On Donbass - Decree of the Central Committee of the All-Union Communist Party of Bolsheviks of January 17, 1929

Stalin- Transcripts from Soviet Archives

Archive: RGASPI. F. 17. Op. 3. D. 722. L. 4, 24-28. Script.

From the protocol No. 60 of the meeting of the Politburo of the Central Committee of the All-Union Communist Party of Bolsheviks of January 17, 1929

Present:

Members of the Politburo: vols. Bukharin, Voroshilov, Kalinin, Kuibyshev, Molotov, Rudzutak, Rykov, Stalin, Tomsky.

Candidates for members of the Politburo: vols. Kaganovich, Mikoyan.

Members of the Central Committee of the CPC (b): Artyukhina, Bauman, Bubnov, Kabakov, Clearing, Kir-kij, Kolotilov, Kosior I., Krzhizhanovsky, Krupskaya, Kubyak, Lepse, Lobov, Lyubimov, Orahelashvili, Pyatnitsky, Rukhimovich, Smirnovikov, Smirnov, AP, Smirnov, AP, Tolokontsev, Schwernik, Schmidt.

Candidates for members of the Central Committee: vols. Bryukhanov, Zhdanov, Kiselev, Krinitsky, Leonov, Lozovsky, Osinsky, Polonsky.

Members of the Presidium of the Central Control Commission: Zatonsky, Ilyin, Ordzhonikidze, Rozengolts, Yakovlev, Yaroslavsky.

Listened to:

Item 11. Draft resolution on the report of Donugl and the Miners' Central Committee. (PB dated 10.1.29, pr. No. 59, p. 1) (Rudzutak, Rukhimovich).

Resolved:

a) To approve and publish the draft letter on behalf of the Central Committee (see Appendix).

b) The draft letter of the All-Union Central Council of Trade Unions, the Supreme Council of National Economy and the Central Committee of Miners to be instructed to agree on these organizations and publish on their behalf 27 .

Addendum to Clause 11 of Ave. PB No. 60 On the Tasks of the Donbass Coal Industry

Decree of the Central Committee of the All-Union Communist Party of Bolsheviks of January 17, 1929

The April plenum of the Central Committee and the Central Control Commission, in its decision on the Shakhty case, set before the Party, trade union and economic organizations the most important tasks aimed at decisively improving their work. However, this decision has largely not been implemented by the organizations of Donbass. As a result of this, there is a weakening of economic management in the basin; the decline in the leadership role of technical personnel; an increase in Khvostist sentiments among the local trade union and party organizations and adjusting them to the mood of the backward groups of workers; the revival of special-eater sentiments among individual workers; a drop in labor discipline both among workers and among technical personnel and lower supervision; an increase in absenteeism and a weakening of work on the production education of workers who have newly arrived at the enterprises;

Meanwhile, the Donetsk coal basin is the most important part of our national economy. The industrialization of our country is closely connected with the growth of the coal industry in general and Donbass in particular. Donbass is the main supplier of mineral fuel for industry and transport and coke for metallurgy and chemical industry. Consequently, the success of the Donbass is the key to solving the main tasks of industrialization. Conversely, the gaps and shortcomings in the Donbass lead to undermining the industrialization of the country.

In order to eliminate these shortcomings, which pose a threat to our entire construction, and also in order to unconditionally put into practice the decisions of the April plenum of the Central Committee and the Central Control Commission, in connection with the "Shakhty affair", the Central Committee proposes the following measures for execution.

1. In the field of economic management.

a) Unconditionally fulfill the production program of the current year, tasks to reduce costs and raise labor productivity, rationalize production and improve the use of manpower, improve the operation of the mechanisms of coaling machines, conveyors and organize their correct use, increase the permanent staff of coal miners, creating appropriate conditions for this (payment labor, housing, etc.).

b) Accelerate the pace of construction of new mines, take more vigorous measures for the reconstruction of the largest mines of the old Donbass, seeking to increase the efficiency of their operational indicators, intensify exploration work and take measures to expand the electric power base of Donbass as soon as possible.

c) To improve the economic management of the Donbass, ensuring that the economic agencies (Donugol and the mining departments) carry out business by regular field trips, checking the activities of grassroots agencies directly in production and providing them with the necessary assistance. Strengthen the mining and mine administrations in every possible way and fully exercise the rights of the heads of enterprises provided for by the decree on trusts. To impose full responsibility on the heads of economic bodies for the fulfillment of the tasks given to them within the limits of the rights and duties granted to them.

d) Strengthen quantitatively and qualitatively the leading cadres of business executives and technical personnel at the enterprises of Donugol by developing a number of practical measures to combat the turnover of personnel and to create their stability.

e) Continue and intensify work to improve the material, living and cultural situation of the workers of Donbass through further planned wage growth, expansion of housing construction, improvement of living conditions, organization of clubs, water supply, etc. The economic authorities jointly with the NKPros should develop specific measures to expand the network of social welfare schools in the mines of Donbass, increasing the allocation of funds for this purpose.

f) Take decisive measures to eliminate absenteeism and strengthen labor discipline, both among workers and among engineering and technical personnel and junior supervisors (foremen).

g) The Supreme Council of National Economy and Donugol, with the participation of NKPros and professional organizations, develop specific measures to train qualified business executives and engineering and technical personnel for the Donbass, especially medium technicians, foremen and skilled workers in the mechanization of production.

2. In the area of work of trade unions.

a) Strengthen the work of the trade unions in every possible way for the socialist education of the working masses and widely propagate the idea that the enterprises of the Donbass are socialist enterprises, that they represent the public property, that the well-being of the workers of the Donbass, the strengthening of the political power of the working class and the fulfillment of tasks of socialist construction.

b) Strengthen, in accordance with the program of the AUCP, the role and participation of the trade unions in the management of industry; to systematically involve the broad masses of workers in the discussion and resolution of the main questions of production; widely develop criticism from below of shortcomings in production and mobilize the masses to eliminate them; to organize a decisive change in the work of production conferences and temporary control commissions so that all expedient and well-founded decisions of these mass bodies are put into practice. Systematically promote the most capable workers to economic posts. Show maximum sensitivity to working invention.

c) While not weakening their work to protect the material interests and ensure the cultural and everyday needs of the workers and fighting against bureaucratic distortions in the practice of economic bodies, the trade union organizations must at the same time resolutely rebuff the rapacious tendencies and the impracticable demands of the backward sections of the workers, relying in this work on the old cadre of workers and, with their help, re-educating groups of workers who have come to production again.

d) To mobilize the broad masses of the workers to fight for raising labor productivity, strengthening labor discipline, eliminating absenteeism, eradicating careless attitude to equipment, tools, mechanisms, while paying special attention to creating such a moral situation in the enterprise in which truants and violators of labor discipline would feel morally condemned and isolated in their comradely environment.

3. In the field of work of party organizations.

a) To oblige the Party organizations of Donbass to focus their attention on the tasks of raising the coal industry, increasing labor productivity, reducing costs, eliminating absenteeism and careless attitude to production, strengthening labor discipline, being as sensitive as possible to the daily needs of workers, deploying mass criticism of shortcomings in production, implementing party directives on work among specialists, the re-education of new backward groups of workers, the maximum discharge of business executives from secondary duties not connected with production, and the provision of assistance to economic and professional workers.

b) To intensify the educational work of Party organizations among Party members and Komsomol members, so that the Communists and Komsomol members are the instigators in raising labor productivity, eliminating absenteeism and strengthening labor discipline, and expel from their midst demagogues and tail-drivers who succumb to the rapacious tendencies of elements alien to the interests of production .

c) Take all measures to ensure that the directives of the Party are carried out exactly, systematically checking the fulfillment of these directives and their implementation by all links of economic and professional organizations.

* * *

Recognize it as necessary that the Supreme Council of National Economy, the All-Union Central Council of Trade Unions, Donugol, the Central Committee of Miners and the People's Commissariat of Labor give their local organizations appropriate practical instructions on the basis of this resolution.

Central Committee of the CPSU(b)

27 Appeal published in Pravda on January 19, 1929.