November 29, 1918

With the advance of our troops to the west and into Ukraine, regional provisional Soviet governments are being created, called upon to strengthen the Soviets locally. This circumstance has the good side that it removes the possibility for the chauvinists of Ukraine, Lithuania, Latvia, Estland (Estonia) to view the movement of our units as occupation, and creates a favorable atmosphere for the further advance of our troops. Without this circumstance, our troops would be placed in an impossible position in the occupied regions, and the population would not greet them as liberators. In view of this, we request that the command staff of the corresponding military units be given instructions that our troops should in every way support the provisional Soviet governments of Latvia, Estland (Estonia), Ukraine, and Lithuania, but of course only the Soviet governments.

Lenin