861.01/668
The Minister in Latvia (Coleman) to the Secretary of State1
[Received November 28.]
Sir: In connection with recent assertions in the press by persons occupying themselves in an endeavor to precipitate the recognition of the so-called Soviet government of Russia by the Government of the United States, I have the honor to submit herewith a report covering certain points which seem to me to be pertinent.
Control of the So-Called Soviet Government by the Russian Communist Party
The so-called Soviet government of Russia is not a government of Russia. It is an institution controlled and dominated by the leaders of the Russian Communist Party, which party embraces an insignificant minority of the population of Russia. This was very clearly brought out in a resolution passed by the Twelfth Congress of the Russian Communist Party, published in Moscow Izvestia, No. 86, of April 20, 1923, (translations of extracts enclosed herewith), from which the following passages are quoted: [Page 765]
“At the present time the Russian Communist Party directs and must direct the entire political and cultural work of the government, regulates and must regulate the activities of all economic institutions of the republic. The task of the Party is not only to distribute correctly its workers in various branches of the government work, but also to verify and determine the very course of this work. The Party can by no means confine its activities only to general propaganda and agitation work. The dictatorship of the working class can be secured only in the form of a dictatorship of its vanguard—the Communist Party. …2 The reorganized Workman-Peasant inspection and the Central Control Commission can and must become the main lever of the Party for the settlement of the problems mentioned.”
The policies of the so-called Soviet government, foreign and domestic, are decided upon by the Communist Party’s Political Bureau, commonly known as the Politbureau, consisting of seven members and four alternates. The administrative apparatus of the entire Federation of Soviet Republics is directed and controlled by the Communist Party’s Central Control Commission, consisting of fifty members and ten alternates. (See my despatch No. 1262, of September 14, 1923.3)
Further light upon the control of the so-called Soviet government of Russia by the Russian Communist Party, which fact is so vigorously denied by many ardent pro-Bolshevists residing outside of Russia, is shed by Zinoviev, President of the Petrograd Soviet, Member of the All-Russian Central Executive Committee, Member of the Politbureau of the Russian Communist Party, Member of the Central Committee of the Russian Communist Party and President of the Executive Committee of the Communist International. It is to be presumed, therefore, that Mr. Zinoviev speaks with some degree of authority concerning the relationship between the so-called Soviet government and the Russian Communist Party. In a speech at a meeting of the Organizers of the Collectives of the Petrograd Organization, delivered on May 8, 1923, and published in the Moscow Pravda No. 104, of May 12, 1923, (see my despatch No. 859 of May 26, 1923, enclosure No. 73) in which he summarized the work of the Twelfth Congress of the Russian Communist Party, Zinoviev said:
“The dictatorship of the proletariat is impossible without the dictatorship of its vanguard; that is, without the dictatorship of its Party. … It is necessary for the Party to retain the state machinery in its hands, for only by this means can the proletariat wield the dictatorship in a peasant country. … Let us imagine, for the sake of argument that the Mensheviks and Social Revolutionaries were legal parties, permitted by our law. What would they do? [Page 766] They would say ‘For goodness sake, you have only 400,000 party members, while the whole of Soviet Russia has 120 million inhabitants; and you, a small group of 400,000, want to wield the dictatorship over the whole country. … move a little; give a more liberal constitution. In other words, revise the question of the dictatorship of the party.’
“Our Party has the monopoly of being a legal party. The good part of this is that we could silence our adversaries, put them in jail, muzzle them. …”
These sentiments of Mr. Zinoviev contrast rather strangely with the statements of many Bolshevist apologists in the United States that a certain degree of political freedom exists in Soviet Russia and that criticisms of the existing regime may be freely and safely indulged in.
A very recent illustration of the accuracy of Zinoviev’s assertions in this respect was furnished in the trial, conviction and sentence to two years imprisonment and the deprivation of civil rights for five years of a Russian citizen for having expressed the opinion that Russia should have a Constituent Assembly. (See enclosure No. 10, despatch 1339, October 12, 1923.4)
Continuing in the same speech Zinoviev says:
“The Party will not yield an inch. It will not permit itself to be pushed away from economic work. The Party will go into every economic detail; it will appoint every economic worker, from the highest to the lowest. The Party strongly objects to the suggestion that politics should be superseded by economics. … It is not true that the Party looks askance at the economic workers. The Party cannot do so, because the Party itself nominates them and because everything is from the Party and depends upon the Party. …”
If further evidence from Zinoviev be necessary to refute the constantly recurring assertions that the so-called Soviet government of Russia is based upon the will of the Russian people, an extract from an address delivered by him at the Twelfth Congress of the Russian Communist Party might be quoted. (See my despatch No. 810, of May 14, 1923.4) Referring to the assertion that there is no national question in Russia, he says:
“This would be correct if there were only Communists in Russia; but there are also a hundred million non-Communist peasants.”
Recently an article appeared in an American newspaper purporting to embody an interview with Lomonossov, who was at the time resting himself at Carlsbad, Czechoslovakia. Lomonossov is quoted as saying that Soviet Russia is not engaged in fostering Communist propaganda [Page 767] abroad; that if anything of this sort is going on it must be blamed on the Communist International, with which the Soviet government as such has nothing to do. As an illustration of the lenient attitude of the Soviet regime, Lomonossov states that he personally is not a Communist.
Lomonossov’s allegation of Bolshevik leniency concerning economic workers does not exactly coincide with Zinoviev’s statements, referred to above.
In the article Mr. Lomonossov is referred to as the “Russian Minister of Railways” but, of course, he is not the “Russian Minister of Railways”. So far as I am informed, he is merely a purchasing agent for the Soviets who recently managed to have himself publicly reprimanded in an official decree for having been too generous with certain funds which were entrusted to his care. Without exception, every member of the so-called Soviet government and every member of the governing bodies of the Federation of Socialist Soviet Republics are members of the Russian Communist Party.
But the statement of Lomonossov that the Soviet government as such does not engage in Communist propaganda abroad suggests the consideration of the following points:
- (1)
- the international character of the so-called Soviet government and
- (2)
- the relationship between it, the Russian Communist Party and the Communist International.
International Character of the So-Called Soviet Government and the Soviet Federation
That one of the “fundamental aims” of the so-called Soviet government is to establish the “triumph of Socialism in all countries”; that it seeks to bring about the “international revolt of the workers” and “deliver humanity from the grip of financial capital and imperialism” is very clearly presented in the Constitution of the Russian Socialist Federal Soviet Republic, adopted July 10, 1918, and still in force. The following are excerpts from that Constitution:
“With the fundamental aim of suppressing all exploitation of man by man, of abolishing forever the division of society into classes, of ruthlessly suppressing all exploiters, of bringing about the Socialist organization of society, and of establishing the triumph of Socialism in all countries, the Third-All-Russian Congress of Soviets further decrees:
. . . . . . . . . . . . . .
“The Third All-Russian Congress of Soviets regards the law repudiating the debts contracted by the Government of the Czar, the landlords and the bourgeoisie as the first blow at international [Page 768] financial capitalism; and it expresses its entire confidence that the Soviet government will continue firmly in this direction until the international revolt of the workers against the yoke of capitalism shall have secured a complete victory. (Chapter II. Article 3.) (Italics mine.)
In Chapter III, Article 4, the Third All-Russian Congress of Soviets expresses its “firm determination to deliver humanity from the grip of financial capital and imperialism”.
That the world-revolutionary aims of the so-called Soviet government have not changed since 1918 is apparent from a perusal of the Constitution of the S.S.S.R., (Federation of Socialist Soviet Republics, which includes the R.S.F.S.R., or Russian Socialist Federal Soviet Republic,) which was adopted on July 6, 1923. The following is quoted from the Constitution:
“The very structure of the Soviet power, which is essentially international in its class character, prompts the masses of the Soviet Republics to seek closer union by forming themselves into one Socialistic family, as it were. … Access to the Federation is open to all Socialist Soviet Republics, those existing now as well as those which are bound to spring up in the future. … The new Federation … will be a reliable rampart against world capitalism and a new decisive step towards the union of the toilers of all countries in the World Socialist Soviet Republic.—Part I. (Italics mine.)
“The capital of the Federation of Socialist Soviet Republics shall be the City of Moscow.” Chapter XI, Paragraph 72.
The first official act of the superior organs of the Soviet Federation was to issue a proclamation “to all peoples of all governments of the world”. This proclamation refers to the structure of the new Federation, stating that it is the “natural ally of all oppressed peoples” and that it desires to “further the interests of the toilers throughout the world”. (Izvestia No. 156, July 14, 1923. See my despatch No. 1094, August 1, 1923, enclosure 5.6)
The Moscow Izvestia, official organ of the Central Executive Committee of the Soviet Federation and of the All-Russian Central Executive Committee, refers to the Federation as “the grand edifice of the future,” the “gates of which are open to the world”. The Federation will grow until it becomes the “Soviet United States of Europe” and eventually of “other parts of the world”. The Soviet idea “has sunk deep roots in the national masses” and now the time has come to “conquer new ground”. (Izvestia Nos. 153, July 11, 1923, and 156, July 14, 1923. See my despatch No. 1094, August 1, 1923, enclosures 11 and 12.6)
[Page 769]Relationship Between the Russian Communist Party, the So-Called Soviet Government and the Communist International
This subject was clearly and adequately dealt with in the Department’s memorandum, published in March, 1920, entitled, “Memorandum on the Bolshevist or Communist Party in Russia and Its Relations to the Third or Communist International and to the Russian Soviets,” but in view of recent utterances in the press it seems that more recent evidence in the matter might not be superfluous.
While it would be inaccurate to say that the so-called Soviet government as such dictates and controls the activities of the Communist International, it is undoubtedly a fact that the Russian Communist Party dictates and controls the policies and activities of both the so-called Soviet government and the Communist International and that, in promoting the propaganda activities of the Communist International in foreign countries, it does not hesitate to make use of official agencies of the so-called Soviet government.
The “Program” of the Russian Communist Party issued in 1918 remains the program of that Party today. From paragraph XIX of that lucid exposition of Communist faith the following is quoted:
“The program of the Communist Party is the program not only of liberating the proletariat of one country; it is the program of liberating the proletariat of the world, for such is the program of the ‘International Revolution.’”
The author of the “Program” from which the above unclouded assertion is taken is N. Bukharin. Mr. Bukharin is a Member of the Ail-Russian Central Executive Committee, alternate Member of the Politbureau of the Russian Communist Party, Member of the Central Committee of the Russian Communist Party and Member of the Executive Committee of the Communist International.
At the Twelfth Congress of the Russian Communist Party a resolution was unanimously passed (published in Moscow Izvestia, No. 87, April 21, 1923, and translation of full text enclosed herewith) from which the following paragraph is extracted:
“The Congress declares to the Communist International that its Russian Section considers that its prime duty now, more than ever, is to help the brotherly parties of other countries in their struggle for Communism under the skilled leadership of the Communist International.”
This resolution was offered to the Congress by Kamenev, Vice-President of the Soviet of People’s Commissars of the Federation of Socialist Soviet Republics, Vice-President of the Soviet of People’s Commissars of the R.S.F.S.R., Member of the Presidium of the Central [Page 770] Executive Committee of the Federation, Member of the Soviet of Labor and Defense of the Federation, Member of the All-Russian Central Executive Committee of the R.S.F.S.R., Member of the Politbureau of the Russian Communist Party, Member of the Central Committee of the Russian Communist Party and prominent speaker at the congresses of the Communist International. Mr. Kamenev was recently referred to by a press correspondent as the “kindly, scholarly member of the government”. This is the same Kamenev who in an article in the Petrograd Krasnaya Gazeta of July 18, 1920, on the day before the convention in that city of the Second Congress of the Communist International, wrote:
“But this international organized army of the progressive proletariat of Europe and America has enormous reserves. These reserves are the people of the Orient, oppressed by colonial imperialistic slavery, who have come to understand clearly and feel deeply that they can be liberated from slavery only with the cooperation and under the flag of the Third International. The Third International is the General Staff of this world army, which has started to move and is marching to victory. (Italics mine.)
“Yes, this is a conspiracy. But it is a conspiracy that cannot be crushed; one in which millions participate, which is supported by tens of millions—a conspiracy in which the reason of history finds embodiment and which, therefore, is destined to triumph in the end.”
Steklov (Nahamkhes), Member of the Russian Communist Party, Member of the All-Russian Central Executive Committee and editor of the Izvestia, official organ of the Central Executive Committees of the R. S. F. S. R. and the Federation, in an article entitled, “The Soviet Republic and the Third International,” published in the Izvestia, No. 252, of November 7, 1922, and forwarded to the Department in despatch No. 99, of November 27, 1922,7 says:
“It (the Communist International) was founded in the second year of the Soviet Republic and on the formal initiative and under the strong influence of the Russian Communist Party. …
“The close organic and spiritual connection between the Soviet Republic and the Communist International cannot be doubted. And even if this connection had not been admitted many times by both sides, it would be clear to everybody as an established fact. …
“This connection is not merely of a spiritual, but also of a material and palpable character. …
“The mutual solidarity of the Soviet republics and the Communist International is an accomplished fact. In the same degree as the existence and the stability of Soviet Russia are of importance to the Third International, the strengthening and the development of the Communist International is of great moment to Soviet Russia.”
Although Mr. Steklov has been editor of the official organ of the so-called Soviet Government for several years and should have a fair knowledge of political sentiment concerning the Russian Communist Party and its interlocking institutions, the so-called Soviet government and the Communist International, he is in error in the above statement that “even if this connection had not been admitted many times, it would be clear to everybody as an established fact”. This “established fact” has obviously not succeeded in penetrating the minds of certain pro-Bolsheviks living outside of Russia.
Zinoviev, whose official positions in the so-called Soviet government, the Russian Communist Party and the Communist International have been enumerated above, stated on May 8, 1923, in the same Petrograd speech previously referred to (see my despatch No. 859, of May 26, 1923,8):
“We are asked the question—‘Will the dictatorship of the Party last forever?’
“No, not forever. Our complete victory in every country will mean abolition of the state, abolition of compulsion. … The Party is no aim in itself; it is only a means. It is the lever to overturn the whole world, to built it up anew” (Italics mine.)
In connection with the relationship between the institutions of the Communist Interlocking Directorate, it is interesting to note that various official publications of the Communist International, the Russian Communist Party and the Red International of Trades Unions are being published by the State Publishing Office of the so-called Soviet government.
Propaganda Activities of the Interlocking Directorate
It has been frequently claimed by adherents of the Soviet regime that, while the Bolsheviks may have engaged in propaganda activities directed against capitalistic governments in former times, when such capitalistic governments were virtually at war with Soviet Russia, they have long since ceased such activities and are devoting their attention to their own internal affairs.
As a matter of fact, it is doubtful if the Interlocking Communist Directorate has ever been more intensively engaged in revolutionary propaganda abroad than it has been for the past year. Its efforts have been particularly noticeable in Germany, Bulgaria, Poland, Spain, Finland, Turkey, Esthonia, Latvia, England, Persia, Afghanistan, India, China and Japan.
While it is claimed that the so-called Soviet government as such does not engage in such propaganda, the fact remains that in practically every country where the so-called Soviet government has established [Page 772] diplomatic, consular, trade or Red Cross missions, in those same missions and through those same representatives there have been established propaganda agencies of the Interlocking Directorate.
The Department no doubt has ample evidence on this point. In so far as this Legation is concerned the Department has already been furnished with complete and ample evidence that the Soviet diplomatic, consular and trade agencies in Esthonia and Latvia have been from the very beginning actively engaged in conducting propaganda aimed at the overthrow by force of these two governments and the establishment of Communist regimes.
While it may be taken as a matter of course that the Soviet Mission in Lithuania has engaged in similar activities, the Lithuanian authorities have thus far been reluctant to make such charges. This may be accounted for by the fact that Lithuania maintains a closer relationship with Soviet Russia than do the other Baltic republics. Under date of August 17, 1923, Consul Edwards at Kovno reported as follows:
“With reference to Soviet propaganda carried on in Lithuania and aimed at overthrowing the existing order, the officials are somewhat reticent. It is freely admitted that there has been considerable propaganda of this kind, but there is hesitancy in charging the Soviet Russian government with direct responsibility, or in expressing more than a vague suspicion that the Soviet representative or members of his staff have been engaged in it.”
The Red International of Trade Unions
Still another agency of the Interlocking Directorate, which is being used extensively for propaganda purposes abroad, is the Red International of Trade Unions, commonly referred to as the Profintern.
In order to show the intimate connection between the Profintern and other agencies of the Interlocking Directorate the following excerpts are quoted from the official publication of the Communist International “Annual of the Comintern” published in 1923.
“Session of the Small Bureau of the Comintern July 26, 1921:
“The Small Bureau appoints as temporary representatives of the Executive Committee of the Communist International to the Executive Committee of the International of Red Trade Unions—Comrades Bukharin, Hekkert and Souvarin.”
“Session of the Small Bureau of the Executive Committee of the Comintern, August 1, 1921:
“With a view to establishing closer contact between the Communist International and the International of Red Trade Unions, a Commission consisting of Comrades Hekkert, Lozovsky, Souvarin, Radek and Andrechin is appointed and instructed to submit within [Page 773] three days a detailed project concerning the subject. Comrade Razoczy is instructed to form this Commission.”
“Session of the Presidium of the Executive Committee of the Communist International, September 14, 1921:
“The project submitted by Comrade Zinoviev concerning the organization of the Central Famine Relief Commission was discussed. Comrade Zinoviev’s project was approved. The Central Commission in Moscow consists of Comrades Humbert, Droze, Popov, Radek, three representatives of the Red International of Trade Unions and one representative of the Executive Committee of the International of Communist Youth.”
“Session of the Executive Committee of the Communist International, September 14, 1921:
Speaking of the question of mutual representation of the Small Bureaus (Presidiums) of the Communist International and the International of Red Trade Unions, Zinoviev said: “Our Small Bureau conducts important preliminary work; the same is also the case with the International of Red Trade Unions. In order to establish closer contact we want to have mutual representation not only in the Executive Committees, but also in the Large Bureaus. For this purpose it will be sufficient if each organization sends one member.” The motion was accepted.
From the official publication of the Red International of Trade Unions, entitled, “Second Congress of the Red International of Trade Unions, Moscow, November 19–December 2, 1922,” (published by the State Publishing Office of the so-called Soviet Government), the following declaration of the principal delegations of the Congress is quoted:
“Taking into consideration:—
- “1. That it is the task of the Red International of Trade Unions to rally all revolutionary laborers with a view to joining efforts in combatting capitalism, and in order to establish the dictatorship of the proletariat;
- “2. That this goal may be attained only if all fighters for social revolution will be thoroughly imbued with the spirit of Communism;
- “3. That the ultimate victory of Communism is possible only on an international scale, for which purpose closest contact and coordination between the Communist International and the Red International Trade Unions are necessary; (Italics mine.)
- “4. That there are groups of laborers of revolutionary-syndicalist tendencies who sincerely wish to establish a united front with the Communists and who think in this connection that the mode of mutual representation between the Communist International and the Red International of Trade Unions, as established at the First Congress, is not in keeping with the traditions of the labor movement in their respective countries;
- “5. That the United Confederation of Labor in France, adhering to this point of view, has in the most decided manner declared itself in favor of active ‘fighting’ cooperation between the Communist International [Page 774] and the Red International of Trade Unions, as well as of timely participation in all offensive and defensive actions against capitalism.
- “6. The delegations of trade unions of Russia, Germany, Italy, Poland and Spain, while professing the unconditional necessity of the Communist parties taking the lead in their respective countries, suggest nevertheless that the revolutionary laborers of France be met half way, and the proposal of the United Confederation of Labor of France be accepted, so that at this Congress the revolutionary elements of the international trade union movement may be gathered together, strengthened and fortified, under the banner bearing the inscription—‘Destruction of capitalism and establishment of the dictatorship of labor!’”
The two principal leaders of the Red International of Trade Unions are Lozovsky and Tomsky. The former signs all the proclamations of the Profintern as “General Secretary”. He was the presiding officer at the last Congress of the Profintern. Apparently there is no President.
Aside from being presiding officer and General Secretary of the Red International of Trade Unions, Lozovsky is a member of the Central Executive Committee of the R.S.F.S.R., a Member of the Russian Communist Party, a Member of the Presidium of the All-Russian Central Soviet of Trade Unions and a prominent speaker at Congresses of the Communist International.
Tomsky is a Member of the Executive Committee of the Red International of Trade Unions, a Member of the Presidium of the Central Executive Committee of the S.S.S.R., Member of the Presidium of the All-Russian Central Executive Committee, Member of the Politbureau of the Russian Communist Party, Member of the Central Committee of the Russian Communist Party and President of the All-Russian Central Soviet of Trade Unions.
It is, therefore, clear that the Red International of Trade Unions is working in intimate cooperation with the Communist International, which Steklov says is organically and spiritually connected with the so-called Soviet government.
It is noticeable that during the past year the Red International of Trade Unions and its Russian constituency, which is embraced in the All-Russian Central Soviet of Trade Unions, have been used more extensively than heretofore for propaganda purposes abroad.
On June 22, 1922, Tomsky, as President of the All-Russian Central Soviet of Trade Unions sent the following telegram to the striking transport workers of Barcelona:
“The Russian proletariat follows with interest the heroic struggle of the Barcelonian proletariat, which is continuing in spite of terror and repression.
[Page 775]“The All-Russian Central Soviet of Trade Unions encourages and stimulates you to continue the struggle and sends you fifty thousand pesetas as a token of solidarity.
“Long Live Proletarian Spain!
“Long Live the International Solidarity of Workmen!
(Signed) Tomsky, President of the All-Russian Central Soviet of Trade Unions.”
(Above telegram was published in Moscow Pravda, No. 136. of June 23 [21], 1923, and translation was forwarded to the Department in my despatch No. 1054, of July 18, 1923.9)
Tomsky’s official positions in the so-called Soviet government, the Russian Communist Party and the Red International of Trade Unions have been enumerated above.
In the Moscow Pravda No. 185, of August 19, 1923, the following proclamation was published: (Translation forwarded to Department in my despatch No. 1308, of September 27, 1923.9)
“To the Chairman of the All-German Central Soviet of Factory Committees:
Today’s extraordinary session of the Executive Bureau of the Red International of Trade Unions decided to address an appeal to the workmen of all countries to render moral and material support to the German workmen, who are struggling against reaction. The executive Bureau of the Red International of Trade Unions has allotted one million gold marks for the support of the workmen who have suffered from the repression of the capitalists and the German bourgeois government on account of participation in the late strike movement.
(Signed) Lozovsky—General Secretary of the Red International of Trade Unions.”
Lozovsky’s connections with the so-called Soviet government, the Russian Communist Party, the All-Russian Central Soviet of Trade Unions and the Communist International have been noted above.
In the proclamation which follows the above (published in same paper and forwarded in same despatch) the Executive Bureau of the Red International of Trade Unions calls upon all organizations that adhere to its principles and “all class-conscious workmen to come promptly to the aid of the struggling workmen of Germany”. It continues: “We must not permit the vanguard of the revolutionary movement to be wiped out. … The Red International of Trade Unions, in the name of the international revolutionary movement of trade unions allots one million gold marks for the support of the locked out and persecuted workmen of Germany. … Long live proletarian Germany! Long live the social revolution! Long live international solidarity!”
[Page 776]On August 27, 1923, the Communist International and the Red International of Trade Unions issued a joint proclamation “To the Workmen and Women Workers of all Countries,” calling upon them to aid the German proletariat. The following are excerpts from it:
“Comrades! Proletariat of all countries! We call upon you to raise your arm in defense of the German proletariat. At mass meetings all over the world, direct the attention of the world’s proletariat to the events in Germany; collect money everywhere for the support of the strikers. … Long live the international solidarity of the proletariat! Long live help to the German proletariat! Long live the Communist International!”
The proclamation was signed by the Executive Committee of the Communist International and the Executive Bureau of the Red International of Trade Unions.
Activities of the Communist International
It would require volumes to include all the pronouncements and proclamations issued by the Communist International. All of the more important proclamations issued during the past year have been forwarded to the Department. More important among them are the proclamations to the proletariat of Germany, Bulgaria, Finland and Japan.
The following extracts are taken from a proclamation to “the Bulgarian workers and peasants,” (published in Moscow Pravda, No. 143, of June 29, 1923, and forwarded to Department in my despatch No. 1054, of July 18, 1923.10) While it is addressed primarily to the Bulgarians, it includes injunctions to the proletariat of various other countries and, finally, in its enthusiastic fervor, includes the proletariat “of all countries.”
“Rise up against the government which has perpetrated the whiteguard revolution in Bulgaria! Strike for a workman-peasant government! …
“Bulgarian peasants! … The new government is our deadly foe. It must be crushed. … Be banded together. Close up the ranks! Summon them to the fight for a workman-peasant government!
“Peasants of Macedonia! … You must unite in your own interests with the Bulgarian proletariat. …
“Workmen of Czechoslovakia! Workmen of Austria and Germany! The success of the Bulgarian fascisti will encourage the same elements in your country.
“Attention! … Concentrate all your forces to create a union of the poorest elements of the peasants and workmen proletarian classes and resist in every way the venal creatures of Capitalism!
[Page 777]“Proletariat of all countries! Follow attentively events in Bulgaria. … Mobilize the masses against the new government of murderers and criminals!
“Long Live the Solidarity of the International proletariat in the Struggle Against the Menace of Fascism!”
The proclamation is signed by the Enlarged Plenum of the Communist International.
The Department is, of course, well aware of the fact that the principal organizer of the recent Communist outbreaks in Bulgaria, which resulted in many bloody encounters, was Kolarov, a prominent official of the Communist International, which Steklov assures us is organically and spiritually connected with the so-called Soviet government.
In a proclamation published in the Moscow Izvestia, No. 180, of August 12, 1923, and forwarded to the Department in my despatch No. 1243, of September 13, 1923,10a the Communist International pays its respects to the Finnish Government. The following are excerpts from the proclamation, which is entitled, “Down with the White-Guard Regime in Finland!”
“Comrades: The serious onslaughts of the Finnish Government upon the legal ‘mass’ party of the labor classes deserves the serious attention of the international proletariat.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . .
“In point of organization the Finnish Labor Party was never a part of the Communist International and much less, of course, a part of the Russian Communist Party. … Of course, it was a party that sincerely sympathized with us, and that is why our underground (illegal) Finnish Section (italics mine) had no reason to take up a hostile attitude towards the Labor Party. The suppression of that legal party of the Finnish labor classes will now, of course, as a matter of necessity, compel the illegal Finnish Communist Party to take into its hands the entire political management of the proletarian class war. The Communist International is now going to do what it never did in Finland before: it enjoins the struggling Finnish proletariat to serry its ranks and to rally solely and only around the revolutionary banner of the Communist Party.
“At the same time the Communist International calls upon the proletariat of all countries to condemn the white-guard regime in Finland. … Extend your hand of friendship to the brave Finnish comrades. Let the laborers of Finland know that they are not carrying on the fight single-handed, but that they are supported by millions of brothers in arms until the hour of final victory over capitalistic oppression.
“Down with the rulers of Finland, the murderers of the labor classes!
[Page 778]“Long live the proletarian revolution!”
The proclamation is signed by the Executive Committee of the Communist International.
Taking advantage of the recent catastrophe in Japan, the Soviet steamship Lenin was despatched to Japan with a cargo of Communist agitators and relief supplies for the suffering “Japanese laborers”. The Japanese Government refused to permit either the supplies or agitators to be landed.
Following this the Communist International issued one of its typical proclamations. It was published in the Moscow Izvestia [Petrograd Pravda], No. 216, of September 25, 1923, and a translation forwarded to the Department in my despatch No. 1366 [1365], of October 12, 1923.11 The following are excerpts from the proclamation, which is addressed “To the Laborers of Japan. To the Laborers of all Countries:”
“The terrible calamity which has visited Japan has shaken the hearts of all who are able to feel the griefs of others. … The victims of the catastrophe are not yet buried, but already the imperialist government of Japan has decided to show to the whole world that the class war never stops in capitalistic society, be the circumstances what they may. (Then follows an account of the arrests and alleged executions of Japanese Communists.)
“The imperialist government of Japan, in order to emphasize that it remains a ‘firm authority’, refuses steamer loads of food supplies sent to the Japanese laborers. And all this with the cynical allegation that, together with the food supplies, there is Communist literature on board the vessels.
“The Communist International invites the Japanese laborers, whatever their political creed may be, to create a United Committee of Action, to line up in a united front against the imperialist government. Do not let the imperial government of Japan enjoy one single hour of quiet. Let the just wrath of the masses of toilers of japan find its expression in organized struggle against the gang which rules the country. …
“The Japanese laborers must form a powerful Communist Party and strong trade unions, which will be able to lead the toilers in serried ranks to the battle for the overthrow of the bourgeois government and the establishment of a workman-peasant government.
Executive Committee of the Communist International.”
It is doubtful if the Interlocking Directorate of Communism, in seeking to take advantage of the unprecedented catastrophe in Japan and the abnormal state of mind of the Japanese people, to instigate the overthrow of the Japanese Government by force, has ever perpetrated a more abhorrent act.
[Page 779]It is not deemed necessary to refer here to further illustrations of Communist proclamations.
Soviet Red Cross
Still another agency which the Interlocking Directorate employs to conduct revolutionary agitation abroad is the so-called “Russian Red Cross Society,” which is an official agency of the so-called Soviet government.
The answer of the Bulgarian Minister for Foreign Affairs, Kalfov, to the Soviet Commissar for Foreign Affairs, in reply to the protest of the so-called Soviet government against the treatment in Bulgaria of certain Soviet citizens, contains the following statements: (Full reply published in Moscow Izvestia, No. 193, August 29, 1923, and translation forwarded to Department in my despatch No. 1308, of September 27, 1923.12)
“The Bulgarian Government would like to know that under the mask of this highly humanitarian cause (repatriation) no political propaganda is carried on against the existing order in Bulgaria, such as took place during the residence of the former Mission of the Russian Red Cross. … You know yourself that the departure of Mr. Koretsky did not take place on our initiative. If the Bulgarian Government accelerated his departure, it was because he dared to publish a calumny against the Bulgarian Government in the press and because he agitated publicly against the existing order in the country, the hospitality of which he and his Mission (Red Cross) enjoyed in the course of a whole year. We reject the insinuation attached to us that we tried to use some fake documents to prove the disloyal attitude of Mr. Koretsky and several of his comrades. The archives of the Russian Red Cross were placed under seal and were later examined in the presence of Dr. Nansen’s delegate.
“In your telegram you accuse the Bulgarian Government of conducting a campaign of calumny against Russia. I can assure you that your information in this connection is incorrect. The main principle of the Bulgarian Government remains the most strict non-interference in the domestic affairs of any foreign country. Therefore, the Bulgarian Government thinks that it is its right to expect the same from another country. Unfortunately it was very much mistaken as far as the Soviet government is concerned. It is sufficient to remind you of the recent statement of Mr. Zinoviev and the resolutions passed by the Communist International against the present regime in Bulgaria to convince you that the above accusations would be more founded if they were made by us against your government.”
Attitude of Bolshevik Leaders
In addition to the direct participation of Soviet diplomatic, consular and trade representatives in revolutionary propaganda in the countries to which they are accredited, it is of interest to note the present attitude of certain of the outstanding Bolshevik leaders as revealed by their published statements.
In the course of a speech delivered at the Agricultural Exposition in Moscow on September 16, (Moscow Pravda, No. 210, September 18, 1923, translation forwarded in my despatch No. 1333, October 1, 192313), Chicherin said:
“We must not forget that if the extreme reactionaries should usurp political power in Germany, finding in this the support of political reaction throughout the world, this would constitute a new menace to ourselves, and we must, therefore, be prepared against new dangers and new strife. … we must not lose sight of the fact that at a moment’s notice we may be called upon to defend all the achievements of the revolution which the workman-peasant regime guarantees us. We must be on the alert, we must watch the extreme reaction in Germany and try to penetrate its ruses and intrigues. Not for a moment must we forget that we are the only Red Republic, or rather Federation of Republics. … We can safely say that we have already conquered for ourselves the new regime—the regime of emancipated labor—and that we have already entered upon that era when we are to be the vanguard of the masses of toilers, and when, soon perhaps our regime will become the regime of all countries” (Italics mine.)
This is rather significant as coming from Chicherin, the Commissar for Foreign Affairs, who is frequently referred to as one of the most conservative of the Communist leaders and is probably the ablest diplomat in the Soviet service.
Karl Radek has been particularly active during recent months in connection with the situation in Germany. Needless to say, he is one of the propaganda specialists of the Interlocking Communist Directorate, is a Member of the Central Executive Committee of the so-called Soviet government, Member of the Central Committee of the Russian Communist Party and Member of the Executive Committee of the Communist International.
In an article published by him in the Moscow Pravda, No. 171, of August 1, 1923, translation of which was forwarded to the Department in my despatch No. 1160, of August 18, 1923,13 he says:
“The crisis of the German bourgeoisie is imminent. … Unparallelled problems arise for the German Communist Party. …
[Page 781]“The seeds sown by our Party during the Great War are yielding a rich harvest. … The united front of the workmen is steady. …
“The main task of the Party consists in gaining control over and in organizing the working classes around its banner. … We have first of all to multiply many hundreds of times our agitation activity, to create a condition of Communist conscience and mind. Our past activity was mere trifling. Our voice must be heard by all workmen. Our number is small, only 300,000 men. It ought to be 3,000,000. … 70,000 Bolsheviks were able to overthrow the unorganized Russian bourgeoisie. This will not be enough for us. We need at least one million. … We do not want to be an election factor. We want to be a powerful tug of war with strongly welded proletarian fighting battalions.
“We intend to win the war. We do not aim only at the seizure of power, but we aim at the reorganization of society on a socialist basis. This will mean victory.”
Writing in the Moscow Izvestia, No. 195, of August 31, 1923, (see my despatch No. 1308, of September 27, 192314) Radek says:
“Neither Soviet Russia nor the laboring masses of Europe can remain indifferent if international capital attempts to lay its hand on Germany.”
On September 17, 1923, in an address to the cadets of the Moscow Military Training Schools upon the occasion of their promotion to the rank of “Red Commanders,” Radek said: (Moscow Izvestia, No. 211, September 19, 1923. See my despatch No. 1333, of October 1, 1923.14)
“The coming revolution in Germany will be only a part of the series of large world conflicts that are approaching, and the cause of these conflicts is the complete bankruptcy not only of the German bourgeoisie, but of the bourgeoisie of all Europe, and, if we look at the question from a more elevated point of view, the bankruptcy of the world bourgeoisie. …
“Red Commanders, you are not accustomed to make many words when an order is given. Nor need I make many words to explain to you the actual situation. Go back to the army and teach them not only things military, but broaden their minds. Be not merely military commanders, but also bearers of the idea that, when the hour comes and there will be no other way for us, the workman-peasant will respond to the call of the Soviet government with the words: ‘We are ready!’”
Zinoviev, who, together with Radek and other prominent Bolsheviks, has been busying himself in an endeavor to rouse the Russian proletariat to lend a helping hand to the proletariat of Germany, in a speech before the Petrograd Soviet, of which he is President, [Page 782] (which was published in Petrograd Pravda, No. 190, August 25, 1923; see my despatch No. 1308, of September 27,16) said:
“Events are approaching when a real socialistic revolution will actually begin. The German revolution is the beginning of a revolution all over Europe!”
Official press notices of numerous meetings and demonstrations of Soviets, workmen and peasants which the Communists have staged throughout Russia in favor of the German proletariat, at which subscriptions of money and food supplies have been raised for the purpose of furthering the German Communist revolution, have been forwarded to the Department in my despatches Nos. 1365, of October 12, 1923,16 1308, of September 27, 1923,16 and 1390, of October 23.16
In opening the Twelfth Congress of the Russian Communist Party on April 17, 1923, (Moscow Pravda No. 84, April 18, 1923,) Kamenev referred in the beginning of his address to the illness of Lenin, stating that his condition was not hopeless and that they trusted that he would soon be able to “seize once more the helm of world revolution”.
One of the most conspicuous figures of Bolshevism today is Trotsky, the so-called “War-Lord of Russia.”
In a speech at the Sixth All-Russian Congress of Metal Workers, reported in the Moscow Pravda, No. 136, of June 21, 1923, Trotsky said:
“The process of freeing enslaved peoples is slower than one would expect. The near future will be only a transitory state in the development of the world. Our Army which we are re-forming is not growing weaker, but stronger. … We will have in the future an army bearing a militia character. Part of it, the commanding staff, the political and administrative organs, will be of a permanent nature, but the soldiers will be called into the ranks only from time to time for instruction.
“Aviation will be the backbone of our efforts to increase the power of the Army. I should like to advise you to build, as an answer to every insult and humiliation, to every ultimatum, etc., a new squadron of airships and aeroplanes and call them ‘Ultimatum’. We are building one such squadron already. To the revolution in Bulgaria our answer should be new aeroplanes—and they should be called ‘Red Bulgaria’. In such a way, constructing as an answer to every new blow of the bourgeoisie new aeroplanes, we can hope soon to put an end to these attacks.”
Thus Trotsky considers that a revolution in Bulgaria should necessitate the building by the Soviets of new aeroplanes.
Trotsky, who has been President of the Revolutionary Military Soviet of the Republic (of the R.S.F.S.R.) has now been made President [Page 783] of the Revolutionary War Council of the Federation. He is likewise Commissar of War and Navy of the so-called Soviet government; Commissar of War and Navy of the Federation; Member of the Soviet of Labor and Defense of the Federation; Member of the Central Executive Committee of the so-called Soviet government; Member of the Politbureau of the Russian Communist Party; Member of the Central Committee of the Russian Communist Party; Member of the Presidium of the Communist International; Alternate Member of the Executive Committee of the Communist International and Honorary President of the All-Russian Central Soviet of Trade Unions, thereby holding an official position in every branch of the Communist Interlocking Directorate.
In a signed article in the Moscow Pravda, No. 215, of September 23, 1923, (see my despatch No. 1365 of October 12, 1923,17) Trotsky gives his views concerning how revolutions are made. This is the same Trotsky who in a speech to a Conference of Textile Workers in October, 1922, said: (Moscow Pravda No. 230, October 12, 1922)—
“Yes, we make concessions to capital, because it is still strong; but we make them in order to crush it.”
Later in the same month in addressing the Fourth Congress of the Third International (Moscow Izvestia No. 238, October 21, 1922) Trotsky said:
“Our Party gave an ideal example in Russia of how the governmental apparatus and the power must be seized. … The proletariat of the Western countries must overcome great difficulties before it seizes the power. … We must improve our knowledge in every branch, specialize in them and become well trained when the world revolution breaks out.”
In the same speech he said:
“The New Economic Policy means a small retreat on our part, but we have occupied instead strong new positions.”
A more recent significant statement of Trotsky’s is found in his address to the Twelfth Congress of the Russian Communist Party, April 17–26, 1923. (See my despatch No. 810, of May 14, 1923.17) Speaking of the New Economic Policy, he said:
“Comrades, the New Economic Policy has been inaugurated in earnest and for a long time, but not for good. We have started it in order to defeat it with its own weapons. … Our principle of plan work once extended to the market will absorb and destroy the market.”
These recent utterances of Trotsky are quite characteristic of the Trotsky of old, who wrote in the Izvestia of January 10, 1919, under the title “Military Specialists in the Red Army:”
“While dispersing, arresting and shooting saboteurs and conspirators, the proletariat says: ‘I shall break your will, because my will is stronger than yours, and I shall force you to serve me.’”
And in his “Peace Program,” published at Petrograd in February, 1918:
“If in awaiting the imminent proletarian flood in Europe, Russia should be forced to conclude peace with the present day governments of the Central Powers, it would be a provisional, temporary and transitory peace, with the revision of which the European Revolution will have to concern itself in the first instance. Our whole policy is built upon the expectation of this revolution.”
Conclusion
From the foregoing it will be seen that the Communist Interlocking Directorate consists of four principal intimately coordinated institutions—the Russian Communist Party, the Communist International, the Red International of Trade Unions and the so-called Soviet government.
The dominating institution of the group is the Russian Communist Party. The supreme authority of that Party is the Politbureau of the Central Committee.
The seven members of the Politbureau are: Lenin, Trotsky, Kamenev, Zinoviev, Tomsky, Rykov and Stalin (not including the four alternates).
(Note: The list of members of the Politbureau was received by me from what I consider a thoroughly reliable source. Later on the identical list was published in a despatch from Walter Duranty to the New York Times. Mr. Duranty subsequently informed me that he had obtained the list of members from the Private Secretary to Kalinin, who is President of the All-Russian Central Executive Committee and himself an Alternate Member of the Politbureau.)
Considering that Lenin is entirely incapacitated, there are now six members. The world-revolutionary sentiments of four of those six—Trotsky (Braunstein), Zinoviev (Apfelbaum), Kamenev (Rosenfeldt), and Tomsky (Honigberg), are illustrated in this report.
It is interesting to note that these four dominating figures of the Interlocking Directorate of Communism represent the Army and Navy (Trotsky), the Communist International (Zinoviev), the Red International of Trade Unions (Tomsky), and the so-called Soviet government (Kamenev).
[Page 785]In the foregoing report I have confined myself solely to information of a public nature. Reference to confidential reports received from reliable sources, which have been transmitted to the Department in previous despatches, would, of course, produce further indisputable proof of the present international activities of the Interlocking Directorate of Communism.
To deny the assertion that the so-called Soviet government is intimately connected with the Communist International is to repudiate the published statement of one of the principal spokesman of Bolshevism, Steklov.
To deny that the Russian Communist Party dominates and controls the so-called Soviet government is to repudiate the statements of Zinoviev and the resolutions of the Twelfth Congress of the Party.
To deny that there is a working connection between the Communist International and the Red International of Trade Unions is to repudiate the official records published by those bodies.
To deny that the Communist International and the Red International of Trade Unions are indulging in international revolutionary propaganda aimed at the overthrow of the existing order is to repudiate their published proclamations.
And yet, from a perusal of recent articles, interviews and press reports, one is struck with the remarkable paradox of a group of individuals who, in their enthusiastic defense of the Soviet regime, are denying the public statements of the very persons whose interests they are seeking to promote.
I have [etc.]
- This report was prepared by Hugh S. Martin, special assistant to the Minister in Latvia. Copies were sent by the Department on Dec. 29 to the diplomatic representatives in Europe, the Ambassador in Japan, and the Minister in China.↩
- All marks of ellipsis indicated throughout this despatch are in the original despatch from the Minister in Latvia.↩
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- Extracts translated from Moscow Izvestia, no. 86, Apr. 20, 1923.↩
- Translation from Moscow Izvestia, no. 87, Apr. 21, 1923.↩