Document 5

Letter to Pravda on supply situation in Mordovia, September 1930

RGAE, f. 7486s, op. 1, d. 102, l. 239. Typed copy.

The worker settlement of Vindrei in the Zubovo-Poliansk Raion (District) of Mordovia Oblast (Administrative Region) was forgotten by the trade department and the consumer cooperative, and the Vindrei Sawmill in particular was forgotten.

The workers for their part made every effort to fulfill the industrial and financial plan and fulfilled it by more than one hundred percent, but how are they supplied? The ration is received only by the worker, except for rye flour his wife and small children receive nothing. Workers and their families wear worn-out clothes, the kids are in rags, their naked bellies are sticking out. You need to buy something badly, and where are you going to buy it? In the worker's co-op! A big waste of time. Nothing but empty shelves and bottles of perfume. At the market? The profiteers skin workers alive. A meter of calico costs thirty five kopecks. The exact same calico now from a profiteer at the market costs a ruble thirty-five kopecks a meter. The workers are outraged that the profiteer has calico and other items, and in the worker's co-op there is nothing. I think it's clear what atmosphere may emerge at the plant, but surely there are ways to prevent it. All you have to do is have the right person put pressure in the right place.