Hillquit: The Provisional Government & Seperate Peace [May 13, 1917] 1

The Provisional Governmentof Russia and Separate Peace:

As Viewed by Socialists

by Morris Hillquit

1

Published in the New York Call Magazine, May 13, 1917, pg. 9.

Recent newspaper utterance indicate that theAmerican public has formed an utterly false opinion

about the attitude of Social-ists, in Russia and theUnited States, towards therevolutionary government ofRussia and on the questionof a separate peace betweenRussia and the Central Pow-ers.

The bulk of the Rus-sian Socialists support therevolutionary government of

Russia and oppose a separate peace.With the exception of a small group of extrem-

ists, the Socialists are free from the illusion that thepresent political upheaval in Russia offers an opportu-nity for the establishment of a Socialist regime. Nei-ther industrially nor politically is Russia ripe for the“cooperative commonwealth.” The Russian Revolu-tion has done for Russia what the great French Revo-lution has done for France. It has destroyed autocracyand the rule of the landed nobility. It has enthroneddemocracy and the political leadership of the indus-trial and commercial middle classes. But between thetwo landmarks of history lies a space of 128 years, andthe workers of Russia have learned form the experi-ence of the comrades in France and elsewhere duringthat period. The laboring classes of France bore thebrunt of the fight in the revolutions of 1789 and 1848,but were completely defrauded of the fruits of the vic-tories. The masses of the Russian workers are ready tocontinue the struggle of the Russian Revolution, but

determined to claim for themselves all advantages com-patible with the new regime.

• • • • •

The political foundations of Russian are still inthe making. Whether she will emerge from herstruggles as a limited monarchy, an oligarchic repub-lic, or a true democracy, will be determined by theplay of the divergent social forces that will share in thewriting of her permanent political constitution.

The Socialists and workers of Russia feel thattheir combined power, intelligently directed, may se-cure a constitution which will guarantee to the peoplea true and enduring democratic republic, with propersafeguards against excessive economic oppression andfull and free opportunity of education and organiza-tion, so that the gradual process of complete indus-trial emancipation of the Russian people may be fa-cilitated and accelerated.

It is for this reason that the workmen’s counciland the soldier’s deputies, which represent the activeorganization of the Russian Socialists and workers, haveconstituted themselves into a sort of Committee ofPublic Safety to watch over the conduct and policiesof the Provisional Government.

• • • • •

Some of our American newspapers have ex-pressed concern and displeasure over the “arrogated”authority of the Russian workers, in uniform and with-out uniform. They seem to lose sight of the fact that

Hillquit: The Provisional Government & Seperate Peace [May 13, 1917]2

the entire Provisional Government is self-constituted.The administration of Russia today is a revolutionarygovernment, resting solely upon the tacit sanction of thepeople, and the “official” cabinet and the unofficial coun-cil of the workers are supported by the same sanction.

The Council of Workers’ and Soldiers’ Deputieshas amply demonstrated the vital importance of itsfunctions by broadening the original plan of the Dumagovernment for a mere palace revolt — the substitu-tion of Tsar Michael for Tsar Nicholas — into one of athoroughgoing political and democratic revolution.

The complaints about the “turbulence” of theworkers is rather naive. Great popular revolutions areof necessity turbulent, especially at the beginning, and,compared with the French Revolution, the revolutionin Russia is tame. The stability and harmony of thenew Russian republic is in a large measure due to theinfluence of the constructive Socialist propaganda.

• • • • •

The position of the Russian Socialists and work-ers on war and peace is perhaps even more grosslymisunderstood here than their attitude towards theirgovernment.

To the average American the Russian Revolu-tion is merely an incident of the world war, and itssignificance is measured by its possible bearing on theoutcome of the war. To the Russian people, on theother hand, the preservation and extension of theirnewly acquired political freedom is the main concern,and they view the problems of war primarily from thispoint of view. The Russian Socialists and workers wanta speedy peace, because they are eager to concentrateall thoughts, efforts, and resources of the nation uponthe great task of building a stable democratic republic.

This persistent clamor for peace has created theimpression in this country that the Russian Socialistsfavor a separate peace with Germany. Nothing could

be further from the truth. The Socialists, even of themost extreme type, feel that a separate peace betweenRussia and the Central Powers at this time might seri-ously endanger the cause of general peace and Euro-pean democracy, including the democracy of Russia.The peace which the Russian Socialists strive for is ageneral peace, and they have so stated in clear andemphatic terms on numerous occasions. But they arenot satisfied to wait until the governments of the coun-tries at war will be ready to make peace on their ownaccord and on their own terms. They urge the workersof all countries, including those in the Central Pow-ers, to exert pressure upon their governments to endthe war at once and on a basis which they believe willfurther world democracy and perpetual peace amongnations. Their peace propaganda in Russia is only apart of the general movement for peace which theyexpect the Socialists to conduct in all countries at war.

In this connection the Socialists of America haverepeatedly been charged with sympathetic leaningstowards the alleged program of a separate peace be-tween Russia and the Central Powers, and in lieu ofother proof these imaginary Socialists have been char-acterized as pro-Germans. I do no know of a singleAmerican Socialist of any standing in his party whofavors a separate peace. The vast majority of the So-cialists in the United States heartily accept the pro-gram of their Russian comrades for a speedy and gen-eral peace, and they are determined to exert what in-fluence they have towards that end here.

They are watching the heroic struggles of theRussian proletariat for freedom and self-governmentwith keen sympathy and have sent them many mes-sages of greeting and encouragement, but they havewisely refrained from attempting to influence theircourse. In a situation as grave and delicate as that whichnow confronts Russia the masses of the people mustbe allowed to work out their own salvation withoutunsolicited outside advice or interference.

Published by 1000 Flowers Publishing, Corvallis, OR, 2007. • Non-commercial reproduction permitted.

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Edited by Tim Davenport.