Material for the Fourth (Extraordinary) All-Russia Congress of Soviets

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Author(s) Lenin
Written 17 February 1918


MIA-bannière.gif
Lenin Collected Works, Progress Publishers, 1971, Moscow, Volume 36, pages 484-485
Keywords : Congress, Russia, Soviet

Fourth (Extraordinary) All-Russia Congress of Soviets was held in Moscow from March 14 to 16, 1918. It was called to decide on the ratification of the Brest Peace Treaty. On the eve of the Congress, on March 13, the Bolshevik group of the Congress met to hear Lenin’s report on the treaty (see Lenin Miscellany XI, Second Edition, 1931, pp. 68–70). A preliminary vote in the group yielded the following results: 453 votes for Lenin’s motion to ratify the Brest Treaty; 36, against; 8, abstained.

On March 14, Lenin gave his report on the ratification of the peace treaty at the Congress. B. Kamkov, on behalf of the Left S.R.s, was the rapporteur against ratification. By a roll call vote the Congress passed Lenin’s resolution (see present edition, Vol. 27, pp. 200–01): 784, in favour; 261, against; 115, abstained, including the Left Communists who read out a special declaration on the motives of their abstention.

1. NOTES FOR A SPEECH AT A MEETING OF THE COMMUNIST GROUP OF THE CONGRESS[edit source]

Written on March 12–13, 1918

First published in 1929 in Lenin Miscellany XI

Printed from the original

1. The turning-point: Oct. 25, 1917–Feb. 17, 1918 and later.

2. Peace at Brest-Litovsk and now ... (Trotsky versus the supporters of revolutionary war)....

3. “Breathing space.”

4. Economic burdens ... but what about Belgium?

5. “Betrayal.”

A phrase.

2 versus 10 and 200,000 versus 1,000,000.[1]

6. The Ukraine and Finland.

7. The standpoint of the peasant masses, the petty bourgeoisie, the declassed soldier....

8. Class forces and the “obnoxious peace”. What about the Russian bourgeoisie?

9. The “leftism” of the Left Socialist-Revolutionaries.

10. Even “despair”?

11. Using the “crack”, “contradictions”, the strategic deployment of forces: Germany—Britain—Japan— America....

N.B.: 11 bis : Tilsit. Peace and war, their interconnection.

12. Biding time, retreating and waiting.

What for? Who for? The international revolution.

13. Building up forces. For “defence of the fatherland”. Discipline and discipline (up to and including draconic measures).

2. NOTES FOR A REPORT ON THE RATIFICATION OF THE PEACE TREATY[edit source]

Written on March 13 or 14, 1918

First published in 1929 in Lenin Miscellany XI

Printed from the original1. Understand the turning-point in history, the shift in the balance of classes and social forces.

2. The “independence” of the Russian revolution, Feb. 23 (1917)–Feb. 11 (1918). (The causes.)

3. Triumphal advance: Oct. 25 (1917)–Feb. 11 (1918).

4. Imperialism: an epoch of heavy defeats, retreats. Not the same enemy. No army.

5. An “extra-historical” statement of the question. The bourgeoisie and its yes-men.

6. Who disorganised the army?

7. The Vinnichenkos =the Kerenskys+the Tseretelis+ the Chernovs.

8. Provocation and trap. “Glad of the Germans”....

9. Despair and phrase-mongering. Phrase-mongering and bragging: among the Left Socialist-Revolutionaries [in our ranks<1/10th (453 and 36 and 8=497) ][2].... (The demoralised army....)

10. Compare 1907 and 1918.

11. The peasantry and phrase-mongering.

12. “Breathing space.” Defence of the fatherland.

13. 2 and 10; 200,000 and 1,000,000.

14. The Tilsit peace and a weak German people (only weak and backward). Peace and war in their interconnection.

15. We are waiting, while retreating, for a different ally: the international socialist proletariat.

  1. ↑ A reference to the example Lenin gave in his summing-up speech at the Seventh Congress: “... two men are walking together and are attacked by ten men, one fights and the other runs away— that is treachery; but suppose we have two armies of a hundred thousand each and there are five armies against them; one army is surrounded by two hundred thousand and the other must go to its aid; knowing that the other three hundred thousand of the enemy are in ambush, should the second army go to the aid of the first? It should not” = (see present edition, Vol. 27, p. 114).
  2. ↑ The results of the vote on the motion to ratify the Brest Peace Treaty at a meeting of the Communist group of the Fourth ( Extraordinary) All-Russia Congress of Soviets on March 13, 1918. See Note 564.
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