What One May Write About
It is forbidden to write: of the bureaucrat,
Of the officers, of the soldier,
Of the strike, of the movement,
Of the clergy, of the ferment,
Of the peasant, of the ministry,
Of the execution, of the Cossacks' brutality,
Of the police, of arrests,
Of robberies, of manifestos!
But everything else the press
Must sternly denounce!
And when you have written, look up
"128" and "103"
Literal translation
V. V. Trofimov, late 1905.
By 128 and 103 are meant the articles of the Criminal Code of 1903. Article 103 provided for liability for insulting, including in public, the reigning Emperor, the Empress or the heir to the throne, for threats against them, and for desecration of their images. Article 128 introduced punishment for showing disrespect to the supreme authority, and for censuring the lawful government or the succession to the throne.
