Page:The Proletarian Revolution in Russia - Lenin, Trotsky and Chicherin - ed. Louis C. Fraina (1918).djvu/230



The recent suppression of Pravda, until now, was only an "incidental" fact, not sanctioned by the legal action of the government; now, after the 16th of July, Pravda is formally suppressed by the government.

When this suppression is regarded from a historical point of view, in relation to the whole course of events and the process of preparing and realizing this measire of suppression, it sheds a remarkably brilliant light upon the "constitutional" aspect of Russia, and upon the danger of constitutional illusions.

It is known that the Cadet party, with Milyukov and the paper Retch at the head, has been demanding the repression of the Bolsheviki since April. In the most varied form, from the "governmental" articles of Retch to the repeated demands of Milyukov to "make arrests" (of Lenin-and-the-other-Bolsheviki) this demand for repression constituted one of the most important, if not the most important, measures in the political program of the Cadets during the Revolution.

Long before the intentional and fabricated, the abominable and slanderous accusations of Alexinsky & Co., the accusations made in June and July of the Bolsheviki being German spies and receiving German money; long before even the slanderous accusations of "armed resistance" and of mutiny, which were contradicted by universally known facts and published documents—long before all that, the Cadet party was making a systematic, persistent demand for the repression of the Bolsheviki. If this demand is now realized, what opinion must we have of the honesty and conceptions of those people who forget or pretend to forget the actual class and party origin of this demand? How can we help stigmatizing it as rank falsification or as unbelievable political stupidity, if the Social-Revolutionists and Mensheviki now attempt to present the situation as if they believe that the opportunity appearing on