Politburo And The Church, Kremlin Archives

N. Petrovsky, S.G. Petrov

Resolution of the Politburo of the Central Committee of the RCP (b) on policy towards the church and on the "inadmissibility of red tape" in the execution of execution sentences. From the minutes of the meeting of the Politburo No. 8, paragraph 11 of May 26, 1922

No. 23-49

STRICTLY SECRET

11. - About the church . (Comrade Trotsky's proposal) ^{^[3]} .

a) Accept Comrade Trotsky's proposal (see the materials of the

Central Committee)

b) Indicate com. Kalinin and Yenukidze to the inadmissibility of the red tape they showed in implementing the PB decision of 18.VC. g. (pr [log] 7, p. 13) ⁴⁴ and invite them to complete it during the day.

SECRETARY OF THE CC

- L. 70. 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.277, l. 17. Draft minutes of the Politburo meeting. Handwritten script on a sheet of lined paper. The item number in the left and right columns has been changed to "11" from "10". In the right-

hand column in point a) the words "materials of the Central Committee" are written at the top instead of the crossed out "appendix". At the beginning of point b), a note enclosed in an oval: " Do not attach to the protocol ." At the bottom left is a record about the mailing: “Trotsky, p. = Kalinin, Yenukidze. " L. 2: “Present: members of the Politburo Comrades. Kamenev, Trotsky, Stalin, Tomsky, Rykov. Candidates: com. Molotov, Kalinin. With an advisory] voice of comrade Tsyurup. "

Notes and Comments:

⁴⁴ Resolution of the Politburo of May 18, 1922 (minutes No. 7, item 13) see: No. 24-25. The highest state officials - the chairman of the All-Russian Central Executive Committee M. I. Kalinin and the secretary of the All-Russian Central Executive Committee A. S. Yenukidze - thus, according to the decision of the Politburo, from the chairman of the Revolutionary Military Council of the Republic L. D. Trotsky and the Politburo, for their slow order ”of the conclusion of the Politburo commission on the execution of the verdict of the Revolutionary Military Tribunal on the trial of the Moscow clergy and believers (No. 24-20). The guilty comrades now had to duplicate the secret decision of the supreme party authority, making it public and available within one day - May 26, 1922.

Nevertheless, the official press organ of the All-Russian Central Executive Committee, the Izvestia newspaper, continued to act on the given topic until June 2, 1922, when there was a mention of the five who had been shot. On May 31, 1922, the following article appeared on its pages under the heading "Judicial Department" under the heading "Confirmation of the verdict in the case of confiscation of church property": who was sentenced on May 8 by the Moscow tribunal.

The speaker was Comrade Nekhamkin. The defenders of Kommodov, Schwartz, Durasov and Ryazansky also spoke.

The content of the cassation complaints filed by the defenders in this process was at one time given in the "News [of] the All-Russian Central Executive Committee", as well as the content of the petitions of the relatives of some defendants sentenced to capital punishment to mitigate their fate.

The cassation board recognized the cassation reasons put forward by the defenders in written complaints and speeches at yesterday's trial as unfounded and ruled to uphold the judgment of the Moscow tribunal. At the same time, the cassation panel decided to send petitions for clemency to the All-Russian Central Executive Committee, filed by the relatives of the accused sentenced to capital punishment. "