Date: 1920-12-11
Source: ru:LS/v35

1920
YEAR
(3) To direct the work of the economic People’s Commissariats in accordance with this plan and, where necessary, to make exceptions to it;
4 (new);
+ Do not establish a separate apparatus of one’s own.
13,447
RESOLUTION ON THE DRAFT REGULATIONS CONCERNING THE COUNCIL OF LABOR AND DEFENSE
December 11, 1920
To the All‑Russian Central Executive Committee
Approved by the Council of People’s Commissars on December 1, 1920*.
Chairman of the SNK
V. Ulyanov (Lenin)
DRAFT “
At a time when the struggle between the Soviet Republic and world imperialism was intensifying, the All‑Russian Central Executive Committee established, on November 30, 1918, the Council of Labor and Defense.
In fulfilling its assigned task, the Council of Defense coordinated the efforts of the military and other departments in mobilizing the country’s forces and resources for the sake of national defense.
The military situation in April 1920 enabled the Soviet Republic to embark on economic construction, and the Council of Defense was tasked with closely integrating labor-front activities—and accordingly, the Council…
*
The Sovnarkom resolution stated: “Approve the draft, adding the People’s Commissar of Labor to the membership of the Council of Defense. Submit it to the Presidium of the All‑Russian Central Executive Committee for presentation to the Congress of Soviets” (Protocol No. 404, item 1^).
The draft regulations on the Council of Labor and Defense, submitted on behalf of the All‑Russian Central Executive Committee and the Council of People’s Commissars for consideration at the Eighth Congress of Soviets, were approved by the Congress on December 29, 1920 (“Collection of Laws and Decrees of the Workers’ and Peasants’ Government,” No. 1, January 3, 1921).
* * The draft regulations on the Council of Labor and Defense are printed according to the original text, as revised by V. I. Lenin.

LENIN COLLECTION
The Council of Defense was transformed into the Council of Labor and Defense. At present, the tasks of economic construction confront the Soviet Republic in their full scope; at the same time, there arises a pressing need to more precisely formalize and consolidate the organizational experience gained by the Council of Labor and Defense, and to clarify the relationship between the Council of Labor and Defense and the central organs of Soviet power. Accordingly, the All‑Russian Central Executive Committee resolves, in amendment and supplement to the resolution of November 30, 1918 (Collection of Laws, No. 91), to approve the following regulations concerning the Council of Labor and Defense.
1. The Council of Labor and Defense shall function as a commission under the Council of People’s Commissars.
2. The Council of Labor and Defense shall consist of: in the capacity of its chairman— the Chairman of the Council of People’s Commissars; and in the capacity of its members— the People’s Commissars for Military Affairs, the Supreme Council of National Economy, the People’s Commissariat of Labor, the Ministry of Railways, the Ministry of Agriculture, the Ministry of Food Supply, the Workers’ and Peasants’ Inspection, together with one representative from the All‑Russian Central Council of Trade Unions. The Director of the Central Statistical Office shall participate with a consultative vote.
Note: Deputy chairpersons shall be appointed by the Council of People’s Commissars.
3. The Council of Labor and Defense shall exercise jurisdiction over those matters of the RSFSR that pertain to the defense of the Republic and to the coordination of the work of the economic People’s Commissariats.
4. In fulfillment of the tasks entrusted to it, the Council of Labor and Defense shall issue resolutions, directives, and instructions, and shall take all measures necessary for the proper and timely execution of these tasks—in particular, it shall formulate a unified economic plan for the RSFSR, submit it for approval to the All‑Russian Central Executive Committee, direct the work of the economic People’s Commissariats in accordance with this plan, oversee its implementation, and, where necessary, make adjustments or exceptions to the plan.
5. For all central and local departments and institutions, as well as for all citizens, the resolutions of the Council of Labor and Defense shall be absolutely binding.
6. The All‑Russian Central Executive Committee of the Soviets and the Council of People’s Commissars reserve the right to revoke or suspend any resolution or decision of the Council of Labor and Defense—either upon the protest of individual People’s Commissars or at their own discretion.

1920
TO THE ELECTRIFICATION PLAN FOR RUSSIA
NOTES ON ENGINEER KOZMIN’S LETTER
0115
December 2, 1920
Dear Comrade Vladimir Ilyich, I have reviewed the minimum program for the “era of great works” in the field of electrification and feel obliged to send you this note…
Not all of our most formidable scientific and technical forces were fully harnessed within GOELRO. One of the most serious errors was that the question of providing rural electrification was never properly addressed. Yet the real possibilities for resolving this issue—indeed, even the feasibility of utilizing windmills—already existed (technical details can be obtained from Kozmin…).
Lenin
Is that so? Let’s verify.
(technical and economic aspects).
Among the contributors to GOELRO was the foremost expert in electrical engineering, Professor Artemyev (Nikolai Andreyevich)—a master of both theory and practice, perhaps the only one of his kind in Russia.
He is known in Germany—and throughout Europe—and in America as well.
In the realm of technology, he was a true revolutionary; I know him as a colleague from the Kyiv Polytechnic Institute. Recently, we have been discussing with him the possibility of storing solar heat. Science does not regard this as madness…
He invented the thermos, which makes it possible to cut fuel consumption for cooking in half,
ß
by introducing a new principle of cooking… Invite him to come and speak with you. He possesses an enormous work ethic… Today, he serves as a professor of electrical engineering at the Petrovsko-Razumovsky Agricultural Academy—a task that seems small in comparison to his vast intellectual and practical contributions…
That’s incorrect. He is associated with Krzhizhanovsky.
6065
NOTES ON THE BOOK “THE ELECTRIFICATION PLAN FOR RUSSIA”*
December 1920
The likely average annual export volume over the course of a decade may be estimated as follows:
*
See
“The Electrification Plan
of the RSFSR,
Introduction to the Report
to the Eighth Congress of Soviets
by the State Commission on the Electrification of Russia.” Gostekhizdat, 1920.