Bookvica

[BEFORE THE BOLSHEVIKS SEIZED RUSSIA] Federativnaia demokraticheskaia respublika. Pochemu nasha respublika dolzhna byt’ ne tol’ko demokraticheskoi, no i federativnoi [i.e. Federative Democratic Republic. Why Should Our Republic Be Democratic But Also Federative?]

Chernokhvostov, G.

Helsingfors: Izd. Sektsii Rasprostraneniia Idei Narodovlastiia pri ispolnitel’nom Komitete, 1917. Item #1820

14 pp. folded in half without staples. 19x12 cm. In original printed wrappers. Pale soiling of front
cover, otherwise mint. No title page as issued.

The brochure was issued between February and October Revolutions of 1917. In these months, the monarchy had already been overthrown, the Petrograd Soviet of Workers’ and Soldiers’ Deputies was organized – most of its members were Socialist-Revolutionaries and Mensheviks. The brochure was released at the Socialist-Revolutionaries’ printing shop.
The author Chernokhvostov called for insisting on a few crucial decisions that the All-Russian Constituent Assembly had to accept. According to Chernokhvostov, the creation of a federative democratic republic had to solve a problem of unfair management of different regions of Russia. “The country is inhabited by different peoples living in different conditions, so only the residents themselves can choose the best solution to their problems. If more than half of the population is Russian, then it may turn out that Russians will have a slight majority in the Legislative Assembly. Would it be fair if a small majority would impose their own language, their own rules, etc., on the rest? Clearly not. <...> We see that there is no particular need for a strong central government. The more rights will be taken away from it and given to local authorities, the better”.

Worldcat doesn’t track this edition.

Status: On Hold