# 3: Moderate Socialist Press on the Bolsheviki explained — Ten Days That Shook the World

> Chapter companion for Ten Days That Shook the World by John Reed.

## What happens

This chapter presents excerpts from moderate socialist newspapers—the Socialist Revolutionary 'Dielo Naroda' and the Menshevik 'Dien'—condemning the Bolsheviks. They accuse the Bolsheviks of deceiving the masses with unfulfillable promises, inciting insurrection, and being the most dangerous enemies of the revolution, while calling on the government to defend itself against the threat of riots.

## Themes in this chapter

### Struggle for Legitimacy and Power

The moderate socialist press attacks the Bolsheviks as enemies of the revolution, highlighting the fierce battle for political legitimacy and control over the revolutionary narrative.

## Key lines

> The most frightful crime of the Bolsheviki against the Revolution is that they impute exclusively to the bad intentions of the revolutionary Government all the calamities which the masses are so cruelly suffering; when as a matter of fact these calamities spring from objective causes.

The Bolsheviks' worst offense is blaming the government for all suffering, which actually stems from objective factors.

_The Socialist Revolutionary paper argues that the Bolsheviks scapegoat the government for problems beyond its control._

> They make golden promises to the masses, knowing in advance that they can fulfil none of them; they lead the masses on a false trail, deceiving them as to the source of all their troubles.

The Bolsheviks knowingly make empty promises to mislead the masses about the true causes of their hardships.

_Accusation of deliberate deception by the Bolsheviks to gain popular support._

> Is this really 'the freedom of the press'? Every day Novaya Rus and Robotchi Put openly incite to insurrection. Every day these two papers commit in their columns actual crimes. Every day they urge pogroms.

The Menshevik paper questions whether incitement to insurrection and pogroms can be considered legitimate press freedom.

_The Mensheviks call for government action against Bolshevik newspapers that they see as criminal._

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/ten_days_that_shook_the_world_se/chapters/3-moderate-socialist-press-on-the-bolsheviki
- Book: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/ten_days_that_shook_the_world_se
- All chapters: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/ten_days_that_shook_the_world_se/chapters