Debate at the Second Sitting of the Pre-Parliament. October 23, 1917

Original Source: Rech', No. 239, 24 October 1917.

General A. L. Verkhovskii, Minister of War, spoke first:

I consider it my duty ... to tell the country the whole truth about the army ... in order that the members of the Council of the Republic may be able to undertake measures to safeguard the existence of our country.

The enemy is using every opportunity to deliver us additional blows ... The aim of these blows is not to achieve a decisive military victory . which would enable the Germans to impose their will on us, but to produce on our people a psychological effect ... that will force us to make a dishonorable peace.

I must tell you that those who maintain that the Russian army is a nonentity do not know what they say ... The Germans keep 130 divisions on our front ... that is how they evaluate the fighting strength of the Russian army. The Russian army still exists ... and will do its duty to the very end. (Cheers on the Right.) ...

At the same time I must say that disorders on the front and at the rear are growing steadily ... This is due chiefly to the failure of the troops to understand our war aims. The Provisional Government and the Council of the Republic must, therefore, take all measures to see that every man clearly understands that we are not waging war for territorial conquests (voices from the Left: "Bravo!") ... but for the salvation of our country. (Applause on all benches.) ...

The government's military program ... has been carried out in the most energetic manner. All the elements ... implicated in the Kornilov movement have been replaced by men who perceive the complexity of the situation ... Gradually the commanders and the regimental committees are beginning to work amicably with the committees ... for the restoration of the combative power of the army ...

The most urgent necessity is to restore discipline. In the name of the Provisional Government I shall submit to the Pre-Parliament an urgent bill providing for the establishment of qualified regimental disciplinary tribunals which will settle all cases within forty-eight hours. It is also intended to introduce a system of penalties by which whole regiments, if convicted of lack of discipline, will have their leaves and their allowances stopped and their rations considerably reduced. We need a definite decision of the Pre-Parliament as to whether or not it wishes that all disorders and anarchic manifestations be suppressed with a firm hand.

Statement of Admiral Verderevskii, Minister of Marine

The Baltic Fleet which from the very beginning of the war shouldered the great responsibility of defending the approaches to our capital ... fulfilled its task conscientiously ... So far the Baltic Fleet experienced no shortage of supplies ... But now with the feeble productivity of our factories it is doubtful whether it will be possible to make the necessary repairs on our ships. Let us hope that the recent activities of the German fleet" [In the Gulf of Riga, where the Germans occupied the Dagsel islands during the first week of October] will impress upon our workmen ... that every delay in work ... threatens to make the situation very grave ...

As to the relation between the officers and the sailors, it must be recognized as very critical indeed. In the fleet the situation is even more tragic than in the army. It is possible to break up an insurgent regiment ... but to disband the crew of a battleship ... is not so easy, as much training is required to attend to the complicated machinery of a man-of-war. We must, therefore, be lenient with the sailors and find the means of bringing about the desired cooperation between the officers and the sailors. Without ... this co-operation the fighting capacity of the fleet cannot be assured ..., .

The restoration of discipline is as imperative in the fleet as in the army, but this will not be accomplished by threats and violence. Only the realization of individual responsibility ... now dormant among the masses, but which is there none the less, can save the situation by creating a self-imposed and voluntary discipline ...

Statement of General M. V. Alekseev, former Commander-in-Chief

Russia ... is passing through an extremely painful and difficult period ... which is the result of the overpowering of the national spirit by the deadly idea that we are no longer capable of continuing the war and that we are in urgent need of an immediate peace.

The Russian people must first of all put squarely the question: is such a peace possible under present conditions ... and is it likely to give to the world the things of which its advocates are dreaming ... ? An impartial view of the situation will disclose that an immediate peace would be fatal for Russia, leading to her physical disintegration and an inevitable partition of her possessions ... It would eliminate Russia from the Great Powers on which depends the solution of all European problems ...

But what is the condition of our army? Our Minister of War has just been telling us that we still have an army The Lord be praised for that! But in all frankness and courage let us open our eyes to the real condition and not be carried away by alluring promises that the army will do its duty and defend the country ... Our army is afflicted by grave ills, the most dangerous of which is the shattering of discipline. When once undermined, discipline is very difficult to restore, and of its own volition, it will, most assuredly, not come back. The masses of soldiers have tasted the sweets of insubordination ., ... and idleness. They are overwhelmed by the desire for personal safety, which creates longing for a speedy peace. Such an army is a real danger, and until those infirmities are overcome we shall not be able to say that our army is a healthy organization capable of continuing the struggle ... Enthusiasm alone will not take the place of discipline, as the sad events of July have clearly demonstrated.

Martov, leader of the Menshevik Internationalists, after a bitter polemic against General Alekseev, introduced the following resolution

The Provisional Council of the Republic hereby acknowledges the necessity of:

A radical purging of the commanding personnel with the object of removing all counter-revolutionary elements from the army and the Stavka;

The further democratization of the army command, to be accomplished by strengthening the army committees by giving them the right to remove undesirable commanders, and by further developing the institute of army commissars whose activity shall be controlled by the central organ of the revolutionary democracy;

The immediate abolition of the death penalty and restitution of their rights to all persons confined by sentence of the military tribunals for breach of discipline provided that the breach was committed for conscientious reasons;

A thoroughgoing investigation of the Kornilov affair and the arraignment of those found guilty in accordance with the laws governing offenses committed in the zone of military operations.

The Provisional Government should take the initiative and invite all the belligerent countries to undertake immediate negotiations leading to a general peace, declare an armistice on all fronts, and ask the Allied Governments to join the Russian Republic in that step.

Statement of Prime Minister Kerenskii

General Alekseev said that the army in the trenches has lost its honor and sense of duty. As Supreme Commander of the army I deem it my duty to say that the army has not lost its honor and is ready to sacrifice itself for the country and for freedom. (Applause on the Left and in the Center.) ... I do not deny the disorganized condition of our armed forces ... but the army which the revolution inherited was already in a state of dissolution ... The people were not aware of this fact, because the newspapers knew how to be silent.

We are charged with having delayed peace. But who delayed it ... ? Surely those who labored to undermine the fighting capacity of the army ... I am obliged to bring back to your memory the situation when all true representatives of the democracy ... were fighting against those elements which owing to ignorance and lack of political perspective ... were encouraging the further disintegration of the army ...

It is also said that the June [July] offensive served as a prelude to the Kornilov affair. This is not true! Those who took part will testify ... to the enthusiasm of the soldier masses. These were the days of the greatest triumph of the Russian Revolution, when the prestige of Russia was ... at its highest in the international concert ... and I can tell everyone ... that if blind fanatics, assisted by a group of deliberate traitors, ... had not destroyed the fruits of the colossal effort of democracy, we should have had this Christmas a peace honorable for Russia and for her friends. (Shouts of applause on the Right, Center, and part of the Left.) ...

Now, I declare before the Russian people, before the bar of history and in the name of the democratic majority, whose interests I have ever championed, that we did everything we could and that we are not to blame if the prestige of the revolution has diminished ...

The Provisional Government introduced revolutionary war tribunals and restored the death penalty, but it did so during the terrible pogroms in Galicia at the demand not only of the general staff and of the military commissars but also at the instance of the regimental committees ...

I am glad to say that on all the fronts and in all the armies you will not find a single leader who is hostile to my system of military administration ... What is important is to put an end once and for all to the legend that the majority of the officers are devoted to the cause of counter-revolution ... This ... will enable us to undertake the necessary measures to stop the advance of the enemy ... The ways to reestablish the fighting spirit of the army are not closed ... All those who wish to hasten the conclusion of peace should remember that until our army is strong enough to inspire the respect of the enemy the prospects of peace will remain as remote as they are now.

Source: James Bunyan and H.H. Fisher, ed., Bolshevik Revolution, 1917-1918; Documents and Materials (Stanford: Stanford University Press; H. Milford, Oxford University Press, 1934), pp. 35-39.