Vladimir I. Lenin, Leon Trotsky, Nikolai Krylenko et al:

Declaration on Accepting the German Conditions

24 February

[Proceedings of the Brest-Litovsk Peace Conference. Washington 1918, p. 177-179]

[From the (British) Daily Review of the Foreign Press, 26 February, 1918, p. 994.]

Russian Government wireless (Feb. 24) sends out the following;-

To the German Government, Berlin :

Our Parliamentary representative left Petrograd to-day at midday in the direction of Dvinsk for the purpose of transmitting to the German Government, through the Dvinsk High Command, the official reply of the Russian Government on the peace conditions offered by the German Government, which had been communicated already to Berlin by radio from Tsarkoye Selo to-day at 7.32 a. m.

(Signed) Gorbunov,

Secretary of the Soviet of the People’s Commissioners.

To All:

The following has been sent to the German Government at Berlin: According to the decision taken by the Central Executive Committee of the Soviets of Workers, Soldiers, and Peasant Deputies on Feb. 24 at 4.30 a. m. the Soviet of the People’s Commissioners has decided to accept the peace conditions offered by the German Government and to send a delegation to Brest-Litovsk.

Vl. Ulianov-Lenin,

President of the Soviet of People’s Commissioners.

L. Trotsky,

People’s Commission for Foreign Affairs.

The delegation leaves for Brest-Litovsk at 8 p. m. Feb. 24.

N. Gorbunov,

Secretary of the Soviet of the People's Gommissioners.

The Bolshevist Commander in Chief, Krylenko, has sent the following message, addressed to the General Staff of the German Government, Berlin (Feb. 24) :

Supposing that all reasons for a continuation of war should disappear from the moment the Soviet of the People’s Commissioners declares that it accepts the conditions of peace proposed by the German Government, I request you hereby to reply to me whether the German High Command takes a similar view; and if so, whether it considers that from the moment its Government receives the aforesaid acceptance it may be concluded that the armistice becomes automatically reestablished in the same conditions as those which regulated operations before the state of war was restored on Feb. 18 last by the German High Command.

[From the (British) Daily Review of the Foreign Press, 27 February, 1918, p. 1005.]

Russian Government wireless sends out the following (Feb. 25) : To All:

To Berlin, Dvinsk, Sofia, and Constantinople:

In the Council’s newspapers of Petrograd of to-day the following statement has been published:

In reply to the expressed willingness of the Council of the People’s Commissioners to renew peace negotiations with the Quadruple Alliance, the German Government proposed fresh peace conditions, including a request for the recognition of the right of Germany to Courland, Livonia, Esthonia, and Dvinsk. This proposal is dated Berlin, Feb. 21, and demanded from the Government of the Russian Federal Government a reply within forty-eight hours, without specifying from what hour this period of delay was to be reckoned.

The proposal of the German Government was handed to our parliamentaire in a sealed envelope on Feb. 22, and the Council of the People’s Commissioners received it at 10.30 a. m. on Fell. 23.

On Feb. 24, at 4.30 a. m., the highest authoritative body in Russia – the Central Executive Committee of. the Councils – decided to accept these conditions as requested by the German Government. This decision was immediately transmitted by the Council of the People’s Commissioners to the German Government at Berlin, where it was received on Feb. 24 at 7.32 a. m.

According to another message the decision was also sent to the Austro-Hungarian Government at Vienna, the Bulgarian Government at Sofia, and the Ottoman Government at Constantinople, in the following form:

In conformity with the decision taken by the Central Executive Committee of the Council of Workmen’s, Soldiers’, and Peasants’ Delegates, at 4.30 a. m. on Feb. 24, the Council of the People’s Commissioners decrees that it has accepted the conditions of peace laid down hy the German Government, and will dispatch a delegation to Brest-Litovsk to sign peace.

Moreover, the Commander in Chief, Krylenko, sent to the Supreme Commander in Chief of the German Armies on Feb. 24 the following declaration:

In the belief that, from the moment when the Council of the People’s Commissioners agreed to accept the conditions as proposed by the German Government for the conclusion of peace, the need for continuing hostilities ceases, I beg to inquire whether the German High Command also believes that from the moment when the German Government receives the above-mentioned reply of the Council of the People’s Commissioners an armistice automatically ensues upon the same basis as existed before Feb. 18, when the German Command reopened hostilities.

(Signed) Krylenko,

Supreme Commander in Chief.

This declaration was received at the Headquarters of the German Command on Feb. 24, at 1.35 p. m., but no reply has been received, either from the German Command or from the German Government, by the Commander in Chief or by the Council of the People’s Commissioners, and German detachments are still advancing.

We are now inquiring whether the German Government and the High Command of the German Armies will or will not reply to the expressed consent of the People’s Commissioners to sign the proposed conditions of peace, and also to the proposal of the Commander in Chief, Krylenko, to discontinue hostilities.

(Signed) V. Ulianov-Lenin,

President of the Council of the People's Commissioners.

L. Trotsky,

Commissioner for Troops.

Please acknowledge receipt.