Source: Tom 17

June 27, 1927

Dear Vyacheslav and Nikolai!

1. Received your latest letters (June 24) and the Politburo decision on the ARC [Anglo-Russian Trade Union Unity Committee]. Give "them" a good thrashing (I mean the General Council) — not loudly, but thoroughly. They may break off in order to "prove" their "independence" from Moscow and earn Chamberlain's praise. But they will lose more from a break now than during the coal strike, since the real threat of war that has emerged affects all workers and affects them more deeply. They will try to recoup on the executions, but that will not last long, especially if you make sure to issue a well-reasoned declaration on this matter. You should throw it straight in "their" faces that they are helping their masters to start and wage a war...

2. I have already written about Feng in a coded message. By all appearances, the report about Feng corresponds to reality. I fear that Wuhan will lose its nerve and submit to Nanjing. There is no point arguing with Wuhan over Borodin (if Wuhan wants to remove him). But we must insist with all our might on Wuhan not submitting to Nanjing, as long as there is a possibility of insisting. For to lose Wuhan as a separate center means to lose, at any rate, a certain center of the revolutionary movement, to lose the possibility of free assemblies and rallies for workers, to lose the possibility of the open existence of the Communist Party, to lose the possibility of an open revolutionary press — in short, to lose the possibility of openly organizing the proletariat and the revolution. I assure you that it is worth giving Wuhan an extra three to five million for this alone, provided there is an assurance that Wuhan will not surrender to Nanjing and that the money will not be wasted.

3) I received the other day a telegram from Wang Jingwei and gave my rather lengthy reply. Read it and briefly let me know your opinion.

4) As for Lozovsky, I have no objection.

5) As for the advisability of "formalizing" relations with Chiang Kai-shek, I have doubts. The analogy with Zhang Zuolin does not apply. We recognized Zhang Zuolin three years ago. If the question had come up now, we would not have recognized him officially. To recognize Chiang Kai-shek now (at this moment) means dealing a blow to Wuhan (Wuhan still exists) and provoking Zhang Zuolin (remember the CER). It is better to wait regarding Chiang Kai-shek and maintain the status quo.

6) It is not surprising that R. has lurched to the left. It means he has momentarily lost the ability to "scheme," "maneuver," and so on. And Mikoyan is a duckling in politics — a capable duckling, but still a duckling. He will grow up and improve.

Well, I shake your hands.

June 27, 1927.

J. Stalin.

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Source: Letters of J.V. Stalin to V.M. Molotov. 1925–1936. P. 103–105.

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