Letter to Nikolai Bryukhanov, July 10, 1921

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July 10

Comrade Bryukhanov,

I have received a letter from Lobachov dated July 9, indicating a sharp deterioration in the supply situation in Petrograd and Moscow. He asks for instructions.

In my opinion, you should draw up measures to intensify the work. I propose

(1) that you should press immediately, in particularly urgent, accelerated, revolutionary fashion for collection of the tax in Moscow Gubernia (the rye has already been harvested). Moscow workers, in particular, should be mobilised for this, to assist the food supply organisations.

(2) In general, mobilise more workers for food supply, plundering the People’s Commissariats, in accordance with yesterday’s decision of the Political Bureau[1] (take a copy of it).

(3) Once more send precise orders to the Ukrainian and Siberian People’s Commissariats of Food.

(4) Delegate an emergency expedition (together with the Central Union of Consumers’ Co-operative Societies) to Podolsk Gubernia where, they say, there are masses of grain and it costs 6,000 rubles a pood in Soviet currency.

(In general, my impression is that, as regards purchases and barter, the People’s Commissariat of Food is asleep, and lagging behind disgracefully. No initiative. No bold work.)

With communist greetings,

Lenin

Please reply to me on July 11.

  1. On July 9, 1921, the Political Bureau of the CC of the RCP(b) passed a decision “On Intensifying Food Work”. It stated: “The Organising Bureau should confirm the need to take the maximum number of Communists and, in exceptional cases, other particularly valuable comrades, from their present work and transfer them to food work, even at the cost of causing a temporary closing-down of nine-tenths of departments in some institutions and even whole People’s Commissariats that are not absolutely essential.”