Letter to the Foreign Literature Committee, September 30, 1921

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The Foreign Literature Committee was an interdepartmental committee under the People’s Commissariat for Education for the purchase and distribution of foreign literature. The reply letter from O. Y. Schmidt, Chairman of the Committee, on October 10, 1921. said that the distribution of new books bought abroad was being carried out in line with Lenin’s instructions (Central Party Archives of the Institute of Marxism-Leninism of the CPSU Central Committee).

Forlitcom

Forlitcom’s report shows that it has managed to do virtually nothing as yet.

The main task that Forlitcom should set itself is to have the special libraries in Moscow, Petrograd and the major cities of the Republic concentrate in their hands one copy each of all the latest technical and scientific (chemistry, physics, electrical engineering, medicine, statistics, economics, etc.) magazines and books for 1914–1921 published abroad, and to have regular receipt of all periodicals arranged. I shall appraise the whole of Forlitcom’s work primarily from the standpoint of the actual fulfilment of this assignment.

By the way:

a) the report says that Forlitcom has decided to transfer all credits from all the departments to Forlitcom’s account. Has this decision been carried out? How much credit has been received from each department?

b) Page 3 of the report says: “The boxes with scientific and technical literature tended to contain a mass of what was absolutely not important or remarkable in any way— fiction and expensive de luxe editions, purchased no one knows whom for (for private persons) as a personal favour.” This is an incredible outrage and a crime. What has Forlitcom done to punish the guilty persons? Let me know at once the names of the guilty persons and how they have been punished.

V. Ulyanov (Lenin)

Chairman, CPC