Trotzky, always Trotzky.
Since I had seen him the last time, he has been advanced in rank: he has become the chairman of the Petrograd Soviet. He has succeeded Tchcheidze, the wise, sober leader who has lost the confidence of the revolutionary masses. He holds the place of Lenin, the recognized leader of the left wing of Social-Democracy, whose absence from the capital is due to external, accidental causes.
It seems to me that Trotzky has become more nervous, more gloomy, and more restrained. Something like a freezing chill emanates from his deep and restless eyes; a cool, determined, ironical smile plays around his mobile Jewish lips, and there is a chill in his well-balanced, clear-cut words which he throws into his audience with a peculiar calmness.
He seems almost lonesome on the platform. Only a small group of followers applaud. The others protest against his words or cast angry, restless glances at him. He is in a hostile gathering. He is a stranger. Is he not also a stranger to those who applaud him and in whose name he speaks from this platform?
Calm and composed he looks at his adversaries, and you feel it is a peculiar joy for him to see the rage, the fear, the excitement his words provoke. He is a Mephisto who throws words like bombs to create a war of brothers at the bedside of their sick mother.
He knows in advance which words will have the greatest effect, which would provoke the most bitter resentment. And the more extreme, the more painful his words are, the firmer and stronger is his voice, the slower his speech, the more challenging his tone. He speaks a sentence, then he stops to wait till the storm is over, then he repeats his assertion, with sharper intonation and with more disdain in his tone. Only his eyes become more nervous, and a peculiar disquieting fire is blazing in them.
This time he does not speak; he reads a written declaration. He reads it with pauses, sometimes accentuating the words, sometimes passing over them quickly, but all the time he is aware of the effect and waits for a response.
His voice is the voice of a prophet, a preacher:
"Petrograd is in danger! The Revolution is in danger! The people are in danger!" ...
He is a stranger on the platform, and yet—electric currents flow from him to his surroundings, creating sincere though primitive enthusiasm on one side, on the other anger and spite. He opens vast perspectives before the naïve faithful masses:
"Long live an immediate, honest, democratic peace!"
"All power to the Workmen's Councils! All the land to the people!"
INDEX
Absolutism, rôle of, in outgrowing economic basis, 69;
in promoting industry and science, 69, 70;
as an end in itself, 70-71.
Agrarian question, 132-136.
Armament for the Revolution, 57-58.
Army, 35, 36, 37.
Bourgeoisie, imperialistic plans of, 189-191;
afraid of peace, 194-195;
reactionary, 203-204;
responsible for the war, 209-211.
Capitalism, preparing its own collapse, 138-139;
and feudal reaction, 139-140.
Cities, as scene of revolutionary battles, 41;
social structure of, 71-72.
Class consciousness, of proletariat, as prerequisite to Socialism, 124-128.
Constituent Assembly, as a revolutionary slogan, 43-44.
Demonstrations, in the streets, 41-42;
to become of nation-wide magnitude, 57.
French Revolution, 73-77.
Gapon, 59, 62; 172-173.
Intelligentzia, 145.
January Ninth, 49; 59-60; 171-173.
June Third, 198.
Labor Dictatorship, 94-97;
crushing absolutism, abandoning its remnants, 103-104;
introducing class politics, 103;
introducing class struggle in the village, 104-105;
introducing Collectivism and Internationalism, 105;
abandoning distinction between minimum and maximum program, 106;
and eight hour workday, 106-108;
and unemployment, 108-109;
and agriculture, 109;
and Collectivism, 109-110;
and class consciousness, 124-128;
incompatible with economic slavery, 132;
and agrarian question, 132-136.
Liberalism, denying the existence of revolutionary masses, 52-53;
defeated by events of January 9th, 54;
trying to "tame" revolutionary people, 55;
not reliable as partner in Revolution, 173-174; 176-177.
Manœuvers, revolutionary, 29-30.
Masses, drawn into the Revolution, 37-39;
as a political reality, 51-52;
stirred by world-war, 183-184.
Middle-class (see Bourgeoisie), weakness of, in Russia, 71, 72.
Militia, 81-82.
"Osvoboshdenie," 52, 53, 62.
Peasantry, as of no significance in Revolution, 175-177.
Poland, as possible revolutionary link between Russia and Europe, 140-141.
Prerequisites to Socialism, in relation to each other, 113-117.
Proletariat, as a vanguard of the Revolution, 33-35;
rôle of, in events of January 9th, 56-57;
stronger than bourgeoisie in Russia, 72;
growing with capitalism, 84;
may sooner reach political supremacy in a backward country, 84-85; 87-91;
as liberator of peasants, 98-100;
as a class objectively opposed to capitalism, 119-124;
to revolutionize European proletariat, 142-144.
Revolution, in Europe, as aid to Socialism in Russia, 136-137;
may be result of shattered European equilibrium, 141-142;
as result of Russian Revolution, 142-144.
Revolution, in general, 83;
of bourgeois character, 92-93.
Revolution, of 1848, 77-80.
Revolution, of 1917, its causes, 181-185;
social forces in, 191-192;
to stir up revolution in Germany, 212.
Social-Democracy, foresaw revolution, 55-56;
natural leader of the Revolution, 60-61.
Soviet, distinguishing Russian Revolution from that of 1848, 80;
short history of, 145;
general survey of the rôle of, 151-154;
as class-organization, 154-156;
as organ of political authority, 158-159;
an imminent form of Russian Revolution, 160;
program of (outlined by Trotzky for the future), 160-161;
to fight against Provisional Government, 203.
"Spring," 25-26; 32; 54.
Strike, political, as beginning of Revolution, 35-36; 42, 43.
Struve, 62.
Technique, industrial, as prerequisite to Socialism, 113; 117-119.
"Underground," and the revolutionist, 165-168.
War, Russo-Japanese, 25;
of the world, as influencing masses, 183-184.
Witte, 62, 145.
Zemstvo, movement of, in 1904, 25-26; 33; 62.
Transcriber's Notes:
Obvious typesetting errors have been corrected. Questionable or vintage spelling has been left as printed in the original publication. Variations in spelling have been left as printed, unless otherwise noted in the following.
In the original publication, each chapter listed in the Contents section
was preceded by a "title page" containing only the chapter title as
listed in the Contents, followed by a blank page. The chapter title was
repeated on the first page in each chapter. The chapter title pages and
blank pages have not been reproduced in this transcription and the page
numbers listed in the Contents section have been adjusted to match the
page where the chapter text begins. For chapters that commence with
editorial commentary, a blank page followed the commentary. These blank
pages have also not been reproduced in this transcription.
Page numbers in the margin of this transcription do not include the page
numbers for the chapter title pages or blank pages; however, all page
numbers in this transcription's margins accurately reflect the
pagination of the original publication.
Page 90: The following phrase, beginning a quotation, has no closing quotation mark in the original publication: "the struggle for the interests of Russia as a whole...."
Page 145: Transcribed "on" as "of" to match the quoted phrase on p. 106: "private ownership of the means of production". Originally printed as: "'private ownership on the means of production'".
Page 174: Transcribed "Caucasas" as "Caucasus". As originally printed: "the insurrection on the Caucasas and in the Lettish provinces."
Page 193: Supplied "to" in the following phrase, shown in brackets: "Yet he had to speak [to] them...."