V. I.

Lenin

Thenewspaper Rossiya [1] is subsidised by the pogrom-mongers’ government as a vehicle for the views of this government.

Inconnection with the Duma’s draft appeal to the people this government
newspaper is adopting a very threatening tone. It wants to intimidate the Duma
by showing that the proposed course of action is illegal as well as
“irrational”, “revolutionary”, etc. Today the Cadet
Rech has completely changed front and is pronouncing against the
appeal, obviously frightened by the threats emanating from the press that
cringes before the government.

Andthere are threats in abundance. Rossiya today writes as follows on
the subject of a Cadet Cabinet: “If it had been suggested to Vladimir
Krasnoye Solnyshko that the administration of Rus should be entrusted to
Solovei the Robber as a way of ensuring order, he would probably have proposed a
simpler way—by putting an end to Solovei the Robber with the
help of Ilya Muromets. [2]
That, as is well known, proved ejective ."

This Ilya Muromets who is preparing to “put an end” to the
revolution in Russia turns out to be no other than the international army of counter-revolution . In an article “The Foreign Powers and the
Situation in Russia” ( Rossiya , No. 170) the government newspaper,
not from naivety but with the same aim of intimidation, expounds the
problem of active intervention by foreign powers in Russian internal affairs.

Thisexposition of the government sheet is highly instructive and useful. The
international counter-revolution is paying close attention to Russia, is rallying and preparing forces against her
“in case of need”. “The imperial German Government,” writes Rossiya , “is fully aware of this situation [viz.,
that “the present state of affairs in Russia is primarily the result
of the influence of revolutionary elements abroad"I and, consequently, it
has taken a number of appropriate measures which will not fail to have the
desired results.”

Thesemeasures consist in preparing the armed forces of Germany, together with
Austria, for an invasion of Russia if the cause of freedom triumphs or is about
to triumph. The Berlin Government has already communicated with the Austrian
Government on this matter. Both of them have recognised that “under
certain conditions active intervention in the internal affairs of Russia with
the aim of suppressing or limiting this [i. e., the revolutionary] movement
might be desirable and useful”. At the same time it was established that
intervention required a direct and clearly expressed wish on the part of the
Russian Government.

Threearmy corps have been concentrated in Austria, in Galicia, and on the
Russian frontier, where it is feared that there is a possibility also of the
spread of an agrarian movement of the Russian type. On June 26, the Governor of
Galicia, who is also a Russian landlord, even issued a proclamation warning the
population that all disturbances would be suppressed with the utmost severity.

Hencethere can be no doubt about the conspiracy of the international
counter-revolution. The Russian Government is calling on the aid of foreign
troops against the Russian people. Negotiations about this have been conducted
and will be conducted, and they have already led to a quite definite agreement.

Letthe workers and peasants know then that the government is betraying the
country in order to ensure the rule of the gang of pogrom-mongers. So it was and
so it always will be. History teaches us that the ruling classes have always
been ready to sacrifice everything, absolutely everything:

religion, liberty and homeland, if it was a question of crushing a revolutionary
movement of the oppressed classes.

There is not the slightest doubt that the Russian pogrom mongering rulers too
will act in the same way and that they are already preparing to do so.

Butthe workers and peasants should not be afraid of such action. The Russian
Government has its international reserve: the reactionary governments of
Germany, Austria and other countries. But we too have our powerful
international reserve: the socialist proletariat of Europe, organised in the three
million-strong party in Germany, in the powerful parties of all the European
countries. We welcome the appeal of our government to the international reserve
of reaction: such an appeal will, in the first place, open the eyes of the most
ignorant people in Russia and do us a valuable service by destroying faith in
the monarchy, and, in the second place, such an appeal will better than anything
else extend the basis and field of action of the Russian revolution by
converting it into a world revolution.

Allright, Mr. Trepov & Co.! Open fire! Call on your Austrian and German
regiments against the Russian peasants and workers! We are for an extension of
the struggle, we are for an international revolution!

*     * *
Butin appraising the general significance of the international
conspiracy the petty, partial aims of the Russian pogrom-mongers
should not be overlooked. We have already pointed out that the articles in
Rossiya were not due to naivety. Mysl is mistaken in thinking
so. It is not “naivety”, not “cynicism”, and not “garrulity”. It is a calculated threat to the Cadets . The
pogrom-mongers’ government is afraid of a Duma manifesto to the people and
threatens the Cadets :

“Don’t dare to do it! If you do, I shall dissolve the Duma and call on the
Austrian and German regiments! I have already made preparations.”

The Cadet simpletons have already shown the white feather and basely turned
back, as today’s Rech has shown. It suffices to threaten the
Cadets—and the Cadets are ready to retreat....

Theproletariat is not frightened by the wretched threats of the pogrom-mongers’
government. The proletariat maintains its independent fighting
position and does not allow itself to be scared by the bogey of a frightened
Cadet.

Oncemore: Open fire, Mr. Trepov! Extend the revolutionary field of battle! The
international proletariat will not be found wanting!

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Notes:
[1]
Rossiya ( Russia )—a daily newspaper of a reactionary
Black-Hundred type published in St. Petersburg from November 1905
to April 1914. From 1906 it was the organ of the Ministry of the
Interior. The newspaper was subsidised from the secret (“reptilian”)
government fund put at the disposal of the Ministry of the In terior. Lenin
called Rossiya a “venal police newspaper”.

[2]
This refers to the heroes of a Russian saga: the Kiev Prince
Vladimir Krasnoye Solnyshko (Bright Sun), whose historical prototype was the
Grand Prince Vladimir Svyatoslavich (died 1015), the forest bandit Solovei the
Robber and the epic hero “peasant son” llya Muromets, who vanquished
Solovei the Bobber.