Politburo And The Church, Kremlin Archives

N. Petrovsky, S.G. Petrov

Cipher telegram from the secretary of the Central Bank of the Communist Party of Belarus V.G. Knorin to the Central Committee of the RCP (b) with a request for instructions on the trial of Catholic Polish priests in Belarus. May 9, 1922

No. 24-9 ¹²

Received for decryption 10 / Ѵ 1922 at 1 hour.

VERY SECRET.

ON PERFORMANCE SUBMIT TO THE SECRET ARCHIVE

From Minsk

MOSCOW Central Committee of the RCP

9 / 5-22 years, the Central Bank decided to transfer the case of Polish priests - who opposed the seizure of valuables to the court of the Revolutionary Tribunal by proceedings in Polish. The court will be appointed on the twentieth of May. Conducted a wide campaign and excited all the Polish population, have adopted by the Assembly with a predominance of women delegates believers ¹ * resolution on the need to bring to justice the priests. The process will be of tremendous importance not only [in] Belarus, but ² * and ² * will also respond abroad.

In view of this, I ask ^{3 *} to urgently report the opinion of the Central Committee of the RCP, as well as indicate to what measures the court should proceed, in view of the special position of the Catholic clergy and in view of the fact that the local Polish forces of the process, when there are many people and church arguments on the side of the enemy, we cannot carry out ... Send Bobinsky and Leshchinsky though, if Bobinsky is not there, then Barvinsky. We are awaiting your telegram ³ * on this matter . No. 15 / Sh

SECRETARY TSEBE PBC KNORIN

- L. 12. Typewritten original on the form of the cipher telegram of the Central Committee of the RCP (b). In the lower right corner there is a pencil resolution by L. D. Trotsky (reply to JV Stalin's note, see No. 2410): “10 / Ѵ. Sentenced to the highest measure - exchange for Polish communists. Trotsky. " The formula for secrecy and the transfer to the archive with a stamp.

Notes and Comments:

¹* Further acceptance was repeated by mistake .

²* Inscribed above the line.

³* The text is underlined in pencil, apparently by L. D. Trotsky.

¹²Cipher telegram No. 15 / Sh with a request for the opinion of the Central Committee of the RCP (b) on the trial of the "Polish priests", sent by the Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Belarus V.G. Knorin on May 9, 1922, was received in Moscow on May 10 at 1 am (No. 24 -nine). After the decryption at 9 hours 50 minutes in the morning, it went to JV Stalin, who urgently discussed its content with FE Dzerzhinsky and LD Trotsky (No. 2410) to make a decision. VG Knorin's answer was given on the same May 10 by a cipher telegram with the outgoing number 2524 / Ш (the text of the document is missing in the file) (see the note on the 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, so 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.

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.