137. To P. A. KOBOZEV, K. KH. DANISHEVSKY, K. A. MEKHONOSHIN, F. F. RASKOLNIKOV^[1]

First published in 1934 in the journal Proletarskaya Revolutsia No. 3. Printed from the original. · page 122

1. VIII. 1918

Comrades Kobozev, Danishevsky, Mekhonoshin
and Raskolnikov

Comrades,

I take this opportunity to send you a few words by messenger.

Are the army commanders and Vatsetis working vigorously enough? Is the commissars’ control over them good enough?

What are the opinions about Blokhin? Is it true that he is splendid? If so, is he being given enough scope?

Of course, I am judging from a distance and can easily be mistaken. But I am afraid lest the “staffs” should smother the live work below, the work of the masses? Is there sufficient contact in the military field with the masses of poor peasants?

Is everything being done to rouse them and draw them into the work?

Now the entire fate of the revolution rests on one card: swift victory over the Czechoslovaks on the Kazan–Urals– Samara front.

Everything depends on this.

Is the command sufficiently energetic? Is the offensive sufficiently vigorous?

Please reply, if only in a few words, both by telegraph and by messenger.

Regards,
Lenin

Notes

[1] On the envelope of the letter Lenin wrote: “Comrades -4 Kobozev, Danishevsky, Mekhonoshin and Raskolnikov. Headquarters of the Commander-in-Chief in Kazan (From Lenin).”—Ed.