V. I. Lenin

Source: en:CW/CW45; ru:PSS/v52;es:MT
Translated: machine translation (DeepSeek) from the Russian; AI-translated.

Comrade Bryukhanov!

It is evident that the discipline of the Food Commissariat is weakening, and very considerably.

This is absolutely impermissible.

We must tighten up with all our might, and at once, otherwise we shall not get rid of the famine.

1) The People’s Commissariat for Food must appoint responsible persons in each gubernia and each uyezd, so that we know whom to arrest (1) the gubernia food commissar? 2) the chairman of the uyezd executive committee? 3) the uyezd military commissar?? There must be no fewer than three responsible persons.

2) Not a single violation (taking locally what has been assigned to the centre) must be left without the arrest of the guilty (through the All-Russia Central Executive Committee).

You write long papers with complaints, or rather, with wailing, instead of business-like proposals:

“Instruct the All-Russia Central Executive Committee to arrest so-and-so for failure to carry out instructions, which has led to famine in the centre.”

That is the kind of proposals the People’s Commissariat for Food should submit to the Political Bureau.

3) Start at once a similar campaign of ruthless arrests of local gubernia food committees, etc., for negligence, lack of preparedness, etc.

The People’s Commissariat for Food will be held responsible for the lack of preparedness of the apparatus and for its failure to carry out instructions.