Page:Pavel Ivanovich Biryukov - The New Russia - tr. Emile Burns (1920).djvu/22

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BOURGEOIS BUREAUCRACY.

Lastly, I quote below a part of Mme. Lenin's political creed. Speaking of the organisation of the Commissariat of Public Education, she says:—

"It would be both ridiculous and disastrous if the proletariat which had won power set up organisations of the same type as the bureaucratic institutions of the bourgeoisie. The proletariat has most certainly not taken power into its own hands merely to transform itself into the dominant class of oppressors, but rather to abolish every kind of exploitation, domination and oppression. Because this is so, it needs organisations which are far different from those which the bourgeoisie needed. It must not follow the example given by the bourgeoisie, but rather the example of the revolutionary proletariat in progressive countries, such as the Parisian Proletariat which overthrew the former system and set up the Paris Commune."

I may add that Mme. Lenin's articles are signed with the pseudonym, "Kroupsky."

ART, MUSIC, AND THE THEATRE.

Art is taught in special schools. Painting is taught in a number of special schools; Applied Art is one of the most favoured studies. The conservatoires of music carry on as before, and most of the professors have remained at their posts. There are many theatres, and they are always full. The repertory is much the same as before, except that distinctively patriotic pieces are no longer played. The works of Ibsen, Maeterlinck, Tolstoi, Tchekoff, and other masters are frequently produced.

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