NOTES ON A LETTER TO THE HEAD OF THE CULTURAL DEPARTMENT OF THE AUCCTU.
[No later than August 1, 1919]
... Over the past two months, I have spent no small amount of strength and nerves on streamlining the organizational and economic aspects of our theaters.
? ? And so I declare to you that the nationalization of theaters, as it is being carried out by the decree adopted by the Lesser Council of People's Commissars, is the destruction of a huge cultural undertaking and the squandering of colossal property.
Firstly, it is unthinkable to carry out nationalization in such a short
time (until August 1st)...
Thirdly, in order to put the current leaders of the
THEATRICAL DEPARTMENT of the People's Commissariat of Education at the head of the matter, the theatrical department itself needs a fundamental reorganization___
My conclusion is this: the nationalization of theaters should be postponed for the time being (until next
year)...
In conclusion, I want to most earnestly... ask you: in
the interests of the socialist revolution, do not sign the decree,
not
|| after speaking
with
those who know the matter: at least with Yuzhin, an old, meritorious artist of the Maly State Theater, who has now been chosen
by the entire collective of employees and workers as the leader of the theater, and
Stanislavsky, the leader of the Moscow Art Theater: both
they are not only first-class experts in theatrical affairs, but also fully
m'VVYYY^/YYYWN
,,
fV W V Y Y V Y Y Y Y Y W Y> loyal to the Soviet power.
/VYYVVVYVYYVt
And I also ask you not to believe the rumor that the rally that took place
on June 16th, was counter-revolutionary... There are already transcripts, from
which you can see that only one random speaker from the public, an anarchist, who has no
relation to the theater, spoke out against the Soviet power, and I, as the chairman of the rally, stopped this
speaker. There was also one unpleasant speech (tactless,
but by no means counter-revolutionary), against some figures of the THEATRICAL DEPARTMENT
of the People's Commissariat of Education: I also stopped this speaker....
To Serebryakov and Comrade Galkin: is nationalization being carried out? Have the witches
canceled the decree? What's the matter? Answer!
Lenin.
1 The author of the letter, Ya. I. Novomirsky, was the chairman of the board
of the Soviet Theater (formerly Zimin's).
2 L. P. Serebryakov is a member of the Presidium of the AUCCTU and the Moscow Soviet.
3 A. V. Galkin is the chairman of the Lesser Council of People's Commissars.

QUESTIONS OF CULTURAL CONSTRUCTION