MARGINAL NOTES ON THE BOOK "PLAN FOR THE ELECTRIFICATION OF RUSSIA"*
December 1920
The probable average annual export abroad over a decade can be estimated

*
See
"Plan for the Electrification of the RSFSR,
introduction to the report of the
VIII
Congress of Soviets
of the State Commission for the Electrification
of Russia". Gostekhizdat, 1920.

LENIN
COLLECTION
0.3
0.25
0.1
M.
1.75
0.7
0.3
0.1 m
0.6
ISB
11
6 Differenz*
* — difference.

approx. 1.8 billion rubles, of which approx. 1.0 billion rubles will be covered by food supplies, approx. 0.3 billion
rubles by timber, approx. 0.25 billion rubles by petroleum products, approx. 0.1 billion rubles by textile materials and
approx. 0.1 billion rubles by ore, coke, and coking products. The main basis for obtaining foreign
currency will, therefore, be the export of food supplies, timber, and petroleum products.

The probable average annual import required for current needs during this period will amount to
approx. 0.6–0.8 billion rubles, of which approx. 0.3 billion rubles for textile raw materials and semi-
finished products, approx. 0.1 billion rubles for ferrous metals and metal products, and approx. 0.2 billion rubles for
food, chemical, and paper goods.

Consequently, the free cash balance over 10 years will amount to approx. I billion rubles.

Finally, the necessary one-time expenditures for the planned expansion of industry
and transport, according to a very rough estimate, appear over 10 years as follows:

Electrification (1,500 kW) approx. .
1.2 billion rubles.
Expansion of manufacturing industry by 80% ......................
5.0 billion rubles.
Expansion of extractive industry by 80–100% .......................
3.0 billion rubles.
Restoration, improvement, and expansion of transport . . . .
8.0 billion rubles.
approx. 17 billion rubles.

This very rough calculation leads, however, to the very definite conclusion that the expenditures
on electrification are negligible compared to the others, amounting to only approx. 7%
of the extreme minimum of one-time expenditures.

The second conclusion is that our foreign-currency possibilities set rather narrow limits
for the expansion of the national economy, and that the realization of even the projected development of the latter
creates a deficit of approx. 6 billion rubles over the 10-year period. This deficit, however,
can be covered through concessions and credit operations, and some hopes are also pinned on expanding
the export of agricultural products above the planned 1,000 million rubles per year.

Thus, the projected program appears to be feasible, since the calculation of the real
possibilities with respect to fuel, metal, and foreign currency yields roughly the same figure for the possible
increase in industry and transport, approx. 80%; which is why this figure is taken as the basis of the program...

192)
YEAR
Data on main materials and structures for the electrification of the first stage
For the construction of 20 steam and 10 hydro- electric regional stations approximately the following will be required:
Cement .........................
Brick .........................
Sorted iron (including masts ).................................
Copper (excluding electri-
cal machines and apparatus) .
Various insulators . . . .
Turbogenerators for a ca-
pacity of .................................
Hydraulic turbines and gen-
erators for a capacity of ...
Steam boilers... heating
surface .....................................
Buildings for steam sta-
tions
.....................................
Buildings in settlements for
steam stations .................
Buildings for transformer
substations
.....................
Service settlements at trans-
former substations.................
Workers, roundly .................
6,000,000 barrels
150,000,000 pieces
8,000,000 poods
2,500,000 poods
2,000,000 pieces
1,110,000 kW
640,000 kW
450,000 sq. metres
470,000 cubic sazhens
900,000 cubic sazhens
100,000 cubic sazhens
90,000 cubic sazhens
370 million workdays

606э
NOTES ON ELECTRIFICATION
On Electrification
1) Decree on the approval of the plan...
2) Mobilisation of technical forces.
Gathering of forces, both electrical engineering and labour forces.
I Utilisation of stations.
I Agitation and propaganda.
Teaching of theoretical and practical knowledge about electricity.
3) Decree on GOELRO.
4) Decree on the Scientific-Technical Department...
5) Decree on the All-Russia Electrical Engineering Congress.
6) Petrograd. Coal from abroad via Murmansk.