Page:Finnish Communist Party - An Open Letter to Lenin (1918).djvu/7

 be realised, that it will never grow to life from the jungle of democracy, as we in Finland believed, but from the reality of destruction, danger, suffering and warfare. The class government of Russia's victorious workers, of which you, honoured Comrade, are leader, is founded to help into being the long-awaited new society. This gigantic task will daily call for the boundless straining of nerves and power. The administrative difficulties of your task would demand from the proletariat very great exertions, even if Russia had been out of the terrible war, which has raged now for several years, and in which Russia is losing still important lives. Greater efforts are needed, because you must struggle under the attack both of internal and external enemies. Sword in hand must the Russian workers build, sword in hand must the revolutionary ploughman plough. They are building, ploughing, and struggling with inexhaustible energy and enthusiasm. "The work will be bad, the work will be worthless!" croak the expelled hawks from outside. It is true that all that is done cannot be good, because there is no time for polishing, but every day some work is finished. We have seen growing from your combined efforts unexpectedly rich results, and that is good testimony. If in Russia, held for so long under the tyranny of the Czardom, and lately in the grasp of Germany's iron-hand, if in Russia, where the cultural and economic process was in chaos, the Socialist Soviet Republic stands firm after eleven months, how ripe, indeed, is capitalist world for socialist revolution! The capitalist world is ripe for communism, as we now say, comrade Lenin, in accordance with your teaching, the value of which the workers' revolution in your country has proved to the world.

To us Finnish Social Democrats the communist revolution has brought altogether new ideas of the world end of lite. We have awakened now to the sunshine of Socialism, of which before we only dreamed.

For the knowledge of communism we are in debt, which we must pay by sincere and enthusiastic work for the international socialist revolution, above all in Finland and here in Russia. Communism has given us the bright and hopeful belief that the great sacrifices the workers of our country have endured in their campaigns this year, and still more in the beastly orgies of revenge held by the Finnish bourgeois after the workers' defeat, are not wasted but given for the international victory of the proletariat. This noble end the Finnish working class tried to help in their campaigns of last spring; small in number, knowledge and strength, it yet made great sacrifice and once more it will rise up from the dust. Communism will bring the light of new hope to the darkest night;