Письмо (за октябрь) секретаря Киробкома Коростелева в ЦК РКП о ситуации в Киргизии, нацотношениях и пр. Letter from the Secretary of the Kirgiz oblast committee to the CC RKP on the situation in Kirgizia, national relations, etc.

Translation

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To the Secretary of the CC of the R.C.P. (Bolsheviks).

/Secret letter for October/.

<<In the margins is the heading: “Conference of Secretaries of Gubernia Committees.”>>

In the past month the OBLAST COMMITTEE held a Conference of Secretaries of Gubernia Committees. At the Conference it was learned from a report by the Oblast Committee and Secretaries from the provinces that the political situation in Kirgizia has significantly improved compared with the past. The nightmare of famine and banditry is no longer of the enormous importance that it (played) had until now. In the coming period both party and soviet work will be done in more favorable conditions than it was before the new harvest.

We cannot yet say, however, that we have gotten through the famine once and for all and it will not trouble us in the future. The Conference merely stated that the worst part of the famine is over, but there is still a substantial need for assistance to the population in certain raions and uezds.

For example, in Bukeevsk Gubernia, due to the small amount of productive crop area and the decline in livestock breeding, it will be necessary to provide assistance to the population.

Urals Gubernia has again been struck by a drought with pests, a portion of the fields have been destroyed, in short, based on reports from the provinces, as much as half of the crop has perished so that assistance is required now already, and in the future this need will increase even more.

The northern part of Kustanai Gubernia could not get seeds, and therefore it will also need food assistance in the winter.

Atabasar and Kokchetav uezds in Akmolinsk Gubernia are not doing well in terms of crop yield.

And yet, these bad-crop uezds in certain gubernias, compared with the five gubernias that had complete crop failures last year, create a more favorable atmosphere for work, and the Conference of Secretaries, without dwelling in detail on this issue, submitted it for discussion to the Third All-Kirgiz

<<In the upper left corner is a note: “To Cde. Syrtsov”>>

<<In the upper right corners are notes: “Copy,” “Top secret” and a stamp: “Incoming No. 1632412 Received 112122 Distributed 12/1>>

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Congress of Soviets.

Then reference was made to the weakness of the party apparatuses in Kirgizia and the shortage of cultural forces, especially with Marxist training, who would be able to conduct political-educational work. At the same time, it was noted that there has been a systematic outflow of party functionaries from Kirgizia. Furthermore, the CC itself has done quite a bit to contribute to this phenomenon. A whole host of comrades who were sent to Moscow with an assignment from it or who received temporary leave did not come back, since they received a new appointment in the CC, which of course was reflected in the work, and the assignment was not carried out. In order to satisfy the acute need for party comrades, the Conference resolved to ask the CC to send such people. A list of the necessary party functionaries was given to a CC instructor, Cde. Riabinin.

It was noted that the question of antagonism between nationalities is not as severe as it was in the past. This does not yet mean that this disease has been eliminated once and for all and irreversibly. It merely shows that through their disciplinary measures party bodies obtained a favorable result and have eased its severity. It will be necessary here, without relaxing disciplinary pressure, to conduct educational work, so that the unhealthy deviations in this question are eliminated in a normal manner. The method used to rehabilitate organizations consisted of transfers and, through the Control Commission, reining people in, up to and including expulsion.

The Conference of Secretaries of Gubernia Committees studied and adopted the work plan proposed by the Oblast Committee for the winter period for the Agitation Departments and Organizational Departments of Gubernia Committees.

The OBLAST COMMITTEE held the Third All-Kirgiz Committee, and People’s Commissariats and their Collegiums were created. Some of the People’s Commissariats were renewed. Of the new ones, the following were elected: the Chairman of the Sovnarkom [Council of the National Economy], the People’s Commissar of AGRICULTURE, the People’s Commissar of EDUCATION, the People’s Commissar of JUSTICE and the Chairman of the Supreme Revolutionary Tribunal. Since the CC did not send anyone to replace the recalled Zaromsky and we have no candidates at all, the place of the Kirgiz People’s Commissar of Labor remains unoccupied to this day. A good administrator must also be sent from the CC, preferably an agronomist, a Deputy Kirgiz People’s Commissar of Agriculture, due to the weakness of that collegium and the large amount of work to come.

<<In the margins is a heading: “3rd All-Kirgiz Congress of Soviets>>

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Judging by the congress itself and its mood, one can conclude that a positive shift toward the working Kirgiz masses has occurred, compared with last year. Last year 70% of the delegates participating in the Congress were Russian and 20% Kirgiz; this year 40% at the Congress were Kirgiz. A stratification of the Kirgiz population has also begun to show up, into bais [rich landowners] and kulaks on the one hand and poor peasants on the other. One cannot say with confidence yet that we have already gotten close to the poor Kirgiz masses. There are still between us and the ignorant, downtrodden poor Kirgiz peasants, who lead a half-settled and nomadic, livestock-breeding way of life various “benefactors” – aksakals [tribal elders], bais and kulaks – who enjoy their trust. All the same, judging by the social composition of the latest Congress, this influence on poor peasants is weak, and the proletarian and poor-peasant composition of the Congress was 76%. In terms of party affiliation, 78% there were communists and 22% were nonparty members.

The issues discussed at the Congress proceeded fairly harmoniously and were adopted by an absolute majority. The faction at the Congress contained a healthy core that did not allow delegates to delve into minutiae. Particular annoyance was displayed against krai functionaries, nationalist-minded ones, who did not win their elections. This annoyance was expressed in a highly vivid and sharply worded manner in the speeches of the Kirgiz delegates who spoke in the faction, while the Russian segment of the faction conducted itself quite properly.

The election campaign following the recalls from the provinces was also satisfactory this year as compared with the last elections. There were some rough incidents based on clannish enmity, but they were lost in the overall harmonious course of the elections.

<<In the margins is a heading: “Food-tax campaign”>>

Our food-tax campaign has been severely delayed due to the rainy weather during the grain harvest. The campaign for elections to the Soviets distracted a segment of active functionaries form this work, and then again endless rain completely suspended the delivery to the collection centers. The weakened state of our trade-union bodies, which did not perform food-tax work last year, also affected the effort.

The weather now, with interruptions, is beginning to settle down. The OBLAST COMMITTEE, by pressuring the food bodies and the Gubernia Committees, is beginning to achieve a certain revival over the past five-day period:

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The food tax in absolute figures.

10/10…1,203,997 poods – 8.9%

10/15…1,488,153 poods – 11%

10/20…2,064,362 poods – 15.2%

10/25…2,812,820 poods – 20.7%

11/1…5,142,188 poods – 38%

By gubernia, in percent

Aktiubinsk 48

Uralsk 47.3

Kustanai 45.1

Orenburg 38.3

Semipalatinsk 36.1

Akmolinsk 34.5

Bukeevsk 11.4

While the first five-day periods had food-tax yields of 3-4%, the last five-day period produced 17%

The tax from the nomadic population for meat by gubernias: Aktiubinsk and Semipalatinsk achieved 100%; Akmolinsk, 51%; Uralsk, 20%

Cde. Raikhman, Deputy People’s Commissar and Chairman, was sent with prominent food functionaries to Semipalatinsk and Akmolinsk gubernias. The reasons for sending them are the small yield of food tax there, their lag behind other gubernias and their remoteness. The gubernia committees have been given assignments to implement a mobilization of party comrades and not to recall them to their permanent place of work until the tax is completely fulfilled. With the weather settling down, there is a hope that the provinces will pull themselves up and make up for the lost time.

<<In  margins is a heading: “Local taxes”>>

The tax administration in the Kirgiz Republic is very weak, the population has been severely weakened by the famine it went through, and as a result the tax revenue is meager. In October three comrades were sent to the Kirgiz PC of Finance to strengthen it, but that is far from enough, especially in terms of qualifications.

The provinces are not responding well to the PC of Finance’s pressure and inducements. Information comes in after long delays and at uneven intervals. From January 1 to September 1 all types of taxes received amounted to 73,195,655 rubles, but there is no information from certain places for the first half of September.

The Kirgiz PC of Finance has established the amounts of household monetary tax for the gubernias and submitted them for approval to the Center. A household tax is not being introduced in Bukeevsk Gubernia and Adaevsk Uezd, where

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the population leads a nomadic way of life. This tax has not been established for Orenburg Gubernia, either, due to the absence of data from it on the poor work, despite the incentive measures taken by the PC of Finance.

A detailed statute on a nomad-tent tax has been prepared for the nomadic Kirgiz population, it has been translated into Kirgiz and sent out to the provinces in the expectation that it will be possible to begin collecting it on November 1 simultaneously throughout the Kirgiz S.S.R.

It is clear from certain personal letters from Secretaries of the Gubernia Committees that there is an unhealthy atmosphere among the comrades working in the GPU. Some of them complain about specific defects, injustices, about the unhealthy atmosphere, about their lack of preparedness to work under the new conditions, etc., and they are all asking to be transferred to other work, taking this issue even to the point of quitting the party. This is not an isolated phenomenon and not among newcomers, there are also old-timers here, Chekists who have been through plenty. Some of the secretaries of the Gubernia Committees ask that transfers be made, while others ask that the roster be rejuvenated with new people who have not previously worked in the Cheka. The reason, however, lies here in a lack of financial security. It has been necessary to deal with this issue, to carry out transfers, to issue rebukes and other repressive measures, but they have produced short lived results. It is desirable that the CC address this issue and take substantive measures.

<<In the margins is a heading: “Regarding comrades who are working in the GPU,” the paragraph has been highlighted on the left with a bracket inserted by hand and a signature “for me”>>

The financial issue is especially serious right now for the Oblast Committee. Our indebtedness, according to incomplete data, amounts to 1,154,722 rubles in 1922 monetary units. The party journal in thee Kirgiz language has been suspended due to a lack of funding. Until now its publication was supported with funds from the Party Committees, which had been assessed a certain amount, but at present there is absolutely nothing to take from them. The CC, meanwhile, did not include this Kirgiz-language journal in its estimate, which has always had a painful effect on the work. The comrades we have designated to make the rounds of the Gubernia Committees are sitting and cannot leave for one reason – a lack of funds. It is essential to appropriate funds on an urgent basis

<<In the margins is a heading: “Conclusion”>>

for the Kirgiz journal, to cover our indebtedness and to make it possible to continue the work of the comrades designated for a transfer and making the rounds, without allowing a delay that is of no benefit.

The Finance Department of the CC apparently does not have a clear concept of our territory when it gives a report to the ORGANIZATIONAL BUREAU regarding the estimate we are asking about or the appropriation of funds that includes the Kirgiz OBLAST COMMITTEE as usual in Category 1 of Gubernia Committees. Yet in order for us to send people to inspect and instruct Adaevsk and the Semipalatinsk and Bukeevsk Gubernia Committees, large amounts are required for such a tour of three places. The distance from Orenburg to Semipalatinsk is 2,990 versts. Orenburg to Adaevsk is more than 4,000 versts by rail and by the Caspian Sea, and on horseback, 2,000 versts. Orenburg to Bukeevsk is 1,486 versts by rail and 60 versts on horseback. The financial issue with the transfers and official trips has been completely suspended due to a lack of funding.

And finally, the issue of functionaries. Here they have not only been received from the CC, but they have been systematically pulled out of here. The matter is reached the point where in lieu of Cde. Zaromsky, the Kirgiz People’s Commissar of Labor who was taken, and no one was sent in to replace him, it was necessary to put in a man who is completely unhealthy mentally. To date the response to our requests for functionaries has been total persistent silence.

Secretary of the KIRGIZ OBLAST COMMITTEE G. Korostelev R.C.P. (Bolsheviks): 11/14/22

No. 76

True copy:

<<Stamp: “Bureau of the Secretariat of the C.C. of the R.C.P. Proofreader No. 2”>>

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