Bolshevik Leaders correspondence

Bolshevik leadership Correspondence. 1912-1927
Collection of documents 1996.
Compiled by: A.V.Kvashonkin, L.P.Kosheleva, L.A.Rogovaya, O.V.Khlevnyuk.

G. L. Pyatakov - V. I. Lenin

April 8, 1921

Dear Vladimir Ilyich! one

I received your note via courier at Bakhmut 2 .

Prime - You are in vain scolding me for "boasting and for belonging to a bad Russian sect who are going to throw hats" on a dangerous and powerful enemy. I have a great many “sins” behind me, why pile on me more of which I have never been guilty - I never boast or brag and I am not afraid to see and tell the “bosses” what I see in reality, no matter how unpleasant and threatening this reality does not look.

Sekundo - My negative attitude towards such, excuse me, naive-simple formula as “we will give 1/4 of Donbass to one concessionaire, 1/4 of Donbass to another, and your task is to catch up with these two on your two quarters” does not stem from consciousness at all his strength, but from a clear understanding of his weakness. As if boasting has nothing to do with it!! I argue that the two American concessionaires in the Donbass will now crush us and crush us because they are economically stronger. To plant the strongest American capitalists with us and tell me - catch up with us, means to treat the matter in a bookish way and not see the real, extremely difficult reality. After all, the situation will be like this: the Americans, having caught on in the Donbass, will have two main motives to develop their concessions: [in] 1st - Profit 3and [in] 2nd - strangulation of the Bolsheviks. It is clear that, using all the economic power of American capital, they will put their enterprises in better conditions than ours: 1) they will provide the best technical equipment, 2) they will build the best workers' dwellings, 3) they will give the workers the best uniforms. Prove it won't! Ergo? 4The ergo workers in our mines will 1) get a visual proof of the benefits of capitalism, 2) will be disorganized to smithereens by the best worker supplies in the American mines. If the Americans give "their" workers a pair of boots, a work suit, give them tobacco, and even American ham, and this they, for political reasons, can and must do, if, moreover, they will pay in specie, and not " Pyatakov papers, then we will witness: 1) a series of disturbances in our mines and 2) the flight of workers from us to the Americans. And you write - "Your task is to catch up ... on" your "two quarters." Catch up! You, Vladimir Ilyich, are accustomed to looking at everything on a too large scale, solving all the big questions of strategy on the “hundred-million mark”, while we have to solve small tactical questions on the “three-markt” or, in extreme cases,

3rd. You challenge me - "raise at least 10% monthly - let's bow to the legs." I report: in January we mined 23 m[million] pood[s], in February - 29 m[million] po[d] [coal], i.e. + 21%, in March - 33 m[illion] p[ beats], i.e. + 4 m[million] n[beats] = + 14%. This is subject to a very difficult food situation, which at times turned into a permanent catastrophe. In April, of course, there will be a jump down, as field work, holidays, etc. interfere. In any case, if the food situation is good all the time, then an increase of 10% per month is possible (with inevitable jumps down), although I foresee that for many reasons we will not be able to sustain such an increase in speed.

4th. The most important. I gave you my opinion. I know that despite this, concessions will be given. I want to propose to you a combination which, to a certain extent, will perhaps mitigate the grave consequences of the concessions and give us the maximum benefit.

Basic provisions.

1. Concessions are given not in the most developed areas, but in the undeveloped ones. For example: 1) Grishinsky district, 2) Ekaterininsky bush of Al-Grushevsky district (anthracite), 3) Svintsevsky bush of Dolzhano-Koshtvensky district, Boguraevsky bush of Dolzhano-Koshtvensky district, 5) Nesvetevsky and Skalkovsky bushes of Bakhmutsky district, etc. Specifically, give us an official task from the Central Control Commission of Donbass to establish these sites.

2. Supply of concession mines and workers of these mines cannot be privileged. Specifically, I propose: to oblige the concessionaires to deliver everything they deliver to their enterprises to us, in quantities proportional to the number of employed workers. This means:

concessionaires have 50 thousand workers

we have 100 "".

The concessionaires want to install 100 cutters, they deliver 300 cutters to our address, of which they receive 100 and we get 200. For these supplies, they are paid, for example, with the Arkhangelsk or Ural forest. If they want to deliver 50 thousand [thousand] pairs of American shoes to their workers, then they deliver 150 thousand [thousand] pairs to our address, of which 50 thousand [thousand] p[ar] they receive, and 100 thousand [thousand] p[ar] ar] - we.

3. The entire supply of concession enterprises is carried out through our supply apparatus, and I can agree to their control, i.e., to the fact that under our supply chief there will be a “capitalist commissar” (let’s call him at least an “inspector”, an american?; hye) .

4. The current supply - with fastening timber, etc. - is not done to our detriment, otherwise Glavles or Glavtop, not wanting to lose face, will send all the fastening material to the Americans, and we will run aground.

5. Specifically, all this must be agreed in detail in Bakhmut, for which purpose a commission should be sent here with representatives from Vanderlip or other American people 5 to work out the details of the agreement.

Noch ein mal 6 - I am extremely worried about this whole story, and I beg you to answer again and, first of all, tell me how you feel about the combination I proposed.

Think about whether it would be better to give concessions in another, not so important place, because you yourself write that "Donbass is archaic, and this is our stronghold." Will we not destroy our stronghold with this?! Tse did the need to chew!

You know, I grew up in a large capitalist family 7 and not only from books, but also with my own eyes I saw how the capitalists kill their competitors. I am afraid that I will also have to study in my own skin the practice of competitive struggle with the most developed capitalist association. It is only a pity that as a result of this competitive struggle I will not have to write a theory of this struggle, although I hope that, with your permission, my friend Nikolai Ivanovich [Bukharin] will receive the necessary materials from me and write Ein Beitrag zur Theorie des Konkurrenzkampfes zwieschen einer Finan- zkapitalistischen und Nebergangsproletarischen Kouben Untemehmugen 8. The book will be instructive and Lenin, bis, someday studying the course of the proletarian revolution, will say: well, they missed - the Parisians did not take the Bank, the Russians gave up the Donbass, and we will not repeat these mistakes 9 .

Hello G. Pyatakov

RTSKHIDNI. F. 5. On. 1. D. 1296. L. 3-5. Autograph.

Notes:

1 The letter was sent to Moscow from Bakhmut (Donbass). On the letterhead: “RSFSR VSNKh Main Coal Committee. Central Board of the Coal Industry of the Donetsk Basin.

2One of the components of the NEP was the leasing of a number of enterprises for concession to representatives of foreign capital. On March 28, 1921, Lenin exchanged telegrams with Rykov on the composition of the concession commission and on the timing of the development of the final text of the draft concession agreements (V. I. Lenin. Biographical Chronicle. Vol. 10. P. 252). On the same day, he received Pyatakov's letter dated March 22, 1921, which, in particular, said: “[...] I heard that you are going to grant a concession in the Donbass. This is absolutely not possible. I don’t know to what extent this is feasible, but I know for sure that this will disrupt the entire work of Donbass. I ask you, if this issue is really of real importance, to request the Central Control Commission of Donbass and not to resolve such an important issue without us, who are directly involved in the extraction of coal in the Donbass. Especially, that with great difficulty, very slowly, but, undoubtedly, the Donetsk Basin is getting out of the quagmire. The concession will not help this, but will harm [...]” (RTSKHIDNI. F. 2. On. 1. D. 17854. L. 1-2). On March 30, 1921, Lenin wrote a reply letter to Pyatakov, on the envelope of which he made the inscription: “To Kharkov and at the location, comrade. Pyatakov [...] (from Lenin). Send it through a particularly reliable person and return the receipt on the envelope to me ”(V. I. Lenin. Biographical Chronicle. Vol. 10. P. 261. The text of the letter itself was not found). Obviously, Pyatakov answered this letter from Lenin. Pyatakov [...] (from Lenin). Send it through a particularly reliable person and return the receipt on the envelope to me ”(V. I. Lenin. Biographical Chronicle. Vol. 10. P. 261. The text of the letter itself was not found). Obviously, Pyatakov answered this letter from Lenin. Pyatakov [...] (from Lenin). Send it through a particularly reliable person and return the receipt on the envelope to me ”(V. I. Lenin. Biographical Chronicle. Vol. 10. P. 261. The text of the letter itself was not found). Obviously, Pyatakov answered this letter from Lenin.

3 Profit, benefit.

4 So.

5 With other Americans.

6 Once again.

7 Pyatakov was born and raised in the family of the director of the Maryinsky sugar factory (Kiev province, Cherkasy district), process engineer L. T. Pyatakov.

8 Report on the theory of competition between financial-capitalist and proletarian coal business.

On April 14, 1921, Lenin, in a letter to Pyatakov marked “secret and by no means for publication,” wrote in particular: “[...] You will see how we are pursuing a concession policy. As for the Donbass, we are waiting for the results of your work [...] Of course, if they give you ... No, take the trouble to get everything yourself: both salt and bread for salt and so on. Initiative, initiative, local turnover, not begging: if they gave me ... Shame! Salut! Lenin ”(Lenin V.I. PSS. T. 52. P. 145).