self-preservation from the police, and hiding their character
as class organizations by electing more or less Liberal
managers and employers as "honorary members." 1905,
however, settled their revolutionary character. In September
of that year there was a Conference at Moscow, where it
was decided to call an All-Russian Trades Union Congress.
Reaction in Russia made this impossible, and the most they
could do was to have another small Conference in
February, 1906, which, however, defined their object as that
of creating a general Trade Union Movement organized on
All-Russian lines. The temper of the Trades Unions then,
and the condition of the country at that time, may be judged
from the fact that although they were merely working for the
right to form Unions, the right to strike, etc., they passed the
following significant resolution: "Neither from the present
Government nor from the future State Duma can be
expected realization of freedom of coalition. This
Conference considers the legalization of the Trades Unions
under present conditions absolutely impossible." The
Conference was right. For twelve years after that there were
no Trades Unions Conferences in Russia. Not until June,
1917, three months after the March Revolution, was the
third Trade Union Conference able to meet. This Conference
reaffirmed the revolutionary character of the Russian Trades Unions.


At that time the dominant party in the Soviets was that of the
Mensheviks, who were opposed to the formation of a Soviet
Government, and were supporting the provisional Cabinet of
Kerensky. The Trades Unions were actually at that time