(INSTRUCTION OF THE COUNCIL OF LABOR AND DEFENSE, SEPTEMBER 1, 1920)

## I. General Provisions

1. Military units and institutions of the military department are drawn into the fulfillment of labor assignments only in cases where it is impossible to satisfy the need for labor force by other means.

2. All deployments of military units to labor must be carried out only by resolutions of the Chief Committee of Labor or its local organs, in accordance with the procedure indicated below.

3. No military unit, staff, administration, or institution of the military department has the right to independently deploy military force to labor in response to demands from organizations, enterprises, and administrations of the civilian and military departments without the consent of the Chief Committee of Labor or its local organs.

4. Military departments of the various departments of the Supreme Council of the National Economy (Chief Forestry Committee, Chief Coal Committee, etc.) in obtaining military labor force are subject to the general established procedure.

## II. Procedure for Deploying a Military Unit, Detachment, or Organization of the Military Department to Longer or Shorter Duration Work Performed by Permanent Personnel

1. As a rule, all deployments of military units to labor are carried out within the limits of the gubernia by order of the gubernial military commissariat upon presentation of a demand from the gubernial committee of labor. Only in emergency cases is deployment to labor permitted by district military commissariats upon presentation of demands by district committees of labor.

2. Having received a demand from the gubernial committee of labor for the deployment of military force and having the possibility to fulfill it with free military force within the limits of the gubernia without prejudice to the interests of the military department, the gubernial military commissariat effects the deployment through the corresponding district military commissariats and reports its fulfillment to the district military labor commission with indication of the work location, type of work, size of the assignment, and which unit or detachment is entrusted with fulfilling the assignment. In cases of emergency deployment (indicated above) by district military commissariats, the latter report this to the gubernial military commissariats, and the latter to the district military labor commission.

3. In the event of the absence of free military force for deployment to labor, the gubernial military commissariat directs the demand to the district military labor commission, and simultaneously the gubernial committee of labor reports to the Chief Committee of Labor.

4. The district military labor commission prepares in advance a memorandum on the possibility of various transfers of military units free from labor within the limits of the district and communicates its proposals to the Central Military Labor Commission.

5. The Central Military Labor Commission, upon report from the Chief Committee of Labor, approves the proposals of the district military labor commission, which in the case of receiving assignments connected with transfers within the limits of the district, fulfills them by its own order, with notification of this to the All-Russian Chief General Staff, a copy to the Central Military Labor Commission.

6. In the regions of fronts, separate armies, and districts where there exist corresponding front, army, and regional committees of labor, transfers are effected when necessary by order of the Revolutionary War Councils of fronts, armies, and district military labor commissions, with the consent of the corresponding committees of labor. Reports of the transfers that have occurred are submitted to the Central Military Labor Commission, as well as to the Field Staff and the All-Russian Chief General Staff as appropriate.

7. In the event it is impossible to fulfill an assignment by transfer of forces within the limits of the district (front, armies), the district military labor commission or Revolutionary War Council of the front or army reports this to the Central Military Labor Commission, which on the basis of an accounting of military force in the Republic makes a report to the Chief Committee of Labor, with indication of the possibility of fulfilling the assignment by transfer of military force within the limits of the Republic or the formation of new labor units or, finally, the transfer from less urgent to more urgent work, and the decision adopted by the Chief Committee of Labor is implemented through the Field Staff, All-Russian Chief General Staff, or district military labor commission as appropriate.

8. For combating economic devastation on particular fronts (fuel, transport, sanitary, etc.), the Central Military Labor Commission, upon assignment from the Chief Committee of Labor, draws up a plan for the campaign in the part concerning the involvement of the military department and carries it out through the Field Staff, All-Russian Chief General Staff, and district military labor commissions.

## III. Procedure for Deploying Military Force to Longer or Shorter Duration Work Performed by Rotating Personnel, by Means of Daily Labor Assignments of Red Army Men Free from Duty Assignments

1. By the corresponding committees of labor (gubernial committee of labor, city committee of labor, and district committee of labor) there is compiled for a definite period, depending on local needs, a calculation of the necessary daily assignment of Red Army men for each work location and type of work, with indication of the order of work. This calculation is transmitted by the corresponding military commissars to the commandants or chiefs of garrisons and chiefs of units for fulfillment by Red Army men free from duty assignments of the corresponding garrisons and units.

2. On the fulfillment of assignments of this kind, the commandants, chiefs of garrisons, and chiefs of units report to the district military commissars and gubernial military commissars as appropriate daily; the gubernial military commissars meanwhile in the form of periodic reports according to established form report to the district military labor commissions.

3. For work that could not be foreseen in the compilation of the aforementioned calculations, the committees for the implementation of labor obligation by urgent communications with the corresponding military commissars indicate work locations, duration of work, and the size of the daily assignment with obligatory indication of the urgency of their fulfillment in connection with the calculation being carried out, transmitted previously.

## IV. Procedure for Deploying Military Units to Short-Term Work

1. Deployment, as a rule, is carried out by the procedure provided for in Section III—3.

2. In cases of public calamities and generally in cases of urgent necessity for immediate assistance by dispatch of military labor force, orders must be made by commandants, chiefs of units, and military commissars immediately upon receipt of notification of the necessity for assistance, and on measures taken notification must be made through channels with notification to the corresponding committees of labor.

*Chairman of the Council of Labor and Defense*

*V. Ulyanov (Lenin)*

# TELEGRAM TO THE GUBERNIAL EXECUTIVE COMMITTEES OF THE VOLGA REGION
September 3, 1920

The export of petroleum products from Astrakhan along the Volga is being impeded by 1) unprecedented low water and 2) the absence of a sufficient quantity of auxiliary wooden tonnage of small cargo capacity. Considerations of state necessity urgently demand the most timely delivery of petroleum products to the central industrial regions. Therefore it is proposed that all measures and means be used to come to the aid of the local organs of water transport both in the production of repair of these vessels and likewise in all other needs of water transport (in the supply of provisions for the autumn labor force, etc.). Responsibility rests with the chairman of the gubernial executive committee.

*Chairman of the Council of Labor and Defense*

*Lenin*