Amendments to the Draft Decree on the Supply of Agricultural Machinery and Tools, as well as Metal Goods, for the Purpose of Agricultural Production

COMMITTEE FOR THE REQUISITION OF AGRICULTURAL MACHINERY AND TOOLS 1.
[December 17 (4), 1917]
In the name of the Republic, the Council of People’s Commissars hereby decrees:
1.
The Petrograd District and Local Soviets of Workers’ and Soldiers’ Deputies, as well as the Soviets of Peasant Deputies, shall immediately requisition all privately owned warehouses containing agricultural machinery and implements, together with rolled iron, roofing iron, nails, and other metal goods essential for peasant household use.
2. The requisitioned agricultural machinery and tools, as well as details regarding local needs for such equipment, shall be reported without delay to the Council of People’s Commissars, so that these resources may be directed to the Volost Land Committees or Local Peasant Soviets for distribution among needy peasants—prioritizing those peasants who are most in need of plows and implements. Ownership of the machinery remains with the state, and the county Soviets of Peasant Deputies, as well as the volost land committees, shall be responsible for the disposition of this machinery, while strictly safeguarding the people’s property.
1 The draft was discussed at a meeting of the SNK on December 17 (4), 1917, following a report by I. A. Kozmin (Commissar of the Department of Agricultural Supplies, Responsible for Production Tools and Metals). During the preliminary review, Lenin made handwritten notes, amendments, and additions to the draft—though the draft had been printed on a typewriter. As the discussion progressed, it became clear that A. L. Kolegeev (People’s Commissar for Agriculture, a Left Socialist-Revolutionary) had not reviewed the draft; consequently, its approval was postponed. Even during the second round of deliberations on January 1, 1918 (December 19, 1917), the draft was not approved by the SNK, which instead issued a resolution “to return the draft to Kolegeev for revision in accordance with the directives issued by the SNK.” No documents have been found in the IMEL archives that shed further light on the subsequent development of this issue. Based on the text of the SNK resolution “On the State’s Monopolistic Control over Agricultural Machinery and Implements” (published in the Gazeta Vremennogo Rabochego i Krest’yanskogo Pravitel’stva, No. 21, November 30, 1917), there is reason to believe that the document being published here was intended to be issued as a follow-up to the aforementioned Sovnarkom resolution.
31
TELEGRAM TO THE CHAIRMAN OF THE OSTROGOZHSK SOVIET
[December 19 (6), 1917]
Compile an accurate inventory of the assets, secure them in a safe place, and assume responsibility for their preservation. Estates are the common property of the people. Bring those guilty of plunder to justice—and report the court’s verdicts to us. [531]
Lenin.
1 Written by Lenin in response to a telegraphic inquiry from N. Kryukov, Chairman of the Ostrogozhsk Soviet: “How should we handle the valuables seized from the estates of landed gentry that have been looted by the peasants?”
3101)
AMENDMENT TO THE DECREE ON THE SOCIALIZATION OF LAND 1.
[Prior to February 19 (6), 1918]
When land is designated—not for agricultural purposes (but rather for construction, cultural and educational activities, specialized crafts, and the like)—the permission to transfer such land, as well as the size of the plot to be allocated, shall be determined by the local Soviets in accordance with the needs of the individual or institution requesting permission, taking into account both the public interest and the specific purpose—or the particular line of production—for which the land is being sought.

ON THE SUPPLY OF AGRICULTURAL MACHINERY AND TOOLS FOR PRODUCTION

1 The amendment was introduced by Lenin and adopted by the SNK under Article 26 (a section of the draft decree on the socialization of land).
The decree was published in the Gazeta Vremennogo Rabochego i Krest’yanskogo Pravitel’stva, No. 27, February 19 (6), 1918.
1008:5
TELEPHONE MESSAGE TO A. L. KOLEGAEV.
Comrade Kolegeev.
[March, prior to 1918]
The materials from the 1917 rural and urban census, as reported by the All-Russian Central Executive Committee for Agricultural Affairs, are currently housed in the Census Department of the Commissariat for Agriculture. A detailed report on these materials is required by the Council of People’s Commissars.
Could you please come to the Council of People’s Commissars? I would very much appreciate it if you could arrive and provide a precise answer as to whether you will be able to do so.
Lenin.
323–2
AMENDMENTS TO THE DRAFT DECREE ON THE SUPPLY OF AGRICULTURAL MACHINERY AND TOOLS, AS WELL AS METALS FOR PRODUCTION 1.
[April 23, 1918]
In order to ensure the systematic supply of agricultural machinery and tools, along with metals, for the purpose of agricultural production—and in furtherance of the Council of People’s Commissars’ resolution of November 30, 1917, which declared all domestically manufactured and manufactured-in-progress machines and implements, as well as those imported from abroad, to be placed under the exclusive control of the Russian Federative Soviet Republic—the Council of People’s Commissars hereby decrees:
1)
..................................
6)
The distribution of agricultural machinery and tools, agricultural implements, baling twine, and metals for the needs of agriculture shall be carried out by the Commissariat for Food Supplies and its subordinate bodies*.
* Here, Lenin added a marginal note: “See the addition to § 6.” Ed.

Petrograd Collection
The fundamental principle governing the distribution of agricultural machinery and the like must, on the one hand—and above all—be to serve the interests of agricultural production itself, ensuring the cultivation of all available land and the enhancement of agricultural productivity; on the other hand, it must aim to supply agricultural machinery and tools—above all, but not exclusively—to the working and poorest segments of the rural population. In doing so, the overarching goal must be to ensure that every member of the state’s population has proper and sufficient access to grain.
Chairman of the Council of People’s Commissars, V. Ulyanov-Lenin*.

The draft decree was submitted to the SNK for approval on April 23, 1918, by P. A. Kozmin. After reviewing the draft, Lenin added an amendment to paragraph 6. However, as the discussion of the draft progressed, it became evident that certain provisions needed to be coordinated with the All-Russian Central Executive Committee for Agricultural Affairs; accordingly, the approval of the draft was postponed until the next SNK session, held on April 21, 1918. During the second round of deliberations, an additional paragraph was inserted into the draft (designated as paragraph o in the printed text), which in turn necessitated the corresponding realignment of the remaining paragraphs. Thus, Lenin’s amendment to paragraph 6 was moved from its original position in the printed text to paragraph 7.
The amendment to the draft was written by Lenin on a separate sheet, in ink (the draft itself had been typed on a typewriter). The decree was published in Izvestiya VTsIK, No. 81, April 27, 1918.