# Intuition and competence against passion (gambling, drive) and courage (boldness, sass) - using the example of Boris Vannikov's "Brief memories by the People's Commissar". A note

de Overwood Henry

MMMDCLXXXII. Intuition and competence against passion (gambling, drive) and courage (boldness, sass) - using the example of Boris Vannikov's "Brief memories by the People's Commissar". A note. - July 30, 2025.

Intuition and competence against passion (gambling, drive) and courage (boldness, sass) - using the example of Boris Vannikov's "Brief memories by the People's Commissar". A note.


Earlier, I expressed my opinion about the title of one of V.I. Lenin's works (MMMDCXXXI. Muddle Instead of Music. Addendum to the response to the review. - March 13, 2025.). My opinion on the title of the article "Leo Tolstoy as a mirror of the Russian Revolution": " Is it correct to compare the outstanding writer Leo Tolstoy with a mirror (an inanimate object)? "


In the Boris Vannikov's " Brief memories by the People's Commissar " (Boris Vannikov - People's Commissar of Armaments of the USSR, January 11, 1939-June 9, 1941), I came across a quote from the works by Vladimir Lenin: "V. I. Lenin at the VIII Party Congress on March 18, 1919, said: "We could not exist without the armed protection of the socialist republic. The ruling class will never give its power to the oppressed class. But the latter must prove in practice that he is not only capable of overthrowing the exploiters, but also to organize for self-defense, willing to gamble all (everything)..." [that is, to bet in a card game on everything the player has].


Lenin's word combination "to gamble all (everything)" [that is, to bet in a card game on everything the player has] caught my attention.


Defense issues are characterized by Vladimir Lenin (in this quote) through notions that characterize, describe a gambling card game.


If Leo Tolstoy was considered (by V.I. Lenin) a household object (a mirror), then why should military matters not be perceived as a gambling?


In his " Brief memories by the People's Commissar " ('Записки народного комиссара'), Boris Vannikov describes the fate of various types of weapons, of some weapons designers. It is also interesting to learn about the decision-making process on certain types of weapons.


Boris Vannikov colorfully describes how were colliding (1) an intuition (a talent) and a competence (a knowledge), on the one hand, and (2) excitement, courage (own foolishness [tyranny], incompetence), on the other hand.


Boris Vannikov, for example, writes: "In 1939, at the initiative of the People's Commissariat of Defense, the government discussed the issue of discontinuing production of the Degtyaryov's machine pistol (a submachine gun) (PPD) (PPD-40) - with a canceling of relevant orders to weapons factories. The military motivated this proposal by the fact that, by their definition, a submachine gun was an ineffective weapon, could have an extremely limited scope of application and was generally suitable not for the army, but rather "for American gangsters robbing banks."


Of course, at that time no one knew that it was an automatic submachine gun (machine pistol) that would become not only the most effective, but also the most widespread small arms during the Second World War, pushing the 3-line rifle into the background. However, even then it was impossible to abandon it so recklessly, since there were already very definite signs that a machine pistol could play an important role in strengthening the power of our army and strengthening the country's defense capability.


This machine pistol is designed to fire pistol cartridges [7.62×25mm Tokarev pistol cartridge - for pistol], which are weaker than 3-line rifle cartridges [7.62×54mmR cartridge - for 3-line rifle], as a result of which the submachine gun has a very simple design and its manufacture is relatively cheap, which is extremely important for mass weapons. Being significantly smaller and lighter than a light machine gun and remaining an individual weapon, it is a powerful means of enhancing fire." (Boris Vannikov " Brief memories by the People's Commissar ").


Boris Vannikov went "against the flow", against the decision to stop the production of PPD, achieved (through "maneuvers") the preservation of serial factory production of PPD, albeit in small volumes.


The The Winter War (a war between the Soviet Union and Finland, 1939-1940) followed; the 'Suomi' Finland-machine-pistol [The Suomi KP/-31] was praised, and an attempt was made to start production of this Finland-machine-pistol for the Red Army. According to Boris Vannikov, the PPD was no worse than the Suomi KP/-31; plus the PPD production was organized and maintained (in small volumes).


The absurd situation when a manufacturing of a certain type of domestic weapon is discontinued, and then suddenly an attempt is made to start a production of a foreign equivalent (in huge volumes), has received a solution: to expand the scale of PPD production (that production was saved by Boris Vannikov). The solution of the situation manifested itself in two jokes:


"Stalin greeted me with a joke, the meaning of which was something like this: some military men willingly shoot a hare that is tied to a tree, but they do not know what to do when he, the hare, starts shooting at them from the same tree. Then Stalin asked me to report on the measures taken regarding the production of PPDs....


Then Stalin began discussing with the military the distribution of the available [earlier manufactured] PPDs. After waiting a bit, I asked:


- Can I be free?


"As long as you weren't arrested (so far, now), you are free," Stalin replied with a smile." (Boris Vannikov, " Brief memories by the People's Commissar ").


Just like the author of the 'dictatorship of the proletariat' (a political myth) and of the 'war communism' (which failed miserably - see "Kronstadt rebellion, March 1921") considered Leo Tolstoy something like an element of furniture, - so and military affairs (according to the Bolshevik tradition, by many actors of the Bolshevik elite) was often perceived as a matter of passion (gambling, drive) and of a boldness, sass (a demonstrating of a sassing over a common sense and over competent people).


July 30, 2025, 10:19 (10:19 a.m.)


Translation from Russian into English: July 30, 2025 14:08

Владимир Владимирович Залесский ' Интуиция и компетентность против азарта и куража - на примере 'Записок наркома' Бориса Ванникова. Заметка. '.


{3711. Интуиция и компетентность против азарта и куража - на примере 'Записок наркома' Бориса Ванникова. Заметка. - 30 июля 2025 г.

MMMDCLXXXII. Intuition and competence against passion (gambling, drive) and courage (boldness, sass) - using the example of Boris Vannikov's "Brief memories by the People's Commissar". A note. - July 30, 2025.


Vladimir Zalessky Internet-bibliotheca. Интернет-библиотека Владимира Залесского}