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

483INSTRUCTIONS TO THE RED GUARD H.Q.January 12, 1918In view of the looming danger of famine in Petrograd,and in accordance with the Council of People’s Commissarsdecision on the inspection of railways in Petrograd and itsvicinity to discover any possible carloads of grain in theyards, the Red Guard H.Q. is hereby ordered to help carryout such inspection and apprehend profiteers and saboteurs.With this aim in view, the required number of detachmentsmust be immediately formed and dispatched tomorrowmorning, January 13, to Comrade Nevsky or his Deputyat the Commissariat for Railway Affairs, to conduct thefollowing joint operations with him:(1) make a round of the stations and get their chiefs andother administrative personnel to sign written statementsthat there is not a single carload of grain or food stuffs (atthe station or on the railway tracks);(2) to verify that there are actually no carloads of grain,etc.; the check-up to be conducted jointly with railwaymen;(3) in the event of false evidence or misleading reports,administrative personnel (by agreement with railway men’scommittees) should be arrested and handed over to revolutionarytribunals.V. Ulyanov (Lenin),Chairman of the Council of People’s CommissarsFirst published in 1931in Lenin Miscellany XVIIIPublished accordingto the manuscript