Russian build new state

Scan page 15

revolution swept aside the capitalists' Provisional Government and ushered in a new era. The workers took control of By February 1917 the people of Rusthe bourgeois state, smashed it, and sia were starving due to food shortages, erected an entirely new structure in its freezing due to coal shortages, and place-a workers' state. The soviets, exhausted from the war effort. The czar which had supreme authority, constihad led the country into another war of tuted the essence of this new state. aggression where workers and peasants tought on the battletiela only to nelp "Vanguard of the working people" realize the imperialist dreams of the Lenin's description underlines its revolutionary departure from any capitalist Turning despair into hope, the workers in Petrograd transformed their pro- "Soviet power is a new type of tests from individual strikes into a gen- state without a bureaucracy, witheral strike and brought the government out police, without a regular army, to its knees. Soviets soon sprang up all a state in which bourgeois democover the country, nourished by the revo- racy has been replaced with a new lutionary fever and linked together in a democracy, a democracy which single, powerful "All-Russian Congress brings to the fore the vanguard of the working people, gives them Spontaneously created by the Rus- legislative and executive authority, sian workers and peasants during the makes them responsible for mili1905 revolution, the soviets consisted of tary defense, and creates state elected representatives from factories machinery that can re-educate the and workplaces. But while the February revolution was executed by the Russian Soviet representatives could be working class, the conviction that this recalled at any time, and the ministers was a bourgeois revolution persuaded of the new government, called "comthem to transfer power to the capital- missars" to signal a new type of governists, who in turn formed a Provisional mental official, were paid the equivalent of a skilled worker's salary with small Great expectations, however, were additional increments for each of their met with cruel disappointments. The Provisional Government failed to This new government immediately decree an eight-hour day despite abolished all private ownership of the demands by the soviets. It did nothing land without compensation. Landto redistribute the land and condemned owners' estates and those of the Crown those peasants who nevertheless seized and Church were transferred to the it. It kept postponing elections for the local soviets for equal distribution promised Constituent Assembly. But perhaps worst of all, the Provisional The Bolsheviks ideally would have Government could not declare a peace:

favored the formation of large agriculCapitalists simply had too much at tural collectives in order to increase prostake in the imperialist war effort. ductivity, but they realized that such a Led by the Bolsheviks, the October proposal would have directly collided The editors of Socialist Action join the Socialist Workers Party. At the time the editorial board of the Bulletin in of his death he was a member of the Defense of Marxism in honoring George Fourth Internationalist Tendency, a Lavan Weissman's 49-year commitment group of members expelled from the to revolutionary socialism. Weissman, who had suffered from emphysema for Weissman became a Marxist during some years, died of a heart attack last the Great Depression while he was a student at Harvard University. At the age Weissman was a founding member of of 20 he joined the Socialist Party in Russian bourgeoisie. of Soviets."

Government.

March 28 in Concord, N.H. variety:

masses." children. among the peasants. SWP.

proper distribution."

attempt to decapitalize.

civil marriages were legalized. classes."

on the bottom now ruled."

inception:

Europe." nationalizations.

atic and extensive basis. the soldiers themselves.

Socialism-the country's goal schools.

secede from the nation.

tees for many years.

claimed the country's goal.