Page:The Proletarian Revolution in Russia - Lenin, Trotsky and Chicherin - ed. Louis C. Fraina (1918).djvu/255

 ance of the capitalists was broken, etc., the capitalists began to take heart. No one, absolutely no one, was at that moment occupied in curbing, the capitalists. Ministers recruited from Socialist deserters made good talking machines to divert the oppressed masses, but the entire apparatus of state supervision actually remained in the hands of the bureaucracy and the bourgeoisie. The celebrated Palchinsky, an associate of the Minister of Industry, was a typical representative of this system: he sidetracked every attempt to curb the power of the capitalists. The ministers continued their emissions of hot air, but conditions remained unchanged.

Particularly was Minister Tseretelli used by the bourgeoisie to act against the Revolution. He was sent to "placate" Cronstadt when the revolutionists there had the colossal cheek to remove a commissioner appointed by the Provisional Government. The bourgeois press launched out into an incredibly base, malicious, insane campaign of deception and persecution against Cronstadt, accusing the city of a desire to "secede from Russia," repeated absurdities of thsthis [sic] and similar varieties in a thousand forms, terrifying the petite bourgeoisie and the philistines. Tseretelli, who is the most typical representative of the dull, intimidated philistines, fell most good-naturedly of all for the bait of the bourgeois persecution, and, more angrily than anyone else, "berated and calmed" Cronstadt, being in no way aware that he was playing the role of a flunkey to the counter-revolutionary bourgeoisie. The outcome was that he became the instrument for bringing about an "agreement" with revolutionary Cronstadt, providing that the Cronstadt commissioner was not to be appointed by the government, but elected by the city and confirmed by the government. In the accomplishment of such miserable compromises the ministers who deserted from Socialism to the bourgeoisie are now spending their time.

There are situations in which no bourgeois minister would dare to come out in defense of the government before the revolutionary workers or in the Soviets. But in such places there appeared (or rather, was sent by the bourgeoisie) a "Socialist" minister, a Tseretelli, Chernov, Skobeleff, or some other, who would willingly carry out the bourgeois task and work himself into a fury defending the ministry, would whitewash the capitalists and deceive the workers by grinding out promises, promises, promises, and advising the workers to wait, wait, wait.

Minister Chernov was particularly busy trading with his bourgeois colleagues. Up to the very month of July, up to the new