NOTE TO A. I. RYKOV AND E. M. SKLYANSKY 1
[August 1920, no later than the 26th]
I
To Rykov and
Sklyansky
Urgent! Extremely important—underlined. Discuss with Lezhava 2.
Don’t miss it!
Lenin
1 The note was written beneath the text of a telegram from Member of the Collegium of the People’s Commissariat for Foreign Affairs, M. M. Litvinov, addressed to G. V. Chicherin. Litvinov reported: “...from Italy, they are offering one hundred thousand pairs of military boots at forty lire each. From there, they are also offering flannel shirts at nineteen lire apiece, work suits at sixteen lire, and trousers at fourteen lire; overcoats can be obtained at sixty-five lire. Furthermore, one can procure several hundred airplanes at relatively low prices, up to four hundred trucks, and five used but well-maintained vehicles…” The underlining was done by V. I. Lenin.
2 A. M. Lezhava had been a member of the RSDLP since 1904. From 1921 to 1925, he served as Deputy People’s Commissar for Foreign Trade.