A large part of the Russian Black Sea fleet fell into the hands of the
Germans when they captured Sebastopol, but two large ships and two
destroyers escaped. A telegram to the Berliner Tageblatt, dated May 12,
said that the majority of the captured vessels had been so neglected
that only two battleships were in good condition. One dreadnought and
four cruisers had previously been captured at Odessa. On June 6, the
Moscow Government offered to surrender the Black Sea fleet to Germany
on the following conditions: 1. The ships to be restored after the war
is over. 2. Germany to refrain from using the vessels. 3. Invasion of
Russia to stop.
According to a memorandum sent on May 21 by Foreign Minister
Tchitcherin to the Bolshevist Ambassador Joffe in Berlin, Russian
merchantmen and even a hospital ship were attacked by the Germans in
the Black Sea, and the menace of German attack constituted a serious
obstacle to navigation in the Baltic and Arctic.
On June 6, Germany delivered an ultimatum to the Soviet Government,
demanding the return of the remainder of the Russian Black Sea Fleet
from Novorossysk to Sebastopol, as a condition for the cessation of
hostilities on the part of the Central Powers. The Commissary for
Foreign Affairs expressed himself in favor of acceding to the demand,
and Lenine ordered the surrender of the ships.
The Soviet Government had no illusions as to the stability of the
Brest-Litovsk peace, but in its opinion the time for a new clash with
the Central Powers was not yet ripe. Consequently, in the of German
aggression, it pursued a policy of preserving this "bad peace" by all
manner of concessions and compromises.
The tasks which the Soviet Government were facing were outlined by
Nikolai Lenine in several speeches made before the Central Executive
Committee of the Councils, in the middle of May. His words were to the
effect that war was threatening the Soviet Republic from many quarters.
Either of the belligerent groups of imperialistic powers might, in his
opinion, at any moment attack Russia. The ambitions of Skoropadsky
and of the new Caucasian Government, which was under the influence
of German militarism, was regarded as another source of danger. "We
shall do the little we can," said Lenine, "all that diplomacy can do
to put off the moment of attack. * * * We shall not defend the secret
agreements which we have published to the world; we shall not defend a
'Great Power,' for there is nothing of Russia left but Great Russia,
and no national interests, because for us the interests of the world's
socialism stand higher than national interests. We stand for the
defense of the socialistic fatherland."
Lenine professed belief that this defense was facilitated by the
profound schism which divided the capitalistic Governments, by the fact
that "the German bandits" were pitted against "the English bandits,"
and that there were economic rivalries between the American bourgeoisie
and the Japanese bourgeoisie. "The situation is," said Lenine, "that
the stormy waves of imperialistic reaction, which seem ready any moment
to drown the little island of the Soviet Socialist Republic, are broken
one against another." It was his intention to take full advantage of
this situation, and to keep Russia out of the war for as long a time
as possible, with a view to curing her economic wounds and building up
her military power for the coming clash with world capitalism. Economic
recuperation, in the largest sense of the word, was thus declared to be
the immediate problem of the revolution. The expropriation of capital
became a matter of secondary importance in comparison with the task
of consolidating the gains of the proletariat and putting them to
good use. "We have accomplished two tasks," said Lenine in concluding
his speech before the Central Executive Committee on May 16. "We have
seized the power, and we have divided it among all Russia. We point
to the realization of the third and most difficult task, namely, the
disciplining of the proletariat to such a degree that every corner of
Russia shall be permeated thereby."