Letter to G.K. Ordzhonikidze, September 24, 1930

Source: Tom 17

Read as soon as possible the depositions of Kakurin and Troitsky (instructors at the Military Academy -- Ed.) and think about measures to liquidate this unsightly affair. This material, as you can see, is top secret: Molotov knows about it, I know, and now you will know too. I do not know whether Klim is aware of it. So it turns out that Tukhachevsky fell captive to anti-Soviet elements and was thoroughly worked over by anti-Soviet elements from the ranks of the Rightists as well. That is how it appears from the materials. Is this possible? Of course it is possible, since it cannot be ruled out. Evidently, the Rightists are prepared to go as far as military dictatorship, if only to rid themselves of the CC, of collective farms and state farms, of the Bolshevik pace of industrial development. As you can see, the depositions of Orlov and Smirnov (about the arrest of the Politburo) and the depositions of Kakurin and Troitsky (about the plans and "conceptions" of Trotsky) have as their source one and the same breeding ground -- the camp of the Rightists. These gentlemen evidently wanted to put military men at the service of the Kondratyevs-Gromans-Sukhanovs. The Kondratyev-Sukhanov-Bukharin party -- that is the balance sheet. What a business...

We cannot settle this matter in the usual way (immediate arrest, etc.). It must be thoroughly thought through. It would be better to postpone the decision on the question raised in Menzhinsky's memorandum until mid-October, when we will all be assembled.

Discuss this with Molotov when you are in Moscow.

Source: Voyenno-istoricheskiy arkhiv. 1997. Issue 1. Pp. 247-248.

NOTE

The occasion for this letter was Menzhinsky's dispatch to Stalin of the depositions of arrested commanders, accompanied by the following commentary: "...Arresting the participants of the grouping one by one is risky. There are two possible courses of action: either to immediately arrest the most active participants of the grouping, or to wait for your arrival, taking agent measures in the meantime so as not to be caught off guard. I consider it necessary to note that at present all insurgent groupings are maturing very quickly, and the latter course entails a certain risk."

See also: Letter to V.M. Molotov, October 23, 1930.