Date: 1922
Source: ru:PSS/v54; en:CW/CW45

Source: PSS, Volume 54

TO ALL MEMBERS OF THE POLITBURO OF THE CENTRAL COMMITTEE OF THE RCP(b)

To Comrade Molotov, for confidential transmission—without making any copies—
to all members of the Politburo in a circular manner, together with Radek’s letter No. 222.
I propose:

1) To accept Radek’s proposal and immediately dispatch a circular telegram to Krasin and Krestinsky,
seeking to gauge the attitudes of individual powers one by one (I had already made this suggestion—why my written proposal went astray remains a mystery; it was sent to Molotov*).

2) To expedite Rakovsky’s arrival in Moscow and his departure for Prague—returning here two weeks prior to the Genoa Conference.

3) To summon Krasin to Moscow by the same deadline.

4) To exercise utmost caution and refrain even from using coded language when communicating abroad about our plans for Genoa, deferring all such discussions until the delegation’s meeting in Moscow on February 23—two weeks before Genoa. At this meeting, Chicherin, Krasin, and Rakovsky must be present—as well as Litvinov, Vorovsky, Ioffe, in short, the entire delegation.

5) To issue a preliminary directive from the Politburo stating:
(a) We will under no circumstances acknowledge any debts other than those explicitly promised by Chicherin;
(b) And we will recognize these debts only on the condition that our counterclaims fully offset them;
(c) As for guarantees, we will offer—should we receive a loan—only timber rights in the North and similar concessions;
(d) We will interpret Article 1 of the Bonomi terms in an expansive, far‑reaching manner;
(e) We will defend Germany and Turkey, and so forth;
(f) We will endeavor to isolate America and, in general, to divide the powers among themselves.

6) We assign each member of the delegation the task of elaborating, on this basis, a detailed negotiation plan by February 23.

7) I propose that we rescind the decision authorizing Chicherin to enlist Sukhanov and Iordansky—
Radek is utterly wrong.

The loquacious Sukhanov will bring nothing but harm. Iordansky as well. A veritable archive of mischief.

8) Given that we are surrounded here in Moscow by Menshevik and quasi‑Menshevik spies, we should not include this (and similar) proposals in the official minutes of the Politburo—but rather record them separately, having each member of the delegation sign the same sheet and return it to Molotov, thereby committing themselves to refrain from disclosing these matters anywhere, neither in the bour-

* See this volume, Document 205. Ed.