ON THE WORK OF THE CHEKA
December 18, 1918
First Meeting of the Commission (under the Council of Workers’ and Soldiers’ Deputies), in connection with the VChK, 5/December 49–48.
a.
NOTES FROM ORATORS 1.
Nevsky]
D[zerzhinsky]
Kras[ny]
Nevsky]
Levitsky Collection XXI

Sklyansky]
D[zerzhinsky]
Kras[in]
Sklyansky]
Stal[pn]
Nev[skp’y.1
Len[in]

DRAFT PROPOSALS
At the head of the commission should stand party members who have been in the party for at least two years.
Revise the regulations concerning the VChK.
Affirm the right of professional and trade union organizations to provide bail.
Pursue and punish, with the death penalty, those who make false denunciations with greater severity.
Grant the People’s Commissars the authority to grant bail, subject to the signatures of two members of the collegium.
Extend the right to participate in investigative proceedings, and so forth.
In introducing a system for registering technical personnel—and indeed all members of the intelligentsia—make it clear that those who fail to register will forfeit their right to receive certificates of guarantee.
Immediately expand the complaints and petitions department within the VChK.
1 All the speakers’ names were crossed out by Lenin, evidently after their addresses.
2 After the vote, Lenin crossed out all the proposed items—with the exception of the last two. The commission’s resolutions were formulated on the basis of Lenin’s proposals.
LETTER TO D. A. BULATOV1.
Tver.
To the Chairman of the Provincial Executive Committee,
Bulatov,
December 25, 1918
I entrust you with the task of investigating the case outlined in the attached complaint and of reporting the outcome to me as soon as possible.

TELEGRAMS, NOTES, DIRECTIVES

Above all, report by telegraph (“regarding the case of Teacher Ivanova”).
Of particular importance: verify the allegation that the committee includes both former and current Black Hundreds members—Teterin, Skvortsov, Kozlov, Baskakov.
Begin your investigation cautiously, so as not to disclose the matter prematurely; only then can you fully uncover the truth and bring the perpetrators to light.
Should the allegations prove to be true, these Black Hundreds members must be publicly expelled from the committee and their names published in leaflets distributed throughout the township and county—because it is imperative to instill in the local population the understanding that serious complaints carry real weight and lead to significant results.
Telegraph to me: “Received your letter; I will carry out your instructions,” then keep me informed of the progress of the investigation.
Send the results by letter—precise summaries of the investigation and the measures taken.
I believe that, as Chairman of the Provincial Executive Committee, you do not require any special mandate from me for this straightforward matter. If necessary, I will send one.
Chairman of the CIK, V. Ulyanov (Lenin).
N. In the attachment, the complaint
of V. S. Ivanova
1 At present, D. L. Bulatov is in Moscow, engaged in responsible Soviet work.
TELEGRAMS, NOTES, DIRECTIVES
APRIL – DECEMBER 27, 1918
NOTE TO L. B. KAMENEV.
2 39N
To Kamenev.
[No earlier than April 1918]
I advise you to grant the request of D[zerzhinsky]*. He is formally correct in his approach, while my impression is that Krylenko is merely fussing needlessly.
1 F. E. Dzerzhinsky had petitioned L. B. Kamenev to “request the Criminal Investigation Department to hand over to the Extraordinary Commission the case files and arrest warrants pertaining to the captured gang of bandits.” The fulfillment of this request triggered

sh

protests from N. A. Krylenko, who argued that “handing over these arrest warrants to the Extraordinary Commission at this time would jeopardize the investigation.” In his note to Lenin, Kamenev sought advice on this very issue.
TELEGRAM TO THE KURSK EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE.