Date: 1920-08-19
Source: ru:ND

T. Chicherin!

I have spoken with Comrade Trotsky. He says that what he had in mind was a country house—say, a landed estate twenty to forty versts from Minsk—fenced off with barbed wire.

That is how things stood in Brest-Litovsk.

There is nothing “externally humiliating or scandalous” about this arrangement.

It must be said: military security, while courteous, also demands strict military discipline.

Do not leave them in Minsk itself—there you simply cannot provide adequate protection.

Lenin.

Fund 2, Inventory 1, File 24444 – autograph.

1We are speaking here of the accommodation and security arrangements for the Polish delegation, which had arrived to conduct armistice negotiations.

On August 19, 1920, G.V. Chicherin received a telegram direct from K.H. Danishevsky, which read: “…Smilga has just received instructions from the Politburo, signed by Comrade Trotsky, outlining directives whose implementation, in my deepest conviction, would spell the outright failure of the negotiations.” Agreeing with Danishevsky’s telegram, Chicherin forwarded it to V.I. Lenin and declared: “…with all due vigor, I fully endorse the assertion that it is absolutely unacceptable to subject the Polish delegation to any externally humiliating or scandalous measures—such as barbed wire—which would immediately bring the negotiations to a disastrous end, presenting us in the most disgraceful light in the eyes of the entire Polish people and, moreover, casting us in the most grotesque and repulsive image before the English trade unionists… As I have previously explained, drawing on the populace’s growing resentment toward the Poles, we might, in their own best interests, surround them with honorable bodyguards, designate certain streets for their exclusive use, strictly prohibiting anyone from approaching them or allowing them to enter private residences” (AVP RF, F. 04, Inv. 52, File 340, Doc. 55240, pp. 45–46). That same day, Chicherin wrote to L.D. Trotsky: “Isolation can—and should—be carried out on substantive grounds, without any ostentatious external displays. Indeed, barbed wire need not be used at all” (ibid., pp. 41–43). However, on August 20, Trotsky sent a telegram directly to Danishevsky: “I consider the protest lodged by the People’s Commissariat for Foreign Affairs against the Politburo’s decision regarding the regime for the Polish delegation to be entirely unfounded. In my telegram, I stated, quite literally: ‘Would it not be possible to station the delegation outside the city, enclosing a designated area with barbed wire and strictly forbidding anyone from venturing beyond the fence?’ What, pray tell, is so humiliating about housing the delegation in a landed estate, surrounded by barbed wire stretching across several dozen desyatins? In Brest-Litovsk, a substantial portion of the surrounding area was enclosed by barbed wire bearing the inscription: ‘Any Russian caught here shall be shot on the spot.’ No one will find anything humiliating in housing the delegation in a comfortable manor house—provided such housing is handled with proper tact. If no suitable premises are available, and if other necessary conditions are lacking, then, of course, the proposal must be abandoned. But even so, I framed the suggestion as a question. I believe that, given the abundance of correspondents—many of whom are, by definition, spies—every measure must be taken to safeguard against harmful espionage—but only in consultation with Comrade Smilga, Danishevsky, or other representatives of the Polish-Belarusian Communist Party; moreover, these measures must be guided not merely by considerations of diplomatic etiquette, but above all by concerns of military security. August 20, 20. Trotsk[y], Chairman of the Revolutionary Military Council.” On the telegram, V.I. Lenin wrote to Chicherin: “I agree with Trotsky. Lenin. (I recommend forwarding this to Danishevsky and Smilga)” (RGASPI, F. 2, Inv. 2, Doc. 388).