In 1917 he was given a mandate from the
Central Committee of the
Russian Communist Party to reorganise Narkompros, making it a more efficient organisation. This was only completed in late 1920. He proposed splitting Narkompros into an Academic Centre, dealing with policy, and an Organisational Centre, dealing with the administration of the ministry. Whilst the Commissar,
Anatoly Lunacharsky would maintain overall supervision and head the Academic Centre, an additional Assistant Commissar, i.e. Litkens, would run the Organisational Centre and have administrative control. The proposal was criticised by both
Lenin and
Krupskaya, but it was nevertheless implemented with some amendments by
Sovnarkom in mid-February 1921. Lunacharsky, as Commissar retained overall control, but the Academic Centre was to be headed by
Mikhail Pokrovsky as an Assistant Commissar alongside Litkens heading the Organisational Centre. Whereas Litkens had proposed three departments within Narkompros,
Glavsotsvos for school education,
Glavprofobr for technical training and
higher education and
Glavpolitprosvet for political education, Sovnarkon introduced a fourth
Gosizdat, the State Publishing House. He was murdered by
Crimean bandits in
Yalta in 1922. ==References==