Editors of the newspaper

Organ of the Central Moscow

Committee of the All-Union Communist Party

(Bolsheviks)

48 Ul. Gorkogo, Moscow

Telephone numbers of editorial office:

Secretariat 5-81-02

Technical secretariat 5-54-14

No.

Moscow 2 February 1936

To Cde. Stalin CC of the VKP(b)

To Cde. Ordzhonikidze PC of Heavy Industry

Member of the editorial board of Pravda Bogovoy

I would like to inform the editorial board of facts reported to me by the party organizer of the Central Irmino Mine, Cde. Petrov.

The behavior of Stakhanov and his wife of late has severely compromised them and is becoming a subject of derision in Kadievka.

After returning from the all-Union conference, Stakhanov’s work significantly deteriorated. At first he found all sorts of reasons to be excused from work, but later he began simply to skip work. In December he had three absences for clearly invalid reasons.

Lately Stakhanov has begun to get drunk on a regular basis. Often after work he goes straight to the beer house and gets outrageously drunk. He has repeatedly appeared on the streets in a state of intoxication.

The PC of Internal Affairs [NKVD] has issued Stakhanov, Petrov and others revolvers for purpose of self-defense “just be on the safe side.” One day Stakhanov disappeared. People thought that he had not come out of the mine, but Petrov saw him already on the surface. All of the mine’s activists were immediately mobilized with an urgent assignment – to make the rounds of all the apartments of known drunks and all the beer houses in search for Stakhanov. He was found outside the settlement. He was in a group with two drunks and was firing a revolver in all directions.

Stakhanov has a very grave family situation. Continuous quarrels and fights with his wife, who obviously and repeatedly cheats on him and constantly upsets him. Recently Stakhanov’s wife called Petrov’s apartment during the night with cries for help. Petrov came running, and Stakhanov’s wife was standing against the wall with her hands up. Stakhanov was aiming a shotgun at her. Petrov grabbed the shotgun and found that it was loaded.

Stakhanov’s wife gets drunk and hangs around all kinds of shady people. She can often be found drunk in a beerhouse.

One day a representative of the press department of the Comintern came to the mine to gather information for the communist press about Stakhanov’s life. When he came to Stakhanov’s apartment with Petrov and Petrov warned Stakhanov’s wife that the person was a representative of the Comintern, she cursed him to his face.

Stakhanov attributes his terrible mood to his wife’s behavior, to the fact that she has completely refused to do housework and does not want to take care of their year-old baby. Stakhanov complains that he eats only once a day, since no one will cook for him at home.

Officials of the Kadievka NKVD told Petrov that if Stakhanov divorced his wife, they would immediately exile her. Enough grounds would be found to do so. When drunk, Stakhanov says he will divorce her. However, he has yet to do so, even though she has turned him into a laughingstock at the mine, in the settlement and in Kadievka.

Correspondents from The New York Times and other bourgeois newspapers came to the mine. They asked to visit Stakhanov’s apartment. The town organizations decided to serve lunch to the correspondents at Stakhanov’s apartment. Everything was prepared for this. Stakhanov’s wife was warned to conduct herself properly in the presence of representatives of the bourgeois press. To this she replied:

“You can all go you know where, let them come and I will tell them that Stakhanov beats me up.”

Only after threats and persuasion did Stakhanov’s wife agree to keep quiet.

En route to Moscow, where Stakhanov and Diukanov were traveling to receive medals, a fight broke out in the train car. In full view of everyone, Stakhanov and Diukanov beat up their wives. Someone ran to get Petrov, who was traveling in the next car, and he came to reconcile them. In the hotel, in front of Moscow photo reporters, Stakhanov beat up his wife and Diukanov beat up his.

Glavugol [Main Administration of the Coal and Shale Industry] proposed to the Donets delegation of medal recipients that they buy some manufactured goods for themselves on credit and then repay their cost to Glavugol over several months. All of the delegation members made relatively normal purchases except Stakhanov, who amassed for himself goods worth 4,000 rubles.

Because of his weak character, Stakhanov is not able to put his life into order himself.

I would like to recall here the case of the famous coal-cutter operator Konrad Telnykh, who also resides in Kadievka. He was one of the first followers of Izotov. The man has become corrupted, gets drunk, regularly causing brawls, and contracted syphilis somewhere. I have been told that when Cde. G. I. Petrovsky was at a miners’ meeting in Stalino, he officially warned Telnykh that unless he changed his behavior he would be stripped of his medal and title of member of the CEC [Central Executive Committee] of the USSR.

Cde. Poskrebyshev!

I am sending Cde. Sarkisov’s letter in connection with the memorandum from Cde. Gershberg, the Pravda correspondent, which you are aware of.

7.6.36.

Dear Cde. Kosior!

Regarding the matter of certain family squabbles that Cde. Stakhanov has had (about which one of Pravda’s staff members wrote and which was sent to Comrade Stalin) I have just now, upon receiving instructions from Comrade Stalin, taken the necessary measures.

First, it was ascertained that Cde. Gershberg’s memorandum contained some exaggeration, and as regards Diukanov it was simply an incorrect report.

Cde. Stakhanov did indeed have serious family squabbles most of all through the fault of his wife. Diukanov has a completely healthy family life.

I have personally talked several times with Stakhanov and his wife, have been in Cde. Stakhanov’s apartment, and in Cde. Diukanov’s apartment as well.

Over the past two or three months one can say that Cde. Stakhanov’s family life has been proceeding normally, and only recently his wife again disrupted this normal family situation. Stakhanov and his wife are completely different people. We have taken every measure to put pressure on the wife: a great deal of work has been done in this respect by the wife of Cde. Kaplan (the editor of Kadievsky Proletary) and of Cde. Kaganovich (the wife of the mine manager), but no significant results are evident.

Cde. Stakhanov has himself concluded that he must divorce his wife. Of course, I am personally keeping track not only of the public work of Stakhanov, Diukanov and other outstanding people of the Donets Basin, but also their domestic life.

Comrade Stalin’s directive will be completely implemented.

With comradely greetings, S. Sarkisov.

I am sending the letter from Cde. Petrov and Cde. Stakhanov for your information.

S.

25.5.36

To the secretary of the Donets Oblast Party Committee, Cde. Sarkisov.

Regarding Pravda’s report on the behavior of Stakhanov and Diukanov, my report:

After Stakhanov returned from the all-Union conference of Stakhanovites, Stakhanov went to work on the second day. He worked well and for days he provided better productivity than before his trip to Moscow, but never less than what he had done. Stakhanov did not and does not have any reason to malinger. True, having worked for a few days after Moscow, Stakhanov smashed his thumb with some coal, could not work, was hospitalized, I think, for about 12 or 13 days and was officially given leave from work by a doctor. Regarding Stakhanov’s drinking I must report that there have not been regular instances of drinking in a beerhouse where he reportedly would get drunk to the point of losing consciousness.

Instances of drinking have been noticed of late, but they are caused by family squabbles, which originate with his wife.

The wife’s behavior is bad, she drinks, treats Stakhanov very rudely, insults him in public places, displays a great deal of greed for money, in the past they say and now – bad behavior. Because of all these factors there are fights at home. The incident in which Stakhanov wanted to shoot his wife with a shotgun and I supposedly took away the shotgun which turned out to be loaded – I don’t know and did not see such an incident. That Stakhanov walks down the street drunk and fires a revolver – that is not true; once there was an incident when he was shooting while returning home tipsy, but after a warning was issued to him he did not repeat it.

The incident with the Comintern representative at Stakhanov’s apartment, where Stakhanov’s wife cursed him in my presence I deny. I was not at Stakhanov’s apartment with a Comintern representative. When the correspondents of The New York Times visited our mine and Stakhanov’s apartment, Stakhanova’s behavior was good, she was self-controlled and she responded sensibly to all of the questions posed to her. Regarding the fight en route to Moscow in full public view that was reported, this is not true. There was a fight between Stakhanov and his wife in a compartment over money. Stakhanov pushed his wife and that ended the whole thing and nothing like it was repeated. As for Diukanov, I must say that Diukanov’s conduct is excellent. Diukanov does not drink, does not cause fights at home, and certainly not in a train car. His work is excellent, so the report on Diukanov is a fabrication. I don’t know anything about a fight in Moscow in the hotel where Stakhanov and Diukanov were staying and this is the first time I am hearing about it. As far as I know, no such thing happened during their stay in Moscow.

I must report that I have never had special conversations with correspondents regarding the personal lives of Stakhanov and Diukanov.

In closing I must say once again that Stakhanov and Diukanov do good work. There has been no malingering or shirking of work.

Their behavior in production is excellent, there is no self-importance or arrogance on their part.

As for Stakhanov’s wife and his family life, I must state once again that it is not going well and the wife’s treatment of Stakhanov gives rise to all of the abnormalities that exist.

Stakhanov in my conversation with him didn’t what is the cause of all this, stated: that he does not feel his wife cares about him at all, she does not treat the children well, she does not do purely housekeeping, domestic work, he is very displeased with all this. It must be said that Stakhanov and his wife talk about their bad life to anybody and everybody, as they say – they talk about it since a great many people visit their apartment, and that is why a wide range of people hear about it.

Petrov.

Regarding the conversation with the Pravda correspondent Girshberg: I spoke with him about the state of affairs at the mine and when we hope to fulfill the promise about doubling output, that conversation did take place.

True copy:

signature illegible

Regards to Comrade Kaplan, editor of Kadievsky Proletary, from Aleksei Grigorievich Stakhanov and from my wife, Yevdokia Ivanovna Stakhanova and from our daughter Klava.

Then I hasten to report to you that I arrived in the mountains with no problems. Sochi welcomed me nicely with music. The City Soviet was there, the party organization was there, so was the director of the sanatorium, there were people on vacation, where a rally was opened, there was a big greeting with music for me and my family, as well as for all the organizers and you Cde. Kaplan for the quick work in developing the Stakhanovite movement.

I also want to report to you that I am getting your newspapers, I read them and I see that the work in our raion is going badly, and especially in our mine. My personal request to you is that it is necessary no matter what to fix this breakdown, tell the workers in our mine in particular that they are working very badly, producing 1200 tons, you can’t work that way, this must be ended forever. Our task with you right now is to give the country 1800 tons a day – that is our victory and the country will say, that is where people can work wonders and then there will be honor and praise for us I assure you comrade workers that you will do this. On 15 March you will have 1800 tons on the surface and then you will tell me that we were able to produce it without you, so we know how to work and be proud.

Dear comrades please write a letter to me in Sochi, how my letter influenced you and how you paid attention to my words, to what I am advising you. Comrades the point is that I am called to meetings t talk with the best people, and I don’t go because I am ashamed to go talk with them, when our mine has broken down. Every day I wait for your letter, or wait to read the newspapers so that I can talk with the best people and report to them that you and I know how to work comrades, they ask me how the mine is working in your raion, and I no longer have anything to day, I am ashamed even to sit with them, ashamed even to talk with them, when you are not fulfilling the plan and we must teach all the people in our country.

My personal request give a reply on the fine work of our mine and on our raion, I ask Cde. Kaplan in particular, or your people, let them report as soon as possible. My address: Aleksei Stakhanov 11 Building 1, Donets Basin Sanatorium, City of Sochi.

I would also like to report to Petrov that I was awaited together with your mom, she was given a well-furnished room. It’s very nice here. I walk to the sea every day, I watch it rage with its big waves, which impresses me very much, how big it is 6,000 kilometers from shore to shore. There are a lot of mountains, very nice flowers, if only I could live here. Live, but not die. I am left with the best impression of my life. I have written more, but I cannot describe it, I have never before seen all this kind of thing, I am very glad that I ended up in Sochi. The weather is good, we are walking around in suits, there is no snow, the flowers are blooming.

I would like to report to you on the weather. For two days the weather was good, but now such an unheard-of storm has blown in from sea that we can’t leave our rooms, maybe rain, maybe snow. But I don’t pay much attention to this weather, I walk around the whole city, through all the gardens, along all the piers, I look at the sea waves, how they rage, and then I get treatment, I take sea baths, then they take us to Matsesta.

I will end here. I give a firm handshake to all the workers and office employees of our mine, as well as to the whole raion. Dear comrades soon we will have a reunion, in March – on 15 March – with the expectation that you will bring 1800 tons to the surface by the time I arrive home.