Not-So-Pleasant Memories of the First Socialist Revolution

On October 23, your correspondent saw the office of Vladimir Lenin preserved at a political history museum located in St. Petersburg. The building that houses his office is a mansion where Valentina Kshesinskaya, the mistress of Russia’s last emperor Nikolai II, used to live. This is also where the Bolsheviks prepared to launch the Russian Revolution in early 1917.

Most visitors do not pay attention to the office and veranda, even though they were once a Mecca for communist officers. A group of Russian college students said jokingly, “I don’t understand why the Bolsheviks with their socialist ideologies would steal a place from the emperor’s mistress.” They did not even glance at the old belongings of Lenin either.

One college student said, “It is a widespread perception that students want to meet Lenin only in museums.” When asked what he thought about the public opinion of moving the graveyard of Lenin out of the Kremlin plaza, he said, “People want to erase him from their memory.”

A portrait of Josef Stalin, the successor to Lenin, hangs on a wall behind metal bars. Part of the bars has been already torn, a sign of the anger and hatred felt toward the man.

A museum guide in his 60’s explained the damage, saying, “Those who suffered under Stalin did it. Heinous crimes under the premise of socialist idealism will not be forgiven for a long time.”

At 9:40 p.m. on October 25, 1917 (lunar calendar), the cruiser Aurora fired its main battery at Petrograd, signaling the beginning of the Revolution. The cruiser is still there and the area has become one of the city’s main tourist spots.

There, a Russian guide warned tourists, who were taking pictures, of possible pickpockets. A tourist, who was putting his wallet deep into his inside pocket, said, “Touring around places related to the Revolution, rather than reflecting on painful memories of the past, is a pleasant way to commemorate Revolution Day.”

The Winter Palace, which was used by the Provisional Government after Tsar Nicolas II was dethroned, also belies the importance of its own place in history. It is where the National Revolution Army launched an encircling operation to capture Alexander Kerensky, the Prime Minister of the Provisional Government, at 2:10 a.m. on October 26, 1917.

A dining hall in the palace was being renovated before the anniversary of the Revolution. Guides at the palace said, “The clock that stopped at 2:10 has been removed, and not many people visit here.”

Ramifications of the revolution-

Poisonous elements and adverse effects are some of the reasons Russians are turning their backs on the Socialist Revolution that was successful here for the first time in the world.

The revolutionary army exploited workers, farmers and ranchers with the mantra of “bread, land and peace.” However, many Russians now believe that slogan was a mere ruse to attract more sympathizers, and none of the promises of the Revolution came true.

People passing by what was a government building (now St. Petersburg’s city hall) for the Bolsheviks said, “Bringing justice through the redistribution of bread and land resulted in poverty for all. During the waning stages of socialism, the Soviet Union was reduced to an empty shell as it sold natural resources to provide food for the public.”

Nina Proloba (52), who was walking past the government building on which a slogan “Workingmen of all countries, unite!" was written, said, “A one-party dictatorship gave birth to fear and violence, which is one of the major stumbling blocks to democracy.” The Russian communist party said recently, praising the Russian Revolution, “The Revolution eliminated personal property system, and contributed to the development of industrialization, collective farming and cultural enrichment.” Only a few people agree with what those communists say. This year’s approval ratings for the Russian Communist Party dropped to less than 10 percent.

viyonz@donga.com