The myth of the immaculate knight of the revolution Trotsky. Part of 2
In this environment, marriage has played an important role. Zhivotovsky had such a connection with Brodsky. Lazarus Brodsky was called the "Jewish king." He monopolized shipping on the Dnieper, was the master of the sugar industry, controlled social life in the South-Western region of the empire. At the world level, Brodsky defended the project of creating a “promised land” for Jewry, not in Palestine, but in Russia. Brodsky were related to the Rothschilds, Kagans and other families. Thus, Trotsky, through his relatives, was connected by world banking circles.
Preparing a new attack on Russia, backstage forces tried to unite the Social Democrats into a united front. The rallying was to occur around the figure of Trotsky. He looked like the most compromise figure - he was in an intermediate position between the Bolsheviks and the Mensheviks. In August, a party conference was organized in Vienna 1912. She was more representative than under the leadership of Lenin in Prague. Some Mensheviks took part in it - a group of Martov, Dan, and part of the Bolsheviks. It was proclaimed union of social democratic forces, created the so-called. "August bloc." But this block remained on paper, the contradictions between the various groups were too strong.
After the conference, Trotsky in September 1912 of the year, at the suggestion of Kievskaya Mysl (Parvus went to Turkey), for some reason, throws the policy, Pravda, and goes to the Balkans to write reports about the hostilities. It is clear that his functions were not limited to journalism. He arrived as an employee of the Russian newspaper, was considered an ally, there were no secrets from him. Trotsky's chief in the intelligence department of the Austrian General Staff, Colonel Takovsky could be pleased with his wards. One of the leaders of the Russian gendarmerie, General A. Spiridovich, wrote: “Bronstein stopped printing his Pravda. Being in the service of the Austrian police, he is engaged in another matter ... ". In addition, Trotsky was still associated with Parvus, and he had connections with the Germans, the Turks and the British. The appearance of Parvus and Trotsky in the Balkans was not accidental, the attention of all European intelligence services was riveted on this region.
True, Trotsky did not play to the end of his role. Russophobia, hatred of the Slavs leaped into it. Trotsky in his materials began to stigmatize the “hand of tsarism,” the ideas of panslavism, described the “atrocities of the Slavs,” expressed sympathy for Turkey. Naturally, such publications led to a wave of criticism in the direction of “Kiev thought”. The whole Russian public sympathized with the Slavs, their war with Turkey. Were outraged in the Balkans. Bulgaria deprived Trotsky of accreditation.
Trotsky's anti-Slavic articles were reprinted by Austro-German newspapers, in order to adjust the population accordingly. Preparation in the big war in Europe was in full swing, there was even an idea to use the war in the Balkans to start a pan-European war. Turkey was defeated and appealed to the great powers for mediation. Austria-Hungary moved the troops to the Serbian border. She was ready to support Germany and Italy, who dreamed of seizing Albania. Serbia and Montenegro managed to seize part of Albania, claimed the Adriatic ports. Italy and Austria declared that this step would mean a war with them. France pushed Russia to take the side of Serbia. Paris offered to take a tough stance and gave a large military loan. However, this time the war was avoided. The Russian emperor proposed to convene a peace conference, he was supported by the British. In addition, when the German emperor asked the military leadership about the best time to start a war, Tirpitz said that the fleet was not yet ready and it was necessary to move the beginning of large-scale hostilities by a year and a half. Berlin pressed on Vienna, and the Austrians slowed down.
World War I
For Russian socialist emigration, the war has turned out to have various consequences. In France, part of the Social Democrats and Socialist-Revolutionaries joined the French army as volunteers. Plekhanov supported them. It was believed that they were fighting not for "tsarism", but for Russia. Martov’s newspaper “The Voice” in Paris was shedding mud at Plekhanov and other “defencists”. An interesting fact is that the French authorities quickly dealt with their defeatists, they were shot without long conversations under the wartime law, but they didn’t interfere with Martov and his ilk, propaganda against an ally - Russia turned out to be quite acceptable.
Trotsky, as soon as the war began, Adler personally took him to the head of the Vienna political police and asked whether the revolutionary should leave Austria-Hungary. He explained that it was better to leave. Trotsky was immediately issued all the documents, and three hours after the visit, his family sat on a train that was heading to Switzerland. Lenin did not receive such honors. 7 August he was arrested. On the wave of espionage that swept Europe, the danger was serious. But then fellow party members were alarmed, they hooked up Adler, and pulled Lenin out of prison. After some time, he was also transferred to Switzerland.
Trotsky in Switzerland did not linger. As soon as it became clear that the Germans would not take Paris, he suggested that the same “Kiev thought” became its correspondent in France. At the same time, it was published on the pages of the Voice.
In general, at the beginning of the First World War, socialist emigration looked helpless. Continuing endless disputes, bickering. The circulation of the "central organ" of the Bolsheviks, the newspaper Social-Democrat, was issued in 500 copies. Opponents of Russia relied on the liberals, the socialists were on the sidelines. Parvus changed the situation somewhat. In Turkey, he made a big capital, and when he returned, he set his sights on Russia again. In the spring of 1915, he proposed to the German government a plan where he proposed to completely crush tsarism and dismember Russia into small states. He argued that Germany would not be able to achieve victory unless a revolution was launched in Russia. But for the complete destruction of the “Russian danger”, the Russian Empire should be split. In this respect, the interests of the German government coincide with the interests of the Russian revolutionaries. Parvus proposed a plan for a secret war against Russia. The German Chancellor, the Foreign Minister, the military command and the Kaiser himself approved the plan. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs immediately allocated Parnus 2 million marks, then another 20 million, and in the fall of 1915, another 40 million.
Parvus in September 1915 of the year convened a conference of Social Democrats in Zimmerwald, Switzerland. It turned out that even such enemies as Lenin and Trotsky can work together if there is money. The affairs of the revolutionaries immediately went to another level. In Copenhagen, under the auspices of the German embassy, a headquarters was created that coordinated the activities of various anti-Russian forces and distributing funds. Through neutral countries were organized financial flows. The main one went through Sweden. Funds were sent to Russia for campaign materials, the organization of strikes, and so on. The circulation of the Social Democrat was seriously increased. Trotsky was able to publish a full-fledged newspaper, Our Word. Lunacharsky, Uritsky, Lozovsky, Chicherin and others collaborated with her. I must say that Parvus organized funding and socialist revolutionaries (SRs).
15 August 1916 was killed by soldiers in the military camp de Marme in Marseille in the Russian military service in the military camp Lieutenant Colonel Mauritius Krause. During the investigation, they discovered that Trotsky’s newspaper Nashe Slovo was distributed among the soldiers (although the murder itself was not caused by “politics”). Russia demanded the arrest and extradition of Trotsky. For that, prominent French leaders stood up, right up to deputies and ministers. But Trotsky was still arrested, but limited to expulsion to Spain. The Spanish authorities also arrested him and sent him to the United States. It must be said that it was in the USA at that time that they became the center of anti-Russian intrigues and conspiracies. Suffice it to recall the activities of Colonel Edward House, presidential adviser Woodrow Wilson. Very successful coincidence. Trotsky was included in the shock detachment of revolutionaries, who was to get into Russia, after the revolution.
Literally from the first steps in the USA, Trotsky’s business is going uphill. The famous "New York Times" publishes the news of the arrival of the revolutionary. Trotsky actually advertise! Trotsky gets a residence permit, he is settled in the Bronx in a good apartment. The “guardian” of Trotsky was D. Hammer. He was the owner of a large pharmaceutical company. Got Trotsky and a good job - became the editor of the newspaper New World. Began to publish in the newspaper "Forverst" and other publications.
Revolution in Russia
In February, the 1917 of the year, the liberal “fifth column”, with the full support of Western intelligence agencies, dumped autocracy. High-ranking dignitaries, generals, members of the Duma, prominent bankers and industrialists, not Bolsheviks, as often suggested, became the killers of the empire. The Bolsheviks were not even informed about the upcoming revolution, which indicates their very low place in the hierarchy of opponents of the Russian Empire. Lenin still 22 January 1917, speaking in Zurich, was full of pessimism and said that the coming revolution will be proletarian. "We, the elderly, may not live to see the decisive battles in this impending revolution." For the Petrograd Bolsheviks, the revolution came as a complete surprise. Their leader, the Shlyapnikov, on the day of the start of the wave of mass strikes - February 23, instructed to curtail active activities.
Only the Mensheviks from the Social Democratic faction of the Duma, who were associated with the conspirators through Kerensky: Chkheidze, Tsereteli, Skobelev, and others, quickly found their bearings. On the revolutionary wave they created the Petrograd Soviet, where they completely prevailed. And among the Bolsheviks there was confusion and vacillation. Some believed that it was necessary to support the Provisional Government and the Soviet, others that only the Soviet, and still others considered both bodies illegal.
At this time, the Provisional Government itself digs a grave. Not only was the amnesty of the “political” in Russia carried out, the authorities are beginning to purposefully collect them from emigration. Instructions were sent to the Russian consulates and embassies to help all political émigrants return to their homeland. In the US, one of the first to come to the consulate in New York was Trotsky. Lev Davidovich also contrived, set conditions. He demanded that he, as the leader of the local Bolsheviks, should be sent separately, and not in a group.
But Trotsky had a problem; the sea routes to Europe passed through the zone of control of the British and French authorities. But Trotsky, after being expelled from France, was listed as a German agent. But the problem was solved very quickly. Trotsky received US citizenship and a US passport. Such a question could be solved only at a very high level, in circles close to the American president. A visa was attached to the passport for entry into Russia, and the British consulate issued a transit visa to Trotsky without question.
On the way to Russia, the dark happened to Trotsky story. In Halifax, Trotsky with his family and companions was detained by British naval counterintelligence. Trotsky's family was released, and the “hero” and his comrades were placed in the Amherst camp, where they held prisoners of German sailors and interned citizens of the Central Powers. There are different versions of this incident. According to one of them, the detention was due to the inconsistency of the actions of Western intelligence services. According to another version, arresting Trotsky, the British "laundered" themselves, spreading a rumor that Trotsky was supposedly a German agent. In addition, Trotsky was held to be the first to arrive in Russia, Lenin and entrenched in a leadership position. But Lenin came to Russia through Germany. Thus, the “German trace” of the revolution in Russia came to the fore. Destroyed Russia "allies" on the Entente, and all the blame dumped on Germany.
Trotsky's conclusion did not last long. They again stood up for him at the highest level and put the revolutionary with apologies on the nearest ship. On the way to Russia, Trotsky behaved himself untied, in Canada and Sweden he tried to recruit workers. Open text tempted them with the wealth of Russia. In Petrograd, Lev Davidovich was solemnly greeted and staged by no means “proletarian”. Trotsky was not an ascetic, like Stalin, loved to live beautifully, luxury. He was settled in a huge apartment by the director of the Nobel and Serebrovsky factories. The owner himself gave it up. He himself was from among the "fifth column."
Lenin and Trotsky to Russia was followed by a whole landing of revolutionaries. Martov arrived from Switzerland through Germany with a detachment of 250 people. More arrived from the USA. The main part was transferred from the ports of the US Pacific coast to Vladivostok. We drove the whole steamer, hundreds. In fact, the United States mobilized revolutionary emigration. Trotsky became the leader of the "internationalists" who arrived from abroad. The liberal revolution was only the first step towards the destruction of the “Russian peril”. In accordance with the theory of permanent revolution, Russia had to go through a socialist revolution. And then the revolution had to acquire a world character.
To be continued ...
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