Politburo And The Church, Kremlin Archives

N. Petrovsky, S.G. Petrov

I. V. Stalin's note to L. D. Trotsky about the telegram of the secretary of the Central Bank of the Communist Party of Belarus V. G. Knorin regarding the trial of Catholic Polish priests in

Belarus. May 10, 1922

No. 24-10 ^{^[3]}

URGENTLY

T. Trotsky!

What directive should be given, in your opinion, in response to the attached tel [egra] mmu? T. Dzerzhinsky mainly for attraction, specifying, however, that capital punishment is dangerous .

I. Stalin

- L. 11. Handwritten original on the letterhead of the secretary of the Central Committee of the RCP (b) I. V. Stalin, autograph. In the upper left corner by the hand of JV Stalin's litter: “To the Archive Pol [it] B [yuro]. Stalin ". The date, month, and the last digit of the year of the date are written in the form by hand. The formula of urgency by the hand of I. V. Stalin.

- L. 10. Typewritten copy of the later period. Below is a handwritten note: "Comrade Knorin's answer to No. 15 / Ш was given on May 10,

1922 by cipher telegram No. 2524 / Ш". Instead of “directive” , “directive” is printed .

Notes and Comments:

copy of l. 10 No. 24-10). Another cipher telegram No. 16 / Sh (the text of the document is also missing from the file) comes from Minsk to the Central Committee of the RCP (b). On May 15, 1922, the Central Committee of the RCP (b) received a note from the Polish Bureau of the Central Committee of the RCP (b) signed by Secretary S. Geltman with a number of proposals for the Central Bank of the Communist Party of Belarus (No. 24-21), which are communicated by cipher telegram with outgoing number 2684 / Ш to VG Knorin "or his deputy" (No. 24-23). It is known that cipher telegram No. 2686 / Ш (see the note on the document in the note to No. 24-22) was dated May 16 and sent in response to cipher telegram No. 17 / Ш from Minsk dated May 15, which was received in Moscow on May 16 at 8 hours of the morning (No. 24-22). Judging by the content of this document, it was a response to the cipher telegram of the Central Committee of the RCP (b) with the outgoing number 2684 / Ш, therefore it can be assumed that the date of sending from

Moscow and receiving in Minsk cipher telegram № 2684 / Ш (№ 2423) is May 15 1922 g. which was received in Moscow on May 16 at 8 am (No. 24-22). Judging by the content of this document, it was a response to the cipher telegram of the Central Committee of the RCP (b) with the outgoing number 2684 / Ш, therefore it can be assumed that the date of sending from Moscow and receiving in Minsk cipher telegram № 2684 / Ш (№ 24-23) is May 15 1922 g. which was received in Moscow on May 16 at 8 am (No. 24-22). Judging by the content of this document, it was a response to the cipher telegram of the Central Committee of the RCP (b) with the outgoing number 2684 / Ш, therefore it can be assumed that the date of sending from Moscow and receiving in Minsk cipher telegram № 2684 / Ш (№ 2423) is May 15 1922 g.

Signed cipher telegram No. 17 / Sh (No. 24-22) from Minsk "deputy" V. G. Knorin, Secretary of the Central Bank of the Communist Party of Belarus V. A. Bogutsky, as required by the addressee of the cipher telegram from the Kremlin No. 2684 / Sh (No. 24-23) ... Having received the Belarusian decrypted telegram No. 17 / Ш (No. 24-22) after 10 am on May 16, JV Stalin, based on the information provided in it, writes a note to S. Geltman, Secretary of the Polish Bureau of the Central Committee of the RCP (6). At the same time, apparently, cipher telegram No. 2686 / Sh is leaving Moscow with a request to repeat cipher telegram No. 17 / Sh due to the distortion of the name of the one whose presence would be desirable at the trial in Minsk, as well as a member of the Polish Bureau of the Central Committee of the RCP (b) Leshchinsky (the text of the document is missing in the case) (see the note on the document in the note to No. 2422). Having found out by phone at 11 hours 40 minutes (or 12 hours 40 minutes, According to the original version of the note about the time) the contents of the note of I. V. Stalin, S. Geltman said that in two days the representatives proposed by the General Secretary of the Central Committee of the RCP (b) would leave for Minsk (No. 24-24). It is possible that JV Stalin decided that if SS Pestkovsky went with Yu. M. Leshchinsky to Minsk in two days, then it would not be necessary to demand an undeciphered surname from Minsk. But the order given at 13 o'clock “not to transmit the note by direct wire to Minsk, comrade. Knorin ”was not executed, because at 14:45 V. G. Knorin's deputy (V. A. Bogutskiy?) Personally accepted the note and gave an answer (see notes to No. 24-22, 24-24). If we assume that I.V. Stalin's note, transmitted over a direct wire before 13:00, duplicated the cipher telegram No. 2686 / Ш sent earlier to Minsk for a faster decision-making in Moscow, then the answer, received via a direct wire, was later also duplicated by cipher telegram No. 18 / Ш signed by V. A. Bogutsky, indicating the name of the person desirable to come to the trial. By the way, it appears that this surname was again incorrectly decoded (see note 22 to d. 24). Unfortunately, neither the materials of the thematic cases, nor the materials of the draft minutes of the Politburo of the Central Committee of the RCP (b), it is impossible to more definitely find out what documents were meant in the report of the responsible officer on duty at the Secretariat of the Central Committee of the RCP (b) Dolgov I.V. Stalin on May 16 1922 g.

It is impossible to exclude other variants of the sequence of the exchange of documents between Moscow and Minsk in connection with the trial of Polish Catholic priests.