the mind of the extremists to the great body of the hated "bourgeois." Only
in their rightful element, among the peasants, they continue to enjoy a
great deal of popularity, and the returns to the Constituent Assembly show
that theirs will be the absolute majority even though they lost some of
their popularity.

The progress of the Russian Revolution presents a sad spectacle of an
almost complete failure on the part of the majority of intellectuals to
understand the spirit of the times and to guide the masses through the
labyrinth of errors. In days past the Russian intellectuals were the
forefighters for freedom and the Russian people will ever be indebted to
them for this. They prepared the soil for the revolution by spreading ideas
of freedom by all means at their disposal. They weakened the tsar's power
and thus contributed to its overthrow by persistent attacks upon the
system of autocratic government. They helped to awaken the spirit of
self-consciousness in the masses. But they did not evolve new principles.
They did not open wide avenues for the development of a new order of social
organization. They misunderstood the masses and consequently were unable to
control the forces set loose. And if Russia is going to be saved from utter
ruin amidst the clamor and strife of party leaders and to evolve a new
democratic system, it will be due not to the intellectuals, but to the
great spirit of the dark masses of the Russian peasants.





FORCES BEHIND THE RUSSIAN REVOLUTION FORCES BEHIND THE RUSSIAN REVOLUTION

BY SAMUEL N. HARPER