Politburo And The Church, Kremlin Archives

N. Petrovsky, S.G. Petrov

Cipher telegram from the plenipotentiary in Italy V.V. Vorovsky to the People's Commissar for Foreign Affairs G.V. Chicherin on the Pope's reaction to the trials of the clergy. March 17, 1923 No. 25-9 decoded] 18 / III-23 From Rome S. secret.

Secondary.

Moscow, CHICHERINU.

Today Gasparri called me, again asked for Tseplyak ¹⁴ . Foreign missions here pester the Vatican, inflating the Moscow court, the Vatican is very unhappy with their intervention, preferring to speak directly to us. Gasparri also asked, on behalf of the Pope, to pardon Tikhon. He made it clear that the Pope would be very flattering if this happened precisely at his request, this would induce him to work more energetically and more widely to help Postgol. I learned from Gasparri that the trial was postponed for the 24th. (five groups cannot be deciphered, requested).

17 / ІII BOROVSKY

- L. 15. Typewritten copy of that time, made for the office work of the Central Committee of the RCP (b). In the upper left corner there is a handwritten note: " Arch [iv] p [oolit] b [yuro] ".

Notes and Comments:

¹⁴ See about the trial of the Catholic Archbishop Ya. G. Tseplyak, comm. 12 to d. 25.