Michael S. Farbman

“ Every Englishman has had his Fatherland for centuries before his birth. In Russia, generation after generation has been born and has lived and died without knowing or feeling the full happiness and joy of having a country of its very own—a Fatherland. It is very hard to describe the complex attitude of mind of the Russians who, while having a passionate love for their country, have had that love starved and made sterile. Russia was always a harsh foster-mother to the vast mass of her people. As a consequence all that appertained to the State was thought strange and alien and tainted. ”

“ And, indeed, the Russian Revolution was the first revolution ever to be achieved by the soldiers going over to the people not only without the co-operation of the officers, but actually against their will. The Revolution was a soldier's revolution. It was a revolution of the workers, peasants and soldiers. The workers were struggling for political and industrial freedom; the peasants realised in the Revolution their age-long struggle for land. The soldiers rose in revolt against all the cruelty and degradation of barrack life and discipline. ”

“ The Revolution suddenly gave Russia a new aspect of life. Russia became a State, a nation, a Fatherland. The idea of the State as something hostile and alien was transformed into an idea of the State as something intimate, or, as a Russian would put it, as "our own." A fact of the Russian temperament is that it is devoid of brag. Russians, as a people, do not habitually over-estimate their gifts and talents or importance. They are far from considering themselves the salt of the earth. ”

“ If the Russian and Allied Governments had succeeded in convincing the Russian army—not by mere statements but by evident facts—that Russia, in concert with her Allies, had renounced every kind of annexation, that they were making every effort to bring the war to an honourable conclusion as soon as possible, and that only Germany was prolonging the war in the interests of her policy of conquest, then millions of Russian soldiers (the Russian army at that time numbered at least eight millions) would have risen like a man in defence of Russia and the Allies. ”

“ The effect of this policy of deliberate mistrust on the morale of the army was terrible. Indeed, imagine the state of mind of the poor uneducated Russian soldier, who is taught to believe that the population in the rear is permeated with spies and hidden enemies. This terrible legend must naturally have excited and terrorised the army. The more so, as it began to dawn on the soldiers that all their greatest heroism and sacrifices ultimately led to disaster, and that for some reason or other disaster always coincided with grave cases of treason in the army itself. ”

“ At first they thought that the Revolution would be killed by the war and swamped by war enthusiasm. But when threatening defeat opened the eyes of the Government to realities, they began to be terribly afraid of revolution. But they, too, expected that revolution would not take place till after the war. However, as the spirit of revolution grew stronger at the one pole and the defeatist mood gained ground at the other, the Government began to feel that the sooner the war was over, the more easily they could crush the Revolution. ”

“ The Russian Revolution will not retreat before the bayonets of invaders and will not let itself be crushed by external military force. But we appeal to you: shake off the yoke of your half-autocratic régime, as the Russian people shook off the Tsarist autocracy; refuse to serve as instruments of gain and annexation and violence in the hands of kings, landowners, and bankers then in friendly alliance of our forces we will put a stop to the awful slaughter which is degrading mankind and darkening the great days of the birth of Russian freedom. ”

“ The Revolution was to release them from the heavy guardianship of the bureaucracy; the war was to satisfy their dream of new markets, the annexation of Constantinople and the Straits, Armenia, Galicia, and undisputed power in the Balkans. They dreamed a golden dream. It is easy to imagine their disappointment when they saw the new course which the Revolution began to take.
The ideals of the Revolution in the realm of foreign policy amazed and stupefied them more than anything else. The victory of the democracy in this respect would amount to a complete defeat of the propertied classes. ”

“ But, in stating this fact, I am far from intending to relieve the Revolution, the workers, and the Socialist parties from all responsibility. It is my firm conviction that nothing but blind hatred and dishonest partisanship could lead people to accuse the Revolution of destroying Russia's industry and transport system. But I do accuse it of not arresting the process of disintegration. The duty of the revolutionary democracy and of the Socialist parties was to stop the process of decomposition of the national economy. ”

“ As matters stood, the Counter-Revolution dressed itself in a bellicose cloak, not because it was devoted to the Allied cause, or disliked Germany, or was patriotic; but simply because the hated revolutionary democracy was pacifist. If the Revolution had insisted on continuing the war the Counter-Revolution would for the same reason have assumed a pacifist mask.
If the Revolution does not succeed in killing the war, the war will destroy the Revolution—that was felt and believed by everyone in Russia. ”

“ With every month of the war they became more and more conscious that a disaster was inevitable. The old corrupt bureaucracy was incapable of managing the war and of co-ordinating and turning to good account the popular energy and enthusiasm. Public opinion demanded—not even the real democracy to which the Russian people aspired—but merely a Government which should take the people into its confidence in the prosecution of the war. ”

“ It is a deceitful move on the part of those who wish to conceal their own grave responsibility. Responsibility for the disaster is wholly borne by those who led the broken army into a frivolous adventure against the wishes, and contrary to the avowed policy, of the democracy. And even if the Bolsheviks had been responsible for the bad morale of the troops, the Government and the High Command knew that the troops were in such a dangerous mood and that the offensive was bound to lead to disaster. ”

“ As a matter of fact, just as there was probably too much praise for the Russian soldier during the first three years of the war, so there has undoubtedly been too much blame in the past year. Instead of praising or blaming him, it is necessary to try to unveil the mystery of the Russian soldier, to try to understand what he was and how he lived, and what were the effects of the war upon him. One thing is certain: people in this country not only do not know anything about the Russian soldier—they have not the least idea of even a rough standard of comparison by which to judge him. ”

“ Russia was in the grip of the most awful financial crisis and economic exhaustion. The difficulties of transport led to an absolute breakdown, and famine was threatening. There could be no successful struggle with these evils while the war lasted. On the contrary, with every day that the war continued the financial and economic exhaustion increased, and the country came nearer and nearer to the abyss. The will to peace alone had the power to save the country and its hard-won freedom. ”

“ Millions, thousands of millions flooded the country. And while more and more millions were being printed and distributed amongst the manufacturers, Government contractors, bankers and merchants; food, housing, fuel and clothing became dearer and scarcer every day, and the life of the masses became more difficult, the sacrifices of the workers and peasants more intolerable.
The contrast of profits and sacrifices is not peculiar to Russia, but certainly in no country has it become so hideous as in Russia, nor was this race of millions so mad in any other country as it was in Russia. ”

“ The Tsar and his Government deliberately provoked an early Revolution; the Duma did not make the Revolution, but, on the contrary, tried to annul its effects. There remained the workers and soldiers.
The soldiers themselves would have revolted of their own accord sooner or later; their sufferings and humiliations under the old disciplinary system had become well-nigh unbearable. As it was, they saw the revolution of the people and sympathised. It was their chance of revolution against their own evils; they could not hold aloof. They saved the Revolution by joining the people. ”

“ Anything that is consonant with the Revolution and helps to consolidate it, I accept; anything that stands in the way of the Revolution or is likely to hamper it, I unreservedly reject." In these words Cheidze defined what is felt by every Russian. For Russia, therefore, the Revolution is not merely a means for victory. It is life itself, and the very condition of living. Russia freed herself in order to realise her moral faith in the high purpose of her life. The war was not, and could not be, the aim of the Revolution. ”

“ Fraternisation must not be transformed into a trap for the revolutionary soldiers on one side or the other. We are in favour of fraternisation of revolutionary soldiers on both sides in the name of the transformation of the Russian Revolution into the European Revolution, and in order to carry the spirit of the Russian Revolution into Germany and into the German trenches. ”

“ Only from the moment when Russia ceased to be a menace to Germany and Austria, from the moment when Russia repudiated the ambitious aims of Tsardom, did the Burgfrieden in Germany begin to waver. All attempts to break down Germany by external force have led and are bound to lead to a strengthening of Germany's internal unity. The same would be true of England, America, or any other nation. Had the Russian democracy had a fresh and well-equipped army at their disposal, they would none the less first have tried the political method of destroying German unity. ”

“ Honest observers mistook this revolutionary feeling for defeatism, and dishonest reporters deliberately misrepresented it as such.
This revolutionary spirit began down below among the workers. It grew and grew, taking hold of greater and greater parts of the population and rising higher and higher in the social scale. The spirit of revolution became so great and powerful that the more observant members of the propertied and ruling classes began to urge the Government to make reforms. ”

“ The Military Party went to war, not only to conquer the enemy, but to conquer Russia itself. Even victory over Germany was, for them, only a means of establishing more firmly their own power in Russia. The Military Party, the Grand Dukes, the War Office, the General Staff, and the Court camarilla refused to accept the change which had come over Russia. Their mentality prevented them from understanding the people's loyalty and from believing in it. They could only believe in loyalty achieved by military means; they could only trust enforced loyalty. ”

“ Dislike of Russian political institutions was deep-rooted. A free and proud people like the British not only had a deep repugnance to the Tsardom, but could scarcely admire or like a people which was content to live and suffer under a rotten autocracy. But the political aims of the State demanded a reconciliation; and there is never any lack of imaginative genius when the "highest interests of the State" demand it. Thus it was that the very difficult problem of reconciling British public opinion with reactionary Russia was quickly solved, and with ingenious simplicity. ”

“ This equivocal attitude of the Russian Government has done the interests of the country irreparable harm, because the voice of Russian diplomacy grows weaker with every month of war, and disorganisation goes on increasing. This duplicity of Russian policy on the question of peace and war reveals to the whole world the division of the nation into two camps, the more important of which ardently desires peace, while the other, which comprises an influential minority, obstinately clings to war to the bitter end. ”

“ It was a paradox that revolutionary Russia continued to be represented by people who had grown up in the spirit of the corrupt and autocratic Tsarist diplomacy, and were imbued with that spirit. In short, in all the urgent questions raised by the Revolution, the disagreements between the democracy and the Government became more and more irreconcilable. Popular discontent was becoming stronger. The extreme Left got more and more material for their propaganda: "All power to the Soviets!" And yet the dominant mood of the democracy as a whole, including the army, was one of tolerance. ”

“ Altogether, this war was not to their taste. Suppose we crush Germany—terrible thought!—Wilhelm was always the great protector of our Autocracy. Germany is the only Christian country in Europe where the people have any decent respect for law and order and discipline! If the Allies crush Germany, it will lead to revolution in Germany—which God forbid—and then how long can the Autocracy hold out in Russia? ”

“ By their support the soldiers saved the Revolution. But it was not they who initiated it. It was the workers. It was the workers who went out on to the streets to fight it out with Protopopov's police and (as they expected) with the garrison. The soldiers joined them; thus they liberated Russia from the brutal yoke of the reaction. But they did more. They upheld the Revolution as a revolution against the Monarchy, and resisted all attempts to degrade it into a mere overthrow of the existing Government. They vetoed the Duma's project of proclaiming Russia a Constitutional Monarchy. ”

“ No sooner had the war-fever begun, than the threatening spirit of revolution subsided. All currents of thought melted into one boundless enthusiasm.
The war enthusiasm which has been manifested throughout the world during the last four years is a deeply interesting social phenomenon. The most striking thing is the fact that this war enthusiasm was universal, and appeared in the same form and to the same degree in the different countries. The war enthusiasm in Belgium and in this country is easy to understand. ”

“ The troops as they were marching to the front looked as Russian soldiers always look; like "God's poor little grey cattle." The army was, as it has long been, a resigned, obedient, amorphous human mass put into motion by other people towards some unknown destination, moving in blind faith towards an unknown destiny and for an unknown purpose. ”

“ What then, when we were sacrificing our children, our sons and brothers on the peninsula of Gallipoli in order to open up the way to Constantinople for you, was that merely your caprice? ... It is our duty to raise our voice and cry: Russia is with you. Do not depart one iota from her legitimate demands, one iota from her life-interests; do not let yourselves be confused by the shouts that you may hear on your way; stand firm to the end we shall support you."
Rodichev's speech was received with tremendous ovations by the Cadet Congress, and made a deep impression on them. ”