V. I.

Lenin

Proposals to the Text of the Draft Agreement with the A.R.A. on The Organisation of Food Parcels to Russia [1]

I agree. 19/X Lenin ( even if the aim is trade , we should make this
experiment, as we are given a clear profit for the famine-stricken and the
right of control; and the right of cancellation at 3 months’ notice. Hence
we should not charge for carriage and storage). A controller of ours
(confirmed by the Politbureau) shall be appointed to the A.R.A. who
combines reliability with an ability to control the whole
operation.
[1]
The A. R.A. (American Relief Administration) -was formed in
1919 to render relief to the population who had suffered from the First
World War. The President of the A.B.A. NN-as Herbert Hoover, a big
capitalist, who had had close links with Russian capital before 1917. Some
of the A.B.A. staff engaged ’iii charitable work with all sincerity and
cojiscieiitiousiiess, but the A.R.A. asa whole served as an instrument for
spreading the influence of American imperialism and dumping old
stocks.

On October 18, 1921, the draft of an agreement with the
A.R.A. on the organisation of food parcels to Russia was circulated for
voting among members of the Politbureau. The covering letter has the
signatures of Politbureau members and a proposal by Stalin that a charge be
made for transportation of the parcels from the frontier to the
distributing warc’liouses, and for their storage, since, in his opijiion,
this was a commercial operation, not charity. Lenin’s bracketed remark was
made in connection with this proposal. The draft agreement with the
A.R.A. was endorsed by the Politbureau on October 19, 1921.

The Soviet Government accepted A.R.A. assistance in con-nection with famine on the Volga and in south Ukraine in 1921, but
repelled its attempts to interfere in the internal affairs of the Soviet
Republic and established control over its activities. As subsequent events
roved, the A.R.A. personnel, consisting, chiefly of American army
officers, engaged in espionage and supported counter-revolutionary
elements. The A. B .A. ceased its activities in the U.S.S.R. in June
1923.