NOTE TO THE POLITBURO OF THE CC RCP(b)1

24 June 1920

In my opinion, we should not admit him for now. We have no one to keep an eye on him, and we might miss something.

If other members of the Politburo are in favor of admitting him, I propose an amendment: he must come absolutely alone, with no one else.

24/VI.

Lenin.

Fund 2, op. 1, file 24424 - autograph.

1 This note was written by V.I. Lenin on a letter from G.V. Chicherin dated 23 June 1920: "Dear Vladimir Ilyich. Litvinov (who was in Copenhagen — Ed.) reports that Nansen has arrived and wishes to obtain permission to come to Moscow. Litvinov insists on an urgent response. He deems it possible to admit Nansen, but not as a representative of the League of Nations, of course, but as a private individual, without secretaries or other escorts. Nansen wants to take up the issue of prisoners from the Central Powers. This, of course, is a secondary matter at present, but a meeting with Nansen is important to us for other reasons. You undoubtedly remember that Nansen has always been one of the most prominent representatives of the left intelligentsia, advocating reconciliation with Soviet Russia. The role of such radical intellectuals is, of course, somewhat complex, and the Entente governments once tried to ensnare and use Nansen for their own purposes. Litvinov rightly points out that if we can get Nansen on our side, he could be extremely useful to us. His reputation in the left-bourgeois world and his significant role would make close contact with him politically very valuable. Litvinov correctly notes that the main thing to watch for is that there are no harmful escorts with Nansen. Nansen alone could be very useful, while any escorts assigned to him could be extremely harmful. We agree with Litvinov, and we think it is possible to admit Nansen here as a private individual without escorts" (RCHIDNI, f. 2, op. 1, file 24424).