Comments on Khrushchev’s Report at the Plenary Session of the CPSU Central Committee
(December 18, 1958)

Lin Ke [1]:
How many kilograms is one pood equal to? [2] Please check and inform me immediately.

Mao Zedong
December 18, 1:00 a.m.

This document [3] should first be shown to Comrade Chen Boda [4] for his review. If he is not leaving today, we can discuss it in the afternoon.

[1] Lin Ke, then serving as Mao Zedong’s office secretary.
[2] Pood, a unit of weight used in the Soviet Union, with one pood equal to 16.38 kilograms.
[3] Refers to the TASS report published in Guangming Daily on December 17, 1958, covering the speech by Khrushchev, First Secretary of the CPSU Central Committee, at the Plenary Session of the CPSU Central Committee. It stated that the task of increasing grain production remains the primary task. To fully meet the country’s consumption needs, 10 to 11 billion poods of grain are required annually. The decisive source of grain harvest lies in raising the per-unit yield of cereals.
[4] Chen Boda, then serving as Director of the Political Research Office of the CPC Central Committee and Editor-in-Chief of Red Flag magazine.

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