Page:Lenin - The Land Revolution in Russia - ed. Philip Snowden (1919).pdf/14

 will read that, amongst the persons and institutions who may enjoy the possession of land, the first place is held by the State, the second by public bodies under Soviet control, the third by agricultural communes, and the fourth by agricultural co-operative societies. Once again I draw your attention to the fact that these fundamental principles in the law were laid down when the Communist party was not merely enacting its own programme, but was also consciously making concessions to those who in one way or another expressed the class feeling and the will of the "middle" peasantry. We made and are still making concessions of that kind, and we do so because the transition to the collective form of land-holding, to communal tillage, to Soviet husbandry and communes is impossible all at once. A persistent and determined effort is required on the part of the Soviet Government, which has already assigned one milliard (1,000,000,000) roubles for agricultural improvements on the condition that communal tillage is taken up. This law shows that we desire to influence, mainly by the force of example, by the power of attraction exercised by improved farming, the masses of the "middle" peasantry, and are reckoning only on the gradual effect of such measures for this deepest and most important revolution in the economics of agricultural Russia.

The alliance between the Committees of the Poor, the agricultural communes and the Land Sections of the Soviets—the alliance which we see before us in the present Congress—shows us and convinces us that the business has been properly placed on a Socialist basis by this transition to communal farming. By means of this unfaltering and systematic work we must attain an increase in the productivity of labour. For this purpose we must introduce the very best agricultural methods, draw upon the best agronomic experts of Russia, in order to profit to the full by the most scientifically regulated farms, which hitherto have served solely as a source of wealth for private individuals, as nurseries for a new Capitalism, new bondage, new enslavement of hired