V. I.

Lenin

304

To:   E. M. SKLYANSKY [2]

Comrade Sklyansky, This, by the way, is pertinent to what was decided
yesterday.

It is necessary urgently , at once :

1) to draw up the text of a directive from the C.C. to
all “nationals” on army unity (integration) [1]

;

2) to give it also to the press for a series of articles;

3) re universal military training (100% to be taken and
not
75% [3] ), prepare immediately , today, a draft decree;

4) calculate: 24,000 command personnel. At the ratio of
1 to 10 that means an army of 240,000 .

Verify and take as the norm at once for the Central Board of Supply of both Russia and the Ukraine.

---
Notes:
[1]

“ Draft C.C. Directives on Army Unity”. See present edition,
Vol. 29, pp. 404–05.— Ed.

[2]
Lenin’s directives to Sklyansky were written on a report from
Commander-in-Chief Vatsetis dated April 23, 1919, concerning
the military situation of the R.S.F.S.R. Vatsetis argued the
necessity to unite the armed forces of the Soviet Republics and place
them under a single command; he also proposed that the system
of Universal Military Training should be temporarily done away with and its 24,000 instructors mobilised to strengthen the
command of the reserve units on the Eastern Front.

[3]
The report of Vatsetis has a postscript by Aralov, who objected
to the total liquidation of the U.M.T. and proposed simply
reducing it by 50 to 75 per cent.