Page:The Red Dawn (George).pdf/9

Rh two, the party of Social Revolutionists (S. R.) came from its program upon the land question, which, by the way, has long been the crux of the Russian social problem. Like the Mexican revolutionists and the Chinese Socialists (with Sun Yat Sen), who think that some kind of a socialistic order of things can be instituted in these countries on the basis of their now existing economic development, going around and escaping the stage of Capitalism, so also, the Russian revolutionists in the second half of the 19th century, believed that Russia could jump to socialism directly from the semi-feudal peasant stage of society, passing Capitalism and its social nightmares with a "You didn't catch us!"

On such a basis, this revolutionary movement logically had a very strong nationalistic character. The peasant communism(mir) of Russia, was glorified as the great economic savior of Russia from the clutches of devastating capitalism—"Socialism in Russia will grow on the communistic instincts of its great peasant masses."

This party of S. R. (Social Revolutionists) has not only inherited the traditions, memorial history, etc., of these people's revolutionary movements, but also, more or less of their ideas; thus everyone may clearly see that the party of S. R. was in fact more of a peasant's party than an instrument of the industrial proletariat. It left the social revolution more upon the vast agricultural masses in the villages and armies of Russia—without whose general revolt Russia would remain a country of Cossackdom. In its program the demand of the nationalization of all lands and their common ownership and communal use by the peasants was the crucial point,—the ultimate goal.

Within the party of S. R., those who have contended for a program of various immediate demands,