Politburo And The Church, Kremlin Archives

N. Petrovsky, S.G. Petrov

On confiscation of church valuables

Resolution of the Politburo of the Central Committee of the RCP (b) on organizing the confiscation of church valuables. From the minutes of the meeting of the Politburo No. 113, paragraph 12 of March 16, 1922

No. 23-10

STRICTLY SECRET

12. - On the removal of valuables from the church.

a) After interviewing comrades who were involved in the removal of valuables from churches, the Politburo came to the conclusion that the task of organizing the removal of church valuables has not yet been prepared and requires a postponement, at least in some places. Politburo instructs so. Sapronov seek the opinion of t. Trotsky about the organization committee, its composition and future work ¹³ . After negotiations with Comrade Trotsky, create a central commission chaired by Comrade Kalinin through the POMGOL Central Committee.

SECRETARY OF THE CC

- L. 11. Typewritten copy of a later extract on the letterhead of the Central Committee of the CPSU (b) - RCP (b) of the 1930s.

- APRF, f. 3, op. 1, d.265, l. 11-rev. Draft minutes of the Politburo meeting. Handwritten script on a sheet of unlined paper. In the left column “Listened” after the name of the item there are speakers: “(Sapronov, Krasikov, Lebedev, Vinokurov)”. Below is an entry about the mailing: "Sapronov, Vinokurov, Krasikov, Lebedev, Tsyurup." L. 1: “Present: members of the Politburo

Comrades. Kamenev, Zinoviev, Molotov, Stalin. Central Committee members: comrades. Radek, Rakovsky ".

- RCKHIDNI, f. 5, op. 2, d.48, l. 15. Typescript koish? extracts of that time, made in the Bureau of the Secretariat of the Central Committee of the RCP (b) and certified by the assistant secretary of the Politburo M. Sherlina - for V. I. Lenin. Above is the stamp "Comrade Lenin's Archive" with the handwritten date "25.IV.22" and the incoming number. After the title of item 12, the speakers are indicated.

Notes and Comments:

¹³ Pursuant to the resolution adopted on March 16 by the Politburo of the Central Committee of the RCP (b) (Minutes No. 113, clause 12a) T.V. Sapronov made the following request on March 16-17:

“Top secret.

Comrade Trotsky.

Petrograd Benjamin threatens to urge the faithful to resist the withdrawal of the commission's attempts to start recording the values of the Kazan Trinity Cathedrals met with organized resistance. It will be possible to withdraw only by armed force. There are excesses elsewhere.

There is no one to lead the Russian moshtab. The Politburo considers it necessary to create an all-Russian commission. They ask for your opinion on the composition of the ¹ * Central Committee. Pomgola offers the composition of Vinokurov, Krasikov, Yakovlev from the Central Committee, Unshlikht, one of your commission. Option two a) the commission is officially chaired by Kalinin, or c) the commission is not official and is officially acting by the Pomgol Central Committee. I urgently ask for an answer. The Politburo will postpone the construction of the withdrawal. T. Sapronov.

Moscow is preparing intensively, the priests are moving a little. T. S [apronov] ".

(GARF, f. 1235, op. 140, d. 60, l. 794-793). This document was sent to the secretariat of the chairman of the Revolutionary Military Council for transmission by cipher telegram to L.D.Trotsky, who was outside Moscow. At the same time, apparently, V. Litsis removed a handwritten copy from this document, written by T.V. Sapronov

(ibid., Fol. 527).

It is noteworthy that T. V. Sapronov crossed out in his request to the Central Committee the phrase “comrade. Vinokurov suggests. " Indeed, at the second meeting of the CICC of the Moscow province on March 14, following Sapronov's report on the competence of this commission, it was Vinokurov who was instructed to “clarify the issue of creating an All-Russian CICC in the Central Committee and the All-Russian Central Executive Committee (No. 23-7). It is quite possible that the first version of the composition of the Central CICC, given in Sapronov's letter to Trotsky, was determined by Vinokurov on behalf of the Pomgol Central Committee.

Trotsky responded to Sapronov's letter already on March 17, presenting to the Politburo his detailed proposals on the functions and composition of the Central CICC, on the provincial commissions and on the entire campaign to withdraw (No. 2314). The Politburo adopted, with some amendments and clarifications, these proposals of Trotsky - first by polling on March 18 and then at a meeting on March 20 (No. 23-18), at which Lenin's famous letter of March 19 (No. 23-16) was also discussed.

¹ * Further crossed out by com. Vinokurov suggests.