Vladimir Dmitrievich Bonch-Bruevich (1873–1955) was a revolutionary, a Soviet statesman, a historian and a publisher. The article deals with a little known period in his life. On the basis of the archive information, rare publications and letters from V.I. Lenin his activity as an efficient organizer of a state farm “Lesnye Polyany” situated near Moscow (1920–1929) are analyzed. In spite of the above he never stopped his research as a historian.