Korzybski: A Biography (Free Online Edition)
Copyright © 2014 (2011) by Bruce I. Kodish
All rights reserved. Copyright material may be quoted verbatim without need for permission from or payment to the copyright holder, provided that attribution is clearly given and that the material quoted is reasonably brief in extent.
While Alfred was in Erie making horseshoes, the Bolsheviks under V. I. Lenin had staged a coup against the provisional government of Russia—the “October Revolution” (which by our calendar took place on November 7, 1917). Lenin and his colleagues (Trotsky, Stalin, et al) and followers knew what they wanted— power—and acted ruthlessly to get it. They used the disenchantment with the war and the economy to get enough support among soldiers, sailors, and workers to make a relatively bloodless takeover.
Lenin immediately announced his desire for an armistice with Kaiser Wilhelm’s Germany, which was declared by December. Although the Bolsheviks and Germans didn’t sign a peace treaty until March 1918, the war on the Eastern Front was effectively over.
The Russian Supply Commission was to be dissolved. Korzybski received orders to return to Russia. Alfred, still a Russian citizen, had no love for the Bolsheviks and no longer felt any obligation to Russia. Neither did he want to get involved in the social chaos there. He refused to go. Anyway, as a Pole he would not have been able to actually return home to Warsaw or Rudnik. Poland was still in German hands, and having fought against them, Korzybski might still have been considered an enemy. The Germans were shifting the majority of their forces to the Western front and the Americans were beginning to send troops to fortify their French and British allies there. The greatest chance for an independent Poland now was to directly help the remaining allied forces to defeat Germany.
While Alfred was in Erie making horseshoes, the Bolsheviks under V. I. Lenin had staged a coup against the provisional government of Russia—the “October Revolution” (which by our calendar took place on November 7, 1917). Lenin and his colleagues (Trotsky, Stalin, et al) and followers knew what they wanted— power—and acted ruthlessly to get it. They used the disenchantment with the war and the economy to get enough support among soldiers, sailors, and workers to make a relatively bloodless takeover.
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| MANSELL / TIME LIFE PICTURES / GETTY "Vladimir Ilych Ulyanov, known by his revolutionary nom de guerre, Lenin, inspired a small cadre of Communist intellectuals to agitate amongst the workers and soldiers of Petrograd, today's St. Petersburg. In this photo, his close associate Leon Trotsky stands at the right of the podium." |
The Russian Supply Commission was to be dissolved. Korzybski received orders to return to Russia. Alfred, still a Russian citizen, had no love for the Bolsheviks and no longer felt any obligation to Russia. Neither did he want to get involved in the social chaos there. He refused to go. Anyway, as a Pole he would not have been able to actually return home to Warsaw or Rudnik. Poland was still in German hands, and having fought against them, Korzybski might still have been considered an enemy. The Germans were shifting the majority of their forces to the Western front and the Americans were beginning to send troops to fortify their French and British allies there. The greatest chance for an independent Poland now was to directly help the remaining allied forces to defeat Germany.
Notes
You may download a pdf of all of the book's reference notes (including a note on primary source material and abbreviations used) from the link labeled Notes on the Contents page. The pdf of the Bibliography, linked on the Contents page contains full information on referenced books and articles.
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