V. I.

Lenin

Treaty with the Finnish Socialist Workers’ Republic [1]

Draft Decision Of The C.P.C.

The Council of People’s Commissars resolves:

To acknowledge in principle the justice of the Finnish comrades’ desire
that part of the territory mentioned in the Finnish addendum to § 6 of
the draft treaty be handed over to the Finnish Socialist Workers’
Republic.

The Conciliation Board is instructed to work out ways for the practical
implementation of this transfer. [2]

_WRITTEN_ February 25, 1918

Directive of the C.P.C. to the Russo-Finnish
Conciliation Board

The Council of People’s Commissars gives the following directive to the Board:

That it be fair and necessary to ensure full political rights for the
citizens of both republics residing in the other republic.

_WRITTEN_ February 25, 1918

Draft Decision For The C.P.C.

Taking into consideration first, that next to Finland there is a great city with an extremely
high percentage of the bourgeois population; second, that Finland usually has about thirty thousand Finnish workers
living in Petrograd; third, that the bourgeoisie of Petrograd usually has about two hundred
thousand bourgeois living in Finland; fourth, that therefore formal
equality among Finnish and Russian citizens (in the matter of enjoying
political rights abroad) would in practice be an obvious privilege for
the. Russian bourgeoisie, the C.P.C. recommends the Russo-Finnish
Conciliation Board to alter § 13 of the draft to read as follows:
either have § 13 refer, not to citizens, but only to workers and to
peasants who do not exploit other people’s labour; or add to the former wording of § 13 a reservation to the effect
that Russian citizens coming to Finland who are unable to prove that they
belong to the two above-mentioned categories of working people, shall not
enjoy political rights in

Finland. [3]

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Notes:
[1]
On January 14 (27), 1918, a revolution started in Finland and power
passed into the hands of the proletariat. In February, on the initiative of
the workers’ government of Finland—the Council of People’s
Representatives—negotiations were commenced for signing a peace treaty
between the Russian and Finnish socialist Republics. The draft treaty drawn
up by the Russo-Finnish Conci1iation Board was discussed at meetings of the
Council of People’s Commissars held on February 25, 27 and 28. The treaty
was signed by representatives of the contracting parties on March 1.

Lenin took an active part in drawing up the treaty. He talked with the delegates of the Finnish workers’ government, who had been
authorised to sign the treaty, and he edited the draft (see Lenin Miscellany XX I, pp. 241-43).

This was the first treaty in history between two socialist republics, an example of a new type of international
relationshipsfraternal, friendly relationships between equal sovereign
states where the working class had come to power.

[2]
Lenin’s draft was endorsed at the meeting of the C.P.C. held on
February 25, 1918.

[3]
Lenin’s motion was adopted at the meeting of the C.P.C. on February 27,
1918.

§ 13 of the “Treaty Between the Russian and Finnish
Socialist Republics” stated that “The Russian Federative Soviet Republic
grants all the political rights of Russian citizens to Finnish citizens
residing in Russia who belong to the working class or to the peasants who
do not employ other people’s labour, if they live on the territory of
Russia for the purpose of engaging in labour occupations.

The Finnish Socialist Workers’ Republic, for its part, undertakes to give citizens of the Russian Federative Soviet Republic in
Finland every facility to enjoy political rights, special consideration
being given to the interests of the working population who have no
permanent domicile” (Decrees of the Soviet Government , Vol. I,
Moscow, 1957, p. 508).