Written: Written between August 25 and September 1, 1922
Published:
First published in 1942 in Lenin Miscellany XXXIV.
Printed from the original.
Source:
Lenin
Collected Works,
Progress Publishers,
1976,
Moscow,
Volume 45,
pages 561c-562a.
Translated: Yuri Sdobnikov
Transcription\Markup:
R. Cymbala
Public Domain:
Lenin Internet Archive
You may freely copy, distribute,
display and perform this work; as well as make derivative and
commercial works. Please credit “Marxists Internet
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• README
Comrade Rykov:
I am sending you a cutting from Izvestia (of 25.VIII, I believe).[1] I advise that you issue instructions to have this given particular attention. Check up (through the business manager or a secretary).
If it is true, give every support.
Has Rutgers achieved anything? I doubt it.
If anything has been achieved here, we should award the Order of the Banner of Labour;— send a letter to America (on your behalf or mine);— make the State Bank work out easier loans for such enterprises; and make the People’s Commissariat for Finance or the People’s Commissariat for Agriculture urgently work out easier terms for recruiting more tractors (in the autumn; now, to manage in time).
This appears to be an efficient example; business-like assistance; while we over here have no end of red tape!
Instruct secretary or business manager to write me a reply.[2]
Yours,
Lenin
N.B. Carry out Getier’s orders strictly!
[1] On August 25, 1922, Izvestia VTsIK carried an article entitled “Real Aid from ‘Friends of Soviet Russia’”, describing the work of the tractor team organised by members of the American Society of Friends of Soviet Russia, at the Toikino State Farm, Okhan Uyezd, Perm Gubernia (see Collected Works, Fifth (Russian) Edition, Vol. 54, Document 470). It was led by the American Communist Harold Ware. On a newspaper cutting, Lenin underlined the caption and wrote “NB” in the left margin.
[2] V. A. Smolyaninov informed Lenin that he had sent a telegram to the Chairman of the Perm Gubernia Executive Committee asking him to acquaint himself with the work of the American tractor team, give his opinion about it, and help the team. Smolyaninov wrote that the talks on modifying the agreement with the Rutgers group were to be held when Rutgers returned from Kuzbas.
Having received the material from Perm, Lenin sent letters to the Society of Friend? of Soviet Russia (in the United Stales), the Society for Technical Aid to Soviet Russia, to the Chairman of the Perm Gubernia Executive Committee, and to the Presidium of the All-Russia C.E.C. (see this volume, Documents 776 and 778, and also present edition, Vol. 33, pp. 380, 381).
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