# A Regrettable Retreat from Democratism

_Izvestia_ today prints a report on a meeting of the soldiers' section of the Soviet of Workers' and Soldiers' Deputies. At this meeting, among other things, they subjected to:

"Discussion the question of the possibility of soldiers performing the duties of militiamen. The Executive Commission proposes to the assembly the following resolution:

In view of the fact that soldiers must fulfill their direct purpose, the Executive Commission of the Soviet of Soldiers' Deputies declares itself against the participation of soldiers in the militia and proposes that all soldiers currently serving in the militia be immediately returned to their units.

After brief debate, the resolution was adopted with an amendment allowing for the possibility of filling militia posts with soldiers evacuated from the active army and with the wounded."

It is extremely regrettable that the exact text of the amendment and the resolution was not provided. Even more regrettable is that the Executive Commission proposed, and the assembly adopted, a resolution that constitutes a complete retreat from the fundamental principles of democratism.

There is hardly a democratic party in Russia that does not recognize the programmatic demand for replacing the standing army with the universal arming of the people. There is hardly a Socialist-Revolutionary or Social-Democratic Menshevik who would dare to oppose such a demand. But the whole trouble is that "in these times" it is "accepted" – amid the clamor of phrases about "revolutionary democracy" – to recognize democratic (to say nothing of socialist) programs "in principle" and to renounce them in practice.

To declare against the participation of soldiers in the militia on the grounds that "soldiers must fulfill their direct purpose" means completely forgetting the principles of democracy and involuntarily, unconsciously, perhaps, shifting to the standpoint of the standing army. The soldier is a professional; his direct purpose is not public service – such is the view of the supporters of the standing army. This is not a democratic view. This is the view of the Napoleons. This is the view of the supporters of the old regime and of the capitalists, who dream of an easy transition back, from the republic to a constitutional monarchy.

A democrat is in principle against such a view. The participation of soldiers in the militia is a question of destroying the wall between the army and the people. It is a question of breaking with the accursed past of the "barracks," in which, separately from the people, against the people, a special stratum of citizens was "trained," drilled, and disciplined, with the "direct purposes" of serving only the military profession. The participation of soldiers in the militia is a fundamental question of re-educating "soldiers" into citizen-militiamen, of re-educating the population from philistines into armed citizens. Democracy will remain an empty and deceitful phrase or a half-measure if the entire people is not immediately and unconditionally given the opportunity to learn the use of arms. Without the systematic, constant, broad participation of soldiers in the militia, this is unattainable.

It may be objected that soldiers cannot be called away from their immediate duties. But this is not even at issue. It is ridiculous to speak of this separately, just as one does not speak separately of the fact that a doctor, occupied at the bedside of a dangerously ill patient, has no right to step away to cast an electoral ballot, or that a worker, engaged in production whose continuity is recognized by all as absolutely necessary, has no right, until replaced by another worker, to leave in order to exercise his political rights. Such pretexts would be downright frivolous or even dishonest.

Participation in the militia is one of the most important and fundamental demands of democracy, one of the most essential guarantees of freedom. (Let us add in parentheses that there is no surer path to enhancing the purely military capabilities and military strength of the army than replacing the standing army with the universal arming of the people, the training of the people by soldiers; in every truly revolutionary war, this method has been and will be applied.) An immediate, unconditional, universal commencement of the organization of a nationwide militia, of the all-round development of the participation of soldiers in the militia – this is the most urgent interest of the workers, the peasants, the soldiers, of the entire vast majority of the population, a majority not interested in safeguarding the profits of the landowners and capitalists.

Written May 10 (23), 1917.

Printed May 25 (12), 1917, in the newspaper _Pravda_ No. 55.

Printed according to the newspaper text.