the Bolsheviks from Petrograd January 23, 1919, this statement contained the following:

The present is the period of destruction and crushing of the capitalist system of the whole world.

The aim of the proletariat must now be immediately to conquer power. To conquer power means to destroy the governmental apparatus of the bourgeoisie and to organize a new proletarian governmental apparatus. This new apparatus must express the dictatorship of the proletariat.

The dictatorship of the proletariat must be the occasion for the immediate expropriation of capital and the elimination of the private right of owning the means of production through making them common property.

In order to protect the socialist revolution against external and internal enemies and to assist the fighting proletarians of other countries, it becomes necessary to disarm entirely the bourgeoisie and its agents and to arm the proletariat.

(See Appendix I for the full text of the proclamation.)

The ablest analysis of the theory of the proletarian dictatorship is given by Lenin himself, in his report to the Eighth Congress of the Russian Communist Party, in March, 1919. (See Appendix II for the full text of this report, made in the form of a series of "theses.") Lenin's "theses" were adopted as the platform of the Third International, established in Moscow in March, 1919. From a reading of these theses it is clear that the period of construction claimed by the Bolshevist sympathizers had not arrived.

The following extract from a speech by Lenin at the session of the Petrograd Soviet of March 12, 1919 ("Severnaya Kommuna," March 14, 1919), indicates the same:

We can understand the activities of the Council of People's Commissaries for the last year only if we assess the rôle of the Soviets on the scale of the world revolution. Often the daily routine of administration and details that could not be avoided in the work of construction are pushing us to one side and forcing us to forget the great task of world revolution. But only when we assess the rôle of the Soviets on the world scale will we be able properly to handle the details of our internal life and regu

late them properly. The task of construction depends entirely on how soon revolution will triumph in the more important countries of Europe. Only after such a victory shall we be able seriously to undertake the work of construction. The expert accountants from Berne speak of us as the champions of the tactics of violence, but in referring to this they do not see what the bourgeoisie is doing in their own countries, namely, that it is governing exclusively by violence.

In theory, the "dictatorship of the proletariat" is the classrule of a minority, the city workman. The "poorest peasantry," that is, the proletarian element among the peasants, are accepted as collaborators; but the peasantry as a whole is to be led by the urban proletariat. (Summary of article by Carl Radek in the Communist, an official organ of the Russian Communist Party, of April 20, 1918.) The Soviet Government styles itself the "Workmen's and Peasants' Government," but even theoretically it has been primarily the government of the urban proletariat. To bring the peasants into line the workmen thrown out of employment, who had returned to their former villages, were organized as "Committees of the Poor," to control the villages in the interests of the urban proletariat. (This maneuver is described in detail by Larin, president of the Supreme Soviet of National Economy, in the Izvestia of September 10, 1918.)

Only recently (since May, 1919) have the Bolsheviks taken a different attitude toward the peasantry. As the result of the increase of discontent and even uprisings in the peasant villages, the Bolsheviks have made a new "class division" of the peasantry. They have "discovered" the class of "middle peasants," as opposed to the "poorest peasants," and the "rich peasants," and at the eleventh hour are endeavoring to conciliate this largest section of the peasantry.

In an address before an extraordinary session of the Moscow Soviet on April 3, 1919, Lenin said:

We must seek new sources of strength among the working classes; we must attract the village medium classes. These medium classes can develop their strength knowing that working

with them are more experienced persons who have had a year's experience. Yes, the advance guard of the working class is worn out. It may be that the medium classes will not do so well, but we shall not lose much by this.

Mensheviks and social revolutionists fall into two classes. There's a group of specialists and officials who are working for us. These are not counter-revolutionists and as long as they work we do not care whether they believe in the constituent assembly or even in God if they want to. The other class which only enters our ranks in order to stir up strikes must be crushed. (Izvestia, April 5, 1919.)

(See also Appendix III, Lenin's Report to the Eighth Congress of the Communist Party, March, 1919; and Appendix IV, speech of Kalinin, the president of the All-Russian Central Executive Committee of Soviets.) Then, too, they needed the peasants in the Red Army, as shown by the following announcement:

From the central committee of the Russian Communist Party: The central committee of the Russian Communist Party announces the following:

"To all provincial committees of the Communist Party, to Provincial Military Commissaries.

"The All-Russian Central Executive Committee of Soviets, at the session of April 23, unanimously adopted the decree to bring the middle and poor peasants into the struggle against the counter-revolution. According to this decree, every canton must send 10 to 20 strong, capable soldiers, who can act as nuclei for Red Army units in those places to which they will be sent." (Petrograd Pravda, May 1, 1919.)

2

ELECTIONS TO SOVIETS

How elections in Soviet Russia actually take place can not be fully established. Detailed accounts of elections, particularly the elections to the local Soviets which are supposed to be the basis of the Soviet system of representation, have not been found in the Bolshevist newspapers. Theoretically, the

constitution of the Russian Socialist Federated Soviet Republic specifically provides for unequal representation of workmen and peasants, the inequality being in favor of the workmen. (Art. 53.) The committees of poor peasants mentioned above, composed mainly of workmen thrown out of employment by the collapse of industry, replaced peasant "Village Soviets" in October, 1918, when the latter were found to be acting "contrary to the constitution." (Izvestia, October 10, 1918.) The accounts of the Petrograd Soviet elections of July, 1919 (Petrograd Pravda, July 5, 1919), give the returns of the election in such broad statements that no analysis of the system of elections is possible, except the generalization that the elections are by factories, regiments, Soviet institutions (employees), and trade unions. It would seem that the soldiers of the Red Army are given disproportionate representation as compared with the workmen of Petrograd.

A side light on the system of election and representation is given in the following news item from the Izvestia of the Petrograd Soviet, July 3, 1919:

Teachers and other cultural-educational workers this year for the first time will be able, in an organized manner through their union, to take an active part in the work of the Petrograd Soviet of Deputies. This is the first and most difficult examination for the working intelligentsia of the above-named categories. Comrades and citizens, scholars, teachers, and other cultural workers, stand this test in a worthy manner!

Many observers from Russia have furnished accounts of the arbitrary manner in which the Bolshevist leaders have controlled elections, of which the following is a typical example. This account, from a landlord for whose bias due allowance must be made, was secured by an American representative in June, 1919 (see Appendix XIII):

Considering this discontent and hatred, it would seem that elections to different councils (Soviets) would produce candidates of other parties, nevertheless all councils consist of communists. The explanation is very plain. That freedom of election of which

the Bolsheviks write and talk so much consists in the free election of certain persons, a list of which had already been prepared. For instance, if in one district six delegates have to be elected, seven to eight names are mentioned, of which six can be chosen. Very characteristic in this respect were the elections February last in the district of . . . Moscow Province, where I had one of my estates. Nearly all voters, about 200, of which 12 were communists, came to the district town. Seven delegates had to be elected and only seven names were on the prepared list, naturally all communists. The local Soviet invited the 12 communistic voters to a house, treated them with food, tea, and sugar, and gave each 10 rubles per day; the others received nothing, not even housing. But they, knowing what they had to expect from former experiences, had provided for such an emergency and decided to remain to the end. The day of election was fixed and put off from day to day. After four postponements the Soviet saw no way out. The result was that the seven delegates elected by all against 12 votes belonged to the Octobrists and Constitutional-Democrats. seven and a number of the wealthier voters were immediately arrested as agitators against the Soviet Republic. New elections were announced three days later, but this time the place was

But these

surrounded by machine guns. The next day official papers

announced the unanimous election of communists in the district of Verea. After a short time peasant revolts started. To put down these, Chinese and Letts were sent and about 300 peasants were killed. Then began arrests, but it is not known how many were executed.

3

EXTRAORDINARY COMMISSIONS

The "Extraordinary Commissions to Combat CounterRevolution, Speculation, and Sabotage," were introduced in the first months of the Bolshevist régime. The local Extraordinary Commissions were organized by local committees of the Communist Party, and only later was their assumption of governmental functions sanctioned. (Weekly of the All-Russian Extraordinary Commission, October 27, 1918.) The Extraordinary Commissions have at moments