Letter to G.K. Ordzhonikidze, July 17, 1918

Source: Tom 17

I received your letter, Sergo, as well as greetings from Kalnin. I have little time, so I proceed directly to business.

1. The first question. The severing of railway communications and the complete isolation -- on the one hand, of Russia from the sole grain-producing region, which makes famine inevitable (bear in mind that the routes to Kizlyar, as well as to Petrovsk, have also been severed); and on the other hand, of the Rostov front from its supply centers, which will inevitably lead to the disintegration of that front. Without the immediate restoration of the line, hunger riots in the north and the loss of the North Caucasus become inevitable. We do not have sufficient forces here for the immediate restoration of the line. I believe that you are more likely to find available forces for a strike from the south (the line has been cut all the way to Zimovniki). In any case, a simultaneous strike from the south and from the north is absolutely necessary. Hurry, before it is too late.

2. You have a high-powered radio station; you could regularly keep Tsaritsyn informed, where there is a receiving radio station. Why do you not make use of this channel? The air route is undoubtedly convenient, but pilots are temperamental and unreliable, and moreover one cannot always trust them.

3. About the Left SR adventures in Moscow and the Muravyov affair near Samara you are probably already informed. In Moscow the Left SRs, wishing to drag Russia into war, assassinated Mirbach. The assassins have been shot. In connection with this, the Germans demand the introduction of one battalion into Moscow to guard the embassy. The Council of People's Commissars and the Central Executive Committee have resolutely rejected the German demand, declaring that Russia is prepared to back its refusal with all means, up to and including war. Lenin believes the Germans will yield. Nevertheless, all members of the Council of People's Commissars recommend to Kalnin the utmost vigilance and full combat readiness just in case. Muravyov, wishing to support the Left SR adventure, attempted to open the front to the Czechoslovaks and to march his troops on Moscow and Petrograd. The attempt failed; Muravyov shot himself.

4. Collect data on the quantity of grain shipments: first, on wheels; second, at procurement points -- and communicate this immediately.

5. How are your negotiations with the Germans going? What is the political situation in the Kuban and Terek regions?

6. I am sending you the cipher.

People's Commissar

Stalin.

P.S. There are rumors that Kalnin is resigning. All of us urgently ask him not to abandon his post at this serious moment.

Source: Bolshevik Leadership. Correspondence. 1912-1927, pp. 44-45.

RGASPI. F. 85. Op. 6. D. 83. L. 1-2.