Having received the news of your congress and its welcoming telegram to Soviet Russia1 , I, on behalf of the Council of People's Commissars, express my warm gratitude to you. On my own behalf I add, the technical assistance of the United States and Canada is extremely necessary to us. If we send detachments without prior agreement on the choice of a place of settlement, factories and so on, it is necessary to supply the detachment for two years with food, clothing and so on. It is necessary to reckon with the difficulties that exist in Russia, which must be overcome, food and other difficulties. People going to Russia must be prepared for this. It is necessary to be guided by the instructions of the Industrial Emigration Department of the Supreme Council of National Economy, whose instructions we are sending you.

Chairman of the Council of People's Commissars V. Ulyanov-Lenin.

Chicherin.

Fund 5, op. 1, d. 229, fol. 41 - copy.

1From the newspaper "Russian Voice" (No. 1492 and No. 1493 of July 4 and 5, 1921), published in New York in Russian, Lenin learned about the first congress of technical assistance societies of Soviet Russia in the United States and Canada (July 2-4, 1921, New York) sent a welcome telegram (see: Documents of Foreign Policy of the USSR. Vol. 4, p. 262). At the congress a unified Society for Technical Assistance to Soviet Russia was formed. August 2, 1921, in a letter to L.K.Martens Lenin reported a draft response - a welcoming telegram to the Society (see: Lenin V.I. Complete Collected Works, Vol. 53, pp. 88-89). On August 3, Lenin's proposal was discussed at a meeting of the Council of Labor and Defense, and it was decided: "To instruct the Secretariat to question all the People's Commissars and send the above telegram on behalf of the Soviet of People's Commissars. In case of objections - to submit it to the SNK on the following Wednesday" (RCCHIDNI, f. 19, op. 3, d. 239, fol. 17). On August 4, the People's Commissars of Foreign Affairs and Labor reported to the STO their objections to the sending of the telegram. Having familiarized himself with them, Lenin on the same day proposed to the deputy manager of the SNK and STO V.A.Smolyaninov to form a commission to discuss the objections of the Commissars (see: Lenin V.I. Complete Works, vol. 53, p. 94). Smolyaninov submitted this proposal to the STO, which on August 5 decided: "The question of the protest of the People's Commissariat of the People's Commissariat for sending a telegram to America to the RSFSR Technical Assistance Society to be referred to a commission consisting of Tts. Martens, Zavadovsky, Smolyaninov and NKindel and, if an agreement is reached, to be submitted for the signature of Tt. Lenin" (RCCHIDNI, f. 19, op. 3, d. 240, l. 292). The Commission discussed the second version of the draft telegram, in which the last paragraph was changed at Lenin's suggestion (see: Documents of Foreign Policy of the USSR. Vol. 4, p. 261), but could not reach a consensus. The Commissars of Foreign Affairs and Labor objected. "These two opinions - wrote Smolyaninov to all members of the Council of People's Commissars - I reported to the Chairman of the Council of People's Commissars, Lenin. He was in favor of sending a telegram and asked me, with the presentation of the two points of view, to make a secondary vote among the members of the Sovnarkom" (RCCHIDNI, f. 2, op. 1, d. 20268, l. 6). On August 8 and 9, 18 Commissars reported their opinion of agreement, only Chicherin objected; he wrote: "In view of the fact that sending this telegram would create a conflict with the Communist Party, I am strongly opposed. Georgy Chicherin" (RCCHIDNI, ibid., l. 3). On August 9, Smolyaninov informed Lenin of the results of the vote and sent a telegram: "V.I. I am forwarding to you for your signature the final text of the telegram to America. I have made your amendments: "An indication of the difficulties in Russia, for which people must be prepared". Krasin's amendments, instead of the words: "It is desirable to send delegates to Russia first for inspection", it is written: "It is best to...". I have changed Krasin's original amendment by agreement with him. This was done to harmonize with the initial text of the telegram, which states that "if sent without prior agreement, then for 2 years of food, etc.". I draw your attention to Mr. Chicherin's objection. The amendments are underlined in red. Smolyaninov. 9/III" (ibid., fol. 7). Lenin signed the telegram on August 10 and marked on the cover of the documents: "to the SNKom archive on 10/VIII 1921" (ibid., l. 1). On August 11, the telegram was sent by the Secretariat of the Council of People's Commissars to Chicherin for dispatch. At the meeting of the Council of People's Commissars on August 16, held under the chairmanship of N.A.Semashko, the question of sending a welcoming telegram to the Society for Technical Assistance to Russia was heard, and it was decided: "To take note of the report on the decision of the SNK, conducted by polling the members of the SNK, to send a welcoming telegram to the Society for Technical Assistance to Russia in a corrected version" (RCCHIDNI, f. 19, op. 1, d. 437, fol. 2). Chicherin signed the telegram on August 11.