It's a quote by Martov (Menshevik) as he was speaking up against the Cadets and the way they were handling the war.

“You call us defeatists; but the real defeatists are those who wait for a more propitious moment to conclude peace, insist upon postponing peace until later, until nothing is left of the Russian army, until Russia becomes the subject of bargaining between the different imperialist groups. You are trying to impose upon the Russian people a policy dictated by the interests of the bourgeoisie. The question of peace should be raised without delay. You will see then that not in vain has been the work of those whom you call German agents, of those Zimmerwaldists who in all the lands have prepared the awakening of the conscience of the democratic masses.”

As Russia was losing territory to the German army in the first world war, it seems like there was a side that wanted the war to last as long as possible, no matter the cost, and Markov was against it.

This kind of reminds me of the current war in Ukraine. The people opposed to the war and that wanted a peace deal to be made, were called German agents, right now we are called Russian agents.

Also, as Martov was saying, what will more fighting achieve? The country would just be left without an army, destroyed, and completely defenseless against the foreign powers and this is being done just because the rich are benefitting from it momentarily as of now.
Anyone that supports the people of Ukraine right now should be on the side of peace as soon as possible, I can't possibly see how their people could benefit from more death and destruction, and it seems like they were having the same debates in Russia during WWI.

Honestly, it seems like a great book as of now, if you haven't read it, I suggest it to anyone that is interested in the history of the Russian revolution.