention to the text of an offer of an armistice and a democratic peace on the basis of no annexations or indemnities and the self-determination of nations, approved by the All-Russian Congress of Soldiers' and Workmen's Delegates, I have the honor to beg you to regard the above document as a formal offer of an immediate armistice on all fronts and the immediate opening of peace negotiations—an offer with which the authoritative Government of the Russian Republic has addressed itself simultaneously to all the belligerent peoples and their governments.

"Accept my assurances, Monsieur Ambassador, of the profound respect of the Soldiers' and Workmen's Government for the people of France, which cannot help aiming at peace, as well as all the rest of the nations, exhausted and made bloodless by this unexampled slaughter."

CHAPTER XX

At four o'clock in the afternoon of November 28, 1917, a Russian delegation crossed over into the German lines under a flag of truce and asked the German commander of that sector to communicate their request for immediate negotiations for an armistice to German headquarters.

"We crossed the line, preceded by a trumpeter carrying a white flag. Three hundred yards short of the German entanglements we were met by German officers. Our eyes were blindfolded and we were conducted to a battalion staff of the German army, where we handed over our credentials to two officers of the German General Staff, who had been sent to meet us.

"The conversation was in French. Our proposals to carry on negotiations for an armistice on all the fronts as a preliminary to a general peace were immediately handed over to the staff of the division, whence it was sent by direct wire to the staff commander of the eastern front and to the chief in command of the German armies.

"At 6.20 we were taken in a motor car to the Minister's house on the Dvinsk-Ponevyezh road, where we were received by the Divisional General von Hoffmeister, who informed us that our proposal had been handed to the highest commander, and that a reply would probably be received within twenty-four hours. But at 7.30 the first answer from the chief of the general command already had been received, announcing agreement to our proposals, and leaving the details of the next meeting to General von Hoffmeister and the parliamentarians. After an exchange of opinion and further communication by wire from the chief of the general command, at midnight a written answer to our proposal was given to us by Von Hoffmeister. In view of the fact that ours was written in Russian, the answer was given in German. The reply was:

"'The chief of the German eastern front is prepared to enter into negotiations with the Russian chief command. The chief of the German eastern front is authorized by the German commander in chief to carry on negotiations for an armistice. The chief of the Russian armies is requested to appoint a commission with written authority to be sent to the headquarters of the commander of the German eastern front. On his side the German commander likewise will name a commission with special authorization.

"'The day and the hour of the meeting are to be fixed by the Russian commander in chief. It is demanded that the German commander be warned in due time to prepare a special train for the purpose. Notice must be given at which part it is intended to cross the line. The commander of the German eastern front will place at the disposition of the Russian commission the necessary apparatus, so that it may keep in communication with its chief command.'

"The Russian parliamentarians decided to appoint as the place the junction of the Dvinsk-Vilna line, whence the Russian representatives will be conducted to the Brest-Litovsk headquarters of the German commander. The time appointed is midnight of December 2, 1917. At the same time we were informed that no firing would occur unless prompted, and that enemy fraternization would be stopped. We were blindfolded again and conducted to our lines."

Meanwhile the elections for the Constituent Assembly had been called, and on November 26, 1917, the returns for Petrograd were made public. It was announced that the Bolsheviki polled 272,000 votes, the Constitutional Democrats 211,000 and the Social Revolutionists 116,000. There was considerable discrepancy between this report and others which were issued through various press agencies, though in all the Bolsheviki were the leading party, but they still fell far short of a working majority. They obtained six seats, the Constitutional Democrats four and the Social Revolutionists two. Later reports covering the elections as a whole indicated that the Bolsheviki polled about 40 or 45 per cent. of the total vote.

CHAPTER XXI

It was during this period, before the end of the month, that Trotsky carried out his threat to publish all the secret state documents, consisting largely of the treaties agreed to between the old Russian autocracy and the other Entente governments.

The first of these was an official communication from Russia to the Allies expressing the desire of the Russian Government to acquire the Dardanelles, Constantinople and the west shore of the Bosporus, also certain limited territories over in Asia Minor. In reply France and England demanded that Russia agree to the freedom of Constantinople for cargoes not to or from Russian ports, the independence of certain Mussulman territories in Arabia, and the right of England to include certain parts of Persia under her sphere of influence. The Russian sphere of influence was also defined, and an agreement regarding the northern boundary of Afghanistan was discussed.

In the second installment of published documents was a telegram from the Russian ambassador in France, Izvolsky, dated March 11, 1917, indicating France's recognition of Russia's right to define her own western frontiers. This was followed by a telegram from Sergius Sazonov, former Minister of Foreign Affairs, assuring Izvolsky of Russia's approval of the agreement with England and France regarding Constantinople and the Dardanelles, and also stated the willingness of Russia to give France and England the right to define the western frontiers of Germany, but insisted on the exclusion of the Polish question for international discussion. There was also reference to the future exclusion of Germany from the Chinese markets, which was held subject to further discussion with Japan.

Another series of documents, published December 1, 1917, related to the concessions which had been offered Greece to bring her into accord with the Allies. One of these offered Greece all of Albania south of Avlona; another defined concessions in Asia Minor at the expense of Turkey. Another document discussed the handing over of Kavala to the Bulgarians on condition that they join the Allies.

One document referred to a conference of financiers held in Switzerland, in which the German delegates insisted that the Baltic Russian provinces should be ceded to Germany, and Finland should become an independent state. Another telegram, sent by the Russian ambassador at Rome on October 31, 1917, expressed a desire on the part of the Italians to have the Russians relieve the pressure on the Italian front by creating a diversion on the Galician front.

There was also published the text of a treaty between France, Great Britain, Italy, and Russia, whereby Italy was promised certain territories for joining the Alliance; also, Italy was to disregard all attempts on the part of the Pope to bring about peace discussions. Italy, according to another agreement, was to have the active assistance of the British and French fleets in destroying the Austrians on the Adriatic. After peace Italy was to receive the Trentino or southern Tyrol to the Brenner Pass, Trieste, Istria, and Dalmatia. In case Albania should be granted independence, it should be under the protection of Italy, but Italy should not oppose should it be decided to apportion parts of Albania to Montenegro, Serbia, and Greece. The agreement also recognized the principle of Italian control of the balance of naval power in the Mediterranean. Italy was also to have rights in Libia enjoyed by the Sultan on the basis of the Treaty of Lausanne, but Italy agreed to recognize the right of independence of those Mussulman territories including sacred places. Should France and Great Britain increase their African colonial possessions, Italy should have the right to increase hers at the cost of Turkey. On the whole, it will be obvious that Trotzky's promise of sensational revelations fell rather flat. The main features of all these treaties and agreements had been common knowledge before.

During the last days of November, 1917, the press dispatches seemed to indicate the possibility of a counter-revolution against the Bolsheviki within a very brief time. It was reported that the more conservative elements were organizing and were preparing to assert themselves. Much significance especially was attached to the action of the Cossack General Kaledine, who had declared the territory of his people, in the south of Russia, an independent state with headquarters at Rostov. It was said that he controlled the coal fields of Russia and would be able to force the Bolsheviki to terms economically. But subsequent events seem to indicate that these dispatches pictured the hopes of their senders, rather than actual facts, for gradual recognition of the authority of the Lenine-Trotzky Government was spreading and deepening. By the first days of December, 1917, the Bolsheviki were in full control of army headquarters, at Mogilev. General Dukhonin did, indeed, protest their authority, but obviously he had no support from the rank and file of his men, for the Bolsheviki, under Abram Krylenko, their new military chief, took possession without bloodshed. General Dukhonin himself was killed, under circumstances described by Krylenko himself in his official report, as follows:

"I cannot be silent on the sad act of lynch law practiced upon the former highest commander in chief, General Dukhonin. Popular hatred surpassed the limits of reason, and in spite of all attempts to save him, he was thrown out of a railroad train at the Mogilev station and killed. The flight of General Kornilov, the day before the fall of headquarters, was the cause of this excess. I cannot allow the banner of the revolution to be stained, and it is necessary strongly to condemn such acts. A revolutionary people are fearful in a struggle, but they should be soft after victory."

The tendency of the old Russian Empire to break up into separate and independent territories, or nationalities, which had been manifesting itself even during the days of the Kerensky régime, now showed itself in its full course. As already stated, the Bolshevist program was favorable to this tendency as a matter of fundamental principle, therefore no effort was made to check it, other than to give support to the Bolshevist elements in the seceded territories.

On the outbreak of the revolution a committee had been elected by the Soviets in Kiev, the metropolis of Little Russia, or the Ukraine, to "safeguard the revolution." The military staff in Kiev attempted to suppress this organization, but troops arriving from the Galician front upheld the committee and the military staff was forced to flee. Thereupon all power, civil and military, was vested in this committee.

On November 26, 1917, the temporary popular assembly, which had meanwhile been called together, known as the Rada, proclaimed itself the supreme authority throughout Ukrainia, and elections were called for a legitimate constituent assembly. This new republic covered a vast territory, including some of the best agricultural sections of Russia; the governments of Kherson, Ekaterinoslav, Kharkov, Taurida, and parts of the governments of Voronesh and Kursk; it extended to the Black Sea, Odessa, and the Crimea, and eastward to the territory of the Don Cossacks, where Kaledine had organized his people. At least part of the Black Sea fleet attached itself to the Ukraine Government, recognizing its authority.

But the Ukraine Government, though revolutionary, was not Bolshevist. Here the Bolsheviki did not gain control, though they continued the same agitation which had been carried on up in Petrograd for so many months. Occasionally there were open attacks and violent fighting between the two factions, in which the Bolsheviki from the Great Russian sections assisted them, giving the general impression that the two republics were at war and raising the hope in the Allied countries that, through the triumph of the Ukrainians, assisted by the Cossacks, the Bolsheviki and their peace policy would yet be ousted. But, as subsequent events have since shown, there was no less danger of a separate peace on the part of the conservative Ukrainians than from the Bolsheviki.

CHAPTER XXII

Meanwhile the Central Powers were responding to the Russian proposals for peace negotiations with poorly concealed avidity. On November 30, 1917, Czernin, the Austro-Hungarian Foreign Minister, replied to the Russian proposals as follows:

"The guiding principles announced by the Russian Government for negotiations for an armistice and a peace treaty, counterproposals to which are awaited by the Russian Government, are, in the opinion of the Austro-Hungarian Government, a suitable basis for entering upon these negotiations. The Austro-Hungarian Government therefore declares that it is ready to enter upon negotiations as proposed by the Russian Government regarding an immediate armistice and a general peace."

Thus Austria-Hungary was the first government to extend to the Lenine-Trotzky Cabinet official recognition.

The Allied representatives, in protesting against the peace negotiations which had already been initiated, had addressed themselves to the commander in chief at Mogilev. So much did Trotzky resent this attitude that he issued the following warning on November 30, 1917:

"The Government cannot permit Allied diplomatic and military agents to interfere in the internal affairs of our country and attempt to excite war. Further steps in this direction will result in the gravest complications, responsibility for which the Government now disclaims."

Nevertheless, Trotzky did not confine his attacks to Russia's allies. On the same day, while addressing the Soviet meeting, he made some extended remarks regarding the impending negotiations.

"We shall be on our guard in the negotiations," he said, "and will not permit distortion of those principles of universal peace for which the Russian revolution is fighting. We shall allow no evasions and will make most categorical demands, both to our allies and to our enemies.... In no case shall we allow a wrong interpretation of our principles for a general peace. We shall confront our enemies with questions which will admit of no ambiguous answers. Every word spoken by us or by them will be written down and sent by wireless to all nations, who will be the judges of our negotiations. Under the influence of the working classes the German and Austrian Governments have agreed to place themselves in the dock. Be assured, comrades, that the prosecuting attorney, in the persons of the Russian revolutionary delegation, will speak with thunderous accusation against the diplomacy of all imperialists. It is all the same to us how the Allied and enemy imperialists treat us. We will carry on our independent class policy whatever they do.... Our Allies and our enemies must learn once for all that the Czars, the Kerenskys and the Miliukovs have passed...."

On December 2, 1917, as agreed, the Russian peace delegates again crossed the lines and were escorted to Brest-Litovsk by the Germans, where the first session of the conference was opened. Three days later the Russian official version of the conference was issued from Petrograd:

"The conference opened in the presence of the representatives of Germany, Austria-Hungary, Turkey, and Bulgaria. Field Marshal von Hindenburg and Field Marshal Hoetzendorf charged Prince Leopold of Bavaria with the negotiations, and he in his turn nominated his chief of staff, General Hoffmann. Other delegates received similar authority from their highest commander in chief. The enemy declaration was exclusively military.

"Our delegates opened the conference with a declaration of our peace aims, in view of which an armistice was proposed. The enemy delegates replied that that was a question to be solved by the politicians. They said they were soldiers, having powers only to negotiate conditions of an armistice, and could add nothing to the declaration of Foreign Ministers Czernin and Von Kühlmann.

"Our delegates, taking note of this evasive declaration, proposed that they should immediately address all the countries involved in the war, including Germany and her allies, and all States not represented at the conference, with a proposal to take part in drawing up the terms of an armistice on all fronts.

"The enemy delegates again replied evasively that they did not possess such powers. Our delegation then proposed that they ask their governments for such authority. This proposal was accepted, but no reply had been communicated to the Russian delegation up to 2 o'clock, December 5, 1917.

"Our representatives submitted a project for an armistice on all fronts elaborated by our military experts. The principal points of this project were: first, an interdiction against sending forces on our fronts to the fronts of our allies, and, second, the retirement of German detachments from the islands around Moon Sound.

"The enemy delegation submitted a project for an armistice on the front from the Baltic to the Black Sea. This project is now being examined by our military experts. Negotiations will be continued to-morrow morning.

"The enemy delegation declared that our conditions for an armistice were unacceptable, and expressed the opinion that such demands should be addressed only to a conquered country."

On December 6, 1917, a slightly different version of the conference was issued by the German Government, as follows:

"Yesterday the authorized representatives of the chief army administrations of Germany, Austria-Hungary, Turkey, and Bulgaria concluded in writing with the authorized representatives of the Russian chief army administration a suspension of hostilities for ten days for the whole of the mutual fronts. The beginning is fixed for Friday noon. The ten days' period will be utilized for bringing to a conclusion negotiations for an armistice. For the purpose of reporting verbally regarding the present results, a portion of the members of the Russian deputation has returned home. The sittings of the commission continue."

On this same day, December 6, 1917, Trotzky sent to all the Allied embassies in Petrograd a note intimating that the armistice negotiations with the Central Powers and the initiative of the Russian delegation had been suspended for seven days for the purpose of providing opportunity for informing the peoples and the governments of the Entente nations of the existence and the details of such negotiations and their tendency. The note added that the armistice would be signed only on condition that the Central Powers agreed not to transfer troops from the front affected by the armistice to the other fronts where fighting was still in progress, and that the German troops evacuated the islands around Moon Sound. The note concluded with:

"The period of delay thus given, even in the existing disturbed condition of international communication, is amply sufficient to afford the Allied Governments opportunity to define their attitude toward the peace negotiations—that is, their willingness or refusal to participate in negotiations for an armistice and peace. In case of refusal they must declare clearly and definitely before all mankind the aims for which the peoples of Europe may be called to shed their blood during the fourth year of the war."