V. I. Lenin

Source: ru:LS/v16;es:MT
Translated: machine translation (DeepSeek) from the Russian; AI-translated.

V. THE POLITICAL STRIKE

[Source: Lenin Miscellany XVI, pp. 229–232.]

of universal and direct suffrage. The country must not be driven to armed revolution. Further bloodshed must not be permitted. The people have shed enough blood on the fields of Manchuria and now in all the towns, villages and hamlets of Russia. If doubt is expressed as to the right of the delegation to call itself the representative of the entire railway personnel, the delegation reserves the right to express itself to its constituents on the means of achieving a better future.” (October 11 [24])

A meeting of railwaymen at the University (8,000) fixed a general strike for October 25.

Witte is against universal suffrage. A Constituent Assembly is now impossible.

According to the railwaymen, Witte “spoke like a true official, prevaricated and said nothing definite.”

St. Petersburg, October 25 [12]. A meeting of 15,000 railway workers at the University.

Terroristische und aufrührerische Reden.*

b.

EXTRACT FROM THE NEWSPAPER “BERLINER TAGEBLATT”

Berl[iner] Tagebl[att] November 6. “Baltische u[nd] finnische Zustände” (von Baron Woldemar von Uexküll).

The Baron describes how he happily escaped from the Russian Hexenkessel; the revolution is “more terrible than the French.” In Reval terrible things are happening, the mob is burning the town, at the head of the crowd is a Rednerin Frau Linda in a red skirt. The soldiers fired and killed about 200 people, including Linda. The Baron left for Helsingfors. There, too, a strike from Tuesday, October 18/31.

“I was forced to stay in Helsingfors—everything was on strike, railways, telephone, all factories, dockers, all shops, banks and businesses were closed. Thousands surged in the streets, which were pitch dark in the evenings. Yet the Civic Guard, consisting of 4,000 students and organised workers, recognisable by white armbands, soon won general respect and sympathy. With Prussian precision they marched through the streets, and with a courtesy equal to that of the English policemen, they gave information to foreigners.
In the first two days of the strike order in all Helsingfors was so exemplary that we could speak only with the greatest admiration and sympathy of Finland’s struggle for right and order, yet on November 2 and 3 the situation became extremely serious, because the workers’ party, more numerous than the propertied and educated, had seized power, had at the outbreak of the strike reinstated Colonel Gardi, formerly police chief of Helsingfors (sic!), a capable official who was too loyal to the Russian misrule in Finland, as police chief. Now he was replaced by an agitator—a working man—Johann Koch. The party of the Constitutionalists wanted only the restoration of their constitution and the removal of the Russian officials appointed unconstitutionally. The workers’ party wanted immediate universal suffrage and some even separation from Russia. On the third day the workers terrorised the town. One patrol after another came to our hotel, forbade cooking, ordered the employees to strike, the travellers could eat in the people’s restaurant. The hotel must be dark, in short, we got a taste of a piece of the socialist state of the future. The tyranny of the Tsar was not so sensitive for innocent business travellers... A deputation of the Finnish people had forced its way to the Governor-General and had requested him to restore constitutional conditions in the country and to remove the Russian officials from service. His High Excellency was not excluded. Concessions are made on all points, and the whole weakness of the government becomes evident.

With difficulty, he says, we managed to leave on the steamer Polaris after a meeting of about 100 foreigners at the Hotel Kemp.

[Translation.]

“Berliner Tageblatt” November 6. “The Situation in the Baltic Provinces and in Finland” (by Baron Woldemar von Uexküll).
The Baron describes how he happily escaped from the Russian witch’s cauldron; the revolution is “more terrible than the French.” In Reval terrible things are happening, the mob is burning the town, at the head of the crowd is a woman orator, Linda, in a red dress. The soldiers fired and killed about 200 people, including Linda. The Baron left for Helsingfors. There, too, a strike from Tuesday, October 18/31.
“I was forced to remain in Helsingfors—everything was on strike, the railways, telephone, all factories, dock workers, all shops, banks and institutions were closed. Thousands of people thronged the streets, which were in complete darkness in the evening. But the militia, consisting of 4,000 students and organised workers, with white armbands, very quickly won universal sympathy and respect. With Prussian precision they marched through the streets and gave information to foreigners, not yielding in courtesy to the English policemen.
In the first two days of the strike order in all Helsingfors was so exemplary that we could speak with the greatest admiration and sympathy of Finland’s struggle for right and order, but on November 2 and 3 the situation became extremely serious. The workers’ party, more numerous than the propertied and educated, seized power into its own hands; at the beginning of the strike it had reappointed as police chief Colonel Gardi, the former police chief of Helsingfors, a capable official who was too loyal to the abuses and arbitrariness of the Russians in Finland. Now he was replaced by an agitator from among the workers—Johann Koch. The party of the Constitutionalists wanted only the restoration of their constitution and the removal of the Russian officials appointed contrary to the constitution. The workers’ party wanted the immediate introduction of universal suffrage, and some even demanded separation from Russia. On the third day the workers terrorised the town. One patrol after another came to our hotel, forbade work in the kitchen, ordered the employees to strike, the travellers could eat in the people’s restaurant. The hotel must remain without lighting. In a word, they gave us a taste of a piece of the socialist state of the future. For visiting business people, innocent of any wrongdoing, the tyranny of the Tsar was not so palpable.... A deputation of the Finnish people obtained an audience with the Governor-General and insisted on the restoration of the constitutional regime in the country and on the removal from service of the Russian officials, not excluding his High Excellency. Concessions are being made on all points and the weakness of the government becomes evident.
With difficulty, he says, they managed to leave on the steamer Polaris after a meeting of about 100 foreigners at the Hotel Kemp.

NB
{ The All-Russian Railway Union issued a proclamation calling for an all-Russian strike as a means of struggle for political demands.
The astonishingly rapid growth of the movement.
Russia—has become a country of revolutionary practice.
Long debates on the political mass strike in Germany)
Decision of the Union of Railway Workers.
The obtuseness of the Frank[ur]t[er] Z[ei]t[un]g.
Resolution of the congress on the connection of the mass political strike with insurrection. The growth of the insurrection. }}