Collected Works of V. I. Lenin - Vol. 16 - From Marx to Mao

THE CAMPAIGN AGAINST FINLAND173thing in its power to prevent the full freedom of the socialistorganisations in Finland, it thought to escape violence atthe hands of tsarism by compliance (such as the surrender ofpolitical offenders in 1907); it accused the socialists of itsown country of having been corrupted by the Russian socialists,infected with their revolutionary spirit.In Finland now the bourgeoisie too can see the fruits ofthe policy of concessions, compliance and “flunkeyism”,the policy of directly or indirectly betraying the socialists.Apart from the struggle of the masses, schooled in a socialistway and organised by socialists, the Finnish people willfind no escape from their plight: apart from proletarianrevolution there is no way of repulsing Nicholas II.Another thing that reinforces the old nationalism as thepolicy of our autocracy is the growing class-consciousnessand consciously counter-revolutionary attitude of our Russianbourgeoisie. Chauvinism has grown among them withtheir growing hatred of the proletariat as an internationalforce. Their chauvinism has grown stronger parallel withthe growth and intensification of the rivalry of internationalcapital. Chauvinism appeared as a thirst for revenge engenderedby the losing of the war with Japan and the powerlessnessof the bourgeoisie against the privileged landlords.Chauvinism has found support in the appetites of the trueRussian industrialists and merchants who are glad to “conquer”Finland after failing to grab a slice of the pie in theBalkans. Therefore, the representative assembly of the landlordsand big bourgeoisie gives tsarism true allies for settlingwith free Finland.But if the basis of counter-revolutionary “operations”over the free border province has become wider, so has thebasis for repelling these operations. If instead of the bureaucracyalone and a handful of magnates we have the landednobility and the wealthiest merchants organised in theThird Duma on the side of the enemies of Finland, we haveon the side of her friends those millions of common peoplewho created the movement of 1905, who produced the revolutionarywing in both the First Duma and the Second. Andhowever profound the political lull at the present momentthese masses of people are alive and are growing in spite ofeverything. So too is growing a new avenger of the new defeat