188. TELEGRAM TO K. A. MEKHONOSHIN

First published in full in the Fourth (Russian) Edition of the Collected Works. First published, but not in full, in 1930 in the book Grazhdanskaya voina. 1918–21, Vol. III. Printed from the original. · page 380

Military
Top priority
In code

April 24, 1919

Mekhonoshin
Astrakhan

Extremely strange that yon are sending only boastful telegrams about future victories. Discuss immediately:

first—is it not possible to accelerate the capture of Petrovsk in order to get oil out of Grozny?

secondly—cannot the mouth of the Ural and Guriev be captured, in order to take oil from there? The need for oil is desperate.

Bend all your efforts to the most rapid securing of oil, and telegraph in detail.

Lenin