MISC RE COPIES OF LETTER FROM LEON MOORE SENT TO AMORY AND MAURY FRO INFORMATION AND COMMENT (W/ATTACHMENT)

• Document Type: FOIA
• Collection: FOIA Collection
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): 00842390
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: U
• Document Page Count: 3
• Document Creation Date: March 9, 2023
• Document Release Date: September 28, 2021
• Case Number: F-2016-00752
• Publication Date: May 12, 1955

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12 May 1955
elopies of this letter from Leon Moore sent
to Messrs. Amory and Maury for information
and comment.
H. A.
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COPY
625 Park Avenue
New York City 21
Regent 7-3234
May 6, 1955
(b)(3)
Dear Allen,
Your office in
again.
kindly arranged that I receive Soviet newspapers
I do not know whether your attention was drawn to the very interesting
articles published in Pravda in connection with the 85th Anniversary since the
birth of Lenin. Several articles confirm the conception about "collective leader -
ship" which, I believe, is applied today in the Soviet Union.
You certainly remember that when I saw you last in Washington I continued
to insist that there is no one in a predominant position in the present politbureau
in Moscow.
For the anniversary of Lenin, Pravda requested articles from a few old
bolshevics who survived Stalin's purges. It looks as if Pravda could find only
three.
Krijanovsky who, together with Lenin, wrote the famous plan of
electrification and whom Stalin made a member of the Academy of Sciences;
V. Karpinsky, who also long ago changed from politcal activity to the Sciences
and probably for this reason survived; and Grigory Petrovsky, former leading
member of the Central Committee of the Party, and formerly head of the
Ukraine who lost any political importance after the purges. He survived due
to his personal relations with Stalin. These old bolshevics were requested
to write article: sz in Pravda about their personal contacts with Lenin.
It is interesting that none of them even mention Stalin's name. Karpinsky,
in Pravda of April 21 states that Lenin always insisted on collective decisions of all
important questions and he believed in the great strength of the collective brains
of the Party. He further states that Lenin never took any important decision
by himself and considered it "absolutely impossible to decide without the Party,
without consulting the highest Party organization Under all circumstances
and overcoming all obstacles, Lenin always did everything to reach a collective
decision." Karpinsky finishes his article by stating that Lenin firmly believed
that only collective leadership could guarantee the success of the Communist
Party.
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G. Petrovsky in Pravda of April 20 is even much more categorical
and makes a slightly camouflaged attack on Stalin while writing about Lenin.
Several times in his article he speaks Nabut collective leadership and he
finishes his long article as follows: "Lenin taught us collective leadership,
reminding us very often that all members of the politbureau are equal and
that the secretary of the Party is elected to fulfill the decisions of the Central
Committee of the Party." (Underlined by me.) By this Petrovsky clearly
points out that the Secretary of the Party, which position brought Stalin to
the absolute dictatorship, was really considered by Lenin as an executive
job and should be under the full control of the Central Committee of the Party.
I believe that these articles are very characteristic and. confirm the
conception which we discussed with you in Washington. This conception does
not exclude the possibility of certain internal fights in the Politbureau but
while the present old group is alive and in power, it is unlikely that they
will permit a serious internal split.
Best regards,
Sincerely yours,
/s/ Leon
Leon Moore
P.S. In the middle of June I plan to go to Europe.
L. M.
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