To Stalin for the Politburo

Most sincere request to release me from Klemperer. Extreme care and caution can drive a person out of his senses and bring him into trouble.

If it is impossible otherwise, I agree to send him on a scientific trip.

I beg you to spare me from Ferster. My doctors Kramer and Kozhevnikov I am satisfied with more than enough. Russian people are not able to bear German neatness, and Ferster and Klemperer participated in counseling enough1.

15/VI.

Lenin.

I certify the correctness. M. Ulyanova.

Published - "Izvestia CPSU Central Committee", 1991, No. 3, pp. 199-200.

Fund 2, op. 1, d. 25992 - autograph of M.I.Ulyanova.

1In the night from May 25 to 26, 1922, Lenin, who was in Gorki, had an acute attack of illness, which led to a temporary weakening of movement of the right arm and leg and some speech impairment. On May 28, he was examined by Professor V.V.Kramer, a neurologist, who believed that Lenin had "phenomena of transcortical motor aphasia on the basis of thrombosis". The next day in the morning there was a consultation of Professors G.I.Rossolimo and Kramer, physician F.A.Getye, People's Commissar of Health N.A.Semashko and neurologist A.M.Kozhevnikov. The latter was in Gorki from that day on as a duty doctor. June 2, Professor O. Ferster arrived from Germany and conducted the same day examination of Lenin. June 3, Stalin on behalf of the Politburo of the Central Committee of the RCP(b) obliged NN Krestinsky to achieve the arrival of Professors O. Ferster and G. Klemperer for the summer in Moscow (see: RCCHIDNI, f. 558, op. 2, d. 55). Klemperer arrived in Moscow on June 10 and examined Lenin on June 11. After the second visit, Lenin, in conversation with Kozhevnikov, expressed a negative opinion of Prof. Klemperer and dictated the published letter to M.I. Ulyanova.

M.I.Ulyanova in her memoirs wrote about the German doctors: "Unlike Prof. Ferster, Klemperer had less tact and skill to approach the patient. His chatter and jokes irritated Vladimir Ilyich, although he met him very kindly and was outwardly very polite with him" (Izvestia of the Central Committee of the CPSU, 1991, No. 1, p. 191).

To the published letter, Stalin replied to Lenin on June 17: "To T. Lenin. In connection with your letter about the Germans, we immediately arranged a meeting with Kramer, Kozhevnikov and Getye. They unanimously recognized the unnecessity of Klemperer, who will visit you only once before leaving. Equally unanimously they recognized the usefulness of F[erster's] participation in the general supervision of your recovery. In addition, political considerations make it extremely useful to have the signatures of well-known foreign authorities on the ballots, in view of the utter lies abroad. By porteaching Politbyuro Stalin. 17/VI -22 P.S. I shake hands firmly. And still the Russians will defeat the Germans. Stalin" (ibid., p. 192).

See also doc. 392.