In connection with the disagreements that emerged in the leading
party and Soviet bodies on the question of signing peace
with Germany, the Central Committee of the Bolshevik Party
adopted Lenin's proposal on February 25, 4948, "to conduct immediately
a poll among the Soviet voters of Petrograd and Moscow"
(see "Protocols of the C.C. R.S.D.L.P.", p. 252).
On the basis of this decision, on February 25, the day after
the decision to sign peace with Germany was adopted by the All-Russian Central Executive Committee, all provincial, district, and volost Soviets
were sent a request regarding their attitude to the peace terms
offered to the Soviets by the German government (see Appendix,
p. 60).
About what importance Lenin attached to this question and
with what attention he followed the answers, speaks to the "Summary of Answers to the Question: 'Peace or War', Received in
the All-Russian Central Executive Committee," compiled by
him and completed approximately by the 8th - 40th of March; in terms of the nature
of the outlined headings, the "Summary of Answers" has something in common with the note
"Soviet Russia on the Question of War and Peace", printed in
*Pravda* No. 38, March 4948, but the note provides data only
answers received, apparently, until
March 4948.
The text of the request, given in the appendix, is written on 3
pages of postal paper in an unknown hand, but at the end of
it
the words: "Central Executive Committee" are crossed out
and, in Lenin's hand, it is inscribed: "Council of Peo[ple's] Commissars." The page numbering was also done by Lenin. All
this, as well as the very content of the documents, indicates that
that the request was drawn up not only on Lenin's initiative, but
under his direct supervision and was subjected to his editing.
The request itself was not published, but in the newspapers of that
time there are reports of telegrams received from the localities
in response to the telegraphic request of the All-Russian Central Executive Committee (see
"Izvestia"
J\i 56(300), 28(45) February 4948 and in the following •№•№ until March 8
4948).
The request and the table are printed according to the manuscripts; neither
one nor the other was published in print.

SUMMARY OF ANSWERS TO THE QUESTION: "PEACE OR WAR"

SUMMARY OF ANSWERS TO THE QUESTION: "PEACE OR
WAR" RECEIVED IN THE ALL-RUSSIAN CENTRAL EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE
[March 8-10, 1918] including for
Provincial
Towns
District for
Provinces:
peace war for peace
Towns and Villages war
Arkhangelsk . . . .


—


Vologda ..............


—
—


Voronezh..............

o
—


Vyatka .....................


—


Vladimir . . . .


—
—


Don region . .


—
—


Yeniseysk Province


—
—


Vilna ..................

—
—
—

—
Ekaterinoslav


—


Transbaikal . . . .
—

—
—
—

Irkutsk..................
—

—

—
—
Kaluga..................

o
•


Kostroma ..............


—


Kazan ..................

o
—


Kursk .....................


—


Murmansk region
—

—

-—
—
Moscow Province


—


Novgorod
» . . .
—

—
—
—

Orenburg
» . . .


—


Orel..................


—
—


Olonets ..................

—

—
—
—
Penza ..................


—


Perm..................
—

—

—

Petrograd . . . .


—


Poltava
..............

—
—
—

—
Primorskaya..............
—

—

—
—
* In this place in the manuscript the "a" is missing, which gives a difference
by one in the final count. Ed.

including
Provincelal
Towns for peace for war
Towns
District and
Villages
Priamurskaya. . .

for peace for war for for peace war
Ryazan . . . .


—


Simbirsk . . .


—
—


Stavropol
Province . . . .
—

—
—
—

Saratov province .........................


—


Samara
» . .

—
—
—

—
Tambov
» . .

**o
—
—

o
Tver ..............

[transliteration]/
—


Tauride . . .

—

—

—
Tula ..............


—
—


Tobolsk . . . .
—
—
—
—
—
—
Ural . . . .
—

—

—
—
Ufa . . . .


—
—

Kharkov . . .


—


Kherson
. . .
—

—
—
—

Yaroslavl . . .


—


Total .


^  6


Appendix»
REQUEST OF THE COUNCIL OF PEOPLE'S COMMISSARS ON THE ATTITUDE TO THE SIGNING OF THE TERMS OF PEACE OFFERED BY THE GERMAN GOVERNMENT \
Council of People's Commissars. Petrograd.
[February 25, 1918]
To all Provincial, District Sovdeps, all provincial, district,
volost land committees.
The following peace terms are proposed by the Germans: 1) annexation of Livonia, Estonia, Courland, 2) demobilization of the army, guard, Red
army, 3) withdrawal of troops from Finland, 4) cessation of war with the Rada,
5) renunciation of the right to agitate against the imperialist system of Germany,
6) duty-free export of ore from Russia, etc. Yesterday, February 24, at
Printed from manuscript (archival No. 23703). Ed.

REQUEST OF THE COUNCIL OF PEOPLE'S COMMISSARS

41* hours. in the morning, the Central Executive Committee of Soviets of Workers,
Soldiers' and Peasants' Deputies discussed the issue and gave their consent
to accept these conditions by 116 votes against 85 and with 25 abstentions.
The treaty must be signed according to the ultimatum set by the Germans
in the morning of February 26. There are two points of view on the question in
the All-Russian Central Executive Committee. According to some, given the disorganization and disintegration of our
army, which is running away in panic from the advancing German troops, leaving
in the hands of the enemy all artillery and forage, unwilling to destroy railway
roads and destroy bridges; given the severity of the food crisis we are experiencing, given the general fatigue from the war, no
armed struggle is possible at the moment and can only destroy
Soviet power and give weapons into the hands of its counter-revolutionary
bourgeoisie. The real revolutionary task is the organization
of forces, the creation of discipline, the streamlining of railways and food
and preparation for a revolutionary war in deed, not in word. According
to others, the signing of peace terms is a blow to the undoubtedly
growing movement of the German, English and French working
masses, strengthens and reinforces the authority of reaction, both in Europe
and in Russia, will be a mortal blow to the revolutionary movement
ment caused by the Russian revolution in Ukraine, Lithuania, Finland,
will cut off the Soviet center from the [revolutionary] food center,
handing over the bread-producing Ukraine to the power of the counter-revolutionary Rada and
Austrian imperialism, will deprive all the gains of the Russian social
social revolution - socialization of land, the right to the product of labor, etc.,
and will sacrifice the interests of the international revolution to the interests
national-territorial protection of Russia. The first point of view
is defended by the Central Committee of the Bolsheviks with Lenin, the second by the Central Committee of the Left SRs.
Telegraph urgently how you feel about signing the conditions offered by the German Government.
Secretary [Central Executive Committee] of the Council of People's Commissars * Gorbunov.
* Correction: "Council of People's Commissars" in the manuscript made
by Lenin. Ed.

The documents printed below (24 and 25) relate to the VII
party congress, which took place in Petrograd on March 6-8, 40(8.
The first document represents notes during the co-report
by N.I. Bukharin on the question of war and peace and during the speeches
of speakers who opposed the conclusion of a separate peace.
The recording was made on one quarter of a sheet of paper, divided by Lenin
into 2 columns: the first column refers to the morning session of March 7, the second to the evening session. A quote from the speeches
D. B. Ryazanov at the evening session of March 7 was already recorded
on another quarter of a sheet of paper. On the same quarter, Lenin
on March 8, made notes on the concluding remarks of N.I. Bukharin.
rin. Lenin began his concluding remarks with an analysis of the latter notes.
On the basis of the record of the debate on the first day of the congress, Lenin
compiled on the evening of March 7 or on March 8 before the congress session
a plan of the concluding remarks, to the exposition of which Lenin
began after comments on quotes from the speech of D. B. Ryazanov
and the concluding remarks of N.I. Bukharin. (See "Concluding
remarks on the report on war and peace on March 8." Works, vol. XXII,
pp. 334 - 358.)

«IIV
* NOTES AT THE SEVENTH PARTY CONGRESS ON
THE QUESTION OF WAR AND PEACE.
March 7, 1918.]
Bukharin:
(a) respite (“only for a few days”)
(b) the vacillations of our party demoralize the people and the proletariat and the army [[true! who
vacillated?
C.C.
a
b
C.C. who? you “Lefts,” friends!]]
If life despite the war will come (Bukharin)...
Will he strive for a long respite?
When will he break the treaty?
How long will we adapt, concede, betray, compromise?
“Canossa,” “obscene peace.”
(Uritsky) 2
Bubnov quotes the statement of the Lefts in the C.C. 3
Our policy in Br[est-
Litovsk was not a mistake:
(Radek)

NOTES AT THE SEVENTH PARTY CONGRESS OF THE PARTY

“we,” the Lefts, are always right; /
This artist Bukharin )
“Clenching your teeth, you must secretly PREPARE FOR FORCES”
(Radek)4 (c) analysis of the class source of disagreements
< a tired peasant? mixed?

< S.R., Mensh., C.D.?
...“shame, disgracefully, ignobly”...
Trotsky
Evacuation of Petersburg is one thing, the building of railroads is
another (Trotsky)...
U <(we betray
Ukraine »...
And will we sign the peace jjc with Ukraine or with Svinkhu-
||vud?
"A i a couple of months no more
^ is the period of possible
*l| delay period y*I “this will be betrayal
I in the truest sense of the word” 'A (if we sign a peace with Vinnichen-
'
&
ko) [Trotsky) 5 cpave Radek: there will be no shame,
|| there will be no betrayal 6.
Ryazanov: “Lenin gives up pro- , space to win time” 7
[March 8, 1918.] "Is war possible in the near future?" ....
Demagogic formulation: you cannot send them to slaughter;
the treaty “slanders” us in the eyes of the whole world.
Bukharin: "Ask any military man" 8
1 The passages from N. I. Bukharin’s speech at the Seventh Party Congress on the question of war and peace noted here (see “Protocols of Congresses and Conferences of the All-Union Communist Party (Bolsheviks). Seventh Congress. March 1918.” Giz. 1928, pp. 31, 36, 38, 39–41, 42), Lenin gives in his concluding remarks on the report on war and peace (see ibid., pp. 114, 116, 118).