. The fact is that
Kerensky's responsibility was very small indeed. He and his Socialist
associates in the Cabinet held their positions by authority of the Council
of Workmen's and Soldiers' Delegates, and they had agreed to be subject to
its guidance and instruction. The Soviet was responsible for the
Declaration of Soldiers' Rights. Kerensky was acting under its orders. The
Soviet had already struck a fatal blow at military discipline by its famous
Order Number One, which called on the soldiers not to execute the orders of
their officers unless the orders were first approved by the revolutionary
authorities--that is, by the Soviet or its accredited agents. That the
order was prompted by an intense love for revolutionary ideals, or that it
was justified by the amount of treachery which had been discovered among
the officers of the army, may explain and even excuse it, but the fact
remains that it was a deadly blow at military discipline. The fact that
Kerensky's predecessor, Guchkov, had to appear at a convention of soldiers'
delegates and explain and defend his policies showed that discipline was at
a low ebb. It brought the army into the arena of politics and made
questions of military strategy subject to political maneuvering.

The Declaration of Soldiers' Rights was a further step along a road which
inevitably led to disaster. That remarkable document provided that soldiers
and officers of all ranks should enjoy full civic and political rights;
that they should be free to speak or write upon any subject; that their
correspondence should be uncensored; that while on duty they should be free
to receive any printed matter, books, papers, and so on, which they
desired. It provided for the abolition of the compulsory salute to
officers; gave the private soldier the right to discard his uniform when
not actually on service and to leave barracks freely during "off-duty"
hours. Finally, it placed all matters pertaining to the management in the
hands of elective committees in the composition of which the men were to
have four-fifths of the elective power and the officers one-fifth.

Of course, the Declaration of Soldiers' Rights represented a violent
reaction. Under the old regime the army was a monstrously cruel machine;
the soldiers were slaves. At the first opportunity they had revolted and,
as invariably happens, the pendulum had swung too far. On May 28th the
Council of Workmen's and Soldiers' Delegates issued a declara