THE MOVEMENT IN OTHER COUNTRIES (SUPPLEMENTARY CHAPTER) Russia. It is difficult to give any concise statement of the position of socialism in Russia, because of the tremendous upheavals of recent years. Suffice to say that the brief and eventful career of the Duma has clearly demonstrated that under normal conditions, and with universal suffrage, the socialists would be in possession of governmental power. Never was there a time when the autocracy had to fight so strenuously to preserve its privileges, and even its existence. Panic-stricken, the authorities have gone to the extreme in their efforts to suppress the various nationalities they have conquered; to propagate race and religious antagonism, in order to obscure from the toiling masses the real cause of their misery; and to stamp out by the most horrible methods the spirit of revolution. The first traces of the socialist movement were apparent in the forties, but for thirty years it was confined to small groups of university men and students, with a few remarkable working men. About the time Bakounine was agitating in Western Europe, and the International was effecting workingclass organization, young men and women of the more prosperous classes left their families and fortunes in order to propagate socialism among the people. The Russians, especially the peasant class, have always had communist aspirations, and the emancipation of the serfs was to them the realization of a long-cherished ideal. Nevertheless the spread of socialistic ideas was at first very slow. The various socialist circles were broken up again and again by the government, and their members banished or imprisoned. This persecution led to the adoption of terrorist tactics on the part of the socialists for about four years, culminating in the death of Alexander II in March, 1881. The coming of industrialism in its most intense form marked an epoch in socialist propaganda. What with the opening of the coal and iron fields in the South, and the textile trades in St. Petersburg, Moscow, Nijni Novgorod, and Lodz, something like two million people were drawn off the land and concentrated in factories. Consequently it needed but few years of capitalist exploitation for them to realize class-consciousness. Beginning with the great fight of the weavers in St. Petersburg in 1896, strike after strike took place all over the country, skilfully engineered by the socialists, up to the memorable general strike of 1903; which, commencing in the South, spread until a quarter of a million workers had ceased production. The industrial crisis which had set in, however, rendered strikes to a considerable extent ineffective, and the starving populace had nothing left to do but demonstrate in the streets, with the consequence that massacres by the soldiery were frequent. Amid the general ferment the revolutionary movement, in which the socialists were the directing force, spread with marvellous rapidity. There are three principal socialist organizations in Russia: the Socialist Revolutionary Party, who accept terrorism as a transitory necessity; the Social Democratic Party, pure Marxists, advocating the class movement as against individual action; and the Bund, composed exclusively of working Jews. Roughly it might be said that the two former are divided principally on the matter of terrorist tactics and concerning the land question. With regard to the latter problem, the Social Democrats, consisting for the most part of the industrial workers of the towns, favor only the expropriation of large landowners. In this respect they might be considered opportunist in their tactics, as they do not want to alienate the sympathies of the small holders. On the other hand the Socialist Revolutionary Party stands for the out and out expropriation of the land, and events have demonstrated that the peasants are fully in accord with their advanced agrarian program. Says Mr. English Walling: "Whether or not this program succeeds depends largely on the action of the Social Democrats. The government and the bourgeois parties are already doing everything in their power to break up the village commune and increase the number of small proprietors. If this process is not stopped, the number of small proprietors will be doubled within a few years, complete nationalization will have become impossible, and Russia will have to wait decades or generations for the social revolution." The Socialist Revolutionists say that the signal for the expropriation of the land will be the signal for the general insurrection of the people. But while preparing for this, they will not cease the daily struggle. They claim that history has justified their terrorism, both individual and collective. And, moreover, "We shall not cease to use terrorist tactics in the political struggle until the day when shall be realized the institutions making the will of the people the source of power and legislation." In view of the tragedy of October, 1905, the socialists deemed it wiser to do all in their power to retard any further open struggle until the masses, and especially the agricultural population, should have been properly organized. Unfortunately the march of events did not obey their will, and the insurrection of Moscow broke out. However, this served to prove the possibility of an armed uprising, because during the eight days of barricade fighting, the government trembled for its existence. And when the revolutionists abandoned their positions, having served their purpose, the government, imagining that the revolution had played itself out, burst into a frenzy of reaction and persecution. "But only the blind could think that the colossal social and political crisis which affects our immense country could be closed within the limits of two or three months." Considering it fruitless, the Socialist Revolutionary Party decided not to take part in the elections to the first Duma, but to apply themselves energetically to opening the eyes of the people to the mock constitution that had been set up; and while the government was engaged in managing the elections, the socialists had exceptional liberty in their propaganda. Books, pamphlets, and newspapers were published by the million; the committees which had been smashed up were reconstituted; and all together the socialists had a great day. However, notwithstanding their statements that they would have nothing to do with the Duma, revolutionists were elected by the people, and a strong labor group was formed. This it was decided to make use of in the furtherance of the socialist cause. But the first Duma, in which so many hopes had been placed by the people, only lasted ninety days; and the interval between the first and second parliaments proved to be one of the blackest periods of unbridled government terrorism, pogroms, courtmartials, and executions. The authorities were absolutely ferocious because the Duma had not been amenable to their power, and as usual their ferocity was greatest against the socialists, who were obliged to retort with acts of terrorism. The flower of the socialist forces perished in the prisons, in Siberia, and on the scaffold. The average existence of a committee was two months; of a journal, two numbers. But the influence of the socialists grew enormously, thousands of meetings were held, and a huge amount of literature was distributed in secret. At a meeting of the council of the party in November, 1906, it was resolved to take part in the election for the second Duma; considering it now compatible with their tactics, as the presence of members of the party in parliament could be utilized for propaganda purposes. The war and famine had favored the exploits of bands of thieves, and their depreda |