Collected Works of V. I. Lenin - Vol. 13 - From Marx to Mao

378V. I. LENINcompel the peasants, or are the peasants to compel thelandlords? This question can be answered only by thecomposition of the land committees. The Cadets’ view ofwhat this composition should be was set forth in Milyukov’sleading article in Rech, in Kutler’s Bill, and in Chuprov’sarticle (quoted above)*; but in the Duma, the Cadets keptsilent about it, they did not answer the question bluntlyput by Yevreinov.It cannot be too strongly emphasised that this conductof the party’s representatives in parliament is nothing morethan deception of the people by the liberals. Scarcely anybodyis deceived by the Bobrinskys and Stolypins; but very manyof those who do not want to analyse, or who are incapableof understanding, the real meaning of political slogans andphrases are deceived by the Cadets.Thus, the Cadets are opposed to any form of socialisedland tenure in any form,** they are opposed to alienationwithout compensation, opposed to local land committeesin which the peasants will predominate, opposed to revolutionin general and to a peasant agrarian revolution inparticular. Light is thrown on their manoeuvring betweenthe Left and Right (to betray the peasants to the landlords)by their attitude towards the Peasant “Reform” of 1861.The Left, as we shall see later on, speak of it with disgustand indignation as of a noose put round the peasants’ necksby the landlords. The Cadets are at one with the Right intheir affection for this reform.* See p. 245 of this volume.—Ed.** Particularly noteworthy in this respect was the debate in theFirst Duma on the question of sending the Land Bill of the 33 (forthe abolition of the private ownership of land) to committee. The Cadets(Petrunkevich, Mukhanov, Shakhovskoi, Frenkel Ovchinnikov,Dolgorukov, and Kokoshkin) fiercely opposed the sending of sucha Bill to committee, and in this they were fully supported by Heyden.Their reasons were a disgrace to any self-respecting liberal—theywere simply police excuses used by lackeys of the reactionary government.To refer the Bill to committee, said Mr. Petrunkevich, meansrecognising that, to a certain degree, the standpoint of such a Billis “possible”. Mr. Zhilkin put the Cadet to shame (23rd session, June8, 1906) by saying that he would send to committee both this Billand the Bill of the extreme Right. But the Cadets and the Right defeatedthe motion to send the Bill to committee by 140 votes to 78!