V. I. Lenin

Source: ru:LS/v21;es:MT
Translated: machine translation (DeepSeek) from the Russian; AI-translated.

II. FROM THE FIRST DECREES OF THE SOVIET GOVERNMENT

November 17 (4), 1917 — December 20 (7), 1918

ON THE APPOINTMENT OF A COMMISSION TO INVESTIGATE THE DEPENDENCE OF THE BOURGEOIS NEWSPAPERS ON THE BANKS

DRAFT RESOLUTION

[November 17 (4), 1917]

The bourgeoisie understood freedom of the press as the freedom of the rich to publish newspapers, the seizure of the press by the capitalists, which in practice everywhere in all countries, not excluding the most "free" [wealthy], led to the venality of the press.

The workers' and peasants' government understands freedom of the press as the liberation of the press from the yoke of capital, the transfer of paper mills and printing plants to state ownership, and the granting to every group of citizens reaching a certain size (e.g., 10,000) of the equal right to use a corresponding share of the paper stocks and a corresponding quantity of printing labour.

As a first step towards the achievement of this aim, which is inseparably linked with the liberation of the working people from the yoke of capital, the Provisional Workers' and Peasants' Government appoints an Investigative Commission to inquire into the connections of periodical publications with capital, the sources of their [sums of] funds and incomes, the composition of their donors, the covering of their deficits, and the entire economy of the newspapers in general. Any concealment of books, accounts or other documents from the Investigative Commission, as well as any deliberately false testimony, shall be punishable by the revolutionary court.

All newspaper owners, shareholders, and also all employees are obliged to submit immediately written reports and information on the indicated questions to the Investigative Commission for the disclosure of the connection of the press with capital and the dependence of the press on capital, at the Smolny Institute, Petrograd.