Date: 1921-11-25
Source: ru:LS/v40

b) In the realm of propaganda, the Agitation Department of the Central Committee and the Main Political Education Department maintain the same relationships as in the sphere of agitation campaigns, with the organization of propaganda efforts among Party members not being treated as a distinct specialized field.
c) In the area of agitational apparatus operations, overarching plans for their utilization—such as travel by rail, waterways, and other means—are jointly developed by the Agitation and Propaganda Department of the Central Committee and the Main Political Education Department.
d)
The concurrent holding of the position of Head of the Agitation Division within the Agitation and Propaganda Department of the Central Committee and the Agitation Division of the Main Political Education Department is permissible, subject to agreement between the Agitation and Propaganda Department and the Main Political Education Department, with the approval of the Central Committee; moreover, this dual role does not relieve the head of the Agitation Division of responsibility toward the Main Political Education Department, just as it does not absolve them of accountability to the other department heads.
5. The relationships governing the work of the Periodical Press Department (ROSTA) are based on the following principles:
a) Political guidance for the press is provided by a member of the Central Committee specifically authorized to do so, directly through the responsible head of ROSTA; b) Current operational relations are governed by special agreements negotiated between the Agitation and Propaganda Department of the Central Committee and the Main Political Education Department, with the participation of ROSTA and subject to ratification by the Central Committee; c) The concurrent holding of positions—or the designation of editors—as both Agitation and Propaganda officials and journalists, authorized by the Central Committee, is permitted under the conditions outlined in paragraph g) of Section 4.
6. The relationships between the Agitation and Propaganda Department of the Central Committee and the Main Political Education Department in other areas of work—such as literacy eradication, cultural and artistic endeavors, propaganda activities, and programmatic–bibliographic work—are founded upon the following:
a) The development of various methodological issues in the field of work is undertaken by the Main Political Education Department, with the involvement of the State Council when necessary.
b) The Agitation and Propaganda Department of the Central Committee, through its Propaganda Sub‑Department, oversees the work of the Main Political Education Department in the area of serving Party schools and political literacy courses, and participates in the formulation of their curricula according to the principles set forth in paragraph a).
*
In accordance with this, the proposed expansion of the Agitation and Propaganda Department of the Central Committee should be limited to the establishment of sub‑departments dedicated to agitation, propaganda, and the press—without further subdivision into more detailed specialized branches. The primary task of the Agitation and Propaganda Department should be agitation and propaganda of a distinctly Party-oriented character (see paragraphs 11, 18, 19, 23–29 of the new Regulations concerning the Agitation and Propaganda Department of the Central Committee of the Russian Communist Party, as well as Party‑oriented agitation campaigns, as outlined in paragraph a) of Section 4 of the present draft), while also engaging in the work of state‑led communist propaganda conducted by the Main Political Education Department as an auxiliary body of the Central Committee, in close coordination with the ongoing activities of the Main Political Education Department.
In light of this, all provisions of the new Regulations concerning the Agitation and Propaganda Department of the Central Committee—except those explicitly listed—must be repealed and replaced with new provisions that are aligned with the present draft.
Printed from a typewritten copy, with underlining and notes by V. I. Lenin
1 The Main Political Education Department (Main Political Education Committee of the Republic), as one of the most crucial central bodies of Soviet power, was established with the direct participation of V. I. Lenin. On October 28, 1920, Lenin drafted the “Draft Resolution of the Politburo of the Central Committee of the Russian Communist Party (Bolsheviks) on the Main Political Education Department” (see Political Works, Volume 41, p. 397), which was fully incorporated into the resolution on this matter adopted at the Politburo meeting of the Central Committee on the same day. I. K. Krupskaya was appointed Chairperson of the Main Political Education Department. Lenin devoted a number of documents to the tasks and activities of this body, including: his speech at the All‑Russian Conference of Political Education Officers from Provincial and District Departments of Public Education on November 3, 1920; his report to the Second All‑Russian Congress of Political Education Officers on October 17, 1921; and others (see Political Works, Volume 41, pp. 398–408; Volume 44, pp. 155–175).
Throughout all these materials, Lenin’s guiding idea runs like a red thread: to organize the Main Political Education Department under the leadership of the Party, fostering communist education among the working people and cultivating in them a communist consciousness; to establish new social bonds among individuals; to nurture a renewed attitude toward labor and a new sense of discipline. While subjecting bourgeois preaching of apolitical neutrality to scathing critique, Lenin emphasized the necessity of Party leadership over every sphere of state, economic, and social life. He stated that in the work of the Main Political Education Department, “the primacy of the politics of the Communist Party must be openly acknowledged” (Political Works, Volume 41, p. 402).
Lenin’s remarks on the document now being published were made along the same lines.
2 Gus — the State Scientific Council.
NOTES ON THE STRUCTURE OF THE AGITATION AND PROPAGANDA DEPARTMENT OF THE CENTRAL COMMITTEE OF THE RUSSIAN COMMUNIST PARTY (BOLSHEVIKS)
[November 1921, after the 25th]
Head: Sosnovsky; Deputy Heads: Yakovlev, Solovyov, 1

1) Sub‑Department of Propaganda
Khotimsky, Assistant, Sr. & Jr. Staff *
2) Sub‑Department of Agitation
Yakovlev (working part‑time, [with two deputy heads in the Main Political Education Department]—agitation campaigns, approx.?
3) Sub‑Department of Provincial Press
Bardin, No. 22–23, “Bulletin of Agitation and Propaganda,” 2
Instructors: X. Hesssen, X. Samsonov
4) For National Minorities, Head: Kopyatkevich *
1 L. S. Sosnovsky had been a member of the Bolshevik Party since 1904. From 1918 to 1924 (with interruptions), he served as editor of the newspaper “Bednota.” During the trade union debate (1920–1921), he supported Trotsky’s platform. In 1927, he was expelled from the Party as an active participant in the Trotskyist opposition. He was reinstated in 1935, but in 1936, due to anti‑Party activities, he was once again expelled from the Party.
Ya. A. Yakovlev had been a member of the Bolshevik Party since 1913; an active participant in the October Socialist Revolution and the Civil War in Ukraine.
V. I. Solovyov had been a member of the Party since 1913. In 1920, he served as a member of the Commission tasked with drafting the plan for the reorganization of the People’s Commissariat of Education; in 1921, he became Deputy Chairperson of the Main Political Education Department, later serving as a member of the Collegium of the Agitation and Propaganda Department of the Central Committee of the Russian Communist Party (Bolsheviks).
2 This refers to the article by Il. Vardn in the Central Committee organ of the Russian Communist Party (Bolsheviks), “Bulletin of Agitation and Propaganda,” Nos. 22–23, November 1921, entitled “On the Needs of Party–Soviet Periodical Press.” In the article, the author provides a detailed analysis of the state of provincial periodical press, raising the question of what measures must be taken to ensure that newspapers and periodicals occupy a worthy place in the life of the Party and the people.
3 A. A. Kopyatkevich was the Chief Administrator of the Central Committee of the Russian Communist Party (Bolsheviks).
* The words could not be deciphered.