TELEGRAM TO ALL PROVINCIAL EXECUTIVE COMMITTEES,
PROVINCIAL FOREST COMMITTEES, RAILWAY FOREST COMMITTEES,
REPRESENTATIVES OF THE COUNCIL OF LABOUR AND DEFENCE
ON FUEL

The railways are in danger of being left without fuel before the sledge-road period begins. The crisis can and must be eliminated through resolute, coordinated work by the forest committees with all institutions unconditionally fulfilling their obligations. By decisions of the Council of Labour and Defence of 6 and 22 October, work on supplying the railways with fuel has been placed on the same footing as operational military tasks. I propose that chairmen of provincial executive committees take immediate measures to ensure that: 1) provincial forest committees, railway forest committees, and district forest committees carry out the planned tasks of the Chief Forest Committee for the procurement and haulage of firewood; 2) provincial committees for labour persistently and systematically enforce compulsory carting labour duty as demanded by the forest committees; 3) the workers and cartage animals engaged in the procurement, haulage, sawing and loading of firewood are not diverted to any other work; 4) provincial committees for food supply fully supply the forest committees with food and fodder according to the assignments of the People's Commissariat for Food; 5) the forest committees furnish the Chief Forest Committee with accurate weekly reports on how much firewood has been hauled to each railway line and how much long-length timber has been sawn.

24 November 1920. Chairman of the Council of People's Commissars Lenin*

First published in 1942.