Journal of I. M. Diakonoff
V. I. Durov, before the battle
Those of you I've served with before, it is once again my honour to command you again in defence of the Union, to those of you I don't know, I have no doubt you will prove capable and effective in our mission. And what a mission this is! The struggle for the enlightenment of the proletariat, and the creation of paradise on earth, free from the exploitation of the capitalist, and the oppression of the bourgeois. Not just to defend our country, our mission is to carry the principles we know to be true out into the galaxy! We go to places previously unknown to us, but places where those conditions we have always fought, slavery, exploitation and avarice, are all too present!
Therefore comrades, do not mistake this battle as the beginning of a new war! We struggle for the continued happiness of mankind, not merely our own safety. Remember that our freedom is merely privilege extended unless enjoyed by one and all! Remember comrades! We have been in this position before! When the capitalists closed in around us, when we first flew the red banner, three quarters of our country was in the hands of foreign interventionists. Now, it is three quarters of the galaxy! Then, we were outmatched, in industry, in materiel, and in technology. Now we are so outmatched that we do not even understand how our enemies' technology works!
But we maintain the one thing they do not! Remember comrades, remember how we won, again and again, till we put the bayonet to the fascist-imperialists! Our unbreakable morale, our will for victory, our superiority of spirit, and our devotion to the red banner! These will see us across the stars, till we cut down all these new oppressors like the farmer cuts the wheat!
The enslaved peoples of the stars who have fallen under the alien yoke look to you as their liberators. Be worthy of this mission! Be forthright and courageous! The war you are waging is a war of liberation, a just war!
We are the militant godless! We will take their technology! We will take their weapons! We will free their slaves! We will tear down their illusions!
Death to false gods!
Long live our glorious Motherland, her liberty and her independence!
Under the banner of Lenin, forward to victory!
AN: I've tried to capture the passion and violence of early socialist rhetoric. However, the future success of this work relies significantly on capturing the voices of characters sufficiently well to achieve a sense of verisimilitude. Therefore, comments are much appreciated on this aspect.
I've taken some of Durov's speech from speeches and remarks by Zukhov, Stalin, and a rather out of place Billy Bragg. Few direct quotes, but a lot of the ideals of the Soviet struggle during the war are similar to the struggle now against aliens. If anyone's curious ask and I'll give you sources for any similar bits if you'd like to read the speeches for yourself. As always comments are appreciated, if only to maintain the fic toward the top of the boards.