Date: 1922-03-23
Source: ru:PSS/v45

LETTER TO V. M. MOLOTOV FOR THE PLENUM OF THE CENTRAL COMMITTEE OF THE RCP(B), WITH A DRAFT OUTLINE FOR THE POLITICAL REPORT TO THE ELEVENTH PARTY CONGRESS
23/III. 1922.
Comrade Molotov!
I request that you convey to the Plenum of the Central Committee:
1. My petition to be excused from attending the Plenum on account of illness (for I shall not have the strength either to sit through the Plenary session or to deliver a report at the Congress);
2. Should the Plenum require my presence to provide clarification regarding the draft report outlined below, I can certainly appear—and will do so—within two to three hours of being summoned.
3. The outline of the political report I intend to deliver at the Congress:

primarily a reiteration, with certain sections elaborating upon what was said in my speech to the Metalworkers’ Congress on 6 March 1922*. A very brief discussion of Genoa. A somewhat more detailed examination of the New Economic Policy and of the concept of “state capitalism.”
The suspension of the retreat—both economic and strategic—and the task of regrouping our forces. A warning issued to us by the bourgeoisie, which, through the mouth of the Menshevik Ustryalov, declares that the NEP is not a “tactic,” but rather an “evolution” of Bolshevism.43
What we fundamentally lack is cultural sophistication—the art of governance. This is illustrated by a few small examples. Economically and politically, the NEP fully equips us to…

* See this volume, pp. 1–16. Ed.

LETTER TO V. M. MOLOTOV FOR THE PLENUM OF THE CENTRAL COMMITTEE OF THE RCP(B)
to lay the foundations of a socialist economy. The matter hinges “only” on the cultural strengths of the proletariat and its vanguard.
On what has been irrevocably won by our revolution, and on what remains unfinished.
The possibility of intervention. The danger of financial crisis. Let us make use of this “breather”: shift the center of gravity in our work toward the selection of personnel and the rigorous verification of actual implementation.
The gulf between the grandeur of the tasks we have begun to carry out and the poverty—both material and cultural—that still afflicts us.
In addition to the report, it should be pointed out that the two deputies of the Chairman of the Sovnarkom and the Chairman of the STO play crucial roles; likewise, reference should be made to my correspondence on this matter with A. D. Tsiurupa, dating from late January 1922,44 as well as to the position we are now jointly formulating—alongside Rykov—in order to reorganize our work with the utmost emphasis on thorough oversight and verification of implementation*.
Relieve the Sovnarkom of petty matters; more precisely delineate its functions from those of the STO and the Small Sovnarkom.45 Enhance the Sovnarkom’s authority by drawing in leading comrades and People’s Commissars—not merely their deputies—to participate in its deliberations.
In light of this, and in accordance with Comrade Kalinin’s repeated oral statements, as well as with the written communication appended here from Comrade Enukidze,46 I propose that the Congress, on behalf of the Central Committee, approve both the aforementioned plan and the convocation of the All‑Union Central Executive Committee for longer sessions devoted to the elaboration of fundamental legislative issues and to the systematic oversight of the work of the People’s Commissariats and the Sovnarkom.
Finally, it is imperative to distinguish far more sharply between the functions of the Party (and of its Central Committee) and those of the Soviet authorities; to increase the accountability and autonomy of Soviet workers and Soviet institutions, while reserving for the Party the overarching leadership of all state organs taken together—without the frequent, irregular, often overly narrow interventions that characterize our current practice.

* See this volume, pp. 152–159. Ed.

Draft a corresponding resolution for approval by the Party Congress.47
4. I request that the Plenum of the Central Committee appoint an additional rapporteur from the Central Committee, since my report is far too general; moreover, I am not entirely confident that I will be able to deliver it, and most importantly, I have already fallen behind in my duties on the Politburo for months now.48
With communist greetings,
Lenin
First published on 30 August 1928 in Pravda, No. 201

Printed from manuscript