V. I.

Lenin

85

To:   G. V. CHICHERIN [1]

Chicherin:

In my opinion, the Brest treaty cannot forbid us to combat, pirate-insurgents (armed merchant vessels),
||

and it is necessary to find a form for our naval forces to give an
armed rebuff to the rebels.

Lenin

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Notes:
[1]
This note to G. V. Chicherin was written following the receipt
of a report that troops of the Transcaucasian bourgeois
government, supported by a flotilla of armed merchant vessels, were
advancing on Sukhum, creating a threat to the entire Black Sea
coast. In the draft of a telegram submitted to Lenin, which was
addressed to Sablin, Chief of the Naval Forces of the Black Sea
Fleet, the latter was instructed to arm a number of Soviet merchant
ships and send them for the defence of Sukhum.

On May 20, 1918, the Soviet Government sent a Note to the
German Government protesting against the German military
authorities conniving at the actions of the armed merchant ships
of “the so-called Transcaucasian government, which is recognised by absolutely nobody in Transcaucasia”.