Page:William Zebulon Foster - The Russian Revolution (1921).pdf/151

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people) it was sent down again and Russia's many enemies were defeated.

The last figure to appear was a black man. The Orient. A great struggle occurred over him. All the counter-revolutionary elements made desperate efforts to win him to their side. His will was to join with Russia, and he fought hard to do so, but the others finally dragged him with them. And thus ended this remarkable historical pantomime.

The whole performance lasted four solid hours, from seven until eleven, "Lenin's time,"[1] and the worker audience enjoyed every minute of it. The theatre was but half-lighted (because of the fuel shortage) and the workers half-hungry (because of the food shortage), but the show "went" big. Although the whole thing was only "propaganda" the capacity crowd devoured it. The Russians who were with us rather deprecated the acting, calling it second class. As for me, I thought it splendid. But then, coming as I did from barbarous, uncultured America and being educated on Broadway theatrical trash, it was only natural for me to mistake Russian second rate actors for stars.


  1. In Russia the irreverent say that there are two times: Standard, or God's time, and Daylight Saving, or Lenin's Time. And they also say that as Lenin is the bigger man of the two in Russia his is the time that is followed. It is three hours ahead of Standard time.

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