ies are unable to help in the
transport, they cannot expect to get raw materials from us."

I asked about platinum. He laughed.

"That is a different matter. In platinum we have a world monopoly, and
can consequently afford to wait. Diamonds and gold, they can have as
much as they want of such rubbish; but platinum is different, and we
are in no hurry to part with it. But diamonds and gold ornaments, the
jewelry of the Tsars, we are ready to give to any king in Europe who
fancies them, if he can give us some less ornamental but more useful
locomotives instead."

I asked if Kolchak had damaged the platinum mines. He replied, "Not at
all. On the contrary, he was promising platinum to everybody who wanted
it, and he set the mines going, so we arrived to find them in good
condition, with a considerable yield of platinum ready for use."

(I am inclined to think that in spite of Rykov's rather intransigent
attitude on the question, the Russians would none the less be willing to
export platinum, if only on account of the fact in comparison with its
great value it requires little transport, and so would make possible for
them an immediate bargain with some of the machinery they most urgently
need.)

Finally we talked of the growing importance of the Council of Public
Economy. Rykov was of opinion that it would eventually become the centre
of the whole State organism, "it and Trades Unions organizing the actual
producers in each branch."

"Then you think that as your further plans develop, with the creation
of more and more industrial centres, with special productive populations
concentrated round them, the Councils of the Trades Unions will tend to
become identical with the Soviets elected in the same districts by the
same industrial units?"

"Precisely," said Rykov, "and in that way the Soviets, useful during the
period of transition as an instrument of struggle and dictatorship, will
be merged with the Unions." (One

important factor, as Lenin pointed out when considering the same
question, is here left out of count, namely the political development of
the enormous agricultural as opposed to industrial population.)

"But if this merging of political Soviets with productive Unions occurs,
the questions that concern people will cease to be political questions,
but will be purely questions of economics."

"Certainly. And we shall see the disappearance of political parties.
That process is already ap