Out for local heroes. A w made for mines. Uprisings power struggles civil wars. There have been countless revolutions. And none change the world in the Twentieth Century as much as the Russian Revolution of one thousand nine hundred seventy. S. A lot of images are whirling around in my head are they accurate. Or have they been influenced by Sergei Eisenstein film october from one nine hundred twenty eight. In february one nine hundred seventeen the people revolted and overthrew the czar. In october the bolsheviks came to power what happened in between. There are plenty of history books but i want to know how artists experience the revolution first hand accounts first hand history. There are the diaries of sanity to give us a poet surrounded by scandal and a woman of influence her salon was legendary in St Petersburg she became a chronicler of the revolution. It would be good to be blind and deaf show no interest at all and write poems about eternity and beauty. If only i could. What do the memoirs of the painter and art critic on example been telling us every last note made by maxine gorky has been subject to academic interpretation how did he experience one nine hundred seventeen as a marxist and longtime associate of lenin. Can i retell the history of the Russian Revolution just using artists notes and document. How did the revolution affect them how did they influence the revolution. The First World War had been raging for three years russia was on its last legs millions had died on the battlefield no peace was inside the people had had enough and the front line was getting closer. What were Young Artists doing especially those in the army. Did the war determine everything. Consider for example blood amir my a cough ski the poet in his early twenties he was lucky he did not have to go to the front he served at the military Automobile School in St Petersburg and wrote provocative columns. Hey there sir youve got cabbage in your mustache from some half eaten cabbage soup somewhere and you woman your make up so thick you peer out like an oyster from a shell of things. By now rage against the song and his war had spread throughout society. Since i had a good p. S. Who was forty eight in one thousand seven hundred lived opposite the town read palace the seat of the virtually powerless Russian Parliament the duma. But. Like everyone else i cant get to grips with these times i understand nothing im shattered theres only one thing to do when i write then to the point. The conclusion of many by now. Must go. What voice should be used to speak what kind is needed to shout out that the war in russia will not end easily everything will collapse no matter what. People are starving there has been no bread for weeks. The powers that be are pursuing their own absolutely unsuccessful political agenda which serves only to isolate them from the lower classes. Thats why what comes next will come from below. And it will be stark and wrong. And i have a good. Oh. On the twenty third of february thousands of women went on strike and demanded bread they march toward the city center where they were joined by increasing numbers of workers. All over town the trams have come to a halt at the Parliament Building the first shots have been fired. The streets are full of soldiers who have joined the movement. Entire garrisons mutinied one hundred fifty thousand insurgents took to the streets of the city. The writer maxim gorky had been involved in the first Russian Revolution of one thousand and five which ended in a bloodbath he had become skeptical and did not believe in a victory of the masses he knew what can happen when revolutions fail. The looting has begun a lot of blood will flow and listen mounds. Gorkys flat became a kind of Information Exchange for marxists. Many of the mensheviks and bolshevik and social revolutionary Party Leaders had been banished to siberia or were living in exile like lenin so the insurgents began to organize themselves. Alex summed up in wa describe the events of february the twenty eighth. Maybe this is a revolution we were Drinking Coffee when my daughter daniel leaned out the window and to our great consternation exclaimed that there were cars with red flags all the way from threatening prospect of bridge. Accompanied by a yelling crowd. At first we felt stunned and scared by the news but by midday we had grown used to the revolutionary motorcades. Soldiers ordered drivers to get out shoot into the air. Then get back in and drive off a lot of cars with red banners head towards the duma. In the very first days of the revolution i wrote the poetic chronicle revolution gave lectures the bolsheviks of art went with the cars to the duma. In the space of just a few days the old order collapsed the insurgents besieged the duma demanded a handover of power and the abdication of the czar. The same old bunch of officers are still strutting about in the duma its quite clear to me that the socialists are coming the bolsheviks. Soldiers arrested policemen loyal to the czar and formed councils the diffuse rebellion was beginning to take on structure. And we were all sitting in the dining room when we suddenly heard the rattle of machine guns close by. That was it five it turned out that there were machine guns posted on our roof and on the house opposite. This is about a lot more than just the czars abdication the duma and the soldiers and Workers Councils are competing for power. Suddenly it was six by then the phone rang. And. The. Cabinet selected all is well an agreement has been reached he listed the names i notice that not a single revolutionary has been included in the cabinet. The. The duma had set up a provisional government. At the same time the workers and military deputies soviet was formed two centers of power emerged the period of dual power had begun. The revolution brought new freedoms freedom of assembly. The release of all Political Prisoners and. Equal rights for all citizens. Freedom of speech and press. Abolition of Capital Punishment the with a few days were enough to put an end to the three hundred year reign of the romanovs. With. Emblems of the old order were destroyed. On march the fourth fifty artists gathered in my flat it was a distressing moment because there were rumors that the monument to alexander the third was about to be destroyed. But. This is the peoples art it belongs to us and we must do everything we can to make the people realize this to make them take and keep what is theirs. At least the group of artists acted immediately. To prevent the destruction of artistic monuments we the undersigned have resolved to establish a commission for questions pertaining to art the chairman maxine gorky. In order to implement the plan outlined by corky yesterday evening emissaries went to the duma today armed with a list of demands. After that everything went very fast a government resolution was drafted the Arts Commission can be established. The commission was granted a number of powers it was even assigned a militia of its own. The gorki commission issued an appeal it was broadcast throughout the city. Citizens the old rulers are gone leaving behind a great legacy which now belongs to the people treasure this legacy the beauty that talented people were able to create even under the yoke of despotism. I have forgotten how and why but someone voiced the suspicion i might try to force my way into the academy with some organizing committee or other that that a bearded gentleman rose and said if mayakovsky enters the academy it will be over my dead body if he tries to do so i shall shoot him thats classless art for you. One person calls for setting up a commission for the protection of historical monuments. Thats followed by a counterproposal that a commission be founded for the systematic destruction of art and history. Of. Its no longer the council of workers deputies but the council of workers and soldiers deputies. In its latest proclamation there was a very strange order for number one garrison. The order stripped the officers of their authority and legalize the Soldiers Councils that had sprung up spontaneously. It also guaranteed that the soldiers of St Petersburg would not be sent to the front if they did not want to go more and more soldiers were deserving and heading home and news of the revolution was spreading fast. Many were drawn to the capital the call for peace was growing louder. We have dual rule the incoherent council with its absurd proclamations and the menace of the front. The question of war must be addressed without delay as a reminder to myself i will give a brief outline of my current views on war i am in favor of war that is to say i am in favor of it speedy and and dignified. What was to be done some argued the war should be ended immediately and unconditionally others wanted to fight on and win back the territory russia had lost. Our nonpartisan press is without exception such that we want to have nothing to do with it especially at a time like this. There is nowhere for writers to say their part we accept the role of secret invite others and play us with gusto. Was friends with alexander korecki a star of the february revolution he was minister of justice and then of war in the provisional government. Kerensky came at about six we kissed a few civilly of course hes somewhat crazy but he exudes a certain sorrow. The soldiers have rioted in the peter and Paul Fortress and thrown pillows and blankets out of the windows. There was unrest in south korea to. Ski went there in person and arrested a close confident of the czarina possibly saving her from mob law. But. There was a huge public demonstration of grief on the field of mars. Two Million People were there. Shimmered. In the kitchens and servants quarters the most terrible things were predicted to happen today indiscriminate slaughter and the like our butler even locked the front door and refused to let anyone out of the house. In fact the proletariat showed their best side to maintain strict order throughout the demonstrations we walked all. Overtown even to the graves themselves. The most uncanny moment came when the black drapes were followed by the first two caskets covered in bright red cloth. It was clear and immediate evidence of the new zeitgeist the break with ancient custom i hadnt expected my fellow countrymen to break so unabashedly with the holy rituals of death there was something wicked in it something provocative the coffin somehow lost their identity as caskets of peace as the symbol of oppression of tory and. The bright red gave them a peculiar fight tallaght or electric quality such a lovely red boat moving above the heads of the crowds of workers was a vocative of a commander leading the disenfranchised into battle. Yonder and. It looked as if the terrible coffins were in a hurry to get to the big pit where they would be sunk to check the merciless wrath of the people. And. I was particularly surprised at the discipline displayed by the endless droves of proletarians strange that there were so few peace logans. Land and freedom for eight hour a day or more common. In other words strictly essential and material demands. The promise of the revolution could not be kept there was still hunger and war for most people nothing had changed it was rumored the provisional government had no intention of pull. Out of the war. I do not belong to any Political Party but i have no doubt that my answer to the question of whether we are aware of the great responsibility each of us now bears is yes we are aware of our responsibility and because we are aware of it we say stop the slaughter stop the bloodshed. Mayakovsky published an appeal in the n. R. Kissed newspaper. On march twenty eighth one thousand nine hundred seventy four the revolution. Comrades if you want your manifesto as posters and banners to draw more attention turn to artists for help if you want your proclamations and appeals to be more effective and convincing turn to poets and writers for help. On a. Bus to lenin that trischka that loud mouth braggart has finally turned up after all he was given a grand welcome he came via germany. The germans had gathered a whole heap of these troubles interest because they provided an entire train sealed it so the spirit of the trishs doesnt escape on to german soil and sent it to us now you have him. On the third of april learning arrived in St Petersburg from his exile in service bringing with him his program that april theses. Lenin started on his campaign immediately he said he had broken with social democracy and what from no one call himself a social communist. He demanded immediate peace he called for a boycott of the provision. Government he declared all power to the soviets all land to the peasants. The government has finally issued its long awaited statement on the war it is live feeble and unclear. Always the same without an exaggeration but mumbles. Can bind with spine lists selfassertion. That made it official the provisional government was not going to sign a separate peace treaty with germany russia was to remain at war. If the government wanted to drum up support for the war and raise funds artists most of whom were against the war who were asked to do propaganda the idea was that carnivals and processions would encourage people to buy war bonds the provisional government was planning a new military offensive. The people of St Petersburg protested in july the situation would escalate. But before that workers day was celebrated on the first of may. Gorky dissolved his commission too little support. But he began to write and publish more. The first of may one thousand nine hundred seventeen impressions from the street people seem not to believe that they are free and have the right to demonstrate and sing forbidding songs theyve all gone out on the street to see for themselves. Russia has taken an incredible step forward and left a. For a behind it it has celebrated the first of may as it has never been celebrated in the countries of ancient cultures. Yes we must keep fighting an arche but sometimes we must also overcome our fear of the people the fatherland would consider itself less endangered if there were more cultured. May the fifteenth in the evening the staff of the newspaper know via shes in gather to discuss their position on the arts mayakovsky is without a doubt talented big and strong but he is also a liar gorkys tone is very somber he sounds like he is already disappointed in the revolution for such a staunch revolutionary that has come with alarming speed the government was planning renewed military action the current or july offensive. The madness continues as a pacifist i welcome the offensive hoping that it will bring at least some order to this exhausted and sluggish country and i fear lennons mad politics will soon lead to civil war. He is completely isolated politically but his slogans are very popular among most workers and some soldiers as well. Corky supported the offensive as a marxist there were more and more demonstrations. On june the eighteenth four hundred thousand people marched through St Petersburg. Then on the twentieth the first machine gun regiment from v. Borg was to be sent to the front and the soldiers refused open rebellion was imminent. Then came the july the first machine gun regiment took the lead in efforts to topple the provisional government the bolsheviks decided to take part many were killed in clashes with troops loyal to the government. The dreadful images of the madness that say St Petersburg on the fourth of july will stay with me all my life. A truck came by a high speed loaded with shotguns and machine guns stuffed full of representatives of the revolutionary army. Suddenly a shot rang out somewhere and hundreds of people scattered in panic like swirling leaves falling down pushing one another over screaming shouting the borzois are shooting. The air. To suppress the uprising the artillery was employed and troops were called in from the front i know a lot of details from private letters but i dont want to quote them here so i shall simply write according to reports. Of. The provisional government outlawing the bolsheviks and had hundreds arrested. For my part i found julys dress rehearsal depressing this coincided with my general disappointment in the revolution and my deep regret about joining company with people who are entirely alien to me so i decided not to yield to gorkys attempts at persuasion but to leave no via shes in for good and return to my independent solitude. The thick. There are no printing works no paper no typesetters and no printers its extremely expensive to get anything printed. I have often seen St Petersburg in summer. But never has it looked as grey and dirty and slovenly as it does now. Idle soldiers stagger about in droves spitting sunflower seeds. Daily life now centers on worries about finding our daily bread we too are on starvation ration. Heres the latest our troops flee the front clearing the way for the germans. The loyal ones die the officers die in vast numbers but the soldiers flee and the germans pour through the gates after the fleeing masses. The july offensive failed one contributing factor was the troops refusal to perish as cannon fodder kerensky who was by now Prime Minister was losing support. Kerensky has been corrupted he has taken up residence in the Winter Palace thereby revealing himself as a miserable parvenu his brilliance sensibilities have evidently deserted him. Always the same insistent demands korecki should either really take control or hand over power to more capable people. Then came the events known as the kornilov affair and attempted counterrevolutionary coup. Was the armys commander in chief he decided to send troops to St Petersburg to disarm radical soldiers and save russia from the bolsheviks but korecki feared was in fact leading a rebellion against his government and dismissed him. To risk provided forty thousand rifles for the defense of St Petersburg many went to the bolsheviks who were rehabilitated having been outlawed because of their involvement in the july days. Railway workers dismantled train tracks to prevent troops from reaching the city bolshevik agents persuaded many of his men to desert after three days it was all over. The bolsheviks keep their weapons. Russia is gradually de career flying itself no more respect im leaving the no via shes a newspaper claiming my plane mystery. Eat your pineapples chew on your grouse your last day is coming you borzois laos. This couplet has become my favorite saying. The revolutionary leaders argued their case to the masses. Power to the councils. The heritage and the palaces are being evacuated it suicide its an expression of the panic that has seized our entire terrified society in the face of the specter of bolshevism. Lenin was engaged in an argument with his own party the bolsheviks armed revolt yes or no if so when and how. Everyone is trying to organize a strong government but civil war is inevitable. Its terrible. It was clear by now that the bolshevik coup was imminent. Lenin openly supports this program as if it were planned. The papers hasten to inform us that the government is about to arrest him. What an image. And his feeble group of followers calling out to lenin and toccata come here dad hes going to give you a spanking. On the nineteenth of october not long before the coup a banquet proposed by zenaida give us was held in the house of an influential businessman it was her last attempt to forge an alliance against the bolsheviks one guest addressed the assembled. The point of her speech was that we should do nothing and instead carry on doing what the intelligentsia has been doing all along what is she thinking im not blind i know that no intellectual manifesto can save us from these cannons. Nonetheless our sense of honor obliges us to raise our voices before it is too late so that they know which side were on when they start shooting the cannons at each other. Then the coup began the bolsheviks took control of the railway stations the power plants main roads and bridges and they had the support of the people on the street. The government sent in tanks their crews defected to the bolsheviks joining forces with them willingly. Theres shooting on nevsky prospect a social cuckoo is imminent we must expect it at any time. With. A few thousand people gathered in front of the Winter Palace. In the name had the bolsheviks seizure of power announced on posters although it had not yet taken place. In the e. U. On the day of the coup i was out and about in the afternoon i certainly hadnt expected it to happen today. I hadnt realised we were seeing the last hours of our bourgeois world order. Currency left in a private car in the Early Morning hours he slunk off. It wasnt yet ten and already shots could be heard louder and more intense by the minute. My heart seized up with the Winter Palace be no more in a few minutes. Right next to it is the heritage with the most important artworks of russia more precious to me than anything else in the world. The storming of the Winter Palace began. To one of the last day is coming aboard while the house your highness join your cross the last day is coming towards water the house will doubtless join your white house the last day of probably boards while the house there was very little resistance the provisional government was arrested. And all together bizarre landscape present events are as different from the revolution as october is from february and march as different as these dirty dark grey clouds are from the bright skies of spring. The present situation is this all the trustees are reveling in their triumph carefree and selfsatisfied. The all Russian Council met in small news the headquarters of the revolution when the storming of the Winter Palace was announced several delegates left the room in protest amid loud booing from the bolsheviks urged by lenin the remaining Council Members decided to seize power. Later in the soviet union these events would be called the start of the great october socialist revolution. The first measures taken were a decree on the ownership of land and a decree on making peace. According to the St Petersburg newspapers from october the first the soldiers storming the Winter Palace sang a little song eat your pineapples and so on. In the morning we discovered that immediately after these few cannon shots the siege of the palace ended and the members of the government were arrested. I was suddenly curious to find out what state the palace was really in that the i had prepared myself for a scene of total devastation and smoking heaps of rubble but the palace thank god looked as impressive and unshakable as ever. Get the both the square and the surrounding streets were completely deserted beneath the dreary gray sky everything looked like an apparition from the past. With the. All the remaining newspapers three quarters of the band including novi ashes and distanced themselves from the bush tax albeit to varying degrees. Doing away with the freedom of the press is a form of physical violence and unworthy of a democracy its important not to forget that the unscrupulous as ours were capable of wiping out entire generations and that everyone who is intoxicated by the poison of power possesses such unscrupulousness i would like to stress that an experiment is being carried out on the russian proletariat the awful thing about it is that it will be enduring lee disappointed in the high ideals of socialism. To endorse it or not. That wasnt a question the other moscow futurist and i asked ourselves it was my revolution. I went to the small me worked did what had to be done the time of assemblies had begun. But. The third. Reich is repugnant the newspapers are one big lie whats more moscow was shelled and has surrendered to the bolsheviks the big cities St Petersburg and moscow have been captured by hostile and barbaric troops there is nowhere to flee to. This is no longer my home. I shall of course continue to write because i am a chronicler. It was not clear whether the bolsheviks could remain in power or people sought ways to try to survive some came to terms with the status quo others withdrew from public life. In march one thousand nine hundred russia signed the peace treaty abreast of the bosc and surrendered huge stretches of territory the world war was followed by an even bloodier civil war which claimed millions more lives and the arts they experienced a kind of awakening in one nine hundred seventeen but the newfound freedom soon proved to be brief and illusory. But its not just. The twenty fifth. With five diamond stands. Unless its not. Going to cause the diamond standoff so long. Long. Its all about the moments that lie before. Its all about the stories inside. Its all about George Chance to discover the world from different perspectives. Join us and inspired by distinctive instagram others at g. W. Stories the two topics each week on instagram. The freedom of expression. A value that always has to be defended and new. All over the world. Are to afraid of freedom of art. A multimedia project about artists and their right to express their views freely. D. W. Dot com art of freedom. Health. And hearings to law. Solidarity. They fall by the wayside when the gap between rich and poor grows. Life in an equal societies. The divide starting november fifteenth on d w. This is d. W. News live from berlin tonight justice on trial in turkey and a surprising twist in the case of a German National accused of helping terrorists turkish prosecutors are calling for the release of human rights or
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