Date: 1918
Source: ru:PSS/v36

(The appearance of Comrade Lenin is met with stormy applause.) In his speech on the topic “What Will the Soviet Constitution Bring to the Working People?,” Comrade Lenin points out that the Soviet Constitution—like the Soviets themselves, forged in the crucible of revolutionary struggle—is the first constitution to proclaim that state power belongs to the working people, thereby stripping the exploiters—those who oppose the building of a new life—from their rights. It is precisely in this fundamental distinction from the constitutions of other states that lies the guarantee of victory over capital.

Pointing to several key provisions of the Declaration of the Rights of the Working and Exploited People, Comrade Lenin notes that workers in every country will now see that the Soviet Constitution—the basic law of the Russian Socialist Federative Soviet Republic—embodies the ideals of the proletariat worldwide. The hour of reckoning with the bourgeoisie of all nations is drawing near! Outrage is mounting across Western Europe! Our task is to overcome every obstacle that stands in our path, no matter how daunting it may seem, and to hold onto Soviet power until the day when the working class of every country rises up and raises high the great banner of the world socialist republic! (The final words of the leader of the Russian proletariat, Comrade Lenin, were drowned out by thunderous applause.)

“Pravda,” No. 157, July 28, 1918.

Printed according to the text of the newspaper “Pravda.”