Immediately on all sides there are cries that the new Socialist
authority is in this violating the essential principles of its own
programme by an attempt against the freedom of the press.
The Workers’ and Peasants’ Government calls the attention of the
population to the fact that in our country, behind this liberal
shield, is hidden the opportunity for the wealthier classes to seize
the lion’s share of the whole press, and by this means to poison the
popular mind and bring confusion into the consciousness of the masses.
Every one knows that the bourgeois press is one of the most powerful
weapons of the bourgeoisie. Especially in this critical moment, when
the new authority of the workers and peasants is in process of
consolidation, it is impossible to leave it in the hands of the
enemy, at a time when it is not less dangerous than bombs and
machine-guns. This is why temporary and extraordinary measures have
been adopted for the purpose of stopping the flow of filth and
calumny in which the yellow and green press would be glad to drown
the young victory of the people.
As soon as the new order is consolidated, all administrative measures
against the press will be suspended; full liberty will be given it
within the limits of responsibility before the law, in accordance
with the broadest and most progressive regulations….
Bearing in mind, however, the fact that any restrictions of the
freedom of the press, even in critical moments, are admissible only
within the bounds of necessity, the Council of People’s Commissars
decrees as follows:
1.
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