Even though there is no specific assignment this week on the Declaration of the Rights
of the Russian people, I did want you to read yet another of the important political
documents of the modern world that dealt with the issue of human and political rights. 
The Declaration of the Rights of the Russian People was a direct product of the
Bolshevik Revolution of 1917--again note how the issue of authorship is important to an
understanding of the final form and content of a document.  As you read this document
keep in mind your earlier reading of the English Bill of Rights, the American Declaration
of Independence, the French Declaration of Rights of Man, the Communist Manifesto
and Bismarck's memoirs.  All of these in some way or another impacted the creation of
the Russian Declaration.  What is especially intriguing is the stark contrast between the
radical extent of the nature of the document and the extremely conservative political
environment that resulted in Russia after 1917.