LETTER TO G. E. ZINOVIEV.
[December 15, 1919] To Comrade Zinoviev!
I am sending the Political Bureau’s resolution.
Two matters:
1) Peltz—urgently order two heavy sleighs (Kegres motor-sleds) and two light sleighs for the Southern Front—urgent. Please reply.
2) Pay the utmost attention to the oil shales around Yamburg.
It is of paramount importance to exert every possible effort.
•i) Do not squander or disperse the materials (barbed wire, etc.); they will be needed. Please take special note of this.
Best regards, Lepin.
Finish the article. If I do not complete it today, do not expect a second draft.
1 The Political Bureau’s resolution of the Central Committee of the RCP(b), it seems, concerned questions of the defense of the RSFSR.
2 Lenin completed the article “The Elections to the Constituent Assembly and the Dictatorship of the Proletariat,” intended for publication in the journal Communist International (November–December 1919), on December 16, 1919 (Works, vol. X–XIV, pp. 631–649).
“Zorit’ — to ravage, to plunder, to destroy!” (an archaic Russian term). 1>а).

2SHZ
LETTER TO G. E. ZINOVIEV.
October 23, 1919 – To Comrade Zinoviev!
I have received your letter dated December 20.
O
In Petrograd, come to an agreement with Trotsky. It seems we must preserve and restore all defensive fortifications (they say that barbed wire and other materials are already being stolen), and devise a system of weekly mobilization—whether through “alerts” or through regular gatherings—to keep Petrograd constantly prepared. This matter requires careful and thorough consideration.
Food supplies are entirely dependent on transportation. Repair those locomotives and railcars!!
Since you’ve already taken up the issue of oil shales, that’s excellent. But I was surprised to see that you’re writing about transporting oil shales. Oil shales cannot withstand conventional transport methods—except when it comes to gas: shale actually yields more gas than coal. Instead, we must electrify the extraction sites themselves and establish on-site refineries capable of converting shale into petroleum.
That’s what I was told here. And I had thought that, given Petrograd’s abundant resources, it could easily handle both the task of electrification and the process of refining shale into oil.
Best regards! Lenin.
NB. Is it possible to construct blockhouses to defend Petrograd? I am sending you and Trotsky a report on this topic.
Why are there so many Kegres locomotives? They say there are over 100 of them?