## LETTER TO THE WORKERS OF GLEBNEFT

To Comrades:
I. M. Gubkin
A. I. Tsevchinsky
I. N. Strizhov
N. N. Smirnov

23 February 1921

In connection with the reports delivered to GLEBNEFT on the issue of flooding oil wells and the impending catastrophe, I request that you provide me today, if possible, with any materials (books, journals, reports, etc.) at your disposal concerning:

- Foreign laws or local regulations that penalize oil industrialists for leaving wells uncapped, for the absence of cementing, for its irrationality, and so forth.
- Either the laws themselves, or, if they are not readily available, references to relevant books, journal articles, or reference publications, so that I can obtain them from the libraries.

Please respond by telephone today.

Chairman of the Council of People's Commissars, Lenin.

### Notes:
1. The issue of concessionaires' responsibility for predatory exploitation of oil fields was emphasized by L. B. Krasin in his report sent to Lenin on 8 February 1921, "Concessions for the Development of Oil Fields in Baku and Grozny and the Attitude of GLEBNEFT to This Question." In his polemic with A. I. Tsevchinsky, L. B. Krasin pointed out that there already exists a criminal code abroad that punishes for non-compliance with conditions guaranteeing rational management.

### Editorial Notes:
- Date: The date is established based on the records of Lenin's secretary, which indicate that on 23 February, starting from 11:00 AM, Lenin was reviewing the reports of Z. I. Dossert and four specialists working in GLEBNEFT: I. M. Gubkin (a communist), I. N. Strizhov, A. I. Tsevchinsky, and N. N. Smirnov (see pages 126-143 of this collection).
- The figures here are taken from the report of L. B. Krasin to the Central Committee of the RCP(B) on 8 February 1921.
- Here, a table showing the growth of oil wells by month, as printed in the report of the Azerbaijan Oil Committee (see page 137 of this collection).