V. I.

Lenin

Draft Directives of the C.C., R.C.P.(B.) for The Soviet Delegation to the Genoa Conference [1]

I propose the following draft of C.C. directives:

Without endorsing the list of experts, the C.C. directs the candidates nominated
in it to submit within a week ˜ précis of programme and
tactics (on questions that come within the terms of reference of the
given expert) for the whole Genoa Conference. All People’s
Commissars are obliged within 2 days to give written testimonials and
guarantees for their candidates nominated as experts. Should the experts
disgrace themselves in Europe they and the People’s Commissars will be
held responsible.

In furtherance of the directives concerning the Genoa Conference I propose the following :

1. Without pre-determining in what form and at what time the speeches of our
delegation should be made, the C.C. considers that the delegation is
definitely obliged to develop a full, independent and integral programme on
all cardinal issues.

2. This programme should be a bourgeois-pacifist programme with the
reservation, timely and clearly expressed by our delegation, that we do not put forward here a communist
programme—the only one that is in keeping with our views—(set it
forth briefly) because we wish to put before the other delegations, who hold
fundamentally different views, a number of palliatives and measures of a
reformist type which have already been proposed in parts in Britain and other
capitalist countries by people who share bourgeois views. Under certain
conditions this programme of palliatives could serve to mitigate the present
difficult situation (the only real way out of which is possible given a final
break with all the principles of capitalist property).

3. A tentative list of the main points of this programme:

(1) annulment of all debts; (2) application of the “Irish” solution to all colonies and dependent
countries and nations; (3) radical revision of the Versailles Treaty; (4) the granting of loans on favourable terms to the countries most
ruined by the war and too weak to recover their own feet, while being most
important for world economy as eventual suppliers of vast quantities of
food and raw materials; (5) establishment of a unified international gold unit for the currency
systems of a number of countries and measures to introduce this unit; (6) an agreement among a number of countries on measures to combat
inflation and depreciation of money (enumerate some of these measures); (7) agreement among a number of countries on measures for coping with
the fuel crisis and on measures for the most rational and economical use of
power resources on the basis of unified planned electrification; (8) the same in regard to the most urgent measures for reorganising and
improving international transport to handle deliveries of raw materials and
food.

And so on.

4. Such a programme should be elaborated in speeches, and if this is
impossible, printed in 3-4 European languages and handed out to the
delegates and the press (if only in the form of a précis). (In any
case it should be printed.)

5. Only such people should be admitted as experts who are capable of
developing, and making out a case for such a programme (in one or another part of it) and who have proved this capability . The experts will have to have their programmes and plans
printed for Europe over their own signatures . ((Such a programme
will evoke comment in the press of the Third International, whose articles
will say:

this attempt “to convince” will do no harm, but practically it is
useless, because what is needed is a revolution; and in
the press of the II and II 1/2 Internationals—we shall see what they have
to say.))

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Notes:
[1]
The addenda to the directives of the C.C. contained in this document
were adopted by the Politbureau on February 8, 1922.