The Soviet

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and while they were prepared to support the more unorganised attempts of the working class to fight for the Constituent Assembly, they were not prepared to lead the working class into conflict with the Tsar. This did not however prevent the capitalists from presenting themselves as the champions of the working class.

Consequently, once the first wave of rebellion had died down towards the end of February 1905, the capitalists and their supporters in the intelligentsia began holding conferences and banquets to demand the setting up of a constituent assembly. The Tsar, however, was in no mood to listen to the pathetic pleas of a few intellectuals and textile manufacturers.

The Russian revolutionaries had long understood that the capitalist class would be unable to lead the fight for bourgeois democracy. That was why they could agree with the founder of Russian Marxism, Plekhanov, when he wrote 1895 that: "the Russian revolutionary movement will triumph as a workers movement or not at all".

CONSTITUENT ASSEMBLY Unlike the capitalists, the working class was not frightened to fight for a constituent assembly and and a democratic republic because these would provide the working class with conditions much more favourable for the continuation of the class struggle.

The revolutionaries, therefore, in exile abroad or living an underground existence in the working class districts of the main industrial centres, greeted the events of January and February 1905 as heralding the beginning of the democratic revolution.

In the view of the Mensheviks, (the wing of Social Democracy from which Lenin and the Bolsheviks had split only two years ealier), any talk of socialism in the context of this revolution was quite premature. Because of the small size of the Russian proletariat the Mensheviks concluded that the best that could be hoped for was a parliamentary democracy in which the working class parties could represent the interests of the proletariat in the face of an expanding Russian capitalist class. Socialism, they said, could only be fought for at a later date when Russian capitalism had run its course.

Consequently, the Mensheviks were very careful not to upset the capitalists on whose good will they would very much depend once the democratic republic had been ectahliched strengths of the various classes for class dynamic of the revolution as it was unfolding, the Mensheviks first tried on the mantle they were to wear at a later stage of the Russian Revolution of loyal opposition to the capitalist class.

Lenin, in exile in Geneva, was greatly excited by events in Russia. He was convinced that the working class and the peasantry alone could bring about a constituent assembly.

LENIN

But he stressed that such an assembly must not be merely a talking shop and he therefore argued that only a revolutionary provisional government based on the insurrection could ensure the setting up of a truly democratic and tunctioning constituent assembly. His slogan therefore, was for a "democratic dictatorship • of the proletariat and peasantry"

Because Lenin recognised the importance of a bourgeois Trotsky democracy for the further development of the workers movement in Russia, and because he realised that socialism was not immediately on the agenda he was in effect arguing not for the socialist dictatorship of the proletariat and peasantry but for the bourgeois democratic dictatorship of the proletariat and peasantry.

The workers and peasants would be the driving force of the revolution but the content of that revolution would be confined within the limits of a democratic republic within a capitalist framework.

This position was very different from that of the Mensheviks. Lenin would tolerate no soft attitudes towards the capitalist class, and he fully supported an insurrection by the working class to overthrow the Tsar. His slogan, however, was not without its defects, and the most successful critic of Lenin was Tratcky strikes culminating in another extensive political strike. All the banquets and conferences of the bourgeoisie had not surprisingly failed to persuade the Tsar of the need for a more democratic regime. The Russian army was suffering further setbacks in the war'with Japan.

Parvus Then the typesetters in Petersburg's printing works went on strike for higher wages. The strike soon spread to other industries and almost immediately political demands for constitutional freedoms were added to the purely economic demands around which the strikes first started.

RAILWAYS

On October 7th, workers on the Moscow-Kazan railway joined the strikers and within a week virtually the whole of the Russian rail network was strike-bound. The country ground to a halt. The post office and telegraph ceased … to function and the workers marched round the city bringing out on strike any workers who remained at work.

The schools and universities closed and in many parts of Russia industrial and commercial life collapsed completely. The Cossacks came out on to the streets to harass and provoke the workers and immediately the workers began to erect barricades and raid gun shops.

Although the troops were able to overrun the barricades with apparent ease, the Tsar nevertheless gave way under the pressure of the strike.

Since the early days of October, the strike had been organised and coordinated by the Petersburg Soviet. This arose as a completely new form of workers' organisation, out of the strike committee of the printers.

When the Soviet held its first meeting on October 13th there were delegates from only one district, the Neva. However, when Trotsky addressed the Soviet two days later delegates from several more districts were present.

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Trotsky newspapers may be published of delegates rose to around 500 and the decision was taken to produce a newspaper called Izvestya (Tidings). The Bolsheviks, Mensheviks and Social Revolutionaries each had three members on the Executive Committee of the Soviet but the main influence on the delegates was undoubtedly that of the Bolsheviks and Mensheviks.

As the strike grew the role of the Soviet became daily more important. Most workers organisations were prepared to recognise the Soviet as the organiser of the strike. By thus placing many disconnected organisations under its control, the Soviet united the revolution around itself.

The military leader in Trepot, was eager to stop at nothing in putting down the strike and breaking up the Soviet. On October 14th he had posters pasted up all over the City, calling on soldiers to 'spare no bullets' in the fight against the strikers.

But on October 17th, when the strike was at its height and the first issue of Izvestya appeared on the streets, the Tsar gave way and instead of unleashing the iron fist ot Irepov, he appointed witte as prime minister and issued a Manitesto promising a constitution, civil liberties, and universal suffrage. This Manifesto was also pasted on the walls of Petersburg -alongside the demand of Trepov to spare no bullets.

The publication of the Manifesto brought the Petersburg proletariat out on to the streets. In a huge crowd they moved towards the Technological Institute where the Soviet held its sessions, and then on to the University to listen to speeches.

Trotsky was the fourth speaker on the rostrum. In his speech he pointed to this first great victory of the Russian working class but went on to warn that the Manifesto was in reality only a declaration of intent:

'But ... do not hasten to celebrate victory: it is not yet complete. Does the promisory note weigh as much as pure gold? Is the promise of freedom the same as freedom? ... Are the gates of our prisons open?

MONETAR The crowd cried out "Amnesty! Amnesty!" and continued:

"Today hundreds of political fighters may be released, tomorrow thousands will be jailed .... Is not the order 'Spare no Bullets' posted side by side with the freedom manifesto... Is not the hangman Trepoy the undisputed master of Petersburg?"

Holding a copy of the Txar's manifesto before • the eyes of the crowd, Trotsky concluded:

"The Tsar's manifesto, however, ... see! it is only a scrap of paper. ... Today it has been given us and tomorrow it will be taken away and torn into pieces as 1 am now tearing it into pieces, this paper-liberty, before your very eyes."

From this point on, the liberals were all for calling off the strike. They argued that if the struggle was not called off the newly won freedoms would prove illusory.

For the revolutionaries, hnwever it was theep newlv won 28th, 1976 wher Striking workers march through Moscow, 1905.

employers could in°t out resolution freedoms' which were illusory. The middle classes hoped only for a constitutional monarchy and the Manifesto seemed to provide the basis for that. The workers were by and large republicans and socialists and therefore saw the manifesto as an indication that the regime was weakening and thus ripe for further assaults.

Since the continuation of the general strike offered at that point no further prospect of success, Trotsky urged the Soviet to call it off at its meeting of October 19th. The Soviet accepted this view unanimously and proposed funeral procession on the 23rd to bury the dead of the revolution.

On the 22nd, however, it was learnt that the liberal Prime Minister, Witte, was so little in control, that Trepov had been able to plan the suppression of the demonstration. Very reluctantly the Soviet agreed to call off the procession, on the grounds that they should fight the Tsar on ground of their own choosing.

The Soviet still kept much of the initiative, however, Firstly, it continued to publish its paper, Isvestia, which was edited by Trotsky. Each of the major printing works was raided in turn and ordered to print the paper.

Frequently, the managers of these works were quite willing to print the paper providing they were first "arrested" by the raiders. Working throughout the night, the paper would be printed and off the premises before the police realised what was happening:

One of the most important provisions of the Tsar's Manifesto was for freedom of speech. This was particularly important for the workers' movement since the strictest censorship laws had always applied, thus preventing the free dissemination of revolutionary ideas. The Soviet therefore resolved that:

"The Tsar's manifesto proclaims freedom' of speech in Russia, yet the Central Directorate of Affairs of the Press still exists, the censor's blue pencil is still in force ... Freedom of the press still has to be won by the workers. The Soviet of Tantee Deputies resolves that only those wuuse culurs igure lue censorsmp „libran inarun tha nonarachin committee, refuse to submit their issues for censorship, and generally act in the same way as the Soviet in publishing its own paper. For this reason typesetters and other workers of the press will work only after editors have declared their readiness to put the freedom of press into practice... Newspapers which fail to accept the present resolution will be confiscated from their sellers...

This resolution iS highly significant. Since the beginning of the strike, the Soviet of Workers Deputies had organised the various workers organisations in the execution of the strike.

Now it was taking to itself functions of a very different character. It was now telling the what they could and do. As Trotsky points his book 1905, this became the new press law, enforced of workers Petersburg.

Once the Soviet grew to represent the vast majority of the workers of Petersburg it constantly tended to challenge the existing legality be creating a new legality based on the interests of the working class.

Thus the Tsar was unable to find a single newspaper, except one produced by army printers, which would publish his Manifesto -while every day the printers printed thousands of copies of the socialist press.

When the reactionaries and the lumpen elements, supported by the police began preparations for a pogrom, the printers confiscated the pogrom literature, aimed at inciting riots against Jews, or socialists.

This freedom of the press led within days to the launching of three social democrat papers with a joint circulation approaching a quarter of a million as well as a EB8 30:50 B 3038.0 paper of Social Revolutionaries.

Within two weeks of the termination of the general strike, the workers of Petrograd once more stopped work to a man on the instructions of the Soviet.- The reason for the strike call was twofold.

Firstly the Russian government had declared martial law in Poland on the grounds that the Poles had made a move towards secession.

Secondly the soldiers and sailors of Kronstadt had rebelled, and the rebellion having been put down, the leaders faced courts-martial and the death penalty.

The demands of the strike therefore, were an end to martial law in Poland and no courts-martial or executions of the Kronstadt leaders. By November 5th the government capitulated and on the 7th the workers of Petersburg returned to work with same unanimity with which tney had stoppea 12u hours earlier.

The importance of the November strike lay in the fact that it clearly demonstrated to the country as a whole that the proletariat of Petersburg was not defeated and that it was ready to fight. It also forged the first real links between the workers and the soldiers and resulted in the publication by the Soviet of the Manifesto to the Soldiers, which stressed the joint source of the grievances of the workers and soldiers and called for the unity of workers and soldiers in the struggle against the Tsar.

As the working class grew stronger and more organised, the liberal bourgeoisie grew more frightened. While they had been prepared to give support to the workers in the early days, (the founding conference of the Constitutional Democrats had voted support for the October strike) the liberals were fast coming to the conclusion that things had gone far enough.

In the words of Guchkov: "The time has come to call a halt, we are only adding fuel to a fire that will consume us all." What the liberals feared was that the workers' struggle would become the focal point of the struggle of the peasants for land, a struggle which had taken acute and violent forms during the months of October and November.

They further feared the consolidation of links between the working class and soldiers and sailors. The revolt of sections of the Tsar's fleet further strengthened these fears.

The response of the liberals to these events, therefore was to swing their support once more behind the government. By November 26th the President of the Soviet, Khrustalev; had been arrested. The Soviet elected Trotsky to take his place, relusing to yield under the threat that hung over it and dissolve itself.

On December 2nd the Soviet published its economic manifesto calling on all sections of society to boycott the economy by refusing to pay taxes, withdrawing all deposits from banks and demanding payment in gold, and so on.

Within twenty-four hours the Soviet was arrested.

The trial of the members of the Soviet did not take place for a year and a half, but before that the final act of the 1905 revolution unfolded in Moscow. On 4th December the Moscow soviet endorsed the "financial manifesto' and on the 7th proclaimed general strike in Moscow with the intention of. transforming it into an insurrection.

In Petersburg, a fresh strike had begun on the 8th December but had collapsed by the 12th. Moscow therefore became the centre of the December uprising. Armed detachments of the revolutionary groups, known as druzhinniki raided gun shops and disarmed policemen. Soldiers were not touched for fear of alienating them.

Within three days however, the workers were becoming involved in armed clashes with troops. The druzhinniki continued their guerrilla warfare with the sympathetic support of the Moscow working class. The Presnya district became the focal point for this activity and the uprising was only finally crushed when troops occupied this district mercilessly killing workers and their families. With this the revolution of 1905 came to an end.

The reasons for the defeat of December were many. Firstly the collapse of the Petersburg strike left the workers of Moscow isolated in the face of counter-revolution.

Secondly, the working class in the main industrial centres of Russia had not succeeded in winning over the peasantry and the soldiers and sailors to the need for insurrection. At the same time the various Soviets that WelC established remained by and large isolated from one another instead of being centralised through a national all-Russian Soviet.

Thirdly, the failure of the working class to win over the peasantry to the revolution meant that the sons of the peasantry who comprised the vast majority of soldiers were still prepared to carry out the suppression of the uprising ordered the Tsarist officers.

At the same time, however, the working class had made a number of gains. Firstly, the Autocratic state had been rocked to its very foundations, and although it still continuea to stand, the workers now understood that the time would surely come when Imperial Russia would be overthrown.

Moreover, the revolution had developed an organisational form to carry out that task, an organísational form unique in the history of workers' struggle and one that would inevitably assume even greater importance when the Russian Revolution flared once more.

This is what Trotsky said about Age 7 the first or two after his trial:

"The Soviet organised the working masses, directed the political strikes and demonstrations, armed the workers, and protected the population against the pogroms. Similar work was done by other revolutionary organisations before the Soviet came into existence, concurrently with it, and after it. Yet this did not endow them with the influence that was concentrated in the hands of the Soviet.

The secret of this influence lay in the fact that the Soviet grew as the natural organ of power of the proletariat as determined by the actual course of events. The name of 'workers government' which the workers on the one hand, and the reactionary press on the other, gave to the Soviet was an expression of the fact that the Soviet really was a workers' government in embryo.

The Soviet represented power insofar as power was assured by the Barricades in Moscow streets, 1905. revolutionary strength of the working class districts, it struggled for power insofar as power still remained in the hands of military-political monarchy."

The defeat of the 1905 revolution meant a return to clandestine underground work for the members of revolutionary organisations and once more the leaders left the country for exile.

It was during this period that Trotsky fully developed his theory of 'Permanent Revolution'. . He attacked the Mensheviks for their kow-towing to the liberals and criticised the Bolshevik slogan of "democratic dictatorship of the proletariat and peasantry" because, in the event of the workers coming to power, such a policy limited the struggle within the confines of the bourgeois state.

In opposition to this Trotsky argued that the 1905 revolution had clearly demonstrated the complete inability of a class other than the proletariat to fight for a bourgois democratic regime. However, the working class could not successfully complete the struggle unless they were able to win the peasantry for the Moreover, Trotsky argued, having forged the necessary links with the peasantry and carried out the democratic revolution, the interests of the working class, socialism, would then be immediately, posed; the revolution would not halt at the democratic revolution but would inevitably carry over directly to the socialist 1905 had shown that the working class despite its ¡numerical weakness was the only class that could lead the revolution. But once that task had been completed, the numerical weakness of the working class would become a barrier to the development of socialism which could only be built internationally on the basis of the most advanced industrial countries.

The Russian working class would therefore be posed with the further task of fighting to extend the revolution to the main industrial countries of Europe.

Such were the lessons of 1905 as Trotsky saw them, lessons that were to be tested out at later stages of the Russian Revolution.