LETTER TO V. I. LENIN, August 31, 1918

Dear Comrade Lenin,
The fight is on for the South and the Caspian. In order to keep all this area (and we c a n keep it!) we need several light destroyers and a couple of submarines (ask Artyom about the details). I implore you, break down all obstacles and so facilitate the immediate delivery of what we request. Baku, Turkestan and the North Caucasus will be ours (unquestionably!), if our demands are immediately met.
Things at the front are going well. I have no doubt that they will go even better (the Cossacks are becoming completely demoralized).
Warmest greetings, my dear and beloved Ilyich.

Yours,
J. Stalin
August 31, 1918
First published in 1938,
in the magazine Bolshevik,
No. 2