Lenin's Hanging Order
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The term Lenin's Hanging Order refers to the handwritten order [1] dated August 11, 1918, written by Vladimir Lenin instructing communists operating in and around Penza to publicly hang at least one hundred kulaks; publicize their names; confiscate their grains and to take an unspecified number of hostages.
In terms of the Order, this was intended to be demonstrated to "people hundreds of kilometers around" by way of an example, in response to kulak revolts in 5 volosts in the area. The Order was specifically addressed to comrades Kuraev, Bosh, Minkin and other Penza communists and required the recipients to acknowledge receipt of the Order by telegraphic mail and to confirm the execution of the Order.
The Penza area is in the East European plains.
The order was discussed during a controversy around a 1997 BBC documentary, Lenin's Secret Files, based on Robert Service's findings in recently opened Soviet archives.
The text is as follows:
Send to Penza
To Comrades Kuraev,
Bosh, Minkin and
other Penza
communistsComrades! The revolt by the five kulak volost's must be suppressed without mercy. The interest of the entire revolution demands this, because we have now before us our final decisive battle "with the kulaks." We need to set an example.
1) You need to hang (hang without fail, so that the public sees) at least 100 notorious kulaks, the rich, and the bloodsuckers.
2) Publish their names.
3) Take away all of their grain.
4) Execute the hostages - in accordance with yesterday's
telegram.This needs to be accomplished in such a way, that people for hundreds of miles around will see, tremble, know and scream out: let's choke and strangle those blood-sucking kulaks.
Telegraph us acknowledging receipt and execution of this.
Yours, Lenin
P.S. Use your toughest people for this.
