Collected Works of V. I. Lenin - Vol. 26 - From Marx to Mao

285MEETING OF THE ALL-RUSSIACENTRAL EXECUTIVE COMMITTEENOVEMBER 4 (17), 19171SPEECH ON THE PRESSComrade Karelin assured us that the way he was takingled to socialism, but I am afraid this would be marching tosocialism backwards. Trotsky was right: the officer cadetsstaged their uprising, and war was declared in Petrogradand Moscow for freedom of the press. This time the Socialist-Revolutionaries did not act at all like socialists or revolutionaries.This week all the telegraph offices were inKerensky’s hands. The Vikzhel was on their side. But theyhad no troops. It turned out that the army was on our side.The civil war was started by a handful of men. It is not over.Kaledin’s troops are approaching Moscow, and the shocktroops are approaching Petrograd. We do not want a civilwar. Our troops have shown great restraint. They heldtheir fire, and it all began when three of our men were killed.Krasnov was given soft treatment. He was only placed underhouse arrest. We are against civil war. But if it neverthelessgoes on what are we to do? Trotsky was right in asking inwhose behalf you spoke? We asked Krasnov whether he couldsign on behalf of Kaledin that the latter would not continuethe war. He naturally replied that he could not. How canwe stop retaliative measures against an enemy who has notstopped his hostile operations?We shall negotiate when peace terms are offered to us.But so far peace is being offered to us by those on whomit does not depend. These are only fine words. After all,Rech is an organ of the Kaledinites. We can well allow that