Date: 1917
Source: ru:PSS/v32

“King Constantine (of Greece) signed the act of abdication under pressure from Allied diplomacy,” thus writes the newspaper—formerly that of Mr. Milyukov, who had served as Foreign Minister in the Provisional “revolutionary” government—regarding the abdication.

The Greek people were brought to their knees by the Allied diplomats, who first incited the Venizelist movement (Venizelos, a former minister under Constantine who had defected to the service of British capital), siphoning off a portion of the army and seizing control of certain swathes of Greek territory by force; and then, through “pressure,” they compelled the “legitimate” monarch to abdicate—effectively forcing a revolution from above. Everyone knows what kind of “pressure” this was—and still is: it was applied through starvation; Greek ports were blockaded by Anglo-French and Russian imperialist warships, leaving Greece bereft of bread. The “pressure” exerted on Greece was of precisely the same order as that recently employed in Russia—according to the newspapers, by the ignorant peasants of some remote backwater, who sentenced a citizen to death by starvation after accusing him of blaspheming the Christian faith.

In a semi‑barbaric corner of Russia, dark‑skinned peasants starved a “criminal” to death. Meanwhile, the “civilized” imperialists of England, France, Russia, and beyond starved an entire country, an entire people, in order to compel it, through “pressure,” to alter its political course.

Such is the reality of imperialist war. Such is the actual state of international relations in the era we are living through. And yet the Socialist-Revolutionaries laugh about it… Truly, it is very, very funny…

“Delo Naroda,” the ministerial newspaper of Kerensky, Chernov, and Co., runs a mocking editorial under the headline: “‘Self-Determination’ for Greece.” The Socialist-Revolutionaries’ mockery of Greece’s “self-determination” would be quite brilliant—if only it were sincere.

Sincerity in politics does not mean that Messrs. Kerensky, Chernov, and Co. must prove their personal integrity—we readily concede that such sincerity exists, though that is hardly the point. Sincerity in politics—that is, in that realm of human relations which deals not with individuals but with millions—is nothing more than the verifiable alignment between word and deed.

The editorial in “Delo Naroda” is insincere because it is precisely the Socialist-Revolutionary Party—precisely Kerensky and Chernov, as its leaders—who are supporting the ministry of strangulation… pardon me, the ministry of “self-determination” for Greece, together with citizens like Tsereteli and Skobelev.

“…It is clear to everyone,” writes “Delo Naroda,” “that there is no essential difference between the predatory aggression of imperialist Germany against Belgium, of Austria against Serbia, and the current ‘offensive deep into Greece’ launched by the Allied governments.”

Yes, this is clear—and it is not “ethics,” as the Socialist-Revolutionaries imagine, but pure politics. Predatory aggression—that is what you, citizens of the Socialist-Revolutionary Party, citizens of the Mensheviks, are participating in through your involvement in government. Predatory aggression is a fact; the “pressure of Allied diplomacy”—allied diplomacy, including the Russian—was clearly being exerted even after Chernov and Tsereteli joined the ministry.

And what of the platforms of “peace without annexations”? What of the “demands” of “revolutionary democracy” addressed to the new government? What of the declarations? Is it still not clear that all these platforms, declarations, promises, statements, solemn pledges, oath‑bound commitments, and the like—are nothing more than a cruel mockery of the people?

You are laughing at yourselves, gentlemen of the Socialist-Revolutionary Party and the Mensheviks! You are laughing at your own policy of trust in capitalists and in capitalist governments! You are laughing at your own role as eloquent, loquacious lackeys of capitalism and imperialism, cloaked in ministerial titles!

“Pravda,” No. 72, June 16 (3), 1917

Printed according to the text of the newspaper “Pravda.”