Letter to V.M. Molotov, October 10, 1930

Source: Tom 17

Vyacheslav!

I received your letter of 6/X.

1) Your work with the Donbass turned out well. It was a piece of Leninist verification of execution. If congratulations are in order, allow me to congratulate you on the success.

2) The draft for strengthening the planning organs is good. I am returning it with some of my amendments. It is only essential that the planning organs be "supplied" with students not in bulk, not indiscriminately, but through careful individual selection and without cinematographic haste.

3) I am sending you Ganshin's letter with certain materials. If it is true that the Politburo is subjecting him to legal proceedings, then I think that in that case Ganshin will have to be removed from responsible economic work and generally lost to us for some time. Could the Politburo's decision not be softened by dropping this "legal proceedings" against Ganshin? I personally stand for this. It would be much better to remove Lomov from "Soyuzneft" (who does not know and will not know the petroleum business) and put Ganshin in his place. That would be much better. We will discuss this in more detail when I arrive in Moscow.

Well, that is all for now. Warm regards.

I. Stalin.

Source: Letters of I.V. Stalin to V.M. Molotov. 1925-1936. Pp. 229-230.

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

NOTE

On October 15, 1930, the Politburo adopted a resolution "On Improving State Planning," in which it was recognized as necessary:

"a) The immediate strengthening with qualified party and non-party personnel of the Gosplan of the USSR and the planning organs of the commissariats of the USSR -- the Supreme Council of the National Economy, the People's Commissariat of Transport, the People's Commissariat of Agriculture, the People's Commissariat of Trade, cooperative organizations, etc., with a view to transferring a significant group of fourth-year students from economic higher-education institutions for this work (while providing the students assigned to commissariats the opportunity to continue their theoretical work at the corresponding institutions).

b) The creation of a planning academy in Moscow, at which, alongside a permanent cadre of students, especially from among qualified party economic managers, a number of core courses should be taken (the establishment of accounting, technical rationalization, economic geography, the theory of planning, the Five-Year Plan and its fulfillment) by comrades working in the economic commissariats..."