The Great October Socialist Revolution, which resulted in the victory of which "the broadest masses of the working people, all the leading men of science and culture , followed the working class"¹, made the task of organizing socialist production one of the most important tasks. "If in military activities," V. I. Lenin said on March 16, 1920, at a solemn mourning meeting dedicated to the first anniversary of the death of Ya. M. Sverdlov, " sometimes much can still be done with a rush, enthusiasm, and a short onslaught, then in economic and construction activities, mainly organizational ones, nothing can be done with a single rush, onslaught, enthusiasm. The most long-term organizational work planned for many years, only it can lead us to a real victory here. " ²

From the summit of 60 years of experience in revolutionary struggle and creation, the significance of the results achieved by the first organizers of the socialist economy is clearly visible. Thus, it is now becoming clear that the program-target method of planning, considered by many experts to be an achievement of today's economic management practice, has its roots in the 1920s. The essence of this method is to create a single interconnected program of work necessary for the implementation of a specific scientific and technical goal. Of course, in the first years of Soviet power, the tasks and scope of such programs were significantly different than in our days, and the term "program-target planning" did not yet exist. Nevertheless, many of the organizational principles developed for these programs remain valuable today.

Some interest may be given, in particular, to get acquainted with the earliest attempts to use the methods of program-target planning in the organization of work on hydraulic peat extraction in 1920-1923. In the scientific literature, the problem of hydrotorf has been covered repeatedly, ³ but the main attention of the authors was paid to its technical and economic aspects, and the new contribution it made to the organization of socialist production went unnoticed-

¹ "On the 60th anniversary of the Great October Socialist Revolution". Resolution of the Central Committee of the CPSU of January 31, 1977. M .. 1977, p. 5.

² Kommunist, 1977, No. 6, pp. 7-8.

³ See, for example, P. N. Efimov. 25 years of hydrotorf. "For the peat industry", 1940, N 6; F. A. Veitkov. Lenin's genius is everywhere (On the history of the invention of the hydrotorf method). "Peat industry", 1945, N 6; F. Nesteruk. Development of hydro-mechanization in the USSR. To the 100th anniversary of the birth of R. E. Klasson (1868-1926), "River Transport", 1968, N 6, etc.

page 26

Meanwhile, it is the organizational aspect of the hydrotorf program that is now becoming particularly important. This program was developed and implemented with Lenin's active participation and direct supervision. Therefore, its analysis from the point of view of the organization can give a concrete idea of the Leninist approach to solving the problems of scientific and technological progress.

The Soviet government was less than a month old when Lenin evaluated the possibilities of a little-known and very poorly used peat in Russia. One of the first organizers of the Soviet peat industry, I. I. Radchenko, recalled that in November 1917, talking with him, " Vladimir Ilyich noted the great importance of peat as a more affordable fuel under these circumstances than the distant Donbass coal and Baku oil. He spoke with particular enthusiasm about a number of future large power plants on peat. " ⁴ In 1919, Lenin wrote to G. M. Krzhizhanovsky: "I was very interested in your report about peat... It is necessary to discuss the issue in the press. Here-de peat reserves - billions. Its thermal value. Its location... Its ease of extraction (compared to coal, shale, etc.). Employment of local workers and peasants (at least 4 hours a day to begin with). This is the basis for electrification in so many times at the current power stations. This is the fastest and surest way to restore industry, organize labor in a socialist way (agriculture + industry), and get out of the fuel crisis (we will free up so many millions of cubic meters of timber for transport)."⁵ . In April 1920, speaking at the Third All-Russian Congress of Textile Workers, Lenin again stressed the importance of peat fuel: "One of the means of salvation at the present time is urgent extraction and development of peat, which will make it possible to start up all electric power stations and free ourselves from complete dependence on coal regions remote from Central Russia."⁶ .

The focus of peat extraction on the development of the country's fuel resources is one of the first structural shifts in the Soviet economy. Before the revolution, all peat reserves were managed by the Ministry of Agriculture, which considered them as a product of swamps, along with berries and moss. In April 1918, the Main Peat Committee (Glavtorf, later Tsutorf) was organized as part of the Fuel Department of the Supreme Economic Council, and peat deposits suitable for industrial exploitation were allocated to it from the jurisdiction of the People's Commissariat of Land. The creation of Glavtorf helped to revive the peat business in the country: peat extraction, which had been continuously declining from 1914 to 1918, increased by 10% in 1919 and by ⁹% in 1920.7

For the further development of the peat industry, it was necessary to create a new technology for peat extraction. The most common method at that time was the elevator, or machine-forming, method of peat extraction. It was characterized by extremely low productivity, and all the technological operations of this method were based on heavy, exhausting physical labor , ⁸ which made it impossible to use the vast peat riches of Russia. "We cannot use them because," Lenin said at the Eighth All-Russian Congress of Soviets, " we cannot send people to this hard labor... Under the capitalist state, people went there to work because of the state budget.-

⁴ I. I. Radchenko. Lenin-the Leader on the Economic Front, Moscow, 1976, p. 5.

⁵ V. I. Lenin. PSS. Vol. 51, p. 105.

⁶ V. I. Lenin. PSS. Vol. 40, p. 322.

⁷ Calculated from: "40 years of peat industry of the USSR", Moscow, 1957, p. 35.

⁸ "Gudok", 7. XI. 1920.

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Under a socialist state, we can't send them to hard labor, and no one will do it voluntarily. " ⁹

Meanwhile, in the country, however, in a makeshift manner, but for several years experiments have been conducted to create a technology for mechanized peat extraction.

In 1912, construction of the first peat-fueled district power plant, Electroproedacha, began near Bogorodskoye (now Noginsk). When the plant was built, it turned out that the cost of extracting the peat consumed by it exceeds the revenue from the generated energy. To prevent losses, the then owners of the station decided to mechanize peat extraction using foreign equipment. However, foreign cars could not be adapted to the working conditions in the Russian swamps, and a cemetery of such cars was formed on the" Electric Transmission " ¹⁰ . In 1914, the first experiments on the creation of a mechanized peat extraction method, which could be effective in Russia, began at this station. It was based on the idea of using a water jet, which is why it was called the "hydraulic peat extraction method". However, the extremely small funds allocated for hydrotorf experiments by the joint-stock companies "Electric Transmission" and "Electric Lighting Company of 1886" did not allow achieving practically significant results ¹¹ .

After the October Revolution, the creation of mechanized peat extraction technology became a state matter. In 1918, Glavtorf organized a Commission for the extraction of peat by hydraulic method (Gidrotorf), which improved the new method of peat extraction, developed and tested the mechanisms necessary for its use (while some of the machines were made of wood due to the lack of metal). By mechanizing the main operations of peat extraction, the hydraulic method increased labor productivity in peat development: as the calculations showed, the cost of hydrotorf was 40% lower than machine-forming peat, and labor costs were reduced by 10 times ¹² .

The inventors of the hydraulic peat extraction method were Russian engineers R. E. Klasson and V. D. Kirpichnikov . Working in the extremely difficult conditions of the first post-revolutionary years, they made great efforts to ensure that their invention could be used on an industrial scale. Along with the improvements and improvements that were required to be made to the design of peat extraction machines, they had to find the means necessary to continue their experiments, sometimes fight against biased expert opinions, and overcome the lack of understanding and inertia of some employees of the management apparatus. "How did our economic centers react to the hydrotorf? - Pravda wrote later. - As the most dangerous enemy of the republic, who is going to undermine the foundations of Soviet power. Hostile. Contemptuously. Incredulous. Indifferent " ¹⁴ .

⁹ V. I. Lenin. PSS. Vol. 42, p. 152.

¹⁰ "Gidrotorf". T. I. M. 1923, p. 40.

¹¹ Ibid., p. 65.

¹² TSGANKH SSSR, f. 647, op. 1, d. 59, l. 269; d. 63, l. 168.

¹³ In a number of works on hydrotorf, only R. E. Klasson is called the author of this method, but he himself objected to this and wrote to the secretariat of the Council of People's Commissars of the RSFSR: "I am the only one named as the inventor of the hydraulic peat extraction method, whereas in fact both the main invention and all improvements were made by me together with V. D. Kirpichnikov and others. our work is not possible" (TSGANKH USSR, f. 647, op. 1, d. 59, l. 12).

¹⁴ "Pravda", 31. X. 1920.

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Glavtorf, in the administrative framework of which work was carried out on the introduction of a hydraulic peat extraction method, had no experience in implementing inventions of this scale. The management of Glavtorf was confident that by paying no less attention to the new method of peat extraction than to other tasks, it perfectly fulfills its functions. After the publication of critical comments about the bureaucratic attitude to the hydrotorf works, Glavtorf pleaded not guilty. He prepared "Materials on the relationship between Glavtorf and the inventors of the hydrotorf and on the attitude to their work during the period from April 1918 to November 1, 1920" ¹⁵ . The compilers of the materials managed to show that Glavtorf had done a lot of work in relation to hydrotorf" but at the same time it became clear to the reader that this work did not advance the practical implementation of the hydraulic method of peat extraction: as a rule, only small, unprincipled issues were solved, and what was important for the introduction of the invention into production, either not discussed at all, or rejected due to lack of funds.

This was the case with the hydraulic method of peat extraction by October 27, 1920. This day was a turning point in the fate of the invention of Klasson and Kirpichnikov. Subsequently, they wrote that 1915-1920 was the period of existence of the "small" hydrotorf, a small experimental business; October 1920 was the beginning of the history of the "big" hydrotorf, which created this method in a complete form and gave its use an industrial character16 . What happened on October 27, 1920, and why did this Deta become the hydrotorf's "finest hour"?

The following article was published in Pravda of October 29, 1920:: "On the third day in the Sverdlovsk Hall in the Kremlin, the Film and Photography Department of the People's Commissariat of Education demonstrated new films illustrating our construction in the field of peat development. Peat development in the Shatursky district and power transmission lines were shown (apparently, a typo was made here, it should be read: and at the Power Transmission station. - L. G.). In parallel with the electrified fields, the previous, manual peat development was also demonstrated at a much higher expenditure of workers ' forces." V. I. Lenin, N. K. Krupskaya, F. E. Dzerzhinsky, L. B. Krasin, and other party and state figures attended this screening, which was accompanied by Klasson's explanations ^.17 The film shown in the Kremlin on October 27, 1920, contained important information about the hydrotorf. Although Lenin had long been familiar with Klasson and was aware of the work being carried out at the Electric Transmission station, ¹⁸ the visual representation of the hydraulic peat extraction method allowed him to better understand the significance of this invention.

The new technology, which liberates human labor, in its idea was close to the method of underground coal gasification, about which Lenin wrote in 1913 that under socialism such a technology "will immediately reduce the working day for everyone from 8 hours, for example, to 7, or even less, will make working conditions more hygienic, it will save millions of workers from smoke, dust and dirt, and speed up the transformation of dirty, disgusting workshops into clean, bright, human-worthy laboratories."¹⁹ . Lenin spoke about the impression that this film made on him two months later, advising the delegates to the Eighth Congress of the Soviet Union.-

¹⁶ TSGANKH USSR, f. 647, ot. 1, d. 2, ll. 22-32.

¹⁶ "Gidrotorf". T. I. p. VII.

¹⁷ V. I. Lenin. On Electrification, Moscow, 1958, p. 364.

¹⁸ See, for example, V. I. Lenin. PSS. Vol. 51, p. 325, I. I. Radchenko. Op. ed., pp. 5, 12-13.

¹⁹ V. I. Lenin. PSS. Vol. 23, p. 94.

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Yes, you can view a cinematic image of peat extraction operations. Thanks to the invention of two Russian engineers in this field, Lenin said, "we are on the eve of a great revolution that will give us a great foothold economically." ²⁰

At the end of the session, a meeting was held, which was attended by Lenin, Klasson, the heads of Glavtorf and some other institutions. The participants of the meeting came to the conclusion that "in the whole matter of restoring the national economy of the RSFSR and electrifying the country, mechanization of peat extraction makes it possible to move forward immeasurably faster, more firmly and on a broader front. It is therefore necessary to immediately take a number of measures on a national scale to develop this matter"²¹. On 28 October, a letter written by Lenin was sent to a number of addressees (mainly heads of central economic bodies), informing them that the hydrotorf issue would be discussed at a meeting of the Council of People's Commissars on 30 October, and outlining the measures needed to implement the hydrotorf method as soon as possible.

The proposals contained in this letter can be considered the first draft of the scientific and technical program - they covered in a complex the issues of organization, logistics, material incentives and promotion of work on hydraulic peat extraction ^.22 Klasson and Kirpichnikov, Glavtorf, VSNKh submitted additions to the proposals contained in Lenin's letter ²³, and all these materials served as the basis for the resolution of the Council of People's Commissars of the RSFSR of October 30, 1920 "On the hydraulic method of peat extraction" ²⁴. On November 1, in connection with this resolution, Gidrotorf was instructed to " submit monthly reports to the Council of People's Commissars on the progress of work and about the obstacles encountered " ²⁵ .

The decree of October 30, 1920 was, in fact, a comprehensive scientific and technical program. In the course of implementation, it was corrected and clarified, some of its provisions were changed, but the result was remarkable even by today's standards - the hydrotorf was introduced into industrial production in the shortest possible time. The implementation of the hydrotorf program had its own specifics, reflecting the difficult situation of the early 20s, when the country lived in conditions of economic ruin, a chronic shortage of raw materials, machinery, fuel, and food. However, the significance of the organizational measures implemented in the implementation of the hydrotorf program goes far beyond their application.

The organizational and managerial part of the hydrotorf program began with the fact that the work on the extraction of peat by hydraulic means was placed in a privileged position. "Recognize the hydrotorf works, wherever they are carried out," the first paragraph of the resolution stated, "as particularly urgent, as having extremely important state significance." ²⁶ This point has been repeatedly used by the Hydrotorf management to influence various economic bodies. However, it soon became clear that this was not enough to meet all the needs of the Hydrotorf. In his report to the Council of People's Commissars for November 1920, the following requests were made: to give the Hydrotorf the status of a militarized enterprise, which allowed it to be divided into two groups:-

²⁰ V. I. Lenin. PSS. Vol. 42, p. 152.

²¹ V. I. Lenin. PSS. Vol. 51, p. 319.

²² See ibid., pp. 318-320.

²³ TSGANKH SSSR, f. 647, op. 1, d. 2, ll. 46-50.

²⁴ See Historical Archive, 1956, No. 1, pp. 12-13.

²⁵ TSGANKH SSSR, f. 647, op. 1, d. 34, l. 41.

²⁶ "Historical Archive", 1956, N 1, p. 12.

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increase the number of specialists involved in the work and recognize the work on hydrotorf as shock, which ensured the issuance of products for natural bonuses ²⁷ . Both requests were granted. On February 2, 1921, the Council of People's Commissars extended the general provision on militarization to all organizations of the Hydrotorf, and on January 21, the Central Production Commission under the Presidium of the Supreme Economic Council decided "to recognize the work of the Hydrotorf, its subordinate bodies and all peat farms as shock"²⁸ .

The relatively rapid and maximum possible satisfaction of Hydrotorf's requests is explained by the fact that an effective management mechanism was provided for the development of this program, which ensured its steady implementation. Its essence was laid out by Lenin in a letter to Klasson dated November 2, 1920: "In order to use the decision of the Council of People's Commissars properly, it is necessary to: 1) mercilessly strictly appeal against its violations on time, carefully monitoring the execution and, of course, choosing only cases that fit the rule "rarely, but accurately"; 2) from time to time - again following the same rule-write to me..:

please send a reminder or request

so-and-so (draft text on a separate sheet)

to such a person or institution on such an issue, due to the recognition of the Hydrotorf works as state-important.

...If reminders and requests are strictly business (without departmental fights or polemics), then I will sign such reminders and requests in 2 minutes, and they will sometimes bring practical benefits. " ²⁹

The management mechanism for the implementation of the hydrotorf program was almost unchanged during the entire duration of its implementation. Some clarification was made only in the procedure for submitting Hydrotorf reports: in order to familiarize the most interested organizations with their content, these reports were no longer sent directly to the Council of People's Commissars from December 1920, but were sent there through Glavtorf and the Presidium of the Supreme Economic Council; in addition, from December 1921, reports became bi-weekly, and they included only specific information material. which should have been written "very, very briefly" ³⁰ . In those cases, when in the course of work on the program there were issues that required special attention, Lenin involved employees of the Council of People's Commissars ' office in their solution. So, on September 11, 1921, he sent the following note to the manager of the Affairs of the Council of People's Commissars N. P. Gorbunov regarding the development of a method for dewatering peat: "The case is archivistic. I instruct you to monitor the implementation and report to me 2 times a month. " ³¹

Hydrotorf's experience in direct program implementation management is also of considerable interest. In the resolution of the Council of People's Commissars of October 30, 1920, it was written: "To organize at Glavtorf the Hydrotorf Affairs Department, consisting of. responsible supervisor R. E. Klasson and his deputy V. D. Kirpichnikov... To establish programs, approve estimates, and discuss technical issues, establish a management board consisting of 5 persons. " ³² The organization of the Hydrotorf, as its leaders wrote in the middle of 1921, was not a control one, unlike other glavkovs.-

²⁷ TSGANKH SSSR, f. 647, op. 1, d. 59, l. 16. ²³ Ibid., ll. 44, 58.

²⁹ V. I. Lenin. PSS. Vol. 51, pp. 325-326.

³⁰ TSGANKH USSR, f. 647. op. 1, d. 59, ll. 28, 244.

³¹ In I. Lenin. PSS, Vol. 53, p. 384.

³² "Historical Archive", 1956, N 1, p. 12.

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It was either a voting or directing body, but it was a body that managed the work in the field. This was explained by the fact that the hydrotorf business, as a new one, required continuous improvements and the establishment of a special economy, and could only be carried out more or less fruitfully under the direct supervision and execution of direct orders of its inventors. ³³

The Hydrotorf Council was to be organized in accordance with the idea contained in Lenin's letter of October 28, 1920: "To entrust those central offices (and other institutions) on whose assistance the success of the work depends most" to the Commission (or committee?) on the hydraulic extraction of peat (at Glavtorf), delegate their representatives (preferably communists or, in any case, obviously conscientious and especially energetic people) for permanent participation in this commission. They should be particularly responsible for the prompt execution of orders and requests from this commission. " ³⁴ However, this idea was not fully implemented. Five people were included in the Hydrotorf council - one representative of the Supreme Economic Council and two representatives each from Glavtorf and Gidrotorf-and since the Hydrotorf department was directly subordinate to Glavtorf, the council's activities were largely not creative, but administrative in nature.

Almost from the very beginning of work in the new conditions, differences began to arise between the Hydrotorf and the Glavtorf (Zutorf). The main reason for them is stated in Klasson's memo to Lenin dated February 9, 1922. It said: "We receive money from Zuthorf, which is located in completely different conditions than Hydrotorf, since Zuthorf works in cash, already existing machines on prepared swamps and it only needs money for operating costs. The hydrotorf is just emerging, being built, installing completely new machines, and, consequently, the capital costs significantly exceed the operating costs. Therefore, the combination of these two heterogeneous institutions is unnatural, and now, indeed, we cannot... perform the most important and urgent work for lack of money " ³⁵ . The note suggested separating Hydrotorf from Tsutorf. The next day, February 10, Lenin wrote to the Council of People's Commissars N. P. Gorbunov: "We cannot separate it from Tsutorf... Why separate them? We need to give autonomy within Zuthorf. Determine it accurately, in writing, and fix it in a hundred"³⁶ . On February 13, Klasson received a letter from the company's business manager: "On behalf of Vladimir Ilyich, I am transmitting the following to you... It is absolutely necessary to develop and accurately outline the organizational position of the Hydrotorf and its relationship with the Zutorf, which is fixed by the SRT resolution. I ask you to develop a corresponding draft resolution and submit it to the SRT as soon as possible."³⁷

During the preparation of this project, a discussion developed: Zuthorf suggested that Hydrotorf should be given only technical management of the work, while Hydrotorf insisted on giving it economic and administrative independence. On March 22, 1922, a resolution of the SRT "On the organization of Hydrotorf works"was adopted. It confirmed the important state significance of hydrotorf works. In the interests of their smooth and successful progress, it was decided: "To allocate the Hydrotorf Affairs Department from Zutorf and transfer it on the basis of economic calculation as an autonomous company-

³³ TSGANKH SSSR, f. 647, op. 1, d. 59, l. 558.

³⁴ V. I. Lenin. PSS. Vol. 51, p. 319.

35 "Historical Archive", 1956, N 1, p. 34.

³⁶ V. I. Lenin. PSS. Vol. 54, p. 159.

³⁷ TSGANKH SSSR, f. 647, op. 1, d. 59, l. 303.

page 32

a state-owned enterprise that is under the supervision of the Main Fuel Department, while simultaneously withdrawing from state supply"³⁸ .

The resolution of the Council of People's Commissars of October 30, 1920 also provided for the material and technical support of the hydrotorf program. It established, first, the procedure according to which the supply departments had to satisfy the Hydrotorf's requests in the first place; secondly, it proposed that the People's Commissariat for Maritime Affairs should unconditionally issue materials, equipment, and machinery to the Hydrotorf and appoint a representative who was quite familiar with the department's reserves for direct communication with the Hydrotorf; thirdly, instructed the Metal Department of the Supreme Economic Council to allocate several plants for the manufacture of equipment necessary for the hydraulic peat extraction method39 . Gidrotorf's report for February 1921 stated that its orders were fulfilled at 14 factories by groups of workers varying in size - from five people (the plant ex. Dangauer and the Kaiser) up to 115 people (Moscow Metal Plant). In total, 530 people worked at these plants on Hydrotorf orders ^.40 However, the distribution of orders to different factories was not efficient enough. As Klasson reported to Lenin on August 2, 1921, Gidrotorf received "a number of machine parts that were half finished in one factory, but other parts that were manufactured in other factories were completely incomplete, so all the mechanisms were useless for us."⁴¹

In the first days of June 1921, Gidrotorf filed a petition with the Council of People's Commissars for the transfer of the former plant to it. "Russian car". Explaining the reasons for the petition, Klasson informed Lenin on June 10: "If it turns out to be possible to transfer the mentioned plant to us, we would arrange a technical base for all repair work, testing of machines, and finishing... The plant is well equipped and under favorable conditions it is possible to work intensively " ⁴². On August 10, a resolution of the Service Station was adopted, in which the Russian Machine plant was asked to perform Hydrotorf tasks, while continuing to perform urgent work of the Red Army Armored Department on tank repair ⁴³ . This decision was not sufficient to ensure the normal operation of the Hydrotorf, so its managers began to push for the plant to be transferred completely to their disposal. After repeated discussion of the issue at various levels, a decision was made, which in the resolution of the SRT of March 22, 1922 "On the organization of Hydrotorf operations" was formulated as follows: "The plant located in the partial disposal of the Hydrotorf Management". The Russian Car is fully transferred to him. " ⁴⁴

The Hydrotorf plant became the center of creation of machines for hydraulic peat extraction. As the old employees of this enterprise recall, the concentration of all its production activities on the release of new experimental equipment that facilitates working conditions

³⁸ "Historical Archive", 1956, No. 1, p. 38. The transfer of the Hydrotorf to self-financing provided for by this decree was largely a formal act. This was clearly indicated by the NKF budget and budget commission, which decided in May 1922: "The usual procedure for releasing funds to self-supporting enterprises cannot be applied to the Hydrotorf, since 1) it is an enterprise that is under organization; 2) most of its funds are intended not for operation, but for the equipment of the enterprise; 3) in the current year, the enterprise cannot switch to self-sufficiency" (TSGANKH USSR, f. 647, op. 1, d. 59, l. 425).

³⁹ "Historical Archive", 1956, N 1, p. 13. ⁴⁰ TSGANKH SSSR. f. 647, op. 1. d. 59, ll. 66. 106.

⁴¹ Ibid., l. 173.

⁴² Ibid., l. 161. Before the revolution, the factory belonged to Michelson.

⁴³ Ibid., l. 202.

⁴⁴ "Historical archive". 1950, No. 1, page 38.

page 33

at peat extraction, it was met with great enthusiasm by the team. Everyone worked overtime, absorbed in one thought - it was better and faster to complete the production task, which was called "Lenin's order" ⁴⁵ . In this regard, the staff of the plant applied to assign the name of V. I. Lenin to the enterprise. On September 9, 1922, the Commission for renaming Moscow factories and plants of the Moscow City Council decided: "Rename the plant of B. Mikhelson to the machine-building plant named after Vladimir Ilyich" ⁴⁶ . It was the first enterprise in the country to be named after Lenin.

The plant named after Vladimir Ilyich, being under the jurisdiction of Gidrotorf, was, according to current terminology, an experimental enterprise. The production program was approved by Gidrotorf, the plant manager reported directly to Gidrotorf, being responsible to it for the production, economic and financial activities of the enterprise ^.47 With such a management structure, the plant was not on an economic settlement, but was only an integral part of a self-supporting organization. Self-financing of the Hydrotorf, as noted above, was essentially formal in nature, so the plant was constantly experiencing significant economic difficulties. In the end, after repeated attempts to improve the economic situation of the plant, the Presidium of the Supreme Economic Council made the following decision on December 31, 1923: "From January 1, 1924, to allocate the plant to them. Vladimir Ilyich from the Hydrotorf and transfer it to a business settlement... The plant has a pre-emptive right to receive Hydrotorf orders... The plant undertakes to accept orders from Gidrotorf for the production of prototype machines. " ⁴⁸

An important element of the hydrotorf program in terms of its technical support was equipment orders abroad. Their importance for the speedy implementation of the program was noted by Lenin. He said in 1920: "We have made machines that are used in the new method (hydrotorf. - L. G.), but we have made them poorly. Business trips abroad, when the exchange of goods with foreign countries is being established, with even semi-legal trade relations existing, will help us to get these same machines, designed by our inventors, executed perfectly. " ⁴⁹ The resolution of the Council of People's Commissars of October 30, 1920 included a clause according to which the People's Commissariat of Foreign Trade was ordered to take urgent measures to receive equipment ordered by Gidrotorf ⁵⁰ from abroad .

The Hydrotorf report for December 1920 stated that the complete application for equipment to be ordered abroad for the 1921 season had been reviewed and approved by the Import Commission of the Supreme Economic Council ^.51 At the beginning of 1921, Klasson was sent abroad. The task was to get acquainted with the main achievements in the field of peat extraction, and first of all with the work aimed at accelerating the drying of peat. It was supposed to attract foreign specialists with large bonuses (10-50 thousand rubles in gold) in case of achieving valuable results in the development of technical means and technological processes for hydrotorf. As Lenin wrote, "there is no need to spare money for this." ⁵² However, the awards were not needed, as Klasson found out that the German Madruk society had created a special press

⁴⁵ "Voprosy ekonomiki", 1960, N 4, p. 94.

⁴⁶ "Rabochaya Moskva", 15. IX. 1922.

⁴⁷ TSGANKH SSSR, f. 647, op. 1, d. 61, l. 405.

⁴⁸ Ibid., op. 3, d. 61, l. 14.

⁴⁹ V. I. L e n i n PSS. T 42, p. 153.

⁵⁰ "Historical Archive", 1956, N 1, page 13.

⁵¹ TSGANKH SSSR, f. 647, op. 1, d. 59, l. 29.

⁵² See V. I. Lenin PSS. Vol. 52, pp. 255, 260-261.

page 34

for pressing (dewatering) peat, the improvement of which would make it possible to turn peat extraction in our country from a seasonal process to a year-round one.

Another task of Klasson's business trip was to control the passage of Hydrotorf's foreign orders. In carrying out this task, he discovered many serious shortcomings in the work of our foreign trade organizations. In a report on a business trip sent to Lenin on May 20, 1921, Klasson reported that no equipment had been ordered before the arrival of the Hydrotorf representative for purely bureaucratic reasons: no one wanted to take the initiative; in addition, the funds allocated for orders for the Hydrotorf were spent for other purposes. "The whole situation in the case of foreign orders is such," Classon wrote, " that it is absolutely impossible to count on productive work and prompt execution of our orders. The waste of time is extreme, the whole system is such that no one cares to reduce this pointless waste of time, and in the pursuit of a few marks of savings, weeks and months of precious time are sacrificed. " ⁵³

Shortcomings in the work of foreign trade organizations and difficulties in the operation of the Hydrotorf led to the fact that in the middle of 1921 it became obvious that the annual program of peat extraction by hydraulic means could not be implemented. However, Klasson on this occasion did not express particular distress. "The season of 1921,"he wrote," was only missed in quantity, because this year it was important not so much to extract a lot of peat, but to finally develop the types of machines and all the details of production. " ⁵⁴ Agreeing in principle with Klasson's opinion, Lenin wrote to him: "You are also a little to blame for the fact that the year 1921 was missed. Don't miss 1922"⁵⁵ . To fulfill this requirement for foreign orders, a special foreign trade organization was created-the Temporary Berlin Commission for issuing orders for Hydrotorf.

On September 24, 1921, Lenin signed an instruction on the basis of which the activities of this organization were to be carried out. The instructions stated that the commission was created "for immediate resolution on the spot of all issues related to the issuance of orders abroad for items of mechanical equipment for Hydrotorf" ⁵⁶ . She was assigned to perform the following functions: detailed identification of items to be ordered; determination of technical and commercial conditions of orders; search for suppliers and conclusion of contracts; monitoring the execution of orders and their acceptance; sending ordered items to Russia and monitoring their progress on the way. In addition, the commission had to conduct experiments, tests and other actions necessary to clarify the capabilities of the ordered equipment. The composition of the commission was determined - two foreign trade employees and one Hydrotorf employee (members of the commission were indicated personally). It was allocated foreign currency with the condition that it would be spent only on hydrotorf equipment that could not be manufactured in Russia. Lenin's note was attached to the instructions: "I ask you to carry out it with special care, so that by 1.II. 1922 everything will be ready in Berlin and by 1.III. 1922 everything will be in Moscow. The reports are brief, but neat, and monthly... Do not miss out, as they have already missed more than once in this case. " ⁵⁷

⁵³ TSGANKH SSSR, f. 647, op. 1, 59, l. 139.

⁵⁴ Ibid., p. 159

⁵⁵ V. I. Lenin. PSS. Vol. 52, p. 255.

⁵⁶ "Lenin's Collection" XXIII, p. 92.

⁵⁷ Ibid., p. 93.

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Another essential element of the Hydrotorf program was the material support of employees. In the resolution of the Council of People's Commissars of October 30, 1920, it was written:: "All responsible employees of the Hydrotorf, on whose work the rapid and complete success of the business directly depends, are provided with highly qualified food rations for themselves and their families and receive such remuneration that they can fully and completely devote themselves to their work. The remaining employees receive a year-round ration set for peat workers during the peat season. " ⁵⁸ But the material support of the Hydrotorf workers faced serious difficulties. Thus, the program managers reported :" We were not able to come even remotely close to such a staff payment that would allow us to fully devote ourselves to our work" (January 1921); "The employees of the Hydrotorf had to think not about business, but about ways to feed themselves in one way or another" (March); "Employees of our institution are forced to look for earnings on the side" (April)⁵⁹ .

There was no fixed staffing schedule for the Hydrotorf; the number of its employees at any given moment was consistent with the tasks received from the Council of People's Commissars and with the actual state of work. ⁶⁰ So, as of June 1, 1921, there were 197 people in the Hydrotorf department, as of September 1-226, and as of January 1, 1922-321 people. In total, at the beginning of 1922, the Hydrotorf had about 1,900 employees, including about 1,100 in three peat processing farms and more than 450 employees in ^a machine-building plant61 . Serious financial difficulties did not prevent the creation of a creative, business environment in the Hydrotorf. Lenin considered the staff of Gidrotorf conscientious, efficient and supported petitions for large allocations.

On March 2, 1922, in connection with the provision of 1,200 thousand rubles from the reserve fund of the Council of People's Commissars to this organization, Lenin sent a letter to the comrades working in the Hydrotorf. The letter said: "You have now received what you need for your work. Despite all our poverty and squalor, you have been allocated large sums in addition to the previously issued amounts. Take strict care of yourself: 1. in order not to do something in vain, 2. in order not to make a bigger swing than the allocated funds allow, 3. so that the experiments you have carried out receive the maximum degree of evidence and give final answers about the practical and economic suitability of the new method of peat extraction, 4. pay special attention to the fact that the new method of peat extraction reporting on the use of the amounts allocated to you. Reporting should be done in such a way that it is possible to judge the value of the extracted peat " ⁶² .

Lenin's letter was reproduced and posted in the offices of the leading employees of the Hydrotorf, so that it would always serve as a reminder and never be overlooked. "We have been given a great deal," said the order signed by Klassov,"and therefore we will be charged a great deal." ⁶³ Lenin's letter played an important stimulating role in maximizing the use of the funds received at the final stages of the implementation of the hydrotorf scientific and technical program. - On January 26, 1923, the commission of the Council of People's Commissars, which examined the work on the hydrotorf, came to a single decision: "The hydraulic method of TOR-

⁵⁸ "Historical Archive", 1956, N 1, p. 13.

⁵⁹ TSGANKH SSSR, f. 647, op. 1, d. 59, ll. 57, 64, 97.

⁶⁰ Ibid., 7, l. 125.

⁶¹ Ibid., pp. 80, 125, 138, 346.

³² V. I. Lenin. PSS. Vol. 54, pp. 196-197.

⁶³ "Historical Archive", 1956, N 1, p. 37.

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peat extraction has now passed the experimental stage and assumed an industrial character, it is a great achievement in the mechanization of peat extraction and gives a product that is not inferior in quality to machine-formed peat and in its price-in any case, does not exceed the cost of the latter"⁶⁴ . On the basis of this decision, on January 31, 1923, the SRT adopted the following resolution: "To recognize that the hydraulic method of peat extraction has now passed the experimental stage, has assumed an industrial character and has led to great achievements in the mechanization of peat extraction"⁶⁵ .

Thus, the time limits of the hydrotorf program can be clearly dated: its beginning is connected with the resolution of the Council of People's Commissars of October 30, 1920, and its completion is connected with the resolution of the SRT of January 31, 1923. The total duration of the program is 2 years and 3 months. The success of the first experience of using the program-target method is also evidenced by the fact that a set of machines for hydraulic peat extraction, which was exhibited by the Hydrotorf and the Vladimir Ilyich Plant at the All-Union Agricultural Exhibition in 1923, was awarded a Diploma of the First degree ⁶⁶ .

After the program was completed, the Hydrotorf Department was re-incorporated as a department in Zutorf. In 1926, new units were created that increased the productivity of the hydrotorf, and in 1938 and 1940, the operation of machines began, which, although they did not increase the productivity of the hydraulic method, but improved the quality of the extracted peat ^.67 On the scope of application of the invention of Klasson and Kirpichnikov ⁶⁸ :

At one time, hydrotorf, which made it easier to work in peat development and increased its productivity, replaced the machine-forming method of peat extraction. But several decades passed, and hydrotorf was forced to give way to a more productive milling method of peat extraction. In the late 1950s, the Ministry of Power Plants of the USSR decided to sharply reduce peat extraction by hydraulic means and reconstruct hydrotorf enterprises ^.69

Technically and economically, hydrotorf is outdated, but from the point of view of the history of socialist planning and the organization of Soviet science and technology, its experience is of considerable interest. The implementation of the hydrotorf program for the first time successfully solved many problems of production management, which we are now returning to at a new, much higher level in a developed socialist society.

⁶⁴ "Gidrotorf", Vol. I, p. 430.

⁵⁵ "Historical Archive", 1956, N 1, p. 39.

⁶⁶ TSGANKH SSSR, f. 647, op. 1, d. 61, l. 220.

⁶⁷ "40 years of peat industry of the USSR", p. 87.

⁶⁸ Ibid., pp. 34, 85.

⁶⁹ M. Ya. Ryabchikov. Reconstruction of peat enterprises from hydrotorf to milling peat extraction. "Peat industry", 1957, N 6.

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