V. I.

Lenin

Petrograd and the whole of Russia have passed through a serious
political crisis, the first political crisis since the revolution.

On April 18 the Provisional Government issued its unhappily
notorious Note, which confirmed the predatory aims of the war
clearly enough to arouse the indignation of the masses, who had
honestly believed in the desire (and ability) of the capitalists
to “renounce annexations”. On April 20-21 Petrograd was in a
turmoil. The streets were crowded; day and night knots and
groups of people stood about, and meetings of various sizes
sprang up everywhere; big street processions and demonstrations
went on without a break. Yesterday evening, April 21, the
crisis, or, at any rate, the first stage of the crisis,
apparently came to an end with the Executive Committee of the
Soviet of Workers’ and Soldiers’ Deputies, and later the Soviet
itself, declaring themselves satisfied with the “explanations”,
the amendments to the Note and the “elucidations” made by the
government (which in fact boil down to empty phrases, saying
absolutely nothing, changing nothing and committing the
government to nothing). They considered the “incident settled”.

Whether the masses consider the “incident settled”, the future
will show. Our task now is to make a careful study of the
forces, the classes, that revealed themselves in the crisis, and to draw the relevant lessons for our proletarian
party. For it is the great significance of all crises that they
make manifest what has been hidden; they cast aside all that is
relative, superficial, and trivial; they sweep away the
political litter and reveal the real mainsprings of the
class struggle .

Strictly speaking, the capitalist government on April 18 merely
reiterated its previous notes, in which the imperialist war was
invested with diplomatic equivocations. The soldiers were angry
because they had honestly believed in the sincerity and peaceful
intentions of the capitalists. The demonstrations began as
soldiers’ demonstrations, under the contradictory, misguided and ineffectual slogan: “Down with Milyukov ”
(as though a change of persons or groups could change the
substance of policy!).

This means that the broad, unstable, and vacillating mass, which
is closest to the peasantry and which by its scientific class
definition is petty-bourgeois, swung away from the capitalists towards the revolutionary workers. It was
the swing or movement of this mass, strong enough to be a
decisive factor, that caused the crisis.

It was at this point that other sections began to stir:
not the middle but the extreme elements, not the intermediary petty bourgeoisie but the bourgeoisie and the
proletariat, started to come out on to the streets and organise.

The bourgeoisie seized Nevsky Prospekt—or “Milyukov”
Prospekt as one paper called it—and the adjacent quarters
of prosperous Petrograd, the Petrograd of the capitalists and
the government officials. Officers, students, and “the middle
classes” demonstrated in favour of the Provisional
Government. Among the slogans, “Down with Lenin” frequently
appeared on the banners.

The proletariat rallied in its own centres, the working-class suburbs, around the slogans and appeals of our
Party’s Central Committee. On April 20-21 the Central Committee
adopted resolutions, which were immediately passed on to the
proletariat through the Party organisations. The workers poured
through the poor, less central districts, and then in groups got through to Nevsky. By their mass character and
solidarity, these demonstrations were very different from those
of the bourgeoisie. Many banners carried the inscription “All
Power to the Soviet of Workers’ and Soldiers’ Deputies”.

On Nevsky there were clashes. The “hostile” demonstrations tore
down each other’s banners. The Executive Committee received news
by telephone from various places that there was shooting on both
sides, that there were killed and wounded; but the information
was extremely contradictory and unconfirmed.

The bourgeoisie shouted about the “spectre of civil war”, thus
expressing its fear that the real masses, the actual majority of
the nation, might seize power. The petty-bourgeois leaders of
the Soviet, the Mensheviks and Narodniks—who since the revolution in general, and during the crisis in particular, have
had no definite party policy—allowed themselves to be intimidated. In the Executive Committee almost half the votes
were cast against the Provisional Government on the eve of the
crisis, but now thirty-four votes (with nineteen against) are
cast in favour of returning to a policy of confidence in and agreement with the capitalists.

And the “incident” was considered “settled”.

What is the essence of the class struggle? The capitalists are for dragging out the war under cover of
empty phrases and false promises. They are caught in the meshes
of Russian, Anglo-French and American banking capital. The proletariat, as represented by its class-conscious
vanguard, stands for the transfer of power to the revolutionary class, the working class and the
semi-proletarians, for the development of a world workers’ revolution, a revolution which is clearly developing
also in Germany, and for terminating the war by means of such a revolution.

The vast mass of people, chiefly the petty bourgeoisie, who
still believe the Menshevik and Narodnik leaders and who have
been absolutely intimidated by the bourgeoisie and are carrying
out its policy, although with reservations, are swinging now to the right, now to the left.

The war is terrible; it has hit the vast mass of the people
hardest of all; it is these people who are becoming aware,
albeit still very vaguely, that the war is criminal, that it is
being carried on through the rivalry and scramble of the
capitalists, for the division of their spoils. The world situation is growing more and more involved. The only way out is a world workers’ revolution, a revolution which
is now more advanced in Russia than in any other country, but which is clearly mounting (strikes, fraternisation)
in Germany too. And the people are wavering: wavering between
confidence in their old masters, the capitalists, and bitterness towards them; between confidence in the new class, the only
consistently revolutionary class, which opens up the prospect of
a bright future for all the working people—the proletariat—and a vague awareness of its role in world
history.

This is not the first time the petty bourgeoisie and semi
proletarians have wavered and it will not be the last!

The lesson is clear, comrade workers! There is no time to be
lost. The first crisis will be followed by others. You must
devote all your efforts to enlightening the backward, to making extensive, comradely and direct contact (not only by
meetings) with every regiment and with every group of working
people who have not had their eyes opened yet! All your
efforts must be devoted to consolidating your own ranks, to
organising the workers from the bottom upwards, including every
district, every factory, every quarter of the capital and its
suburbs! Do not be misled by those of the petty bourgeoisie ’who “compromise” with the capitalists, by the
defencists and by the “supporters”, nor by individuals who are
inclined to be in a hurry and to shout “Down with the
Provisional Government!” before the majority of the people are
solidly united. The crisis cannot be over come by violence
practised by individuals against individuals, by the local
action of small groups of armed people, by Blanquist attempts to
“seize power”, to “arrest” the Provisional Government, etc.

Today’s task is to explain more precise]y, more clearly, more
widely the proletariat’s policy, its way of terminating
the war. Rally more resolutely, more widely, wherever you can,
to the ranks and columns of the proletariat! Rally round your
Soviets; and within them endeavour to rally behind you a
majority by comradely persuasion and by reelection of individual
members!

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