“We must put an end to such episodes, and especially in the Kremlin”

Abstract

The publication analyzes one of the most informative and interesting documents of personal origin which are stored in the Russian State Archive of Socio-Political History (RGASPI) and which provide researchers with numerous data on life, daily routine, and public attitudes of citizens of Soviet Russia during the NEP period. This is a letter from V. Krylov, a cadet of the 1st Soviet Military School of the Red Army named after VTSIK, sent to the Central Committee of the RCP(b) in October 1921, describing a non-trivial incident he witnessed in the Kremlin. In his message, Krylov not only described in detail what took place before his eyes, but also gave it his own assessment and called for his addressees to react immediately to the incident. The cadet’s letter contains valuable information on the attitude of Soviet citizens to the food supply system in the RSFSR and their reaction to the violation of declarations of social justice by certain representatives of the Bolshevik elite. At the same time, Krylov’s message is a vivid example of the verbalization of naive idealism and boundless trust in the Bolshevik leaders, ardent faith in the victory of communism and sincere hope for the speedy construction of a just social order, quite common in Soviet society in the early 1920s. Thus, this document allows a detailed study of the mentality, moods and behavioral practices of early Soviet society. V. Krylov’s letter, with a commentary, is published here for the first time.