Letter to V.M. Molotov (later than July 28, 1935)

Hello, Vyacheslav!

1) I received your letter. We are thinking of organizing cadet schools for artillery, aviation, and the navy.

2) I am sending the directive of the Council of People's Commissars and the CC on the preparation of control figures for the year 1936. As you see, the volume of capital works has been set at 27 billion rubles, and financing at 25 billion rubles. In the event of a reduction of the cost of capital works by 8% — and this is a mandatory directive — capital works will be brought up to 27 billion with the state disbursing 25 billion rubles. This creates an incentive for reducing the cost of capital works.

Twenty-two billion was not enough and, as it turns out, could not have been enough. The increases in school construction (+760 million), in light industry, timber, food industry, and local industry (a total of over 900 million rubles), in defense (+1 billion 100 million), in health care, the Moscow Canal, and other items (over 400 million rubles) determined the character and the dimensions of the control figures for 1936.

I do not regret it, since everything that increases the production of consumer goods must be strengthened from year to year. Without this, there is no possibility of moving forward now.

Well, greetings!

Regards to Comrade Zhemchuzhina.

I. STALIN.

Pisma I.V. Stalina V.M. Molotovu 1925–1936. Moscow, 1995. P. 251.