The Washington times., 1922-04-03
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fettered by hunger. privation and
persecution. Is yet very much alive.
The dogged resistance offered by the
people Of Russia to the Bolshevik
yoke is the best proof of that. The
Bolsheviki In their march to power
were far from being the advance
guard of the Revolution. as they
claim. On the contrary. they were
the dam which had thrown back the
rising tide of the peoples energies.
In their fixed idea that only a
dictatorship can direct and protect
the Revolution, they went about
strengthening their formidable state
which Is now crushing the Revolu-
ton. AS Marxians they never have,
nor will they ever, realize that the
only protection of the Revolution
lies in the ability of the people to
organize their own economic life'
For the rest, Kropotkin added. he
had set forth his views on the Rus
sian Revolution in his letter to the
workers of Europe. which was. l
believe. widely published.
Part for Anarchists.
Kropotkin also spoke of the part
the anarchists played In the revolu-
ton, of the death of some, the heroic
struggle of many, the irresponsibiity
Of the few. Above all. he emphasized
the need for all the anarchists to be
better equipped for reconstructive
work during the revolution. l dis
tinctly remember these words:
1--WE anarchists have talked much
about the social revolution. But how
many had ever taken the pains to
prepare for the actual work during
and after the revolution? The Rus
sian revolution has demonstrated the
imperativeness of such preparation
for practical reconstractive work."
In a letter to one Of his closest
friends Kropotkin wrote that he had
come to see in syndicalism the eco
nomic basis Of anarchism. In other
words, the medium for the economic
organization and expression Of the
energies Of the people during the
period.
1t was a memorable day. Alas.
the last I was ever to spend with
our Grand Old Man. When / was
called to take care OF him during
his last illness I reached Demitroff
an hour after his death. The usual
bureaucratic confusion. 'inefficiency
and delay robbed me of the oppor-
tunity to render Kropotkin some
slight service in return for all he
had given me.
No Bitterness In Man.
Two things had struck me in Kro.
potkin on both visits: The lack Of
bitterness toward the Bolsheviki and
the fact that ne never once alluded
to his own hardships and privations
1t was only after his death that
learned a few details of his life under
the Bolshevik regime. In the early
part Of 1918 Kropotkin had grouped
around him some of the ablest spe-
cialists in various branches OF politi-
cal economy. The purpose WAS to
make careful study of the economic
resources of Russia, and to compile
these resources in monographs, to
make them of practical help in the
reconstruction of Russia.
kropotkin was the editor-in-chief
Of that undertaking. One volume
was prepared but never published
The Federalist League. as this scien-
tific group was known. was broken
up by the government and all the
confiscated.
On two occasions the Kropotkin
apartments were requisitioned and
the family forced to fined other quar-
ters. It was after all these expert
ences that the Kropotkins moved to
Dmitroff. where he became an in.
exile. Even in the summer