Stalin, Joseph and Vyachelav Mikhaylovich Molotov

Typed letter signed and dated ("J. Stalin 8 January 1940") and countersigned ("V. Molotov"), in blue pencil, in Russian, 1 page (11⅞ x 8¼ in., 302 x 209 mm), 8 January 1940, to Khorloogiin Choibalsan, Communist leader of the Mongolian People's Republic; skillful repair to center vertical fold.

Typed letter signed and dated ("J. Stalin 8 January 1940") and countersigned ("V. Molotov"), in blue pencil, in Russian, 1 page (11 7/8 x 8 1/4 in., 302 x 209 mm), 8 January 1940, to Khorloogiin Choibalsan, Communist leader of the Mongolian People's Republic; skillful repair to center vertical fold.
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Stalin and Molotov request thousands of tons of wool and down to clothe their troops.  In the throes of World War II, Stalin and Molotov write to Mongolian dictator Choibalsan with a request for 30,000 tons of sheep's wool, 8,000 tons of camel's wool and 1,000 tons of goat's down.  Stalin and Molotov were making preparations for the Red Army to invade Germany.  No doubt, they had learned a harsh lesson from the Finnish campaign of 1939 where the Soviet Army had been so poorly prepared for winter warfare.

Should the government of the Mongolian Republic comply with this request, Stalin and Molotov declare the Soviet government will make every effort to comply with Choibalsan's request to help the Mongolian People's Republic. Although maintaining neutrality during World War II, Mongolia depended heavily on Soviet military aid to defend the Manchurian border against Japanese invasion.

A document  signed by Stalin and Molotov addressed to a head of state is of the utmost rarity and no record of another at auction has been found.