“Surely, the Moldovan nostalgic Communists who, on the one hand, claim that they embrace  the Marxist-Leninist values that are detested by Putin and, on the other hand, cannot control the manifestations of servilism to Putin and the bellicose, imperial regime of this surely generate pity and compassion. In this regard, the trip made by Communist MP Constantin Starysh to Moscow and the fact that he humbled himself before Putin reminds of the anecdote when a primate felt frustrated because it could not decide whether it should be nice or wise...”

First color revolution was red

Given the approaching 100th anniversary of the founding of the USSR, we can presume that the nostalgia for the Soviet empire will reach its apogee on November 7 – the day of the Bolshevik putsch when the creation of the totalitarian state began. From the current perspective, there are reasons to identify the so-called Great October Socialist Revolution as the first color revolution – the red one. Evidently, the typology of color revolutions was worked out relatively recently. Gene Sharp, to whom it is attributed the designing of the methodology for causing color, nonviolent revolutions in his work titled “From Dictatorship to Democracy”, ironized over the merits attributed to him. Gene Sharp confessed that he didn’t invent anything and only studied the experience of the multiple nonevent revolutions of the 20th century. For example, he studied and was impressed by the “history of the nonviolent resistance in Russia – against Tsarism and Stalinism… The Russians now say that the nonviolent struggle was invented by the Americans and, if it is so, this is a manifestation of absence of patriotism”.

Leaving aside the details about the color revolutions, it is important to note that the Bolshevik revolution typologically forms part of the category of color revolutions. First of all, the Bolshevik revolution was ideologically influenced from abroad. Surely, the Marxist ideology that inspired the Bolsheviks according to Lenin was based on three sources and three components – classical German philosophy, English political economy and French utopian socialism. Secondly, the Bolshevik revolution was staged by persons who returned from abroad. The Bolshevik leader Vladimir Lenin returned to Russia in April 1917. He returned from Switzerland after ten years of emigration together with his comrades. One month later, in May 1917, Leon Trotsky, the “daemon” of the revolution, returned to Russia from the U.S. In fact, in that period, after the abdication of Tsar Nicholas II, a whole cohort of revolutionaries of all colors returned to Russia. The goal was to transform the imperialist war into a civil war so as to seize power and to trigger a world revolution.

Red revolution was financed from abroad

The military administration of Germany in that period pursued the goal of having Russian out of World War I. Therefore, the Leninist slogan transformation of the imperialist was into a civil war perfectly suited Germany that found it difficult to struggle on two fronts. To achieve their goal, the German circles organized a Switzerland – Germany – Sweden – Finland – Petersburg green corridor for Lenin and his mates. In war, all’s fair if it is believed those means can be useful. Respectively, Lenin and his comrades were offered a sealed train so as to be sure that they will reach the destination. Winston Churchill ironized over this: “Special attention should be devoted to the approach of the German military administration that used the most terrible weapon against Russia – transported Lenin in a sealed train from Switzerland to Russia, like a plague bacillus.” Ilyich and his revolutionary mates had a dreamlike travel, with food, beer, revolutionary literature, joy and cheerfulness. The travellers were in a good mood as they had a plan that contained ten theses.

The German military administration’s support for the Bolshevik revolutionaries didn’t consist only of the green corridor, in the sealed train. There are multiple proofs that the German government abundantly financed the Bolshevik project to transform the imperialist war into a civil war. The most precious proof belongs to one of the leaders of the Second Socialist International Eduard Bernstein, who in 1921, in the central organ of the German Social Democratic Party published an article entitled “A Dubious Story” in which he confirmed that as an MP, “in a meeting of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the Reichstag, was informed that the Bolsheviks received more than 50 million marks in gold from the German government”. Later, in response to the “calumny” campaign in the Communist press, Bernstein suggested being sued. But no one dared to sue Bernstein and the calumnious campaign against him was stopped.

Red revolution was globalist

The idea of a world revolution was broadly used by the Bolshevik leaders to obtain the support of the European Marxists and to also intervene in the affairs of other states by helping local Communists to stage coups. For the purpose, a special subversive international organization was created – Comintern (see Lenin’s tenth thesis of April).

It is curios but the symbol of the Socialist revolution - the hammer and sickle – was one of the symbols of the Masonic brotherhood. It was designed in 1918, after the Bolshevik putsch of November 7, 1917. The author of the symbol is Yevgeny Kamzolkin, who had never been Bolshevik or Communist but was a member of the Leonardo da Vinci Society, Grand Master of the secret organization of Priory of Sion. Moreover, the five-pointed star, the pentagram, is also a Masonic symbol.  

Red revolution was relatively peaceful

The red revolution was preceded by relatively peaceful protests that involved large masses. On July 3, 1917, soldiers’ and workers’ antigovernment protests caused by the Bolsheviks started in Petrograd and these brought the duality of state power to an end. The power started to be held by an interim Government. Lenin and his friend Zinoviev abandoned everything and ran away, hiding in the Hut in Razliv and then in Finland (this is who Plahotniuc and Shor got inspired from in June 2019). Respectively, in July-November 1917, one of the key roles in the planning of the Bolshevik putsch was played by the “demon” of the revolution Leon Trotsky.

The coup of November 7, 1917 was peaceful in character. Witnesses said the Winter Palace on the day of the “storm” was occupied practically without any resistance on the part of the legal power’s defending forces. A ballet performance was being presented not far, at the Mariinsky Theater, which was packed. The victims of the Storming of the Winter Palace included six persons killed and about 50 persons injured, from among those who tried yet to put up resistance to the Bolshevik attackers. Three women from the women’s battalion were raped…

Anyway, the red revolution of November 7, 1917 was relatively peaceful, as any other color revolution. But any color revolution ends with the holding of elections. It happened so in the case of the red revolution too. In three weeks of the putsch, the Bolsheviks called elections to the Constituent Assembly, which they lost. At that moment, the red revolution stops being similar to other color revolutions. 

Conclusions

Those who are not nostalgic for the USSR should learn one thing – their nostalgia starts from a color revolution that was red. The red revolution was relatively peaceful. Violence erupted after the Bolsheviks lost the elections to the Constituent Assembly that they dissolved with the force of arms. That meant the start of the civil war, according to the plan of Lenin and his backers from abroad. In that civil war that lasted for over five years, until 1923, more than 12 million Russian citizens were killed. For comparison, in the imperialist war on behalf of Antanta, Russia lost about 1 million soldiers.

After the signing of the Treaty of Brest, in March 1918, Lenin and his Bolshevik government fulfilled practically exactly all their obligations to the foreign backers, including by recognizing Ukraine. The leaving of the Brest agreement and the start of the reconstruction of the empire, in its Soviet version, took place together with the end of World War I. But the Soviet variant of the empire proved its inefficiency, collapsing. That’s why Putin and his regime deadly fear color revolutions and cannot stand Lenin and his Bolshevik clique, posing as opponents of the Bolshevik leader Vladimir Lenin, who they blame for destroying the prison of the nations by giving autonomy to the nations subjugated by the Russian Empire.

Surely, the Moldovan nostalgic Communists who, on the one hand, claim that they  embarce the Marxist-Leninist values that are detested by Putin and, on the other hand, cannot control the manifestations of servilism to Putin and the bellicose, imperial regime of this surely generate pity and compassion. In this regard, the trip made by Communist MP Constantin Starysh to Moscow and the fact that he humbled himself before Putin reminds of the anecdote when a primate felt frustrated because  it could not decide whether it should be nice or wise.