23691
Yelets. Narkomzem Serede.
[August 23–24, 1918]1
Use the good weather with all your might. Request a food or harvesting detachment for each volost. Don't for-
get that bread is needed soon and it is necessary to clear all
bread surpluses from at least one model volost. [730]
Chairman of the Council of People's Commissars Lenin.
1 Substantiation of the date: On August 23, a telegram was sent to Dmitrov,
Takmakov (see p. 190) with the outgoing number "727," the telegram being print-
ed above has outgoing "730." It is clear that it was written either on
the same day, or no later than the following day.

23589
Yelets. Narkomzem Serede.
August 27, 1918. Moscow. [9:25 PM]1
If mass threshing is being delayed, as you telegraph, by sowing and harvesting oats, then the matter should be helped by sending
a large number of threshing detachments. It would be extremely important
to speed up the supply process by attracting Moscow workers;
organize this immediately without fail. We absolutely must show the workers of Moscow clearly and through their mass
experience that only their participation rapidly moves forward the supply of food.
Do this immediately.
Lenin.
1 The time the telegram was sent was determined based on the telegraph
form on which the text of Lenin's telegram was affixed.

23598
Petrovsk Saratovsky. Narkomzem Kharlov.
August 29, 1918.
If all forces are mobilized in your uyezd, then it is clear that
we must request threshing detachments of workers from here, because we must
speed up the collection of bread many times over. Telegraph daily,
how many wagons, under what label, from where they are being sent. An-
nounce a large prize to the volost that first clears com-
pletely all bread surpluses. Draw up volost lists of the rich-
est peasants, who are responsible with their lives for the correct course of work
on supplying bread to the starving capitals. [753]
Chairman of the Council of People's Commissars Lenin.
A letter to S. P. Serede was written a few days after Lenin's wounding, during the assassination attempt on him by the SR F. Ka-
plan on August 30, 1918. The letter has retained the envelope
with Lenin's inscription: "To G. Serede. (People's Commissar of Agriculture]) (from
Lenin)."
341:5