V. I.

Lenin

363

To:   V. M. MOLOTOV FOR THE POLITBUREAU OF THE R.C.P.(B.) C.C.

Comrade Molotov:

One other thing should be done:

1) restrain Melnichansky and the Moscow Gubernia
T.U.C. by means of an extra strict reprimand (the trial of
Skvortsov-Stepanov and Litkens). This is the height of impudence and shamelessness!! I insist on a reprimand with
publication on behalf of the
Politbureau [1] ;

2) revoke the All-Russia C.E.C. Presidium decision on
the issue of 1,000 million (milliard) for the theatres. It
is quite illegal to do this in circumvention of the People’s Commissariat for Education]] This is outrageous. I demand
its revocation through the Politbureau .

Lenin

4/IX.

---
Notes:
[1]
A reference to the legal proceedings for the recovery of royalties
started by V. V. Mayakovsky against I. I. Skvortsov-Stepanov,
director of the State Publishers. On August 25, 1921, the Moscow
Disciplinary Court under the Moscow Gubernia T.U.C. ruled that
I. I. Skvortsov-Stepanov was to be disqualified from union
membership for 6 months. On September 8, the case was reviewed, and the judgement rescinded.

Deputy People’s Commissar for Education, Y. A. Litkens, and
member of the collegium of the Academy of Labour Education,
F. V. Lengnik, wore accused of dismissing a group of workers
arid employees. The Moscow gubernia comrades’ disciplinary
court under the Moscow Gubernia T.U C. issued a reprimand and
deprived them of the right to hold elective office for six months.
A commission of the R.C.P.(B.) Central Committee examined
this case on September 20 and decided: = “1) To ask the gubernia
disciplinary court under the Moscow Gubernia T.U.C. to reexamine the case =

2) On the substance of the accusation ... to
confine itself to a trade union and a Party reprimand” (Central Party

Archives of the Institute of Marxism-Leninism of the C.P.S.U.
Central Committee).

Concerning Lenin’s proposal, set out in point 2 of the document, the Politbureau of the C.C. drew the attention of the
Presidium of the All-Russia C.E.C. on September 6, 1921, to the need
to refer the matter of appropriating 1,000 million rubles for the
theatres for the examination by the C.P.C.