# Speech Delivered at the Conference of Railway Workers in the Moscow Rail Network, February 5, 1920{50} – A Brief Newspaper Report
Source: PSS, Volume 40

V. I. Lenin delivered a lengthy address, met with stormy applause.

In the international arena, Comrade Lenin stated, the most striking development is the peace treaty with Estonia. This peace represents a gateway to Europe—and through it, we are now able to initiate trade relations with Western nations. Our adversaries had long claimed that revolution in the West was a distant prospect and that, without such a revolution, we would never be able to hold our ground. Yet not only have we held our ground; we have emerged victorious.

We won—not by receiving a single cartridge from anywhere, but solely because the workers and Red Army soldiers knew what they were fighting for.

When small nations, once mere pawns in the hands of the Entente, begin to turn toward peace with Soviet Russia, this is because we have demonstrated, in practice, how those imperialists deceived them—and how warmly the Russian proletariat extends its hand in peace. Following Estonia comes Poland. We have received word that Poland is set to deliberate upon the peace proposal put forward by Soviet Russia. This bloodless victory carries immense significance.

Turning to the domestic situation, V. I. Lenin pointed out that the prevailing condition boils down to the struggle against transport-related devastation. At present, the railway system hangs by a thread. Should trains come to a halt, it would spell disaster for the proletarian centers. Heroic efforts on the part of the working masses are essential if we are to sustain transportation and alleviate the struggle against hunger and cold. If, during the Civil War—which claimed so many lives—unprecedented acts of heroism proved decisive in tilting the balance in our favor, then such heroism and sacrifice are equally vital now that the war has shifted to a new front—the industrial front. It is precisely on this bloodless front that victories must be secured.

We must recognize that sacrifices are required here as well. At the cost of sacrifice, we must lift the nation’s economy. “Death or Victory” must become the rallying cry on the industrial front. The workers must fully grasp the necessity of the most intense struggle if they are to achieve victory on this front. The battle ahead will be exceedingly arduous, and it will fall to weary, hungry workers to wage it—but if they understand that the fate of the working class hinges on the outcome of this struggle, they will surely prevail.

The question of transportation is currently under discussion in the Council of Defense{51}. But it is the workers themselves who must unite in the fight against transport-related devastation and against speculation that fuels that very devastation. Those who withhold surplus grain from the state, turning the railways into instruments of speculation—these individuals stand opposed to us, and conscious workers must join forces to combat them resolutely.

We led the Red Army to victory not only through agitation, but also through strict, iron discipline. What was established within the Red Army must be replicated across all fronts of labor. All the experience gained in building the Red Army must be transferred to the ranks of the railway workers’ army, so that it may be raised to the same heights to which the Red Army has ascended. Without sacrifice, without iron discipline, and without the full utilization of specialized expertise, the Red Army could not have triumphed—and neither can the railway army.(Applause.)

“Petrogradskaya Pravda,” No. 28, February 7, 1920.

Printed according to the text of the newspaper “Petrogradskaya Pravda.”