LETTER TO THE POLITBURO OF THE CENTRAL COMMITTEE OF THE RCP(b), WITH COMMENTS ON THE THESIS PAPERS OF THE PEOPLE’S COMMISSARIAT OF FINANCE
To Comrade Molotov, for the Members of the Politburo, March 3, 1922
In my view, Sokolnikov’s theses (“Basic Provisions of the Financial Program”) are not bad—but they are rather theoretical in nature.
I will examine one particular point (the opening of §12) in greater detail and will write to you separately about it.
For the rest, I propose that the documents be submitted for review to the State Planning Commission, Preobrazhensky, and Krasnoshchekov. After that, they may be published—with certain cuts (for the time being, we should omit discussion of replacing the natural tax with a monetary tax, and so forth).
As for the substance of the matter: in my opinion, the crux of the issue lies in two key areas:
1) How to identify capable and resolute individuals to head the various People’s Commissariats—and, in addition, the Moscow Soviet and the Petrograd Soviet—by actually reducing staff numbers and applying strict disciplinary measures;
2) How to train our bureaucratic “daorgs” in the art of commerce, while simultaneously curbing their penchant for red tape and inefficiency (including, among others, the People’s Commissariat for Foreign Trade, the Moscow Trade Organization, the Petrograd Trade Organization, and countless other such bodies).
Should we not entrust the Presidium of the VTsIK with the task of adopting a resolution stating:
All People’s Commissariats, together with the Moscow and Petrograd Soviets, are hereby obligated to submit, within one week, a draft resolution on the reassignment of all employees involved in economic affairs to remuneration based on turnover and profits, with severe penalties for losses, sluggish performance, or outright neglect—and with a mandatory response to commercial inquiries within three to six hours, under penalty of imprisonment for no less than five years.

A reward of 100,000 gold rubles shall be granted for the best draft resolution; this reward will be paid out after a one-year trial period during which the success of the resolution is evaluated, with payment proportional to the degree of success achieved (100% success entitles the recipient to the full reward, while 1% success yields only 1% of the reward).
Lenin
First published in 1942 in Volume XXXIV of the Lenin Collection

Printed from manuscript