Lenin's Hanging Order
Encyclopedia
"Hanging Order" is a name given by the Library of Congress
to Vladimir Lenin
's telegram on suppressing kulak
s' revolt in the Penza Gubernia
. The telegram was addressed to Penza Communists Vasily Kurayev (Penza Soviet chairman), Yevgenia Bosch (the chairwoman of Penza Gubernia Party Committee) and Alexander Minkin (the chairman of Penza ispolkom) and dated 11 August 1918.
and St. Petersburg, were cut off from the grain producing regions of Ukraine, Northern Caucasus, and Siberia by the civil war
. As a result, hundreds of thousands of people were on the brink of starvation. The Penza Gubernia
was critical in providing food to the cities, but some drastic measures, such as prodrazvyorstka
(forcing peasants to give up food the government deemed surplus), were used to collect the grain. The Central Committee sent Yevgenia Bosch to supervise grain collection.
Caused by the forceful requisitioning of grain
, a peasant revolt erupted in the Kuchkino Volost of Penza Uyezd on 5 August 1918, and soon spread to neighbouring regions. While Penza Soviet chairman Kurayev opposed to use of military force and argued that propaganda
efforts would be sufficient, Bosch insisted on using military and mass executions. By 8 August 1918, Soviet military forces had crushed the revolt, but the situation in the gubernia remained tense and a revolt led by members of Socialist-Revolutionary Party
erupted in the town of Chembar on 18 August. Lenin sent several telegrams to Penza demanding tougher measures in fighting these kulak, peasant, and Left SR insurrectionists.
area to publicly hang at least one hundred kulak
s (better off peasants); publicize their names; confiscate their grain, and designate a number of hostages. Whether anyone was actually hanged according to this order remains unknown. On 19 August 1918, Lenin sent another telegram to Penza expressing exasperation and modifying his previous instructions:
Lenin's so-called "Hanging Order" was discussed during a controversy about the BBC
documentary, Lenin's Secret Files (1997) based upon Robert Service
's findings in Soviet
archives. This is Service's English translation of the Russian original:
Library of Congress
The Library of Congress is the research library of the United States Congress, de facto national library of the United States, and the oldest federal cultural institution in the United States. Located in three buildings in Washington, D.C., it is the largest library in the world by shelf space and...
to Vladimir Lenin
Vladimir Lenin
Vladimir Ilyich Lenin was a Russian Marxist revolutionary and communist politician who led the October Revolution of 1917. As leader of the Bolsheviks, he headed the Soviet state during its initial years , as it fought to establish control of Russia in the Russian Civil War and worked to create a...
's telegram on suppressing kulak
Kulak
Kulaks were a category of relatively affluent peasants in the later Russian Empire, Soviet Russia, and early Soviet Union...
s' revolt in the Penza Gubernia
Penza Oblast
-External links:* *...
. The telegram was addressed to Penza Communists Vasily Kurayev (Penza Soviet chairman), Yevgenia Bosch (the chairwoman of Penza Gubernia Party Committee) and Alexander Minkin (the chairman of Penza ispolkom) and dated 11 August 1918.
Historical background
During the Summer of 1918, many of Russia's central cities, including MoscowMoscow
Moscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...
and St. Petersburg, were cut off from the grain producing regions of Ukraine, Northern Caucasus, and Siberia by the civil war
Russian Civil War
The Russian Civil War was a multi-party war that occurred within the former Russian Empire after the Russian provisional government collapsed to the Soviets, under the domination of the Bolshevik party. Soviet forces first assumed power in Petrograd The Russian Civil War (1917–1923) was a...
. As a result, hundreds of thousands of people were on the brink of starvation. The Penza Gubernia
Penza Oblast
-External links:* *...
was critical in providing food to the cities, but some drastic measures, such as prodrazvyorstka
Prodrazvyorstka
Prodrazvyorstka , translated as food apportionment or surplus appropriation system, was a governmental program in Russia which obliged peasantry to surrender the surpluses of almost any kind of agricultural produce for a fixed price...
(forcing peasants to give up food the government deemed surplus), were used to collect the grain. The Central Committee sent Yevgenia Bosch to supervise grain collection.
Caused by the forceful requisitioning of grain
Prodrazvyorstka
Prodrazvyorstka , translated as food apportionment or surplus appropriation system, was a governmental program in Russia which obliged peasantry to surrender the surpluses of almost any kind of agricultural produce for a fixed price...
, a peasant revolt erupted in the Kuchkino Volost of Penza Uyezd on 5 August 1918, and soon spread to neighbouring regions. While Penza Soviet chairman Kurayev opposed to use of military force and argued that propaganda
Propaganda
Propaganda is a form of communication that is aimed at influencing the attitude of a community toward some cause or position so as to benefit oneself or one's group....
efforts would be sufficient, Bosch insisted on using military and mass executions. By 8 August 1918, Soviet military forces had crushed the revolt, but the situation in the gubernia remained tense and a revolt led by members of Socialist-Revolutionary Party
Socialist-Revolutionary Party
thumb|right|200px|Socialist-Revolutionary election poster, 1917. The caption in red reads "партия соц-рев" , short for Party of the Socialist Revolutionaries...
erupted in the town of Chembar on 18 August. Lenin sent several telegrams to Penza demanding tougher measures in fighting these kulak, peasant, and Left SR insurrectionists.
The 11 August 1918 cable
In particular, one telegram (dated 11 August 1918) instructed the Communists operating in the PenzaPenza
-Honors:A minor planet, 3189 Penza, discovered by Soviet astronomer Nikolai Stepanovich Chernykh in 1978, is named after the city.-Notable residents:...
area to publicly hang at least one hundred kulak
Kulak
Kulaks were a category of relatively affluent peasants in the later Russian Empire, Soviet Russia, and early Soviet Union...
s (better off peasants); publicize their names; confiscate their grain, and designate a number of hostages. Whether anyone was actually hanged according to this order remains unknown. On 19 August 1918, Lenin sent another telegram to Penza expressing exasperation and modifying his previous instructions:
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
documentary, Lenin's Secret Files (1997) based upon Robert Service
Robert Service (historian)
Robert John Service is a British historian, academic, and author who has written extensively on the history of Soviet Russia, particularly the era from the October Revolution to Stalin's death...
's findings in Soviet
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
archives. This is Service's English translation of the Russian original:
"Comrades! The insurrection of five kulak districts should be pitilessly suppressed. The interests of the whole revolution require this because 'the last decisive battle' with the kulaks is now under way everywhere. An example must be demonstrated.
- 1. Hang (and make sure that the hanging takes place in full view of the people) no fewer than one hundred known landlords, rich men, bloodsuckers.
- 2. Publish their names.
- 3. Seize all their grain from them.
- 4. Designate hostages in accordance with yesterday's telegram.
- Do it in such a fashion that for hundreds of kilometres around the people might see, tremble, know, shout: "they are strangling, and will strangle to death, the bloodsucking kulaks".
Telegraph receipt and implementation.
- Yours, Lenin.
- Find some truly hard people"