Page:The Proletarian Revolution in Russia - Lenin, Trotsky and Chicherin - ed. Louis C. Fraina (1918).djvu/456

 ports about Russia in order to guarantee the success of the agitation. The counter-revolutionists banished from Russia came to the aid of the foreign imperialists. Being driven out of Russia by the mighty wave of the revolution, they appealed abroad to foreign Powers to intervene in Russia and Siberia for the purpose of crushing the Soviet Government and the establishment of their anti-people government.

Everything was done to realize intervention in a most convenient manner through the Czecho-Slovak troops that were passing through Siberia. A sufficient number of pretexts were found to set armed Czecho-Slovaks against the Soviet government. The Soviets' attempts to negotiate with the Czecho-Slovaks and satisfy their demands, and thus peacefully end the conflict at the beginning, were resolutely rejected by the army command of the Czecho-Slovaks. The Czecho-Slovaks in Vladivostok continued to remain there, and finally also arrayed themselves against the Soviet government in Siberia. It has become clear to us, workers, peasants and Cossacks of Siberia, that the Czecho-Slovaks instead of following their former purpose, to move toward France, had another task—to establish the domination of foreign powers in Siberia. We are in possession of documents which show definitely that the foreign powers utilize the Czecho-Slovaks as an element most suitable for purposes of occupation. We were forced to offer armed resistance against these troops. But, evidently, the Czecho-Slovak forces were too weak for the carrying out of the task they had on hand; to their aid British, French and Japanese troops have been rushed, once more under the imaginary pretext of defending the Czecho-Slovaks against the Germans.

We declare that the reptile press of the imperialists will always be able to invent sufficient lying information to justify the actions of the imperialists, and we are not inclined to prove the absurdity of all these inventions. We repeat again that all the provocative information concerning the mass arming of the war prisoners, the seizure by the latter of Siberia, were at the time given the lie by the official representatives of America and England, and that at any moment the Czeclo-Slovaks would be given permission to pass through Siberia, should they desire so. But we must emphatically protest against the intentions of Japan, France, England and America to occupy Siberia with their troops, and protest against the actions of Russian counter-revolutionists, who appeal to the Allies to intervene in Siberian affairs.

We declare that Allied intervention in Siberia will inevitably result in the strengthening of German influence in Russia against the will of the toilers of Russia, and thus such an action would mean in fact a division of Russia and Siberia between the Allies and Germany.

We declare that the plotting of the Russian counter-revolutionists in appealing for Allied intervention provokes the wrath and indignation of the Russian workers and peasants—any government in Siberia and Russia that might be established with the aid of foreign bayonets is more repugnant to the masses of the Russian people than the absolutism of Nicholas Romanov destroyed by the Revolution, and therefore is doomed to the same fate as the absolutism of Nicholas Romanov. Let the governments of Japan, France, England and America not forget the armed struggle of workers and peasants in the Ukraine against the government