MEMORANDUM TO V. M. MOLOTOV AND DRAFT RESOLUTION OF THE POLITBURO OF THE CENTRAL COMMITTEE OF THE RCP(b) CONCERNING THE NOTE TO NULANS
Comrade Molotov!
Nulans is brazen to an outrageous degree. I propose, on the reverse side, a draft resolution. If we cannot reach a consensus, I demand that the entire Politburo be convened tomorrow; I will come then. There is no room for compromise here.
4/IX.
Lenin
I submit the following text for the Politburo’s resolution:
“Direct Chicherin to draft, in response to Nulans, a note of outright rejection couched in the most trenchant terms—akin to a proclamation directed against the bourgeoisie and imperialism—while particularly emphasizing the counterrevolutionary role played by Nulans himself. Highlight, in particular, the mockingly audacious nature of the proposal to dispatch, prior to any formal treaty, a commission of spies masquerading as a committee of experts; sharply ridicule the notion that, on 4 September, we should send out questionnaires concerning winter crop sowing—something we have already done ourselves within the prescribed timeframe. Further, lampoon the seven points at length and declare that we will deal only with governments à la Germany, or else, on the basis of preliminary, meticulously negotiated agreements—not, of course, with individuals like Nulans. Stress, above all, that we cannot, not even for a single second, entertain the slightest belief that the Nulans are genuinely intent on helping us, given their approach to matters.” 59
Written on 4 September 1921.
First published in 1959, in Lenin Collection XXXVI

Printed from the manuscript