262. To G. M. KRZHIZHANOVSKY
Comrade Krzhizhanovsky
Would it not he possible to develop (not at once, but straightaway after the Congress,[2] for the Council of Labour and Defence) a practical plan for an electrification campaign:
Etwas[1] :
(1) in each uyezd urgently to set up at least one power station;
(2) make it obligatory for this centre to become a training, lecture, demonstration, etc., centre, and take the entire population through these courses (beginning with the young people, or by volosts, etc.);
(3) immediately assign tasks among the population as to what they can now make a start on (we need 2 1/2 million poods of copper—so let us at once assign tasks for bringing in 25million poods, let people voluntarily begin to collect church bells, door handles, etc.; then poles, etc.);
(4) begin preparatory navvying work at once, assigning tasks among the uyezds;
(5) mobilise all engineers, electricians, all who have done courses at physico-mathematical faculties, etc., without exception. Their obligation will be to deliver not less than two (four?) lectures a week, to teach not less than (10-50?) people about electricity. If they fulfil this—a bonus. If they don’t—gaol.
(6) Write urgently a few popular pamphlets (some to be translated from Germ an) and adapt the “book” (yours) into a number of more popular articles, for teaching in the schools and reading to the peasants.
And then a number of detailed measures on the following two groups:
aa) propaganda and training
bb) first steps towards pulling this into practice at once, and from all angles.
Lenin
[1]Something like this.—Ed.
[2] Lenin refers to the Eighth All-Russia Congress of Soviets, held on December 22-29, 1920, at which Krzhizhanovsky delivered a report on the plan for the electrification of Russia. The resolution on the electrification report was drafted by Lenin.