REPORT ON THE INTERNATIONAL AND DOMESTIC SITUATION OF THE RSFSR AT THE CONFERENCE OF RAILWAY WORKERS OF THE MOSCOW JUNCTION1

February 5, 1920

The most striking fact in our current international situation is the peace with Estonia2, in which all material advantages are on the Estonian side, but the political ones are on our side. This peace is a window to Europe, which will give us the opportunity to begin trade with the West. Our opponents said that we would not survive and would perish, but not only have we survived, we have defeated the counter-revolution, which was attacking us from all sides, without any external assistance, solely through the efforts of workers and peasants who understood what they were fighting for.

The blows dealt to us by the Whites served as the foundation for building the edifice of communism, earning us the broad sympathy of the working and peasant masses. And now we are increasingly winning the sympathy of small nations. On one hand, they see our sincere desire for peace, and on the other, the deception of the Entente countries, which bring them nothing but the development of speculation and usury, and they are becoming more and more convinced of the necessity of peace with us. Poland is following Estonia: today we received news that it is willing to discuss our peace proposals3. This bloodless victory, achieved by Soviet Russia, is of enormous significance.

Regarding our domestic situation, the imperialist and civil wars have caused terrible disintegration of the entire economy, especially transportation. We are currently facing the threat of the railways stopping, which would mean final destruction. The cold and hunger in the country have never been as severe as they are now, yet we have the riches of Siberia and Ukraine at our disposal, and we have stockpiled 90,000,000 poods of grain. The main problem is the desperate state of transportation. It must be restored at all costs. On the front, our victories were achieved through the countless sacrifices of the Red Army. Workers must understand that the front has now shifted to the railways and workshops, and on this bloodless front, sacrifices and great efforts are also necessary. "Death or victory!" was the slogan of the Red Army. This slogan must be carried to the broad front. War against ruin, pursuit of profiteers and saboteurs. Workers must be imbued with the understanding of the necessity of the most arduous and persistent struggle against economic disintegration. True, this struggle will have to be waged by workers suffering from cold and hunger, but, understanding that the fate of their class depends on the outcome of this struggle, they will find the strength to carry it to a victorious end.

The Defense Council is taking all measures to combat the disintegration of transportation4. All honest railway workers must help it and declare war on all speculators using transportation for their own selfish purposes. On the other hand, the Defense Council is doing everything possible to improve the economic situation of railway workers: recently, a decree was issued stating that 100% of the food brought in by routes is to be given to the railways5. Moreover, we should not forget that in the Red Army, we won not only through the enthusiasm of the masses but also through good organization, iron discipline, and the proper use of military specialists. The experience of the Red Army must be transferred to the railway army of workers. Workers must understand that without sacrifice, without iron discipline, and without the use of specialists, the Red Army would not have won, and the railway workers' army will not win either.

Fund 2, op. 1, f. 25923 - protocol record.

1* As in the text.

1 The Conference of Railway Workers of the Moscow Junction took place in Moscow on February 5-6, 1920, in the Columned Hall of the House of Unions. More than 1,000 people attended. The agenda included: the international situation, the struggle against economic disintegration and labor conscription, transportation, social security, the tasks of the RCP(b) in the proletarian revolution, healthcare, and the food supply issue.

On February 5, V.I. Lenin spoke at the conference. The Complete Works of V.I. Lenin include a brief report of his speech from the newspaper "Petrogradskaya Pravda," No. 28, February 7, 1920 (see: Vol. 40, pp. 111-112).

2 The peace treaty between Russia and Estonia (see: Izvestia of the VTsIK, No. 28, February 8, 1920; Collection of Laws and Regulations of the Workers' and Peasants' Government, 1920, No. 7, Art. 44) was signed in the city of Yuriev on February 2, 1920, and ratified at a session of the VTsIK on February 4, 1920 (see: Decrees of the Soviet Power. Vol. VII. Moscow, 1975, pp. 194-195).

3 This refers to the response of the Polish government to the statement of the Sovnarkom of the RSFSR to the Polish government and the Polish people on January 28, 1920, which ended with the words: "The Council of People's Commissars considers that with its present categorical statement, it has fulfilled its duty regarding the peaceful interests of the Russian and Polish peoples and retains hope that all disputed issues will be resolved in the spirit of good-neighborly agreements between Russia and Poland" (Decrees of the Soviet Power. Vol. VII, pp. 140-141). Apparently, on February 5, the RSFSR government received a radiogram from the Polish Minister of Foreign Affairs, S. Patek, dated February 4: "The government of the Polish Republic hereby confirms receipt by radio telegraph of the statement of the government of the Russian Soviet Republic of January 19, 1920. The statement will be considered, and a response will be communicated to the government of the Russian Soviet Republic" (Documents of the Foreign Policy of the USSR. Vol. 2. Moscow, 1958, p. 359).

4 V.I. Lenin, as the Chairman of the Council of Workers' and Peasants' Defense, refers to measures taken to overcome the catastrophic situation on the railway transport. Only in the second half of January 1920 were the following decrees approved and published: on January 16 — abolishing the Special Committee for the Implementation of Martial Law on Railways (Oskom) and reorganizing the transport department of the Cheka; on January 20 — revoking the circular of the People's Commissariat of Ways of Communication regarding the use of soft cars; on January 23 — unifying all organizations for the protection and defense of the Republic's railways and establishing a railway militia, and using the Reserve Army to improve the operation of the Moscow-Kazan Railway; on January 30 — implementing a universal labor mobilization of railway locomotive drivers, their assistants, stokers, boiler makers, mechanics, electricians, and foremen (see: Decrees of the Soviet Power. Vol. VII, pp. 114, 129-131, 133-135, 156-159).

5 On February 2, 1920, the Council of Defense adopted a resolution on measures to improve the operation of railway transport, which stipulated: "The grain delivered by trains formed by railway workers is transferred to railway organizations in the amount of 100%" (ibid., p. 171).