Political Prisoners in Russia. by “James A

Bedacht: Political Prisoners in Russia [June 17, 1922] 1 Political Prisoners in Russia. by “James A. Marshall” [Max Bedacht] Published in The Worker [New York], v. 5, whole no. 227 (June 17, 1922), pg. 5. The Socialist Party of America and its ad- ward the Russian Revolution. That is what capi- herents are lined up with the forces of reaction. talism wants. And the Socialist Party has no rea- Feeling as they do that the Russian Revolu- son whatever to wish for something different. tion active as the magic mirror that showed the First it loves capitalism and wants to save it. ugly features of friends of capitalism under their And second, as long as the revolution in Russia is mast of revolutionary pretensions, they are busily looked upon as an example of revolutionary work- engaged trying to slander the revolution. ing class action to be copied by the workers the Feeling as they do that the tide of revolu- world over, the treacherous role these “Socialists” tionary consciousness is rising and threatens to are playing becomes too obvious to promise suc- drown them, they resort to the old trick of crying cess. Therefore they cry, “Free political prisoners “Stop, thief!” in Russia!” They forget that the trick has been over- Now let us see who the political prisoners played. The sound of “Stop, thief!” will only con- are in Soviet Russia. Who are the persons whose vince the workers that the gentlemen from the release these “Socialists” demand from the Soviet Socialist Party are trying to get away with some- Republic of Russia? They are the Anarchists, Men- thing. sheviks, and Socialist Revolutionaries arrested by In some recent conventions like that of the the Soviet authorities for counterrevolutionary International Ladies Garment Workers Union and activities. the Workmen’s Circle, these adherents of the So- cialist Party performed such a conjurer’s trick in- Classifying These Prisoners. tended for drawing the eyes of their followers from their treacherous tactics. Why are they in prison? Have they been sent “Free political prisoners — in Russia!” they there for their beliefs or for their membership in cried. Their beloved “democracy” has committed their parties and groups, like the American de- enough crimes in America to make the slogan of mocracy sent Communists to prison for their be- freeing political prisoners a popular one with the liefs? working masters in this country. Or have they been sent to prison like some anarchists were sent there by a Socialist District Fulfill Capitalism’s Desires. Attorney in Milwaukee, for having hung up pic- tures of Malatesta, Bakunin, and Kropotkin in In raising that cry these so-called “Social- their rooms? ists” hope to create a reaction in the sympathies Or were they imprisoned like Debs because of the masses of the workers of this country to- they expressed opinions and beliefs differing from 1 2 Bedacht: Political Prisoners in Russia [June 17, 1922] the opinions and beliefs of those in power? “SP-ites” demand are members of the bands of The writer of this article was in Russia for a Makhno and Antonov, who pillaged, robbed, and considerable length of time at two different peri- killed. While the workers of Moscow and Petro- ods since the establishment of the Soviet Repub- grad starved, these “politicals” held up, “expropri- lic. ated,” and burned trainloads of grain coming from He made the acquaintance of a Socialist the Ukraine or from Siberia and destined to feed Revolutionary in high office in the Commissariat the hungry workers in those cities. of Health. They organized bands of the size of armies. With the help of them, they took villages and cit- Emma Goldman Unmolested. ies. They shot all Communists and Communist suspects they could lay their hands on. And then, He saw Emma Goldman there, free, unmo- these friends of Anarchy or democracy set up a lested; the same Emma Goldman that the Ameri- military dictatorship in place of the Soviets. can democracy had deported. She was utterly op- To demand the release of these “politicals” is posed to the Soviet regime and never hesitated to to identify oneself with their crimes. We do not say so. question the SP-ites’ right to such honors. But we He heard Menshevik and Socialist Revolu- ask the members of the Workmen’s Circle and the tionaries speak, and speak violently against the ILGWU whether they want their organizations, Communists in election meetings for the soviets whether they want themselves, identified with and elsewhere. these crimes against the first Workers Republic. He saw a sign of an anarchist club hang over “But,” the gentlemen of the SP may say, “we the entrance of a soviet-owned and soviet-run do not mean these Anarchists, we mean the Men- house in Moscow. No prosecution resulted from sheviks and the Socialist Revolutionaries. They are all this. Socialists, like us.” So who are the “political prisoners” whose Yes, indeed, gentlemen from the SP, they are release the “SP-ites” of the Workmen’s Circle and Socialists like you are. You are just like them. You the ILGWU demand? would do the same thing to a proletarian revolu- They are people who, in the name of anar- tion in American what they did to it in Russia. chism, organized what they called expropriation expeditions, but what in reality were expeditions Aided Allied Bayonets. of banditry. Whoever dared to protect the property of The Mensheviks organized the counterrevo- the soviets from these bandits was killed merci- lutionary government in Arkhangelsk. With the lessly, was murdered. aid of allied bayonets, they gave the unhappy in- habitants a taste of their democracy. At their All- Fixing the Crime. Russian Conference in 1918 in Moscow, they declared in favor of the counterrevolution and is- Whoever demands the release of such ban- sued a call for insurrection against the Soviets. dits and murderers identifies himself with them They instigated and organized strikes in the and their acts. We do not question the SP right to ammunition factories of the soviets at a time when do that. But to do that in the name of unsuspect- the life of the Workers’ Republic depended on a ing workers is a crime. successful struggle against the Kolchaks, Denikins, These political prisoners whose release the Yudenich, Semënov, Petliura, and countless other Bedacht: Political Prisoners in Russia [June 17, 1922] 3 Whites. The Mensheviks, these enemies of terror, the contrary. We think them to be quite natural. organized the White terror the first days of the But they should have courage enough to say what revolution. they mean. They put out a helping hand to the bour- Let them say: “We are for a counterrevolu- geoisie when that class was terror stricken and tion in Russia and therefore demand the release helpless by the taking of power of the proletariat. of its leaders from Russian prisons.” Let them say: They took up the fight for the bourgeoisie. “The Mensheviks are our brothers and comrades. They organized sabotage throughout the land. Therefore we hate their enemies.” Destroyed houses, locomotives, and thousands of Let them say: “We are enemies of the prole- other necessities throughout Russia still tell the tarian revolution. Therefore we are friends of the tale of the deeds of those “politicals.” leaders of the counterrevolution and demand their release from prison.” When Mensheviks Rejoice. Let them say what they think: “How can the counterrevolution which we desire with all our The insurrection of Kaledin and of the heart make progress as long as its most experi- Ukrainian Rada was supported by them. In the enced and most active leaders and agents are in days when the Whites waded through streams of prison. Therefore we demand their release.” blood of murdered Communists in Samara and It is hypocrisy in the highest degree to ex- Kazan, the Mensheviks in those cities rejoiced over ploit the slogan of “release of political prisoners” the victory of “order.” in connection with the bandits and counterrevo- In their papers, which significantly were the lutionists now in prison in Soviet Russia. Although only “Socialist” papers that could appear under the members of the ILGWU and the Workmen’s white rule, they declared for a continuance of the Circle are in favor of the release of political pris- “punishment of traitors,” meaning the killing of oners, they certainly do not wish to be identified Communists and sympathizers. with bandits and counterrevolutionists, played off Peter Maslov, one of the best-known leaders by their friends in America, by the “Socialists,” as of the Mensheviks, declared it as the foremost duty political prisoners. of every party member to line up actively with the counterrevolution. Aid to French Ambassador. These staunch believers in democracy supported every military dictatorship set up by Kol- Now to the Socialist Revolutionaries. Are chak, Denikin, Wrangel, and others as against the they political prisoners in the sense of the term Soviets. used in America? [Boris] Savinkov, the leader of The gentlemen of the SP sympathize with the Right of that party, became the agent of the Mensheviks in prison. But not because of ab- Noulens, the French Ambassador in Petrograd, stract love for democracy and liberty, but because immediately after the revolution started. of their sympathy with the activities of the Men- With American money he started a coun- sheviks. terrevolutionary newspaper in Petrograd after Feb- ruary 1917. He was the friend of Kerensky and Let Them Have Courage. helped organize the insurrection of Kornilov and the plot of Krasnov. We do not dispute the right of the gentle- Morosiev, of the Left SR, organized the men from the SP to have such sympathies.

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