The Stalin school of falsification - Marxists Internet Archive

Stalin School of Falsification - Chapter 13
allow that Voroshilov is right. The question arises: Why did the party tolerate Trotsky and the entire
Military Council of that time? Why was not Trotsky removed during the years of the civil war?
Furthermore: Why were victories gained on all fronts under the leadership of the "then" Military Coun
cil? After all, Military Councils are intended for war and not peace! Why were neither Stalin nor
Voroshiloy called upon to lead the army, but, on the contrary, removed time and again from difficult
sectors? By their declarations the Stalinists compromise only the party, the Central Commit tee and
Lenin. If the myths the Stalinists record were true, it would mean that the C.C. was gnilty of the gravest
crimes towards the revolution. For it must be borne in mind that all these things took place in the period
of cruel civil war and not in peace-time when all the Voroshilovs are freely able to "refresh."
But that is not all. Summarizing the "historic" trip of Stalin to Vyatka, Voroshilov writes: "In
consequence of all these [?] measures [of Stalin-Dzerzhinsky] not only was the further offensive of the
enemy halted, but in January ..... . Uralsk was captured." Here is a zeal truly exces sive! "In
consequence" of Stalin's having safely visited Vyatka in January 1919, a thou8and kilonirters away-one
thousand !-from Vyatka, Uralsk was captured. . . . In the month of January, i.e., at the very moment when
Stalin Dzerzhinsky arrived in Vyatka there could not have been any results even in Vyatka itself.
("Results"-that is easier written than done.) Or is it perhaps precisely for that reason that Voroshilov had
to go to Uralsk to excavate them?
We shall not dwell in detail on Voroshilov's next chapter entitled "Petrograd," we confine ourselves
merely to three points.
1. We shall not undertake to judge the extent to which Stalin was instrumental in recapturing Krasnaya
Gorka (it had been evacuated without any cause, and was "retaken" four days later without any
difficulty). Voroshilov confines himself to vagne generalities. But this particular episode is entirely
insignificant.
2. The Krasnaya Gorka episode pertains to June 1919. At that time, Stalin, according to his apologist,
"liquidated a most dangerous situation beneath Petrograd." Yet the advance of Yudenich and the collapse
of the Seventh Army (in which Stalin functioned) began precisely after the above mention~d
"liquidation," attaining its most critical stage in October 1919. From June to October the situation of the
Red Army beneath Petrograd became worse and worse. Under these circumstances, to say that Stalin had
"liquidated" the danger is, to put it mildly . . . risky. Stalin did very little beneath Petrograd, and indeed
there was probably not much that he could have done: this front was at that time tem porarily neglected.
But in that case why is Stalin depicted with the halo of a "savior"?
3 . The point, however, is that Voroshilov is here resorting to juggling with words. The entire and most
transparent trick lies in the use of the word "Petrograd." In the history of the civil war there is only one
decisive "liquidation of the most dangerous situation beneath Red Petrograd"~and that is the victory over
Yudenich in October 1919, which took place four months after Stalin's excursion to Petrograd. This is
not a matter of common knowledge, but, on the other hand, every body is acquainted with the fact that
Yudenich was liquidated. That is precisely the foundation upon which Voroshilov's trick is built: "To
assign" to Stalin the actual liquidation of the danger, i.e., that danger with which Stalin had absolutely no
connection.
Incidentally, Stalin himself in his own time appraised his journeys with much less assuranca -- and that is
hardly to be wondered at, since it was ten years ago! Here, for example, is what he wired in reply to a
proposal of the C.C. that he go to the Southwestern Front: "February 4th, 1919. To the C.C. of the Party.
http://www.marxists.org/archive/trotsky/works/1937-st2/sf13.htm (7 of 14) [06/06/2002 15:07:18]