— 21 —
ranks of the revolution. These officers were at that time undoubtedly almost alone of their kind, but all the greater was their merit—the darker the night the brighter the stars. The darker is our revolution, the brighter burn the stars of such names as Ossinsky, Kovalik, Sukhanov, Mikhailov and other officers, who issued from the ranks of the higher command and passed over to the side of the people nearly forty years ago.
It follows that neither did the Russian officer class, as such, as a whole, ever stand outside of politics, and that there always were parts of it which sympathised with the people, and the majority which, as majority, went against the people. You can observe a similar state of things at the present time.
VIII. The Officer Class and Statistics.
Comrades, I could not say exactly, but it is my impression that at the height of the war with Germany, when the mobilised army exceeded ten millions, the officer class in Russia reached at least half a million; so that at the time of the October Revolution there must have been about that number. I am speaking approximately; my statement cannot even now be definitely verified. How then was distributed, and is now distributed, the sympathy of these half million officers? I believe that of five
