Date: 1921-11-26
Source: ru:LS/v23

MEMORANDUM TO V. A. SMOLYANINOV*
November 9, 1921
Comrade Smolyaninov,
Please review and return it to Avanesov.
Take the first diagram—representing the loading of Donets coal—as a model for the diagrams to be prepared for the Council of Labor and Defense.
However:
1. All diagrams must be mounted in frames rather than rolled up.
2. The size of the diagrams should therefore be reduced.
3. The number of lines on each diagram should not exceed three.
Lenin.
DIRECTIVES TO THE COMMANDANT OF THE KREMLIN.
I  

. 
To the Commandant of the Kremlin.
November 19, 1921
Yesterday, at 8 p.m., I received Osip Petrovich Goldenberg. Despite the commandant’s warnings—and those of the guards—who had given him advance notice, at least half an hour in advance, he was detained not at the entrance to the Council of People’s Commissars, but higher up, near the top of the building.
Once again—and this is far from the first time—I draw your attention to this breach of procedure. Do not force me to resort to harsh measures; instead, ensure that, whenever the guards receive notification from my secretariat, there can be no delay whatsoever.
-
Has the relevant instruction been fully elaborated? Is it being properly enforced? Please report on its implementation.
Chairman of the Council of Labor and Defense, V. Ulyanov (Lenin).
1. O. P. Goldenberg worked in the press office of the People’s Commissariat for Foreign Affairs.
THE APPARATUS OF THE COUNCIL OF PEOPLE’S COMMISSARS, THE COUNCIL OF LABOR AND DEFENSE, AND THE PEOPLE’S COMMISSARIATS

* Printed from a typewritten copy. R.S.

II.
To the Commandant of the Kremlin.
Copy to Comrade II. P. Gorbunov.
November 26, 1921
Once again, we find that visitors arriving at my office are being delayed by the guards.
Today, Comrade Sokolnikova, a member of the All‑Russian Central Executive Committee, was held back for roughly ten minutes as she made her way to see me.
It would seem that the guard was justified in holding Sokolnikova back from approaching the telephone—after all, it was said to be a “telephone for internal communications.” Yet it is also said that there is a second telephone, and surely the guard ought to have allowed her access to that one! In any case, I have already repeatedly urged the Commandant of the Kremlin—and I urge him once more—to establish a procedure whereby anyone coming to see me, even without prior appointment, would be able to call out from the Kremlin gates or from the entrance to the Council of People’s Commissars, connecting immediately with my secretariat and with the switchboard operators on the 111th floor, without the slightest delay.
I must point out to you that you have been treating my requests with indifference. I once again propose that you promptly adopt all necessary measures: if need be, install two additional telephones for visitors—one at the Kremlin gates, and one at the entrance to the Council of People’s Commissars—and provide me with a prompt response. Draft a special set of instructions specifically for those who come to see me.
Chairman of the Council of People’s Commissars, V. Ulyanov (Lenin).

LETTER TO A. D. TSYURUPA
November 28 [1921]
[Comrade Tsyurupa! My plan has taken shape:] *
In addition to the position of Deputy Chairman Rykov—with a casting vote in the Council of Labor and Defense—a second deputy chairmanship is hereby established on equal footing. Tsyurupa is appointed to this position, relieved of his duties at the People’s Commissariat for Trade.
The powers of these deputies include: a casting vote in both the Council of Labor and Defense and the Council of Labor and Defense for Economic Affairs;
* Struck out in pencil. Re0ch

presiding over meetings in the absence of the Chairman. All the powers of the Chairman of the Council of Labor and Defense regarding participation in all collegial bodies and institutions—including, among other things, the authority to issue immediate directives concerning practical work to the people’s commissars and their collegial members, etc.—(with the prior consent of the commissars of the relevant departments) on matters pertaining to the coordination and direction of economic work across the various people’s commissariats.
This, then, is how I envision the official resolution of the All‑Union Central Executive Committee.
The task at hand is to truly unite, strengthen, and improve economic work as a whole—especially in the areas of trade through Gosbank* and Gosplan*.
Personally familiarize yourself with the specific characteristics and operations of all economic people’s commissariats, as well as with every member of their collegial bodies—and with the ranks of the 10–100 most senior officials working at the local and regional levels in this field.
Participate personally in the regular meetings of the collegial bodies of the relevant people’s commissariats, Gosplan, Gosbank, the Central Committee of the Union, and the like, and personally oversee—by choice of the deputy chairmen—the most critical or particularly pressing functions.
As for the duration of these positions, “we shall see”; it may be for three-quarters of a year, or perhaps for thirty years.
One of the goals is to develop a highly skilled cadre of inspectors and instructors tasked with auditing and standardizing economic work across all economic institutions—both at the central level and in the regions.
The staffs carry out their work through the existing apparatus of the people’s commissariats, relying solely on the administrative department as their own organ (4–5 administrative departments within the Council of Labor and Defense, each with 1–2 assistants and 1–2 secretaries per assistant).
The administrative department of the Council of Labor and Defense, together with its assistants and secretaries, forms a unified and singular apparatus encompassing the entire Council of Labor and Defense—and both deputy chairmen.** *\
[Please respond to me no later than Wednesday. This is quite urgent.]'****
From Comrade Lenin.
THE APPARATUS OF THE COUNCIL OF PEOPLE’S COMMISSARS, THE COUNCIL OF LABOR AND DEFENSE, AND THE PEOPLE’S COMMISSARIATS
* Underlined in colored pencil. Ed.
* This word was written in colored pencil. Ed.
* This paragraph was added later. Ed.
**’ * Struck out in pencil. Ed.

1. The document presents a preliminary plan for the work of the deputies—deputies to the Chairman of the Council of Labor and Defense and the Council of Labor and Defense for Economic Affairs.
Initially, it was drafted in black ink as a letter addressed to A. D. Tsyurupa. Two days later, apparently following a conversation with A. D. Tsyurupa, Lenin added a note in red ink at the top of the letter, intended for the members of the Politburo, and appended a postscript at the end of the letter. Then, evidently during a third reading, Lenin crossed out—in pencil—the note addressed to the members of the Politburo and the appeal to A. D. Tsyurupa, and just below wrote the following instruction to the secretary: “Confidential—please type up 2–3 copies, not on official stationery (except for what has been crossed out in pencil).”
Finally, as he reviewed the document once more, Lenin underlined certain phrases in blue and red pencil, and beside the word “Gosbank” he added: “trade.”
The plan for the deputies’ work was further developed in a series of documents (see Lenin Collection, Vol. III, pp. 71–84, and Works, Vol. XXVII, pp. 281–289).
Lenin.
14829
LETTER TO A. I. RYKOV
December 3 [1921]
Dear Alexei Ivanovich!
Thus, the matter of your trip has been settled. It has been approved through the Politburo. You are required to remain until your second operation and complete recovery. I have spoken with Tsyurupa and received his endorsement—excellent—regarding treatment in Germany. I have no doubt that you will make a full recovery (I have seen the doctors’ report on your condition), provided you exercise a bit of patience— — I am sending you the resolution concerning Tsyurupa, along with my draft plan for organizing his treatment and your own work.2
As you will see from this plan, the first and second deputies are to embark on new tasks. For now, pending your arrival and our experience with Tsyurupa, we have decided not to turn this plan into a formal resolution.
Let us first test and verify it in practice.
Please share your opinion.
Well then, for now, farewell—and take your treatment seriously.
Your Lenin.
1. By “trip,” we mean A. I. Rykov’s journey to Germany for surgical treatment.
2. Lenin refers to the appointment of A. D. Tsyurupa in December 1921 as Second Deputy Chairman of the Council of Labor and Defense and the Council of People’s Commissars (see Lenin Collection, Vol. III, p. 71). *
* The note was written at the top of the manuscript of the preceding document (p. 232) and subsequently crossed out in pencil. Ed.

THE APPARATUS OF THE COUNCIL OF PEOPLE’S COMMISSARS, THE COUNCIL OF LABOR AND DEFENSE, AND THE PEOPLE’S COMMISSARIATS