735. LETTER TO A. V. LUNACHARSKY AND ASSIGNMENT TO V. A. SMOLYANINOV^[1]

First published Letter to A. V. Lunacharsky first published in 1945 in Lenin Miscellany XXXV. Assignment to V. A. Smolyaninov first published in 1965 in Collected Works, Fifth (Russian) Ed., Vol. 54. Printed from the original. · page 552

17.V.1922

People’s Commissar for Education

I have received some information showing that the high price of books, considering our “enthusiasms” and the exaggerations of NEP, is depriving the people of useful books.

I should think it is necessary to lay down some kind of rule or pass a law on roughly these lines: specified amounts should be apportioned from local taxes to be paid to a centre for a fund to cover the cost of several thousand books (say, Skvortsov, Electrification, etc.) for distribution to all uyezd libraries.

Please discuss this and let me know your opinion.^[3]

V. Ulyanov (Lenin)
Chairman, C.P.C.

To Comrade Smolyaninov for Comrades Lunacharsky, Pokrovsky, Rykov and Tsyurupa.^[2]

Notes

[1] Over the text Lenin wrote: “See to the reply.”—Ed. —Lenin

[2] A copy of the letter was also sent to G. Y. Sokolnikov, Deputy People’s Commissar for Finance.—Ed.

[3] [MISSING]