Lenin CW-Vol. 23.pdf - From Marx to Mao

416 NOTES156157158Petit Parisien—a daily mass-circulation yellow sheet published inParis from 1876 to 1944. During the First World War its pageswere devoted to jingoist propaganda of the very worst kind.p. 364The decision was signed by Lenin, and also by G. Y. Zinoviev.p. 365Lenin began to make arrangements for returning to Russia as soonas the news of the February Revolution was confirmed. “I’m besidemyself at the thought that I cannot go to Scandinavia! I cannot forgivemyself for not having risked going there in 1915,” he wrote toInessa Armand on March 2 (15), 1917. Both the ProvisionalGovernment and the Allies, England and France, took measures toprevent the internationalists returning to Russia. The Russianpolice drew up a black list of persons subject to arrest at the frontierMost of the names were those of Zimmerwald internationalists;opponents of the imperialist war. Only defencists were allowed toenter the country. Knowing that his return would encounter formidableobstacles, Lenin weighed the possibility of travelling onsomeone else’s passport. He discussed this in letters to V. A. Karpinskyin Geneva and J. S. Hanecki in Stockholm.At a private meeting of the Russian Party centres in Berne onMarch 6 (19), Martov suggested travelling via Germany in exchangefor Germans interned in Russia. The plan was eagerly supportedby Lenin, all the more so that, on March 11 (24), the Russian Legationin Berne had held up permits for the return of a number ofémigrés.Robert Grimm, a Social-Democratic member of the Swiss FederalCouncil, negotiated with the German Minister in Berne permissionfor Russian political émigrés to make the trip through Germany.In view of Grimm’s ambiguous attitude, the Bolsheviks askedFritz Platten, a Left Zimmerwaldist and Secretary of the SwissSocial-Democratic Party, to take over the negotiations. The GermanGovernment agreed to the terms proposed by Platten and drawnup by Lenin: the group would be accorded ex-territorial rightson German soil, would not be subjected to customs inspection orpolitical verification; the German authorities would deal onlywith Platten, who was to accompany the Russians throughout thejourney.The group left only on March 27 (April 9). The delay was causedby the Mensheviks demanding prior agreement by the ProvisionalGovernment or the Petrograd Soviet to exchange Russian émigrésfor German internees. Yet, it was perfectly clear that the ProvisionalGovernment, taking its cue from the British Government, woulddo everything to impede the return of these determined revolutionaryopponents of the imperialist war. The Bolsheviks thereforedecided to leave immediately.The terms and procedures agreed upon were only recorded in aprotocol which was communicated to Left Zimmerwaldists inGermany—Paul Levi (Hartstein), France—Fernand Loriot and