11 August 1921

Regarding  
SKF (Swedish Ball-Bearing Company)  
I have serious doubts. Has the legal side of the matter been sufficiently communicated, i.e., has our interest been safeguarded?

* See Lenin, Works, Vol. XXVI, pp. 278–279.

This interest requires that we in no way allow any weakening of the principle that we are the owners of all nationalised enterprises and warehouses. These enterprises and warehouses can pass into the hands of the former owners only through their formal purchase of these warehouses from us. We may sometimes make a concession, transferring these enterprises and warehouses at a low price, but we can never renounce our right of ownership.

I ask that this matter be checked with particular care from the indicated point of view. I especially request that the check be carried out in the People's Commissariat of Justice, where Kursky personally knew and handled this matter, and either Kursky must be found, or a person no less informed than Kursky must be found in the People's Commissariat of Justice.

Lenin

Printed from a typewritten copy.