ON THE PLAN FOR THE ELECTRIFICATION OF RUSSIA

NOTES ON THE LETTER OF ENGINEER KOZMIN

0115

December 2, 1920

Respected Comrade Vladimir Ilyich, I have familiarized myself with the minimum programme of the "epoch of great works" on electrification and consider myself obliged to send you this memorandum...

In Goelro not all of our largest forces of scientific technology were utilized. One of the most serious errors is that the question of illuminating the village by a windmill was not even raised. And yet real possibilities for solving this question exist (technical and economic). *Request details from Kozmin about α and β. —Lenin. Is this so? Check.*

The largest specialist in electrical engineering, Prof. Artemyev (Nikolai Andreyevich)—a great practitioner and theorist, perhaps the only one in Russia—did not participate in the works of Goelro. Germany (Europe in general) and America know of him. In technique he is a revolutionary, and I know him as a colleague from the Kiev Polytechnic. Recently we have been discussing with him the question of accumulating solar heat. Science does not consider this madness...

He invented the thermos, with the help of which one can reduce fuel consumption for the kitchen by half, β opening a new principle of cooking... Invite him and speak with him. He has tremendous energy for work... At present he is a professor of electrical engineering at the Petrovsko-Razumovskoe Agricultural Academy—a small matter for him...

*Incorrect. He is connected with Krzhizhanovsky.*

NOTES ON THE BOOK "THE PLAN FOR THE ELECTRIFICATION OF RUSSIA"*

December 1920

*See "The Plan for the Electrification of the RSFSR, Introduction to the Report to the VIII Congress of Soviets of the State Commission for the Electrification of Russia." Gostekizdat, 1920.

The probable average annual export abroad during the course of a decade can be estimated at approximately 1.8 billion rubles, of which approximately 1.0 billion rubles will be covered by foodstuffs, approximately 0.3 billion rubles by timber, approximately 0.25 billion rubles by petroleum products, approximately 0.1 billion rubles by textile materials, and approximately 0.1 billion rubles by ore, coke, and coke products. The principal basis for obtaining currency will, consequently, be the export of foodstuffs, timber, and petroleum products.

The probable average annual necessary import during this time for current needs will amount to approximately 0.6–0.8 billion rubles, of which approximately 0.3 billion rubles for textile raw materials and semifinished goods, approximately 0.1 billion rubles for ferrous metals and metal goods, and approximately 0.2 billion rubles for food, chemical, and paper goods. Consequently, free remainder over 10 years will constitute approximately 1 billion rubles.

Finally, the necessary one-time expenditures for the planned expansion of industry and transport, by a very rough estimate, appear over 10 years as follows:

Electrification (1,500 kw.) approx. . . . . . . . 1.2 billion rubles
Expansion of processing industry by 80% . . . . 5.0 "  "
Expansion of extractive industry by 80–100% . . 3.0 "  "
Restoration, improvement, and expansion of transport . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8.0 "  " approx. 17 billion rubles

This very rough account leads, however, to a completely definite conclusion that electrification expenditures are insignificant in comparison with the others, constituting only approximately 7% of the extreme minimum of one-time expenditures. The second conclusion consists in the fact that currency possibilities set us rather narrow limits for the expansion of the national economy, and the realization of even the planned development of the latter creates a deficit of approximately 6 billion rubles for the 10-year period. This deficit, however, can be covered by means of concessions and credit operations.

*Some hopes also exist for expanding the export of agricultural products beyond the planned 1,000 million rubles per year.*

Thus, the planned programme appears to be feasible, and the calculation of real possibilities from the standpoint of fuel, metal, and currency leads to approximately the same figure for possible expansion of industry and transport—approximately 80%; which is why this figure is taken as the basis of the programme...

1920

Data on the Main Materials and Structures for Electrification of the First Stage

For the construction of 20 steam and 10 hydroelectric district stations approximately the following will be required:

Cement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6,000,000 barrels
Brick . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 150,000,000 pieces
Assorted iron (including masts) . . . . . . . . . 8,000,000 puds
Copper (not including electrical machines and devices) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2,500,000 puds
Insulators of various types . . . . . . . . . . . 2,000,000 pieces
Turbogenerators of power capacity . . . . . . 1,110,000 k.u.
Hydraulic turbines and generators of power capacity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 640,000 k.u.
Steam boilers, heating surface . . . . . . . . . 450,000 sq. meters
Buildings for steam stations . . . . . . . . . . . 470,000 cu. sazhens
Buildings in settlements for steam stations . 900,000 cu. sazhens
Buildings for transformer substations . . . . . 100,000 cu. sazhens
Utility settlements at transformer substations . 90,000 cu. sazhens
Workers, approximately . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 370 million work-days

6065

NOTES ON ELECTRIFICATION

On Electrification

1) Decree on approval of the plan...

2) Mobilization of technical forces.
    Gathering of forces both of electrical engineering and of labor.
    Utilization of stations.
    Agitation and propaganda.
    Teaching of theoretical and practical knowledge about electricity.

3) Decree on Goelro.

4) Decree on the Scientific-Technical Department...

5) Decree on the All-Russian Electrical Engineering Congress.

6) Petrograd. Coal from abroad via Murmansk.