192)
YEAR

FROM A NOTE TO THE SMALL COUNCIL OF PEOPLE'S COMMISSARS
November 1, 1920
Extremely urgent
Comrade Gorky informs me of the following:
"Allow me to remind you that by transferring some institutions
from Moscow to Petrograd, you will free up a multitude of
apartments here; the housing crisis in Moscow is taking on a tragic
character with the onset of cold weather."
I ask you to urgently consider this matter...
Chairman of the SNK
V. Ulyanov
(Lenin)
Printed from the original, signed by
V. I. Lenin.

LETTER TO R.E. KLASSON
November 2, 1920
Comrade Klasson!
I am afraid that you—excuse my frankness—will not be able
to use the SNK decree on Hydrotorf. I am afraid of this
because you, apparently, have spent too much time on "senseless dreams" about the restoration of capitalism and
have not paid enough attention to the extremely peculiar
features of the transitional period from capitalism to socialism.
But I say this not for the sake of reproach, and not only because
I remembered the theoretical debates of 1894-1895 with you, but
for a narrowly practical purpose.
To use the SNK decree properly, one must:
1) ruthlessly and strictly appeal its violations in time,
carefully monitoring its execution, and, of course, choosing
for appeal only cases that fall under the rule "rarely, but accurately."
2) From time to time—again, following the same
rule—write to me (NB on the envelope: Personally from such-
and-such on such-and-such matter):
please send a reminder or request such-and-such (draft text on a separate sheet)
to such-and-such person or institution on such-and-such matter,
in view of the recognition of Hydrotorf's work as state-important.
11*

If you don't let me down, i.e., if the reminders and re-
quests are strictly businesslike (without departmental squabbles or po-
lemics), then in 2 minutes I will be signing such remind-
ers and requests, and they will sometimes bring practical
benefit*.
Wishing rapid and great success to your invention and with greetings
V. Ulyanov (Lenin)

ADDITIONS TO THE DRAFT DECREE OF THE SNK
ON A UNIFIED TRACTOR ECONOMY**
November 2, 1920
§ 8. Oblige the Narkomzem to provide, once a month, starting from December 1,
to the SNK in a brief written form, information on the number of usable tractors;
»
unusable, but allowing repair; » repaired; » produced in the Russian SFSR;
»
ordered from abroad and brought from abroad; » trainee and graduating tractor mechanics.
*
Having heard the report on the progress of Hydrotorf on December 1, 1920.
The Council of People's Commissars resolved:
"a) To accept in principle the proposals of Hydrotorf on authorizing,
by way of exception, the purchase of certain tools on the free market
and on the militarization of Hydrotorf personnel and to entrust the Small Council
and the Council of Defense, according to their respective jurisdictions, to approve them in their final form.
b) ...To indicate that Hydrotorf must send its reports to the SNK
through Glavtorf and the Presidium of the Supreme Council of National Economy.
c) To instruct Hydrotorf in its next report to pay great
attention to the expansion of work for the upcoming season in general and to the
possibility for this purpose of obtaining machines, tools from abroad,
as well as attracting engineers and technicians, etc.
d) To instruct Hydrotorf to take particular care to increase the num-
ber of peat-suckers that could be put into operation in the shortest
possible time" (protocol No. 404, item 9).
**This decree provided—for the purpose of proper organization of the
tractor economy—the following procedure:
"All tractors with all spare parts, tractor agricultural
implements and carts, of whatever systems they may be, are registered with the People's Commissariat of Agriculture and are distributed by it according to a general production plan."