Lunacharsky - to the Council of People's Commissars
I just heard from eyewitnesses what happened in Moscow.
St. Basil's Cathedral and the Assumption Cathedral are being destroyed. The Kremlin, where all the most important artistic treasures of Petrograd and Moscow are now collected, is being bombed.
There are thousands of victims.
The struggle becomes fierce to the point of bestial anger. What else will happen? Where to go next!
I can't stand this. My gauge is full. I am powerless to stop this horror.
It is impossible to work under the yoke of these thoughts that drive you crazy.
That is why I am resigning from the Council of People's Commissars.
I understand the gravity of this decision. But I can't take it anymore.
A. V. Lunacharsky
November 2, 1917
“New Life”, No. 171, November 3/16, 1917 under the title “The resignation of A.V. Lunacharsky.” The message began with the words: “A. V. Lunacharsky in Sov. Nar. The following application has been submitted to the Commissioners."
The Council of People's Commissars did not accept Lunacharsky's "resignation". Many years later, in the article “Lenin and Literary Studies” (see “Literary Encyclopedia”, vol. 6. M., 1932, pp. 211–212) Lunacharsky wrote:
“I will allow myself to cite here a personal memory that has sunk especially vividly into my consciousness and which perfectly characterizes the breadth and solemnity of the struggle for socialist culture that Lenin led. The writer of these lines was frightened by the destruction of valuable artistic buildings that took place during the battles of the revolutionary proletariat of Moscow with the troops of the Provisional Government, and was subjected to very serious “treatment” on this occasion by the great leader. Among other things, the following words were spoken to him at that time: “How can you attach such importance to this or that old building, no matter how good it is, when it comes to opening the doors to such a social system that is capable of creating beauty immeasurably surpassing everything, oh what could you only dream of in the past?’”
This conversation, which had a great influence on Lunacharsky and determined the change in his decision, apparently took place on the same day when his resignation was submitted. Already on November 3, 1917, he wrote an appeal “Take care of the national property.” We present his text, published in “New Life” No. 172, November 4/17, 1917, “Izvestia of the All-Russian Central Executive Committee” No. 216, November 4/17, and in other newspapers.
Take care of the people's property (from the People's Commissar for Education)
To workers, peasants, soldiers, sailors and all citizens of Russia.
Comrades! The working people are now becoming the sovereign masters of the country. She became poor. She was devastated by the war. But this is transitory, for it is rich in inexhaustible possibilities. Its natural treasures are great, and, with a properly ordered economy conducted in the interests of the common people, the peoples of Russia will still prosper.
But, in addition to natural wealth, the working people also inherited enormous cultural wealth: buildings of wondrous beauty, museums full of rare and beautiful objects, instructive and elevating the soul, libraries storing enormous values of the spirit, etc.
All this now truly belongs to the people.
All this will help the poor man and his children to quickly outgrow the former ruling classes in education, will help him become a new person, the owner of an old culture, a creator of something unprecedented.
Comrades! We must vigilantly and vigilantly protect this property of the people.
Everyone says: shame on the thief who appropriates someone else's property. And you promise cruel punishment to the robber.
But it is a hundred times more shameful to be a thief and robber of the people's, universal property, to rob a young master - a rebellious, heroically fighting working people.
Yes, you are the young owner of the country, and although you now need to think and take care of many things, you will be able to protect this artistic and scientific property of yours.
Comrades! A terrible, irreparable disaster has befallen Moscow.
The civil war led to the bombing of many parts of the city. Fires broke out. There was destruction <…>
Comrades, this is scary! The people, the young king, before putting a crown on his head, was forced to tear out the best stones from it forever with his own hand. In the struggle for power, the people disfigured Moscow, their glorious capital.
Obviously, fatal circumstances are to blame. If there were personal culprits for these misfortunes, their names would be cursed by your children and your children’s children.
When I, the People's Commissar for Education, learned about the Moscow massacre and the terrible destruction of the people's property, I was struck by it.
It is indescribably scary to be a commissar of education in the days of a fierce, merciless, destructive war and spontaneous destruction.
In these difficult days, only the hope for the victory of socialism, the source of a new, higher culture that will reward us for everything, provides consolation.
But I am responsible for protecting the artistic property of the people, and here, with my complete helplessness, the great heritage of history is burning and disintegrating.
You cannot remain in a position where you are powerless. So I resigned.
But my comrades, the people's commissars, consider resignation unacceptable.
I remain at my post until your will finds a more worthy replacement.
But I beg you, comrades, support me, help me. Preserve the beauty of our land for yourself and your descendants. Be guardians of the people's heritage.
Soon the darkest people, whom oppression has kept in ignorance for so long, will be enlightened and understand what a source of joy, strength, and wisdom works of art are.
Russian working people, be a thrifty and thrifty master. Citizens, everyone, all citizens, take care of our common wealth.
People's Commissar for Education A.V. Lunacharsky November 3, 1917
A few days later, on November 7, Lunacharsky published in Izvestia, No. 218, an article entitled “In Difficult Hours,” which contained, in particular, the following important confession:
“In a difficult moment, when news reached me (moreover, as an eyewitness account) about the terrible destruction of monuments in Moscow, I decided to resign from the post of commissar, who is directly responsible for the artistic heritage of the people. By this I wanted to emphasize the horror of the situation created in this regard. But, of course, I wouldn’t walk away from the struggle at all.
Things in Moscow were not so bad.
And most importantly, the proletariat expressed its grief so touchingly and together so decisively, even before such a step of self-removal only from a special task, that it became clearer to me than ever that the workers and soldiers of Petrograd, the heroes of the uprising, are anxiously asking themselves these days: will the party intellectuals who make up their headquarters rise to the occasion?
Whatever our differences, we do not dare to disorganize the central state apparatus, which is weak in numbers and which the working people are still forced to use in their first independent struggle.”
All rumors that as a result of the fighting the Kremlin buildings and St. Basil's Cathedral were damaged turned out to be false (see about this in the introductory article to this volume, p. XXV ). Lunacharsky's speech in the Izvestia newspaper confirmed this and showed that the author recognized his resignation statement as reckless and erroneous.
.jpg)
No comments