Source: Tom 17

September 23, 1927

September 23, 1927.

Greetings, Sergo! Regards to Zina! [Z.G. Ordzhonikidze, wife of G.K. Ordzhonikidze. — Ed.]

A whole week now I have been meaning to write to you, but nothing came of it, since I am heavily occupied with work and could not find a free moment (Rykov and Molotov are in Crimea, Bukharin recently returned but fled again to Crimea and should be back any day now, Rudzutak has fallen ill — as a result, at least part of the others' work has fallen on me). Despite this, your letter today (received today) prodded me and shook me out of my stupor, as a result of which I decided to spit "on everything" and reply with a letter.

1) On rationalization, you are right from beginning to end. We will certainly need to send engineers and other specialists from here to America and Germany. To be stingy about this is sinful and criminal. If you involve Alyosha [A.I. Rykov] in this matter, at least in terms of literary assistance, you will do very well. Literary assistance is what we need above all — otherwise you will not get people moving; we must first of all explain (systematically explain) in the press the essence, character, forms, and benefits of rationalization, in order to be able to count on the support of workers and then the masses. Without this, nothing will come of it.

2) The opposition has not only not calmed down but, on the contrary, has intensified its factional work. No more than two weeks ago they concocted an entire pamphlet ("The Platform of the Bolshevik-Leninists," as they call it), demanded that it be printed (this was on September 3) and that a discussion be opened immediately. This is essentially a new program for a new party. We refused and prohibited its distribution pending consideration of this question by the next Plenum. We circulated the "Platform" and the Politburo and CCC Presidium's response to all CC and CCC members. However, the opposition is distributing it illegally... On September 12, the GPU was searching for military conspirators and came across a certain Shcherbakov (non-Party member, son of a factory owner), who turned out to have an illegal printing press of the opposition (Mrachkovsky and other oppositionists are directly implicated). Some minor (unknown or little-known) oppositionists were searched, and non-Party members (intellectuals) were arrested. Two days later we received an insolent letter from Preobrazhensky, Serebryakov, and Sharov, in which they declare themselves the "organizers of the printing press" and "demand the release of those arrested" (only non-Party members were arrested). Something resembling the "Myasnikov group" or "Workers' Truth" has emerged. We issued from the Politburo and the CCC Presidium a "notice on the discovery of the illegal Trotskyist printing press" and decided to expel from the Party "all the petty opposition people" connected with the printing press, postponing for now the question of Preobrazhensky and the other two... Such are our affairs. And in the newspapers this matter has so far not been reflected. What do you say to this?

3) When are you coming? It would be good for you to get rid of the appendix.

I am sending you a minimum of materials on the intra-Party struggle.

Get well soon.

Regards to Alyosha.

Yours,

Koba.

September 23, 1927.

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Source: Bolshevik Leadership. Correspondence. 1912–1927. P. 347–348.

RGASPI. F. 558. Op. 1. D. 3345. L. 1–3.