To the Members of the Politburo:

I propose to approve the following directives1:

For Ioffe:

N.B. and for Berzin {a) to agree to the line giving Poland the Lida-Baranovichi railroad, provided that peace (and armistice) is signed in the shortest possible time (3 days approximately) for sure (i.e., with the exact condition: I take it back if you do not sign it in this short time).

The whole art and the whole task is to find out whether they will agree in fact or only cheat. If you do not find out, do not give your consent.

b) After the 5th X. or go to Moscow (if the signing of peace is quite unreliable), but not to tear up, but to leave for 2-3 days for a demonstration.

Or (if there is even a shadow of hope of signing peace) not to leave, but to declare solemnly: 5. X has passed, Poland is responsible for the winter campaign, and declare.

For Berzin: give the concession proposed by Berzin, but only on the exact condition of §a. Otherwise take it back. You can't allow yourself to be played with. Then it's better to go for a rupture.

2/X.Lenin.

Fund 2, op. 2, d. 429, fol. 1 - autograph.

1/V.I.Lenin offers members of the Politburo of the Central Committee of the RCP(b) draft directives A.A.Ioffe - chairman of the Russian-Belarusian-Ukrainian delegation at the peace talks with the Polish delegation, and J.A.Berzin - head of the Russian delegation at the talks with the Finnish delegation.

A.A.Ioffe's directives were approved by the Politburo and communicated to A.A.Ioffe in the following telegram from G.V.Chicherin dated October 3, 1920: "After your first conversation with Dombski it was decided to accept the border running immediately east of the Lida-Baranovichi and Luninets-Rovno railroad, under the condition of determining the exact and close term for signing the preliminaries and armistice, the postponement can be for three days and it is necessary to publish that the term for signing has been postponed by agreement with the Poles for such and such a day. The exact condition will be taken back if it is not signed in this short term. Lenin writes: "The whole art and the whole task is to find out whether they will agree in fact or only cheat. Without finding out, do not give your consent".

If this agreement fails and if the signing is quite hopeless, you alone should go to Moscow for a couple of days for a demonstration, but not to tear up, or, if there is even a shadow of hope of signing, not to leave, but to declare solemnly: the fifth has passed, Poland is responsible for the winter campaign, and announce it.

We can adopt the formula of Poland's eastern border.

Among the economic demands, proportional participation in the gold fund and the satisfaction of the paper holders are unacceptable.

Your second conversation with Dombski has just been received, the border changes sharply from Nesvizh to Latvia. This has not yet been discussed. Chicherin" (RCCHIDNI, f. 2, op. 2, d. 429, l. 2-3).

Ioffe's telegram of October 2, 1920, mentioned by Chicherin in the last paragraph. - See doc. 256.