To Comrade Yaroslavsky.

In reply to your inquiry of 9/XI of this year, the following is communicated to you on behalf of the Politburo: 1) The members of the Politburo, in the presence and with the consent of the Leningrad members of the CC of the VKP(b) -- Zinoviev, Yevdokimov, and others -- decided some time ago to remove Zalutsky from the post of secretary of the Leningrad Committee for his sharply anti-party behavior and for his slanderous accusation of the CC of the party of opportunism and Thermidorianism. Proceeding from this, the members of the Politburo also decided to consider Zalutsky recalled from Leningrad and to propose that the Leningrad organization not elect him to the gubernia committee. Regarding this decision, which is known to the Bureau of the Leningrad Committee (BLK -- Ed.), we can only remind, having no doubt that this decision will be carried out. 2) As for the nomination of Zalutsky as a delegate to the congress, this question has not been and is not subject to discussion in Moscow, since any party organization has the right to include any party member in its delegation without the sanction of the CC, for the congress, to which delegations are elected, is not a gubernia committee but the supreme authority of the party, which elects and removes the CC itself. We ask, should the need arise, that this reply be read aloud at the plenary session of the conference.

On behalf of the members of the Politburo --

Stalin.

From the archive of V.D. Mochalov.

NOTE

The telegram is a reply to Yaroslavsky's appeal, who had arrived at the XXII Leningrad Gubernia Party Conference as a CCC reporter:

"Request to relay to Comrade Stalin. The conference opens on Tuesday at eleven o'clock. There is a danger that the gubernia conference will turn into a demonstration against the CC: 1) in the form of the election of Zalutsky to the presidium of the conference; 2) of his election to the delegation to the party congress, and hence to the bureau and Senioren-Konvent of the congress. Tomorrow, Monday, at 11 o'clock the bureau of the gubernia committee, followed by the plenum of the gubernia committee. I request directives. Yaroslavsky."