V. I. Lenin

Telephone Message To The All-Russia Extraordinary Commission

April 1, 1919


Call placed: 1 April, 1919
First Published: Izvestia No. 71, April 2, 1919; Published according to the Izvestia text
Source: Lenin’s Collected Works, 4th English Edition, Progress Publishers, Moscow, 1972 Volume 29, page 254
Translated: George Hanna
Transcription/HTML Markup: David Walters & Robert Cymbala
Copyleft: V. I. Lenin Internet Archive (www.marx.org) 2002. Permission is granted to copy and/or distribute this document under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License


The All-Russia Extraordinary Commission reports that information has been received from Petrograd to the effect that agents of Koichak, Denikin and the Allies made an attempt to blow up the Petrograd water main. In the cellars, explosives and an infernal machine were found, which a special unit took away to destroy, but as a result of a premature explosion the commander of the unit was killed and ton Red Army men were wounded.

In some places attempts are being made to blow up bridges and to dislocate railway traffic.

Attempts are being made to destroy the permanent way and cut off Red Moscow and Petrograd from food supplies.

The Socialist-Revolutionaries and the Mensheviks are taking an active part in fomenting strikes and in calling for the overthrow of Soviet power.

In view of this information, the Council of Defence orders you to take the most urgent measures to suppress every attempt to cause explosions, to wreck railways and to foment strikes.

The Council of Defence orders you to call upon all Extraordinary Commission workers to be vigilant, and also orders you to inform the Council of Defence of all measures you take.

V. Ulyanov (Lenin),
Chairman of the Council of Defence