Ten Days That Shook The World (54 page)
"The resistance of the capitalists and high officials will be broken. No one will be deprived of his property without a special law on the nationalisation of banks and financial syndicates. This law is in preparation. Not a worker will lose a single kopek; on the contrary, he will be assisted. Without at this moment establishing the new taxes, the new Government considers one of its primary duties to make a severe accounting and control on the reception of taxes decreed by the former régime….
"Comrades workers! Remember that you yourselves direct the Government. No one will help you unless you organise yourselves and take into your own hands the affairs of the State. Your Soviets are now the organs of governmental power…. Strengthen them, establish a severe revolutionary control, pitilessly crush the attempts at anarchy on the part of drunkards, brigands, counter-revolutionary yunkers and Kornilovists.
"Establish a strict control over production and the accounting for products. Arrest and turn over to the Revolutionary Tribunal of the People every one who injures the property of the People, by sabotage in production, by concealment of grain-reserves, reserves of other products, by retarding the shipments of grain, by bringing confusion into the railroads, the posts and the telegraphs, or in general opposing the great work of bringing Peace and transferring the Land to the peasants….
"Comrades workers, soldiers, peasants—all toilers!
"Take immediately all local power into your hands…. Little by little, with the consent of the majority of peasants, we shall march firmly and unhesitatingly toward the victory of Socialism, which will fortify the advance-guards of the working-class of the most civilized Countries, and give to the peoples an enduring peace, and free them from every slavery and every exploitation."
13.
"To All Workers of Petrograd!
"Comrades! The Revolution is winning—the revolution has won. All the power has passed over to our Soviets. The first weeks are the most difficult ones. The broken reaction must be finally crushed, a full triumph must be secured to our endeavours. The working-class ought to—must—show in these days THE GREATEST FIRMNESS AND ENDURANCE, in order to facilitate the execution of all the aims of the new People's Government of Soviets. In the next few days decrees on the Labor question will be issued, and among the very first will be the decree on Workers' Control over the production and regulation of Industry.
"STRIKES AND DEMONSTRATIONS OF THE WORKER MASSES IN PETROGRAD NOW CAN ONLY DO HARM.
"We ask you to cease immediately all economic and political strikes, to take up your work, and do it in perfect order. The work in the factories and all the industries is necessary for the new Government of Soviets, because any interruption of this work will only create new difficulties for us, and we have enough as it is. All to your places.
"The best way to support the new Government of Soviets in these days—is by doing your job.
"LONG LIVE THE IRON FIRMNESS OF THE PROLETARIAT! LONG LIVE THE REVOLUTION!"
Petrograd Soviet of W. & S. D.
Petrograd Council of Trade Unions.
Petrograd Council of Factory-Shop Committees.
14.
APPEALS AND COUNTER-APPEALS
From the Employees of the State and private Banks To the Population of Petrograd:
“Comrades workers, soldiers and citizens!
“The Military Revolutionary Committee in an ‘extraordinary notice’ is accusing the workers of the State and private banking and other institutions of ‘impeding the work of the Government, directed towards the ensuring of the Front with provisions.’
“Comrades and citizens, do not believe this calumny, brought against us, who are part of the general army of labour.
“However difficult it be for us to work under the constant threat of interference by acts of violence in our hard-working life, however depressing it be to know that our Country and the Revolution are on the verge of ruin, we, nevertheless, all of us, from the highest to the lowest, employees, artelshtchiki, counters, labourers, couriers, etc., are continuing to fulfil our duties which are connected with the ensuring of provisions and munitions to the Front and country.
“Counting upon your lack of information, comrades workers and soldiers, in questions of finance and banking, you are being incited against workers like yourselves, because it is desirable to divert the responsibility for the starving and dying brother-soldiers at the Front from the guilty persons to the innocent workers who are accomplishing their duty under the burden of general poverty and disorganization.
“REMEMBER, WORKERS AND SOLDIERS! THE EMPLOYEES HAVE ALWAYS STOOD UP FOR AND WILL ALWAYS STAND UP FOR THE INTERESTS OF THE TOILING PEOPLE, PART OF WHICH THEY ARE THEMSELVES, AND NOT A SINGLE KOPEK NECESSARY FOR THE FRONT AND THE WORKERS HAS EVER BEEN DETAINED AND WILL NOT BE DETAINED BY THE EMPLOYEES.
“From November 6th to November 23d, i.e., during 17 days, 500 million rubles were dispatched to the Front, and 120 millions to Moscow, besides the sums sent to other towns.
“Keeping guard over the wealth of the people, the master of which can be only the Constituent Assembly, representing the whole nation, the employees refuse to give out money for purposes which are unknown to them.
“DO NOT BELIEVE THE CALUMNIATORS CALLING YOU TO TAKE THE LAW INTO YOUR OWN HANDS!”
Central Board of the All-Russian Union of Employees of the State Bank.
Central Board of the All-Russian Trade Union of Employees of Credit Institutions.
* * * * *
To the Population of Petrograd.
“CITIZENS: Do not believe the falsehood which irresponsible people are trying to suggest to you by spreading terrible calumnies against the employees of the Ministry of Supplies and the workers in other Supply organizations who are labouring in these dark days for the salvation of Russia. Citizens! In posted placards you are called upon to lynch us, we are accused falsely of sabotage and strikes, we are blamed for all the woes and misfortunes that the people are suffering, although we have been striving indefatigably and uninterruptedly, and are still striving, to save the Russian people from the horrors of starvation. Notwithstanding all that we are bearing as citizens of unhappy Russia, we have not for one hour abandoned our heavy and responsible work of supplying the Army and population with provisions.
“The image of the Army, cold and hungry, saving our very existence by its blood and its tortures, does not leave us for a single moment.
“Citizens! If we have survived the blackest days in the life and history of our people, if we have succeeded in preventing famine in Petrograd, if we have managed to procure to the suffering army bread and forage by means of enormous, almost superhuman, efforts, it is because we have honestly continued and are still continuing to do our work….
“To the ‘last warning’ of the usurpers of the power we reply: It is not for you who are leading the country to ruin to threaten us who are doing all we can not to allow the country to perish. We are not afraid of threats; before us stands the sacred image of tortured Russia. We will continue our work of supplying the Army and the people with bread to our last efforts, so long as you will not prevent us from accomplishing our duty to our country. In the contrary case the Army and the people will stand before the horrors of famine, but the responsibility therefor belongs to the perpetrators of violence.
Executive Committee of the Employees of the
Ministry of Supplies.
* * * * *
To the Tchinovniki (Government Officials).
It is notified hereby, that all officials and persons who have quitted the service in Government and public institutions or have been dismissed for sabotage or for having failed to report for work on the day fixed, and who have nevertheless received their salary paid in advance for the time they have not served, are bound to return such salary not later than on November 27th, 1917, to those institutions where they were in service.
In the event of this not being done, these persons will be rendered answerable for stealing the Treasury’s property and tried by the Military Revolutionary Court.
The Military-Revolutionary Committee.
December 7th, 1917.
* * * * *
From the Special Board for the Supplies CITIZENS
“The conditions of our work for the supplying of Petrograd are getting more and more difficult every day.
“The interference with our work—which is so ruinous to our business—of the Commissars of the Military Revolutionary Committee is still continuing.
“THEIR ARBITRARY ACTS, their annulling of our orders, MAY LEAD TO A CATASTROPHE.
“Seals have been affixed to one of the cold storages where the meat and butter destined for the population are kept, and we cannot regulate the temperature SO THAT THE PRODUCTS WOULD NOT BE SPOILT.
“One carload of potatoes and one carload of cabbages have been seized and carried away no one knows where to.
“Cargoes which are not liable to requisition (khalva) are requisitioned by the Commissars and, as was the case one day, five boxes of khalva were seized by the Commissar for his own use.
“WE ARE NOT IN A POSITION TO DISPOSE OF OUR STORAGES, where the selfappointed Commissars do not allow the cargoes to be taken out, and terrorise our employees, threatening them with arrest.
“ALL THAT IS GOING ON IN PETROGRAD IS KNOWN IN THE PROVINCES, AND FROM THE DON, FROM SIBERIA, FROM VORONEZH AND OTHER PLACES PEOPLE ARE REFUSING TO SEND FLOUR AND BREAD.
“THIS CANNOT GO ON MUCH LONGER.
“The work is simply falling out of our hands.
“OUR DUTY is to let the population know of this.
“To the last possibility we will remain on guard of the interests of the population.
“WE WILL DO EVERYTHING TO AVOID THE ONCOMING FAMINE, BUT IF UNDER THESE DIFFICULT CONDITIONS OUR WORK IS COMPELLED TO STOP, LET THE PEOPLE KNOW THAT IT IS NOT OUR FAULT….”
15.
ELECTIONS TO THE CONSTITUENT ASSEMBLY IN PETROGRAD
There were nineteen tickets in Petrograd. The results are as follows, published November 30th:
+---------------------------------------------------+---------+
| Party | Vote |
+---------------------------------------------------+---------+
| Populist Socialists | 19,109 |
+---------------------------------------------------+---------+
| Cadets | 245,006 |
+---------------------------------------------------+---------+
| Christian Democrats | 3,707 |
+---------------------------------------------------+---------+
| Bolsheviki | 424,027 |
+---------------------------------------------------+---------+
| Socialist Universalists | 158 |
+---------------------------------------------------+---------+
| S. D. and S. R. Ukrainean and Jewish Workers | 4,219 |
+---------------------------------------------------+---------+
| League of Women’s Rights | 5,310 |
+---------------------------------------------------+---------+
| Socialist Revolutionaries (oborontsi) | 4,696 |
+---------------------------------------------------+---------+
| Left Socialist Revolutionaries | 152,230 |
+---------------------------------------------------+---------+
| League of the People’s Development | 385 |
+---------------------------------------------------+---------+
| Radical Democrats | 413 |
+---------------------------------------------------+---------+
| Orthodox Parishes | 24,139 |
+---------------------------------------------------+---------+
| Feminine League for Salvation of Country | 318 |
+---------------------------------------------------+---------+
| Independent League of Workers, Soldiers, Peasants | 4,942 |
+---------------------------------------------------+---------+
| Christian Democrats (Catholic) | 14,382 |
+---------------------------------------------------+---------+
| Unified Social Democrats | 11,740 |
+---------------------------------------------------+---------+
| Mensheviki | 17,427 |
+---------------------------------------------------+---------+
| Yedinstvo group | 1,823 |
+---------------------------------------------------+---------+
