June 3, 1926

Moscow.

CC of the VKP, Comrade Molotov.

Decipher immediately.

Bukharin's theses must absolutely take into account the most important errors of Zinoviev on the question of the English strike, on Pilsudski, and on the Chinese Revolution, and criticize them in one form or another, since these errors are in the air and find support in right-wing currents of the Comintern.

1) At the very first Politburo meeting at the beginning of the English strike, Zinoviev submitted to the Politburo a draft of instructions for the English Communists, drawn up by Zinoviev with the participation of certain Comintern officials sympathizing with the opposition. In the draft, as is well known to the members of the Politburo, there was not a single word about the necessity of shifting the general strike onto the track of political struggle, nor even a hint of the slogan — "Down with the Conservative government, long live a workers' government." These new instructions and new slogans were introduced by the Politburo majority as amendments to Zinoviev's draft, which he was forced to accept! This omission of the most important slogan of the strike movement in England is not accidental; it pours water on the mill of Thomas. There are no guarantees that such errors will not be repeated in the work of Zinoviev and his supporters. To insure the Party against such gross errors, Zinoviev's errors must be taken into account in the theses.

2) At a well-known Politburo session about a month ago, Zinoviev submitted to the Politburo an utterly liquidationist proposal about the desirability of the Communist Party's withdrawal from the Guomindang into the hands of the right Guomindang members. To the remark of the Politburo majority that Zinoviev's proposal represented a line toward liquidating the revolutionary movement in China, Zinoviev and Radek, after unsuccessful attempts to defend their proposal, were forced to withdraw it and accept the Politburo's proposal to intensify the work of the Communist Party within the Guomindang and to concentrate fire against the right Guomindang members. Since there is no guarantee that such an error by Zinoviev will not be repeated, it is necessary to take it into account in the theses.

3) At the session of the Politburo's Polish Commission, on the day of the first reports of Pilsudski's seizure of Warsaw, Zinoviev submitted, in the presence of Unshlikht, Dzerzhinsky, Domsky, Venetsky, and many others, a draft of instructions for the Polish Communists, which spoke of the inadmissibility of the Communists' neutrality in Pilsudski's struggle against the fascists, which regarded Pilsudski as an anti-fascist, which regarded the Pilsudski movement as a revolutionary movement, but which said not a single word about the equally inadmissible support of Pilsudski by the Communists. The majority of the commission introduced the fundamental amendment about the inadmissibility of supporting Pilsudski, an amendment that Zinoviev was forced to accept, restructuring his entire draft of instructions. I am convinced that the errors of the Polish Communists, about which Zinoviev now writes with such relish, were entirely inspired by Zinoviev's deeply opportunist position regarding the allegedly revolutionary character of Pilsudski's adventure. Since there are no guarantees that these errors will not be repeated, it is necessary to take them into account in Bukharin's theses. In communicating all this, I ask that this document be made available only to our closest friends.

June 3, 9 p.m.

Stalin.

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Source: Letters of J.V. Stalin to V.M. Molotov. 1925–1936. P. 65–67.

RGASPI. F. 558. Op. 1. D. 5297.

NOTE

On May 4, 1926, the Politburo noted in its resolution: "The British Communist Party must, in an appropriate form, begin to transfer the strike onto political rails, putting forward at the appropriate moment the slogans: down with the Conservative government, for a genuine workers' government, i.e. a government that will undertake the fulfillment of the workers' demands; nationalization of the coal industry, work for the unemployed, etc."

On April 29, 1926, the Politburo decided: "To recognize the question of a break between the Guomindang and the Communist Party as having paramount political significance. To consider such a break absolutely inadmissible. To recognize it as necessary to pursue a line of preserving the Communist Party within the Guomindang. ... To propose that the Guomindang send one or two permanent representatives to Moscow."

The Politburo resolution of May 20, 1926, stated: "...6) To consider the slogan of the CC of the Polish Communist Party in support of the 'revolutionary troops acting under Pilsudski's command' a serious political mistake.

c) To begin a direct campaign of exposure against Pilsudski and his government, saying that Pilsudski has in fact concluded a united front with the fascists against the workers and peasants.

d) To propose that the Polish commission, through the Presidium of the ECCI, give more detailed instructions to the CC of the Polish Communist Party.

e) Criticism, decisive exposure, and struggle against the Pilsudski government must be carried on ever more broadly, while putting forward with special force the demand for peace with all neighbors.

f) Use the crude refusal of the PPS to form a united front with the Communists for an attack against the PPS among the masses. Make no new appeals to the PPS leadership, issuing the slogan of unity from below.

g) Entrust Comrade Bukharin with coverage of the Polish events in the press on the basis of an exchange of opinions in the Politburo."

On May 29, by a poll of CC members, the following decision was adopted:

"... To adopt the text of the reply to the CC of the Polish Communist Party proposed by Comrades Bukharin and Molotov in response to Comrade Warski's telegrams of May 28 of this year, with Comrade Zinoviev's addition:

"CC of the Polish Communist Party. We consider voting for Pilsudski a crime. We categorically demand voting against him under all circumstances. When voting, introduce a declaration decisively correcting the previous mistakes.

"Immediately reorganize all work in accordance with the directives of the Comintern. It is necessary to put forward your own candidacy regardless of parliamentary formalities. Fear of Pilsudski's defeat in parliament under present conditions is an inadmissible fear of sharpening the crisis, the development of which, with broader participation of the masses, is only desirable.

"Our opinion is absolutely categorical and absolutely unanimous. Your statement that the mistakes of the Polish CC are only terminological or stylistic mistakes meets with our most decisive protest.

"In fact this mistake is a gross political mistake of an opportunist character. If you do not understand and acknowledge this, you can lead the party to catastrophe. We consider that the correspondence you sent to Rote Fahne has nothing in common with Bolshevism. The decision not to vote for Pilsudski was adopted unanimously in the Executive Committee of the Comintern."