ПЕРЕПИСКА С Г.М.КРЖИЖАНОВСКИМ И РАСПОРЯЖЕНИЕ СЕКРЕТАРЮ
Date: 1922-03-24
Source: ru:ND (Neizvestnye Dokumenty - Unknown Documents)
Translated by: AI (Claude)

Letter from V.I. Lenin

March 24, 1922

Gleb Maksimilianovich!

What you told me by telephone about Volkhov Construction is very important. But you were clearly overexcited — to the devil.

It is necessary that you think everything over twice and quite coolly (in connection with cancellation of the trip you need to rest near Moscow: answer when you are going. If you have no place, write directly; I will arrange).

Having thought twice and quite coolly, inform me:

1) Are you sure that Grafti is a swindler? Or is it possible to admit that he is "factionally" carried away and blinded? And there are two "factions": Grafti and¹* Co? Aleksandrov? and who else from Gosplan engineers? Are you entangled in one of the factions? By what? How?

Is there no possibility to admit that both "factions" are blinded by the desire to prove their rightness and "scold" the "enemy", painting him as a "red-haired monster"?

2) If the matter is decided by the All-Russian Central Executive Committee, then with the prejudice of Petrograders (all) for Grafti and against Aleksandrov (? or who else?), you have 90% chances of being beaten. Have you thought this over? How much depends on the results of the "investigation"? And how many chances are there to "win" this investigation?

3) If the matter is "tangled" and moreover being tangled even more, then is it not possible to direct the goal so as to disperse or remove or dismiss all the disputants, i.e. both disputing sides, both Grafti and Aleksandrov? and to place at Volkhov Construction even if G.D. Tsyurupa or someone else?

I want this to be secret between us. Return this letter to me sealed with your answer.

Yours Lenin.

P.S. What actually is the "Society of 1886" doing here??? Who dragged it in? How? Why?

Instruction to secretary

I request to send, sealing and preliminarily calling the addressee by phone.

Lenin²*.


Letter from G.M. Krzhizhanovsky

Dear Vladimir Ilyich!

I answer by points:

A. 1) I do not consider Grafti a swindler. This is a painfully vain man, a very unsuccessful builder, for he never was one and... a bureaucrat to the marrow of his bones, ready to serve any government. On his side of specialists most of all turned out to be engineer Koenig, a hydraulic engineer from the unsuccessful.

2) Aleksandrov — absolutely honest worker, but a completely useless administrator and chairman. As such he quarreled with the entire commission that was on the spot of work at Volkhov Construction.

3) I personally am not connected with either side and supported in Gosplan the objective conclusions of the majority of the commission, not coinciding with the views of Grafti and Aleksandrov.

B. Petrograders began the matter for Grafti against Aleksandrov, but the speeches of Larin and Sosnovsky turned, — with the benevolent support of Grafti, who is glad to blame anyone for his failures, — a simple divergence of technical expertise on the timeliness of construction into a backstage intrigue of Germans, to whom (former owners of the old Society of 86 in Petersburg) allegedly the construction of Volkhov is disadvantageous. This absurdity (which can be proved very simply, but only to persons understanding the modern position of the Germans — the Stinnes group) is very convenient for bamboozling and all kinds of demagogy, all kinds of half-accusations, etc. "They'll shoe you, and then prove that you are not a camel"...

C. Since the picture of each of our (major) construction in 1921 is a kind of martyrology of our economic and administrative situation, then, of course, the confusion and hodgepodge of all departments in the matter of Volkhov Construction is the greatest, for investigators — direct expanse. As a result, of course, a very interesting theme will be prepared for all the White Guard press, which, by the way, the investigator himself feels.

D. 1) Of course, the chances to straighten out the investigation and win the case in VTsIK are very small. Probably the whole process of struggle will have to be deployed at the Revolutionary Tribunal itself, where it will be necessary to return to the speeches in VTsIK known to you, clearly showing how and who dragged in the Society of 1886.

2) There is nothing to remove Aleksandrov from Volkhov Construction, for he has no relation to it after his trip. And to send G.D. Tsyurupa there would be very useful, but is it "politic" to do this now?

Yours G. Krzhizhanovsky.

Fund 2, inventory 1, file 22978 - autographs.

¹* To this place V.I. Lenin made a note: "and who else by names?"

²* On the reverse of the instruction are notes: "Sent. 19:55 min. Alliluyeva"; "Receipt received and transmitted to Vl.Il."

¹ At the meeting of the Presidium of VTsIK on April 6, 1922, the investigative commission of the Supreme Tribunal made a report on the question "On work at Volkhov Construction"; the following resolution was adopted: "1) To cease the case with respect to Comrades Krzhizhanovsky, Sapronov and Lobachev, pointing out insufficiently attentive attitude within the limits of their official duties in implementing in life the resolution of VTsIK, which recognized Volkhov Construction as a specially shock construction. 2) To confirm paragraph 4 of the proposal of the investigative commission of the Supreme Tribunal on deepening the investigation in the area of investigating the motives of the struggle of Electrostroy and Volkhov Construction, in particular also the motives of the activity of engineer Aleksandrov, who counteracted Volkhov Construction. 3) To instruct Volkhov Construction at one of the nearest meetings of the Presidium of VTsIK to make a report on the progress of work on the construction of hydroelectric facilities there." An extract from the protocol of the Presidium of VTsIK with the text of this resolution was sent to V.I. Lenin on April 7, on the extract there is his note: "to archive" (RTsKhIDNI, fund 2, inventory 1, file 23046, sheet 1). In the cover note of the secretary of the Presidium of VTsIK A.S. Enukidze it was reported: "At the meeting there were present 15 members of the Presidium (unprecedented number!), including Stalin, Zinoviev, Kamenev. Krylenko reported. Rykov stood for complete cessation of the case and investigation. Krylenko mentioned new materials hindering work at Volkhov Construction" (ibid., sheet 1).

² Reference is made to the joint-stock "Society of Electric Lighting of 1886", engaged in basic work on electrification of St. Petersburg and other cities. It was under the control of the German firm "Siemens and Halske".