imperialisms against a Russian Socialist proletarian republic cannot be realised, whereas the alliance of English, Japanese and American imperialism is almost impossible, and in any case in no way formidable considering the geographic situation of Russia. Besides, the existence of the revolutionary and Socialist proletarian masses in the bosom of all the European States is a fact; there is no doubt about the growth and inevitability of the world-wide Socialist revolution. Surely it is not through delegations and conferences at Stockholm with the foreign Plekhanovs or Tseretellis that one can seriously assist the development of this world-wide revolution, but only by the progression of the Russian revolution.
The bourgeoisie talks of the inevitable defeat of the Commune, that is of the proletariat, if they seize power.
These are lying assertions, dictated by class interest.
Once power is captured, the Russian proletariat has every chance to retain it and to lead Russia right on to the triumph of the revolution in the West.
For, in the first place, we have learnt a lot since the Commune, and we shall not repeat its fatal mistakes. We shall not leave the State Bank in the hands of the bourgeoisie, we shall not limit ourselves to a defence against our Versaillais (the Kornilovians), but we shall take the offensive and crush them.
In the second place, the victorious proletariat will give Russia peace. After all the horrors of that methodical extermination of the peoples which has lasted already more than three years, no force will be in a condition to overthrow the government of peace, the government of honest, sincere, just peace.
In the third place, the victorious proletariat will immediately present the land to the peasants without indemnity. And, tired and exasperated by the way our Government has flirted with the large landowners, especially the coalition Government, Kerensky's Government, the vast majority of the peasant class will support the victorious proletariat whole-heartedly and heroically in every way.
You speak incessantly of the "heroic effort" of the people, my Menshevik and Social Revolutionary gentlemen. I have recently seen for the nth time this phrase in the editorial of your Izvestia of the Central Executive Committee. For you it is nothing but a catch-phrase. But the workers and peasants read it and think about it, and all their thinking, fortified by the experience of
