Denver labor bulletin., 1918-02-09
RUSSIAN PEOPLE vs.. THE BOISHEVIKI
What the Bolsheviki Power Amounts Why; Hitherto
Unpublished Telegram Revealed; Position of French
BY WILLIAM ENGLISH WALLING,
OF the American Alliance for Labor
and Democracy.

cradle part of the Russian people in
certain sections. But there has been
no evidence whatever that they COM
mand the support of the majority
anywhere, except among the soldiers
at the front, long separated from
their home ties and permeated by Boil
shevik and German propaganda.
/ The Bolsheviki are firmly in the
saddle in most of the large cities, but
they are by no means as firmly in
the saddle as was the czar when he
was overthrow: and at that time it
was repeatedly shown that the czar
did not have behind him 5 per cent
of the people Of Russia.
When a government, or pseudo
government, is firmly in control it is
very difficult for a foreigner to real
ize that it may represent a small mi
nority. At the timeof the first revo-
lutionary upheaval in Russia, from
1905 to 1907, it was clear to every well
informed observer in that country that
the revolutionary movement spoke for
the overwhelming majority of the peo-
pie. Indeed the duma elections def
nitely demonstrated that the autoc-
racy did not have the support of 5
per cent of the population. Yet after
the failure of that revolution the czar
was firmly installed and foreigners
said: "At least the Russians pas
sively accept the Czarism, and after
all every people has the government
it is willing to tolerate" This state
ment did not take into account the
overwhelming, if not insuperable diff
culties of revolution at that time
Strength of Bolsheviki.
Today also there are signs that
the Bolsheviki, in any fair election,
would have the support of not more
than 20 per cent or 25 per cent of the
great Russian nation-at the outside
Thruout Russia as a whole they rep
resent a bare half Of the urban popu-
lation. For they have against them
not only all the middle classes, chiefly
members of the constitutional demo-
cratic party, but also the other Social
ist parties, representing skilled labor
and brain workers, that is the social
revolutionists, minority socialists, pop
ulist socialists and internationalists.
But hardly 20 per cent of the pop
ulatiOn of Russia is urban or indus
trial. In scarcely an important prov
ince of Russia have the Bolsheviki
been able to get a clear majority. In
southern and eastern Russia on the
contrary they have been absolutely
in the minority, except in a few in
dustrial centers.
One after another the Bolsheviki
have lost the support Of all Socialist
factions but their own with a single
minor exception to be mentioned
later. Before the insurrection of
November 9th, which placed the Boil
sheviki in power there had been a
considerable cooperation between
this faction and one wing of the So
cialist revolutionists, or the peasants
socialist party. Lenine and Trotzky
had no sooner made their plan of gov
ernment clear than their support
among the social revolutionists was
reduced to a minimum At first Le-
nine had been so confident Of split
ting this party, which has twice as
many adherents as the BOlsheviki,
that he favored a constitutional as
sembly-of which he hoped in this
way to get a majority. The longer
the Bolshevki We're in power the less
influence they had among the social
revolutionists; leader after leader
came out in opposition to the Boil
sheviki and all their works. In the
constitutional assembly the BOlsheviki
were able to muster such pitiable
handful of social revolutionsts as sup
porters that they had to nominate a
young woman, Spiridonova, as chair
man, whose sole title to leadership
consists in the fact that she had as
/ sassinated a minor official in the days
| of cZarism- pending the rest of her
days in prison.
Desertions Came Rapidly.
/ The tendency in the cities for all
| Socialist factions, even the most rev
olutionary, to line up in the civil war
against the Bolsheviki has been even
more marked in the cities than in the
country at large. A part of the Boil
Gorky, have now gone over to the
| opposition, and let it be noted that
Gorky's paper, the Novy Zhisn, has
almost as large circulation as PRAY
da, Lenine's personal organ.
| Equally remarkable and important
is the fact that the internationalists,
| led by Martoff, have now not only
deserted Lcnine, but have come out
in the most bitter hostility against
him. Tho an extreme pacifist and
pro-German Socialist (sic) Martoff is
absolutely unwilling to accept the Le-
nineTrotZky program either in Rus
! sian affairs or on the peace question.
| Martof, who was long in exile in
Paris, is an important figure in inter
national socialism. Doubtless it is
largely due to him that only two of
the hundred Socialist members of the
French chamber of deputies are will
ing to accept the Bolsheviki lead-a
fact of the utmost Importance in the
international Socialist situation, which
now looms so large in international
politics.
Late in December, after the Boil
shevik policy had fully developed,
Martoff sent the following extremely
important telegram to the leader of