1917 (DECEMBER) – 1918

In October, the Central Committee of the RCP(b) deliberated on the question of subordinating all party officials to the decisions of the central organs. In this connection, on the same day, Y.M. Sverdlov telegraphed Stalin, Voroshilov, and Minin in Tsaritsyn: “All resolutions of the Revolutionary Military Council are binding upon the Military Councils of the fronts. Without subordination, there can be no unified army. While execution of a resolution must not be suspended, it may be appealed to the highest body—the Sovnarkom or the All‑Russian Central Executive Committee; in the most extreme case, to the Central Committee. We earnestly urge you to implement the resolutions of the Revolutionary Military Council… There must be no conflicts whatsoever” (Y.M. Sverdlov, Selected Works, vol. 3, Moscow, 1960, p. 28).

The emerging conflict within the Revolutionary Military Council had an extremely negative impact on the combat effectiveness of the Southern Front, whose situation in the autumn of 1918 was exceptionally grave. Trotsky, as Chairman of the Revolutionary Military Council of the Republic, instead of swiftly resolving the conflict in accordance with the norms of party relations that had been established, repeatedly resorted to harsh language and extreme lack of loyalty toward the officials in Tsaritsyn. In response, Stalin, Minin, and Voroshilov telegraphed the All‑Russian Central Executive Committee and the Party Central Committee: “Our conversation with Trotsky was very brief; he deliberately insulted us, and—logically speaking—it was utterly incomprehensible. The conversation was abruptly terminated by Trotsky…” (Central Party Archive of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union).

Lenin’s recommendations were not implemented by Trotsky.
To rectify the situation, a new Revolutionary Military Council for the Southern Front was formed, comprising Front Commander P.P. Sytin and Council members K.A. Mekhonoshin and B.V. Legran.
On October 19, I.V. Stalin departed for Moscow. After a discussion with him, V.I. Lenin drafted the telegram that is now being published.
On January 1, 1919, the Party Central Committee and the Defense Council resolved to appoint I.V. Stalin and F.Z. Dzerzhinsky to the Party–Investigative Commission tasked with determining the causes behind the surrender of Perm.
In
connection with this,
I.V. Stalin proceeded to the Eastern Front.
2 S.K. Minin had been engaged in leadership work in Tsaritsyn since 1917.
During the Civil War, he served as a member of the Revolutionary Military Council of the 10th Army and as a member of the Collegium of the People’s Commissariat for Internal Affairs.
3 P.P. Sytin was a general in the old army who, after the October Revolution, sided with the Soviet authorities. In 1918, he served as Commander of the Southern Front and as Head of the Military–Administrative Department of the Revolutionary Military Council of the Republic.
K.A. Mekhonoshin was, in 1918, a member of the All‑Russian Collegium for the Formation of the Red Army; later, he served as a member of the Revolutionary Military Councils of the Eastern, Southern, and Caspian–Caucasian Fronts, as well as a member of the Revolutionary Military Council of the Republic.

NOTE FROM A.S. ENUKIDZE

4/XI/1918
Comrade Enukidze,
I request that a guest pass be issued to the bearer of this note, Comrade Vorontsov,
entitling him to attend the sessions of the VI Congress of Soviets.

3.
Lenin

1 A.S. Enukidze served as a member of the Presidium and Secretary of the All‑Russian Central Executive Committee from 1918 to 1922.
2 No information could be found regarding Vorontsov.
3 The VI All‑Russian Congress of Soviets opened on November 6, 1918.

TELEGRAM TO I.I. VATSETIS AND L.D. TROTSKY

9/XI/1918
Kozlov, Arzamas
Revolutionary Military Council of the Republic
Commander-in-Chief, to Vatsetis, to Trotsky, Chairman of the Revolutionary Military Council
We propose appointing Comrade Moisey Lvovich Rukhimovich as Commissar for Supply under the Chief Commissar for Supply, Martynov.
Sverdlov had long ago spoken to Vatsetis about this matter.
If this has not been carried out, then why not?
Lenin
1 The entire text, including the word “Rukhimovich,” was written by I.V. Stalin.
M.L. Rukhimovich had served as Chairman of the Kharkiv Revolutionary Committee during the October Revolution and was an active participant in the Civil War.
11UG4
NOTE TO V.D. BONCH-BRUEVICH
[November 1918, sometime after the 10th]
Dear V.D.!
I am sending you the proofread manuscript and Appendix II (I will send the remainder tomorrow).
Please remember to order that all proofs be sent to me without delay—
beginning with the very first page of the pamphlet.
Best regards! Get well soon!
Your Lenin
1 We are referring to V.I. Lenin’s pamphlet “The Proletarian Revolution and the Renegade Kautsky” (see V.I. Lenin, Collected Works, vol. 37, pp. 235–338).

1917 (DECEMBER) – 1918

23645, 23644
EXCHANGE OF NOTES WITH E.M. SKLYANSKY

[November 1918, no later than the 26th]
Could we, in the case of Daugé’s son—
2 (this son is currently enrolled in military aviation school
3)—Daugé claims that his son was falsely accused of White Guard activities and, consequently (??!!), expelled from school—Should we, by order of the People’s Commissariat for Military Affairs, appoint a commission composed exclusively of party members and experienced individuals?
I have no concrete data at my disposal—only doubts arising from the poor social environment in which he has been immersed. I believe that removing him from this milieu would, in fact, completely cure him.
But in what kind of bad company was he? With whom?
When? Where? For how long?
I do not know the details beyond what his father has told me—and, quite evidently, these concerns stem primarily from his fears about his fellow aviators. I am convinced that he is simply apolitical and that, given the opportunity, he will become an outstanding technician. In the past, his father’s desire to shield him from the dangers of aviation only strained their relationship.
1 E.M. Sklyansky was Deputy People’s Commissar for Military Affairs.
2 P.G. Daugé was one of the founders of the Latvian Social Democratic Workers’ Party; he was a historian, publicist, and medical doctor.
In 1918, he served as People’s Commissar for Education in Latvia, and later became a member of the Collegium of the People’s Commissariat for Health of the RSFSR.
3 On August 14, 1918, V.I. Lenin issued an order to the School Department of the Air Fleet Administration, directing that M.II. Daugé be enrolled in the Moscow Aviation School. Prior to this, he had completed courses at the Moscow Higher Technical School, where he had developed a profound love for aviation and for flight itself. Since the aviation schools admitted primarily communists, M.P. Daugé’s father personally approached V.I. Lenin, requesting his assistance in securing his son’s admission to the aviation school—which M.P. Daugé successfully completed and where he fought courageously on the fronts of the Civil War (see Zhavor F.I., Feats of Red Aviators, Moscow, 1963, pp. 24–25).

TELEGRAM TO TUULU SUKHOPAROV

28/XI/1918
Tula, Comrade Sukhoparov,
Copy
To the Governorate Extraordinary Commission:
Pay the fine immediately. In accordance with the law, please forward a copy of your complaint to the Governorate Extraordinary Commission, so that the latter may promptly submit its opinion to the Sovnarkom.
Chairman of the Sovnarkom
Lenin