XI Congress of the RCP(b)
SPEECH ON THE QUESTION OF PRINTING ADVERTISEMENTS IN “PRAVDA”

APRIL 2
Comrades! What has occurred here is little short of a fatal misunderstanding. I rose to speak not for a concluding address, but to call the meeting to order—something that Comrade Chairman emphasized. I requested the floor to ask the Congress for a deviation from established procedure and customary practice. There is a rule: once a decision has been made, any further intervention in that matter is improper. I am asking the Congress to grant me four or five minutes to voice my opposition to the resolution that was erroneously adopted.
When I heard that the Congress had adopted this resolution—and when I heard Comrade Ryazanov defending it… (Ryazanov: “That’s incorrect.”) Well then, it’s perfectly fine that at least one absurd decision passed without Ryazanov’s support. If we were truly dealing with a naive young lady of about twelve who had only yesterday learned that communism exists in the world, who would don a white dress adorned with red ribbons and declare that communists are nothing more than pure-hearted merchants—well, that would be laughable; we could afford to chuckle good-naturedly at such a notion. But what, seriously, are we doing? Where will “Pravda,” now deprived of its advertisements, get its funding? The question is: how much money does “Pravda” need in order to keep pace with “Izvestia”? You don’t know? Nor do I!