V. I.

Lenin

308

To:   G. I. BOKII

9.VIII.1921

Comrade Bokii:

In your letter about Shelekhes (Yakov Savelyevich) you say: “many are putting in a word for him”, including
Lenin, and you request “permission to ignore all petitions
and pressures on the Gokhran case”. [1]

This is something I cannot allow.

The inquiry I sent in is neither “intercession”, nor “pressure”, nor even “petition”.

It is my duty to inquire, once doubt about the correctness of the proceedings has been brought up with me.

It is your duty to give me a reply in substance : “the reasons or the evidence are serious, they are such-and-such , I object , to his release, to any mitigation ” and so on and so
forth.

Those are the lines, in substance , on which you must reply to me.

You are free to reject any petitions and “intercessions”;
“pressure” is an unlawful act. But, I repeat, it is a mistake on your part to have confused an inquiry from the
Chairman of the C.P.C., and a petition, intercession or
pressure.

V. Ulyanov (Lenin )

Chairman, C.P.C.

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Notes:
[1]
The Gokhran (State Depository of Valuables) case mentioned in
the letter arose as a result, of the discovery of a large shortage of
diamonds. Gokhran valuer, Y. S. Shelekhes, was accused of
stealing valuables and was arrested by the All-Russia Cheka. On
August 8, 1921, Lenin sent an inquiry to Deputy Chairman of
the All-Russia Cheka, I. S. Unschlicht, over Shelekhes’s arrest
and received a reply on August 9, from G. I. Bokii, a member
of the Collegium of the Cheka. The present letter was written by
Lenin in connection with his unsatisfactory reply.

See this volume, Documents 173, 180, 216 and 221; and also