weaker nations?

It is the protection of this state that our government considers
its "sacred duty." What hypocrisy! Imagine the intervention of the
Czar on behalf of poor Serbia, whilst he martyrizes Poland,
Finland and the Jews, and behaves like a brigand toward Persia.

Whatever may be the course of events, the Russian workers and
peasants will continue their heroic fight to obtain for Russia a
place among civilized nations.

This Manifesto was issued, as reported in the Socialist press, prior to the
actual declaration of war. It was a threat of revolution made with a view
to preventing the war, if possible, and belongs to the same category as the
similar threats of revolution made by the German Socialists before the war
to the same end. The mildness of manner which characterizes the Manifesto
may be attributed to two causes--weakness of the movement and a resulting
lack of assurance, together with a lack of conviction arising from the fact
that many of the leaders, while they hated the Czar and all his works, and
could not reconcile themselves to the idea of making any kind of truce with
their great enemy, nevertheless were pro-Ally and anxious for the defeat of
German imperialism. In other words, these leaders shared the national
feeling against Germany, and, had they been free citizens of a
democratically governed country, would have loyally supported the war.

When the Duma met, on August 8th, for the purpose of voting the war
credits, the Social Democrats of both factions, Bolsheviki and Mensheviki,
fourteen in number,[2] united upon a policy of abstention from voting.
Valentin Khaustov, on behalf of the two factions, read this statement: