Page:Grigory Zinoviev - Nicolai Lenin, His Life and Work (1918).djvu/10



Comrades! Last week may be called Lenin's week. I think I shall not in any way exaggerate if I say that every honest worker in Petrograd, in the whole of Europe, indeed, even in the whole world, so far as he may have heard the news of the attempt on Comrade Lenin, had in the course of these anxious days no other thought than the one question, will the wounded leader of International Communism recover? And I, comrades, am happy to share with you the good news: to-day we may—at last—count the recovery of Comrade Lenin as entirely assured. (Thunderous applause).

Comrades, I have in my hands a telegram, written already by Comrade Lenin himself. (Thunderous applause).

This telegram was handed in to-day at 1:10 a. m. from the Kremlin. This is, apparently, the first telegram of Comrade Lenin since he began to recover. Comrade Lenin gives us certain official instructions and finishes the telegram with the following words: "Affairs at the front are going well; I have no doubt that they will go still better." (Applause). Therefore, comrades, one thing is clear, that Comrade Lenin will live (applause, ovation) to the terror of the enemies of Communism and to the joy of the proletarian Communists.

Comrades! It goes without saying that in this hall there is not one single man who does not know, in general and as a whole who Lenin is. Every working man has heard of Lenin, knows that this is a gigantic figure in the history of the Labor movement of the whole world. Everyone is so much accustomed to the word "Lenin," that he does not stop to think what, after all, he has