Ave, Sandum Citizens!
It is that time of year again, when the leaves fall and when decisive action is made. No, we’re not talking about some sort of change in government; we’re talking about October! I’m sure many of you don’t understand what I mean, you’re probably thinking, “But October’s done… It’s November now.” And, indeed, you’d be right — if I was talking about the month. Perhaps a story:
For centuries, the Tsars ruled Russia with an autocratic grasp upon its people, most of them serfs or poor and lived in izbas or grass-and-mud huts. In fact, the later capital of Russia, St. Petersburg, was built by the hands of those serfs — mud was transported by hand to the swamp that was St.Petersburg to build it up into the Venice of the North. Their lives were hard and difficult — submit and be exploited for life, denounce and be killed — but in 1914 Russia and its Tsar Nicholas the Second joined the First World War. Food began to be rationed and young men were sent to the front. However, the war was more of a defeat for Russia than a victory. Food wasn’t being delivered to the cities — or being farmed at all really — and the system of agriculture was by hand, when the rest of the world had plows and tractors, was another burden. People began to realise how terrible this system was — they had resented the exploitation before, but now they had cause to despise it even more: they weren’t being fed.
Now, this idea of revolt had existed for a while. In fact, Aleksandr Ulyanov was executed for it in May 1887, some twenty years or so before the beginning of the war. The Russian Social Democratic Labour Party was a proponent of ousting the Tsar and establishing a republic. But they weren’t sure of how to do it. The majority of the party at a congress thought the revolution should be conducted by the party as a whole and only the party members should know. Of course, this idea was criticised — “How terrible and how undemocratic”, some of you may think — but it had its benefits. Such an underground party would alienate itself from the public eye and — indeed — gain victory; afterall, they would have to go up against the Tsar’s Cheka and a thousand years of autocratic rule by the Tsar. The majority of the party members were for this — the minority, however, were different. They thought the party should be open, express and communicate openly. The two sides split the RSDLP, one for the Majority — the Bolsheviks — and one for the Minority — the Mensheviks — at the Congress.
The Revolution was under way by 1917, people in the capital striked and protested the regime of a thousand years. With the Tsar’s authority destroyed, he abdicated. However, many of the people who were his ministers, aides and officials were now the driving force of the provisional government. The Bolsheviks acted on the 25th of October, 1917 in the Russian calendar — November 7th, 1917 in our Gregorian calendar. The revolution ended the next day on the 26th, or the 8th, with the Bolsheviks seizing power in the capital — but not in the country. The next six years would be fought against Russian capitalists, imperialists, monarchists, moderates and foreign invaders until the founding of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics on the 30th of December, 1922.
This is a history of grand action by Lenin, who would die two years following the establishment of the USSR. The Bolshevik Party, the RCP(b), grew from the small, central organisation to the broad and public party of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union. Its historical central power of the central committee grew the Soviet Union and the Soviet’s socialist society for the next 70 years.
It is, as well, a history that we in Sandus admire and hope to follow. Though our situation is different, we will follow the example of our Party Comrades of the CPSU. And, as the CCPS’ Party Congress begins on the occasion of the October Revolution, this Monday the 7th — corresponding to VII G Novembro in the Sancta calendar, we are proud of this auspicious time. On Monday, the National Day of Socialism in Sandus, begins Introduction day for the Congress. The 8th, the Day of the Ways & Means of Revolutio in Sandus, is the Day on the Sandum Revolution; the 9th — Day on Ideology; the 10th — Day on the Vanguard; the 11th — Day on Progress and Planning. This office of the S8gm8 will remain de facto secretary until that Saturday the 12th when the party will elect — for the first time — its Secretary. Saturday will also see discussion on how the State and the Party can facilitate the creation of an economy, the creation of the state and the broad network of government spanning regions and continents. Another focus will be the expansion of Sandus and its amount of citizens, as well as the socialisation of those citizens to the CCPS.
This is a new time for both Sandus and the Citizens’ Communist Party of Sandus. Despite years of de facto non-existence and its de jure existence and sole-party in Sandus, it is now to become the sole and existing party in our State and will be, with hope and work, the driving force in Sandum society. The state is growing and expanding to meet its expectations and those of the people. Gloria ad Sandus!
— Sôgmô Sörgel.
sandus.org 