Vladimir Lenin

Speech At A Ceremonial Meeting Of The

All-Russia Central And Moscow Trade Union Councils

November 6, 1918 [1]

Newspaper report ( Those present rise and greet Comrade Lenin with stormy, prolonged applause. ) People today are gathering
at hundreds of meetings to celebrate the anniversary of the
October Revolution. To those who have been in the workers’
movement for some time, who were connected with the workers in the
old days, and who had close contacts with the factories, it is
clear that this past year has been one of genuine proletarian
dictatorship. This concept used to be mysterious book Latin, a
mouthful of incomprehensible words. Intellectuals sought an
explanation of the concept in learned works, which only gave them
a hazy notion of what the proletarian dictatorship was all
about. The chief thing that stands to our credit during this past
year is that we have translated these words from abstruse Latin
into plain Russian. During this past year the working class has
not been engaged in idle philosophising, but in the practical work
of creating and exercising a proletarian dictatorship, despite the
excited mental state of the intellectuals.

Capitalism still rules the roost in the West. But now the day
of great upheavals is dawning there too. Today the West-European
workers, too, are approaching the difficult period of transition
from capitalism to socialism. They, like ourselves, will have to
smash the entire old apparatus and build a new one.

We have not been able to utilise the whole store of experience,
knowledge and technical training the bourgeois intellectuals
had. The bourgeoisie sneered at the Bolsheviks and said the Soviet
government would scarcely hold out for a fortnight; so they not
only shirked co-operation, but wherever they could and with every
means in their power put up resistance to the new movement, the
new construction which was destroying the old order.

The resistance of the bourgeoisie has by no means ceased. It is
growing more vindictive every day; the nearer the end of the old
capitalist world approaches, the faster it grows.

Due to Bolshevism’s growing strength and the world-wide
dimensions it is assuming, the international situation today could
well cause an alliance of imperialists of all shades to attack the
Soviet Republic; then bourgeois resistance would be international
rather than national.

Germany, as you know, has expelled our Ambassador from Berlin on
the pretext that our mission in Germany was conducting revolutionary propaganda. As if the German Government did not
know before that our Embassy was a carrier of the revolutionary
contagion. If Germany said nothing about it before, it was
because she was still strong and not afraid of us. But now,
after her military collapse, she has begun to dread us. The
German generals and capitalists are turning to the Allies and
saying: “You may have beaten us, but don’t carry your experiments on us too far, for we are both menaced by world
Bolshevism; and we might be useful in the fight against
it.”

It is quite possible that the Allied imperialists may unite with the German imperialists for a joint campaign against Russia, provided, of course, the German imperialists still survive. That is why the danger that has surrounded us all through the past year is now looming larger than ever. But now we are not alone. We now have friends in the people who have already rebelled and those who are about to rebel and who are making it plain enough to their governments that they refuse to go on fighting for rapacious aims. Although a new stretch of very dangerous periods lies ahead, we shall continue our socialist construction. Past experience will help us avoid mistakes and lend us fresh strength in our further work.

The part played by the trade unions in the building of a new apparatus has been tremendous. The working class has shown that it is capable of organising industry without intellectuals or capitalists. Much has been done, but much still remains to be done. Comrades, carry on boldly along the path you have been following, and get more and more people to join in the work! Give all workers who are connected with the people and sincerely want the new system to take firm root, even though they may be illiterate, inexperienced and untrained-give them all, whether Party members or not, a chance to work and learn in the new proletarian state, to govern and create wealth.

The workers of the world will rise up, overthrow capitalism everywhere and consummate our work, which will lead to the complete victory of socialism! ( Stormy applause. )

Endnotes

[1] The Congress was held at the Bolshoi Theatre between November 6 and 9, 1918. Its opening coincided with the celebrations of the anniversary of the October Revolution. There were 1,296 delegates (963 with voting rights and 333 with voice but no vote), of whom 1.260 were Communists. The agenda included the following items: anniversary of the October Revolution, the international situation, military situation, building of Soviet power at the centre, Poor Peasants’ Committees and local Soviets. Lenin was elected honorary chairman of the Congress. After hearing Lenin's report on the anniversary of the October Revolution at the first sitting on November 6, the delegates sent greetings to the workers, peasants and soldiers of all countries and their leaders who were fighting for peace and socialism, and to the Red Army. On Sverdlov’s proposal the Congress adopted an appeal to the governments at war with Soviet Russia to start peace negotiations. In view of the strengthening of Soviet power and the victories of the Red Army the Congress adopted a decision on amnesty.