Letter to V.M. Molotov (late August - early September 1930)

Source: Tom 17

Vyacheslav!

I received your latest letter.

1) I am absolutely in favor of shifting collective agreements from January to October. This cannot be delayed. But a CC plenum is not at all required for this.

2) I am against moving the CC plenum to early October. To move the plenum to early October, one would need to have the control figures ready by mid-September at the latest. It is obvious that the control figures will not be ready by that date. Moreover, it is not a matter of the plenum or of new plenum resolutions, of which we already have a devil of a lot. Even less is it a matter of new "appeals" and "proclamations": every issue of Pravda is an "appeal," a "proclamation." What matters now is live and daily oversight, verification of execution. Until we establish verification of execution, our economic and trade-union organs, and consequently the fulfillment of plans, will be limping. I think that the most that can be done in terms of expediting the plenum is to move it to late October, and even then only if the control figures are fully ready at the soviet organs by early October.

3) You take too light a view of the charter on settlement cooperatives and the corresponding agitation in the press. Bear in mind that this ill-fated charter was presented as a new word, with the pretension of counterposing itself to the "old" word, i.e., the charter of the agricultural artel. Moreover, the crux of the settlement (new) charter is the aspiration to give the individual farmer the opportunity "to improve his (individual) farm." What kind of nonsense is this? We have a rising wave of the collective farm movement, and the wise men from the People's Commissariat of Agriculture and the agricultural cooperatives want to bypass the question of collective farms and busy themselves with "improving the individual peasant farm"! It seems to me that the Rightists have scored a certain revenge here by planting the charter on settlement cooperatives, while people at the CC, being overburdened with work, did not notice the trick.

4) Concerning the agenda of the plenum, I have already communicated my opinion to you by cipher telegram. I think that matters will only improve if CC plenums move away from general resolutions on general questions and begin hearing accountability reports (accountability reports!) from the most lagging economic commissariats. Now the supply of workers is one of the most pressing questions. Therefore, the plenum cannot bypass this question. Consumer cooperatives must be overhauled and bureaucratism must be driven out of them. Meat supply must be inspected and the corresponding economic organizations must be treated. Hence my proposal on the agenda.

5) It would be better to appoint Khinchuk to Berlin. He is an economic manager, and he will be more useful there than Surits, who is not experienced in economic questions. Turkey is an important post for us. Surits has proven entirely suitable there. I think it would be a mistake to remove him from there. There will be people for grain exports (Fridrikhson, Zalmanov -- the current deputies in grain exports). Grain exports will go well as long as there is grain.

6) As a candidate to head civil aviation, I propose Kaganovich from the Workers' and Peasants' Inspection.

7) How is the matter of Rozengolts's appointment going?

That is all for now. Warm regards.

I. Stalin.

P.S. I am getting better little by little.

Source: Letters of I.V. Stalin to V.M. Molotov. 1925-1936. Pp. 206-208.

RGASPI. F. 558. Op. 1. D. 5388.