Document 37

DOCUMENT 37

A letter of congratulations from the ECCI’s party organization to Ezhov on his receiving the Order of Lenin.

To Com. Ezhov.

(Adopted at the general closed meeting of the party organization of the ECCI apparatus of 21/VII-37).

The party organization of the ECCI apparatus sends you, com. Ezhov, the faithful disciple and comrade-in-arms of the great Stalin, the renowned NKVD leader, an ardent greeting and sincere congratulations on the occasion of [your] being awarded the order of Lenin.[i] The entire Soviet nation, all the honest workers of the world are enthusiastically watching the crushing blows that our NKVD, under your leadership, delivers to the fascist spies, saboteurs, [and] the Trotskyist-Zinovievite-Bukharinist rascals.

Our collective is particularly thankful to the NKVD and to you, com. Ezhov, for that great assistance rendered to us in rooting out the vilest enemies–-Trotskyists, [and] spies--who have sneaked into and have cunningly disguised themselves in the apparatus of the headquarters of the world revolution.

We promise to strain every nerve to stop the fascist rascals, to help the NKVD by [our] deeds to defend the USSR, [and] to purge the VKP(b) and the Comintern of the enemies of the party and the people.

RGASPI, f. 546, op. 1, d. 388, l. 98.

Original in Russian. Typewritten.

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