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Primary sourceLetterlate 1922 – early 1923

Lenin's Testament

Vladimir Lenin · late 1922 – early 1923

Notes dictated by Lenin in 1922–23 assessing possible successors and calling for Stalin's removal as General Secretary.

Dictated by Lenin himself, this is his personal assessment of the men who might succeed him.

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Handwritten Russian letter on lined paper, headed 'Строго секретно' (Strictly confidential) and titled 'Письмо к съезду' (Letter to the Congress). The text is in cursive and discusses party reforms and the Central Committee.
Vladimir Lenin, Letter to the Congress (Lenin's Testament), dictated 1922–23.

About this source

What it is

This document, also called the "Letter to the Congress", was dictated by Vladimir Lenin in late 1922 and early 1923 while he was suffering from a series of strokes. In it he discussed changes to Soviet governing bodies and assessed Bolshevik leaders including Zinoviev, Kamenev, Trotsky, Bukharin, Pyatakov, and Stalin.

Why it matters

Lenin warned of a possible split between Trotsky and Stalin and suggested, in a postscript, that Stalin be removed from his post as General Secretary. Stalin suppressed the document, and it later became central to debates over who should have succeeded Lenin. It shows the tensions building at the top of the Communist Party as Lenin's health declined.

Look closer

  • Why might Lenin have dictated this rather than written it himself?
  • What does the marking "Strictly confidential" suggest about how Lenin expected it to be used?
  • Why might Stalin have wanted to keep this document hidden?

This letter is part of the curated material that grounds the AI version of Vladimir Lenin on Humy.ai — when students ask about related events, the AI can quote it and cite it.

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