MEMORANDUM TO G. V. CHICHERIN
[May 11 or 12, 1920]
Here, a decision must be made: either release him or arrest him on charges of espionage. Please consult with the GPU or with Stalin in order to resolve this matter without delay. Stalin will likely…
In the Org Bureau, No. 1.
Forward this to Stalin: regarding all Georgian affairs, please communicate with him directly.

G. V. Chicherin informed V. I. Lenin in a letter about the departure across the border of R. Kiley, an American mechanical engineer who had come to Moscow in 1920.

In 1919, Kiley had been working at the Supreme Council of National Economy (VSNKh). Suspected of espionage, Kiley was detained at the border on May 12, 1920, by the Special Department of the 7th Army and subsequently transferred to the Special Department of the GPU.

On June 25, V. I. Lenin requested information from V. R. Menzhinsky, Head of the Special Department of the GPU, concerning the evidence that had served as the basis for Kiley’s arrest. Menzhinsky confirmed that Kiley had engaged in espionage activities.

In July 1920, Kiley’s case was referred to the Supreme Tribunal under the All‑Union Central Executive Committee, which found him guilty of illegally transmitting to the United States malicious and slanderous information about Soviet Russia and the Communist Party. On April 24, 1921, Kiley was sentenced to two years of imprisonment. On August 4, 1921, the Presidium of the All‑Union Central Executive Committee granted Kiley’s petition for release and permitted him to depart for the United States.

In the second part of his letter, G. V. Chicherin reported on a telegram received from G. K. Ordzhonikidze concerning Georgian affairs.