Two Shortcomings Written June 5 (May 23), 1917.In criticising other parties we should not forget to criticise ourselves. The published lists of candidates for members of the Petrograd District Councils have revealed two short comings in our Party organisation and Party work.
On the “Unauthorised Seizure” of Land "If the peasants sow the fields poorly, they should be helped—and this particularly applies to the poor peasants—by means of collective cultivation of the large estates. There is no other way of helping the poor peasants. And this, unfortunately, is just the remedy which S. Maslov does not propose." Published in Pravda No. 61, June 2 (May 20), 1917.
Has Dual Power Disappeared? It has not. Dual power still remains. The basic question of every revolution, that of state power, is still in an uncertain, unstable, and obviously transitory state.
One More Crime of the Capitalists The report made in Petrograd recently by a delegation of Donets workers exposed the Donets coal mine owners, who are criminally disrupting and stopping production, and (for the sake of safeguarding their “sacred” right to enormous profits) are condemning the workers to unemployment, the country to starvation, and industry to a crisis through a coal shortage.
Muddleheadedness (More on the subject of annexations) "Annexation means keeping an alien people by force within the bounds of a given state." Pravda No. 60, May 31 (18), 1917.The editors of Izvestia, a paper controlled by the Narodnik and Menshevik bloc, are beating all records of muddledom. In that paper’s issue No.67 for May 16, they try to chop logic with Pravda, without, of course, mentioning its name—a usual ill-mannered “ministerial” practice. Pravda, we are told, has a foggy, misleading idea of annexations.
The Harm of Phrase-Mongering "The Narodnik and Menshevik ministerialists are spouting phrases about “democracy” in the abstract, about “Revolution” in the abstract in order to cover up their agreement with the imperialist, now definitely counter-revolutionary, bourgeoisie of their own country"
Inevitable Catastrophe and Extravagant Promises ''The most useful and indispensable job for the people at this moment of impending catastrophe is that of organisation.''Published in Pravda No. 58 and 59, May 29 and 30 (16 and 17), 1917.
Statements About the War Made By Our Party Before the Revolution 'Our slogan is: against the chauvinists, even if they are revolutionary and republican—against them, and for an alliance of the international proletariat for the socialist revolution.'Published in Pravda No. 56, May 26 (13), 1917.
N. G. Markin Nikolai Markin was born in 1892 into a very poor family; when young his parents had been textile workers in one of the factories in Penza province but they subsequently moved to Vladikavkaz (now renamed Orjonikidze). Nikolai's childhood was spent in harsh conditions and hardly having learnt to read and write he was forced out to work so as not to burden his parents for whom every piece of bread cost dear.
On the Question of Convening an International, So-Called Socialist Conference Jointly with the Social-Chauvinists 'Our Party will take no part either in the commission or in any joint conference with so-called socialist ministers who have gone over to their bourgeoisie.'published May 25 (12), 1917 in Pravda No. 55.
F. E. Dzerzhinsky "For Dzerzhinsky the security of the revolution was the supreme law, and so he could find in his heart that unshakeable rigour without which a victorious struggle against counter-revolution would have been quite impossible."
Nothing Has Changed Published: Pravda No. 54, May 24 (11), 1917.'What do you take the class-conscious workers and soldiers for? Or do you really regard them as “rebellious slaves”?'
