1917 (DECEMBER) — 1918

1 The appeal was written on G. V. Chicherin's letter to V. D. Bonch-Bruevich from April 13, 1918, with a request to send 9 reliable Latvian riflemen to guard the premises allocated to the German embassy.

NOTE TO G. V. CHICHERIN

[April 27, 1918]
And what did you answer Mirbach to his written request?

1 The note, apparently, was written at a meeting of the Council of People's Commissars on April 27, 1918, which was attended by G. V. Chicherin. He wrote to V. I. Lenin about his conversation with Ritzler, an advisor to the German mission ("the inspirer of Mirbach"), on the issues of requisitioning and contributing property from Baltic Germans. In response to Lenin's question, Chicherin puts forward a number of his proposals for a response to the German ambassador in Moscow, Mirbach, and consults with Lenin about them.

EXCHANGE OF NOTES with I. E. GUKOVSKY

[April 1918]
To Gukovsky

1) Did you have a meeting today
of the financial commission of the Central Executive Committee?

2) What are the voting results?
(a) in general (b) of Rose's theses?
(c) » Zemitis'?

3) Zemitis is being called to the People's
Commissariat of Education for service. Should he not be taken more firmly into the
Commissariat of Finance?

In my opinion, he should. (The
Commissariat of Finance is weak in terms of its workforce, very weak, it needs
to be strengthened; otherwise you will not be entitled to complain
later about a lack of strength.)

It was composed of:
Comrade Rose, Comrade Zemitis and Comrade Trutovsky.

My theses were adopted by a majority.
did not vote the same

He works for us.
I was just talking to Comrade
Sverdlov about this and would like to talk to you.

1 I. E. Gukovsky - Deputy People's Commissar of Finance.
2 The Financial Commission for the discussion of banking policy met
several times in April 1918, and V. I. Lenin attended its
meetings.
3 Ya. Ya. Rose - member of the All-Russian Central Executive Committee.
4 F. A. Zemitis was sent as a member of the Collegium of the People's Commissariat of Finance.

CONVERSATION BY DIRECT WIRE with I. V. STALIN

[May 2, 1918]
I am Stalin
Serious events are taking place in Ukraine. On 4/28, during a meeting
of the Rada, a German lieutenant with German units, on the order of Eichhorn,
occupied the premises of the Rada, interrupted the meeting, arrested some of the ministers,
and placed Grushevsky under house arrest. The reason: heated debates during the
meeting about Eichhorn's order prohibiting gatherings and meetings and
taking control of the Council of People's Ministers. In addition, the disar
mament of several Ukrainian regiments, which was the subject of debate
and protests, expressed in the demand of the German government to recall German generals. The next day, the Rada did not meet, although
some of the arrested ministers were released. But completely
freely a congress of landlords, calling themselves farmers, was in session,
declaring war on socialists and the Rada, expelling the demo-
cratic part of the delegates from their midst, who were arrested the same day by the Germans.
Such is the information, completely accurate and verified, taken from "Kievskaya
Mysl"
2. There is information, not yet verified, that a
new bourgeois-landlord government under the name of Hetmanship has been formed. From this
it follows, among other things, that the peace conference will not yet have
the opportunity, if it ever will have the opportunity, to come to fruition. Another, no less important, event: the Germans occupied Feodosia,
and the Ukrainian units were withdrawn by them from Simferopol further north, beyond
Perekop. This means that the Germans want to keep Crimea for themselves, in order to
build a bridge across the Kerch Strait, to get to Persia and Mesopotamia
via the Black Sea railway line and the Transcaucasian, through Kars
and so on, that is, the very thing that the imperialist
Rohrbach
3 at one time timidly dreamed of. This is already the second reason, like the first,
that the proposed peace conference will be postponed. Our parliamentarian is making his way or has already made his way to Vorozhba
4. I am waiting for information from him
every minute. Depending on this information, it is possible that I will leave for Moscow tomorrow.
Have you received a telegram from the Ukrainian peace de-
legation from Vorozhba that the delegation is designating Nezhin as the place
for negotiations, and have you given any response from your side?

Lenin
Stalin: Chicherin transmitted it to us by wire, who gave
the Ukrainians an answer to their invitation to Kursk in the words: "Our

1917 (DECEMBER) — 1918 delegation is waiting for you in Kursk." We ourselves have not received any radio messages directly, perhaps because the Kursk station is limping on both legs. We sent our answer with a parliamentarian, inviting the Ukrainians to Kursk, where, according to the statement of the Ukrainian courier, wires have been laid and everything is prepared for the meeting. In our address, we avoid the question of Nezhin, and, between ourselves, it goes without saying that we will not make a *casus* out of Nezhin. It has just been reported that General Skoropadsky has been appointed Hetman of Ukraine, but this report has not yet been verified. By the way: don't you think that the new Ukrainian government, if the opportunity arises, will not fail to [declare] war on us to restore order and tranquility with the strict, completely strict, neutrality of Germany?
Lenin: I also had no doubt that you would not make a *casus* out of Nezhin, but in my opinion, this thought should have been expressed in your answer to the Ukrainians. Compose a new telegram
with an inquiry both to the German government and to the new Hetman government. Transmit this telegram to us here
by direct wire, and we will send it by direct wire to Ber-
lin. In addition, it would be useful to confirm the order
to all detachments stationed on the borders about the formal proposal
to suspend military actions, and then talk to Rostov about strengthening the defense of both Rostov and the Kerch
Strait. I think, in general, that in the absence of means of communication with the Ukrainian government, you should
talk to Berlin through Moscow twice a day, hinting in a very polite form that Eichhorn
5 is a more stable quantity than the Ukrainian government. Lenin
We, both present here
6, believe that Berlin does not need the telegram of the peace delegation,
but of the Foreign Commissariat. We believe, moreover, that orders to the fronts should be given not by us, but by the Supreme Military Council. We, on our part, have done everything in our power and have actually created an atmosphere of truce on the Kursk and Bryansk fronts. There is no communication with Rostov. We intend to send a man
to Rostov with appropriate directives. Did you receive our tape from yesterday, taken by Karakhan
7, about our conversation with Antonov?
No, I did not receive it. I will try to find Chicherin and Trotsky right now to talk to them and I hope to send you a note today, in about three hours. So far, that's all. Lenin
Stalin: One more minute. Catch Karakhan and demand the tape that he promised to give you. The content of the tape: Antonov asks
in a categorical form to issue an order in relation to the Soviets of Deputies, in particular
to the Voronezh
Soviet of Deputies, to put up a border guard with white flags, which would disarm all units crossing its border. If this is done, Antonov undertakes to officially remove himself
from the powers of the Commander-in-Chief and recognize the war with Ukraine as liquidated.
I believe that this would significantly speed up the cause of peace. Rakovsky and
I asked Karakhan to convey this request of Antonov to the appropriate place
and satisfy it. That is the content of the tape. Stalin