Politburo And The Church, Kremlin Archives

N. Petrovsky, S.G. Petrov

On confiscation of church valuables

A note by L. D. Trotsky to the members of the Politburo of the Central Committee of the RCP (b) on the creation of a secret commission for the removal of valuables from Moscow churches. March 11, 1922

A source: Kremlin archives. In 2 books. / Book. 1. Politburo and Church. 1922-1925 - M. - Novosibirsk, "Russian Political

Encyclopedia" (ROSSPEN), "Siberian Chronograph", 1997, pp. 119121

Archive: APRF, f. 3, an. 60, d.23

No. 23-4

FOR MEMBERS OF THE POLITBURO

t. to Lenin, Molotov, Kamenev, Stalin.

The work on the removal of valuables from Moscow churches has become extremely confused, in view of the fact that, along with the previously created commissions, the Presidium of the All-Russian Central Executive Committee created its own commissions - from representatives of PomGol, the chairmen of the Governmental Executive Committees and the Governmental Financial

Departments. Yesterday at my commission meeting 5as part of com.

Trotsky, Bazilevich, Galkin, Lebedev, Unshlikht, SamoilovaZemlyachki, Krasikov, Krasnoshchekov and Sapronov, we unanimously came to the conclusion that a secret shock commission should be formed in Moscow, consisting of: chairman - comrade Sapronov, members: comrade Unshlikht (deputy - Medved ), Samoilova-Zemlyachka and Galkin. This commission must secretly prepare simultaneously the political, organizational and technical aspects of the matter. The actual withdrawal should start in March and then end as soon as possible. It is only necessary that both the Presidium of the All-Russian Central Executive Committee and the Presidium of the Moscow Soviet and the Central Committee of Pomgol recognize this commission as the only one in this matter and help it in every way. I repeat - this commission is top secret, the formal withdrawal in Moscow will come directly from the Central Committee of PomGol, where the so-called

I ask that this resolution be approved as soon as possible, as binding on all, in order to avoid any further confusion. L. TROTSKY.

- L. 2. Certified typewritten copy made simultaneously with L. 1 (No. 23-6). Dated from a copy of the APRF draft protocol.

- APRF, f. 3, op. 1, d.263, l. 61. Draft minutes of the Politburo meeting. Typewritten original, signature - facsimile. To the left of the signature is the typewritten date: "March 11, 1922". The name of Molotov is underlined in blue pencil in the mailing list. At the top right is a typewritten stamp: “p. secret. " At the bottom of the droppings in pencil, crossed out in red ink, autograph: “For Molotov, interrogate Comrades. Stalin and Kamenev. V. Molotov. 11 / III ". Red ink on the left margin across the text, autograph: “Consider accepted. Secretary of the Central Committee V. Molotov. II / III ". At the top left, a handwritten note about the document's belonging to the office work of the Politburo meeting, minutes No. 111, item 39 of March 13, 1922 (No. 23-6).

- RCKHIDNI, f. 5, op. 2, d.48, l. 9. A typewritten copy of that time made in the Bureau of the Secretariat of the Central Committee of the RCP (b) and certified by the Deputy Secretary of the Politburo MN Burakova - for VI Lenin. A handwritten note on the ownership of the document in the office work of the Politburo meeting, minutes No. 111, item 39 of March 13, 1922 (No. 23-6). To the left of the signature is the date. Stamp "Comrade Lenin's Archive" with handwritten date "25.IV.22." and the incoming number. The word "secret" in the text is inscribed above the line by M. N. Burakova.

- Published: The Trotsky Papers, 1917-1922. Vol. 2 (1920-1922). Paris, 1971. P. 688.

Notes and Comments:

fiveThis refers to one of the commissions created under the leadership of L. D. Trotsky for the seizure and "concentration" of the values of "Romanov", "church" and any other origin (minutes No. 7 of the meeting of this commission dated March 10, 1922, see: No. II27). LD Trotsky, who had been actively involved in this work for a long time, was appointed in 1921 "the special representative of the Council of People's Commissars for the registration and concentration of values", his deputy was his longtime employee in the Strategic Military Council GD Bazilevich, on November 12, 1921, by the resolution of the Council of People's Commissars, a special " Commission for the Concentration and Accounting of Values

"chaired by Trotsky (RCKHIDNI, f. 5, op. 1, d. 341, l. 12). On January 30, 1922, Trotsky wrote to Lenin about Bazilevich's report on the progress of work "on concentration." Trotsky emphasized that we are talking about the confiscation of valuables “from the local and central institutions of the Cheka, financial departments, museums, palaces, mansions and abolished, that is, converted into simple storehouses of monasteries. In other words, the report does not cover active churches and, in general, all active religious institutions and institutions. The removal of values from these institutions is a special task that is now being prepared politically from different sides. How much this operation can give no one even supposedly can say "(The Trotsky papers, 1917-1922. Vol. 2 (1920-1922). Paris, 1971. P. 670-672). On May 26, 1922, the Politburo adopted, at Trotsky's proposal, a resolution on the liquidation of the

Commission for the Concentration and Accounting of Values (Minutes No. 8, p. 1 - APRF, f. 3, op. 35, d. 93, l. 54). At this time, there already existed a special commission composed of Trotsky, created by the decree of the Plenum of the Central Committee of the RCP (b) of May 16, 1922 to "maximize the realization of values"