603. To L. B. KAMENEV AND J. V. STALIN

Written on January 25, 1922 · First published in 1959 in Lenin Miscellany XXXVI. Printed from the original. · page 450

Comrades Kamenev and Stalin:

I have just learned—to my horror—from Sokolnikov that he rejects (!) the Politbureau’s directive concerning the trio (he + Preobrazhensky + Krasnoshchekov).

This is chaos!

This is a scandal!

This means that the C.C. apparatus is not working! This should be reaffirmed not later than tomorrow.^[1]

And—I insist again and again—that no question should be allowed to go to the Supreme Economic Commission without the written proposals and counter-proposals of the People’s Commissars and their deputies or assistants concerned. Otherwise this is chaos, 
red tape,
empty talk,
irresponsibility.

9.30 p.m. 25/I.

Lenin

Notes

[1] On February 2, 1922, the Politbureau of the R.C.P.(B.) C.C. adopted a decision to the effect that questions having a fundamental bearing on R.S.F.S.R. financial policy or going up for decision by the Politbureau were to be examined beforehand by a trio consisting of G. Y. Sokolnikov, A. M. Krasnoshchekov and Y. A. Preobrazhensky.