plenary powers, until such time which will follow with as little delay as possible, as the Constituent Assembly, on a basis of universal, direct, equal, and secret suffrage, shall, by its decision as to the new form of government, express the will of the people.

The hated Romanov dynasty was ended at last.  It is not likely that Grand-Duke Michael entertained the faintest hope that he would ever be called to the throne, either by a Constituent Assembly or by a popular referendum.  Not only was the Romanov dynasty ended, but equally so was monarchical Absolutism itself.  No other dynasty would replace that of the Romanovs.  Russia had thrown off the yoke of autocracy.  The Second Revolution was an accomplished fact; its first phase was complete.  Thoughtful men among the revolutionists recognized that the next phase would be far more perilous and difficult.  “The bigger task is still before us,” said Miliukov, in his address to the crowd that afternoon.  A Constituent Assembly was to be held and that was bound to intensify the differences which had been temporarily composed during the struggle to overthrow the system of Absolutism.  And the differences which existed between the capitalist class and the working class were not greater than those which existed within the latter.

CHAPTER V

FROM BOURGEOISIE TO BOLSHEVIKI

I

It required no great gift of prophecy to foretell the failure of the Provisional Government established by the revolutionary coalition headed by Prince Lvov.  From the very first day it was evident that the Cabinet could never satisfy the Russian people.  It was an anomaly in that the Revolution had been a popular revolution, while the Provisional Government was overwhelmingly representative of the landowners, manufacturers, bankers, and merchants—­the despised and distrusted bourgeoisie.  The very meager representation given to the working class, through Kerensky, was, in the circumstances, remarkable for its stupid effrontery and its disregard of the most obvious realities.  Much has been said and written of the doctrinaire attitude which has characterized the Bolsheviki in the later phases of the struggle, but if by doctrinairism is meant subservience to preconceived theories and disregard of realities, it must be said that the statesmen of the bourgeoisie were as completely its victims as the Bolsheviki later proved to be.  They were subservient to dogma and indifferent to fact.

The bourgeois leaders of Russia—­and those Socialists who co-operated with them—­attempted to ignore the biggest and most vital fact in the whole situation, namely, the fact that the Revolution was essentially a Socialist Revolution in the sense that the overwhelming mass of the people were bent upon the realization of a very comprehensive, though somewhat crudely conceived, program of socialization.  It