The Home Front:
BOHN, WILLIAM E.
THE HOME FRONT By William E. Bohn Philosophy of A Russian Democrat I have long had in mind the notion of writing something about Russian democrats. Since the early 1920s, The New Leader has...
...Russians like Abramovitch know better...
...For 38 years, Abramovitch has written a Soviet life column for the Forward...
...It was natural that many Americans should think of the October Russian Revolution as something like our Revolution or any of the other revolutions which we have known...
...Instead, the territories and populations covered by their dictatorship have expanded considerably...
...There might be violence, but in the course of time, we thought, things would straighten out...
...He spoke warmly of David Dallin, W. S. Woytinsky, Boris Nicolaevsky, Solomon Schwartz, Vera Alexandrova and George Denicke...
...In his case, the expression "professional revolutionist" really makes sense...
...The average American continues to look on this dictatorial government as a sort of foreign disease which must be avoided by non-communication—the way one escapes the germs of a contagious disease...
...The occasion was the celebration of the 80th birthday of Raphael Abramovitch, who is generally recognized as one of the leaders of the great army of Russian refugee fighters for freedom...
...But there is still much to do...
...In 1920 Abramovitch fled for his life to Berlin...
...My friend rather proudly acknowledges that some progress has been made in teaching Americans about Communism...
...Abramovitch thinks that between two and three million fled the fatherland following the Bolshevik coup, and at least 50 or 60 thousand came to New York...
...Even if I devoted my whole space to the copying of his list, I could furnish no more than a sampling...
...Then he added: "Never forget Sol Levitas" [the late Executive Editor of The New Leader...
...He started as a fighter against Tsarism, then took on Communism, with plenty of energy left over for opposition to Nazism...
...In fact, the reason we have understood Communism better than most Americans is that we have had the helpful advice of these people from the very start...
...Recently, I attended a great gathering of militant Russian democrats...
...He replied with a sad smile, "They are in a tight spot...
...As I prepared to leave, I thrust one last question at my patient friend: "What about the Russians...
...Among most of these emigres, the doctrines of Lenin and Stalin obviously were unfavorably received...
...the walls were stacked to the ceiling with Russian books...
...In Chicago and many other cities his meetings were violently attacked and the police had to be called to protect him and his audiences...
...However, some of the trade unions and the Jewish Daily Forward gave the Russian democrats devoted support...
...it will take a long time...
...But those were tough times in this country for Russians who did not sign up with hte Bolsheviks...
...During the 1920s and 1930s the new Moscow Government was popular among many circles in America...
...I discovered, not surprisingly, that Abramovitch began his revolution against dictatorships as a youth and is still going strong...
...For 40 years he and his colleagues have published at 7 East 15th Street the Socialist Courier, a monthly Russian-language magazine devoted to telling the truth about what goes on in Russia...
...There are now some Congressmen, judges and even editors who have at last found out what it is all about...
...The Bolsheviks pretended that dictatorship was only to last until socialism had been established, but in the case of Russia it has lasted more than 40 years and there is as yet no sign of relenting...
...You must not give the impression that I have fought this fight alone," warned Abramovitch—and he went on to give me the names of his comrades...
...American trade unions sent funds to Europe which enabled him and other refugees to continue their journey to America...
...They deserve an immense amount of credit for the campaign against the Soviet dictatorship carried on in this country...
...They know that Communism, in its present form, began in 1903 when the Russian Socialist party split and one group, the Bolsheviks, made violence and dictatorship into a sacred doctrine...
...The following morning I sat with Abramovitch in his office...
...The Communists waged a crusade against allowing Abramovitch to speak in this country...
...perhaps 50 years...
...the seating list was an honor roll of anti-Communists...
...I wanted to know, I said, what goes on in the mind of a Russian revolutionist...
...Since the early 1920s, The New Leader has had many of these devoted men and women among its writers...
...The Bolshevik system of thought and action is obviously something special, requiring special attitudes and treatments...
...nobody knows how long...
...They seem to think that all that is necessary to defeat the Communist dictatorship is to ignore Communist China and refuse to trade with Russia...
...And, of course, there has always been The New Leader, which has translated and published many of these writers in English...
...How long will it take them to throw out the Bolsheviks and join the human race...
Vol. 44 • April 1961 • No. 14
