Published:
First published in 1956 in Kommunist No. 16.
Sent from Munich to Geneva.
Printed from the original.
Source:
Lenin
Collected Works,
Progress Publishers,
1971,
Moscow,
Volume 36,
pages 89-90.
Translated: Andrew Rothstein
Transcription\Markup:
R. Cymbala
Public Domain:
Lenin Internet Archive.
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July 13, 1904
I have received your letter of the 11th. As regards Orthodox’s P. Scriptum,[4] the majority opinion is being set forth to you today by Alexei. I disagree with this opinion, and I (personally) would like to know your view, both of this P.S. in particular, and of the opinion likewise that it could supposedly be rejected after the adoption of the whole article, owing to the “literary defects” in the P. Scriptum. The “rescue” of the P.S., about which you write, may be possible if there is a resolute vote by Pavel Borisovich for, and even then not for certain: the votes will be equally divided, for Alexei is now almost entirely against.
Generally speaking, I think that on any matter in any way relating to “controversial” points, you ought to make a direct inquiry about the reasons for the opinions expressed by our Struvefreundliche[5]: this could be done by letters addressed to Lehmann as before (altogether, letters should now be addressed through to Lehmann) with an addition “für Meyer” and “for Puttman” I’m afraid I simply cannot undertake to give an account of their views. This applies also, for instance, to my article against R. N. S.[6]
Many thanks for the offer to send material against Chernov. I have just got on to him, and could probably find use for what bears on France and Belgium (Vandervelde et Destrée, Le socialisme en Belgique,[1] quoted by Chernov, and also Vandervelde’s latest work[7]). But send it only if you don’t need it, and if you can do without it for a few weeks. I very much need to have Liebknecht’s Zur Grundund Bodenfrage,[2] which I have failed to find here, either among Parvus’s books or at the library. If you do have it, please send it along for a short time.
Chernov quotes someone called Gerolamo Gatti, who is a downright opponent of the Marxists: Le nuove correnti dell’economia agricola (Milano-Palermo, 1900).[3] Do you know what sort of bird this is? Is he worth reading? Is there a French translation? (I don’t know Italian, though perhaps my sister could help.)
Very best wishes. Write about my article.
Yours,
Petrov
[2] On the Agrarian Question.—Ed.
[3] Gerolamo Gatti, Agricoltura e socialismo. Le nuove correnti dell’economia agricola (The Agrarian Question and Socialism. New Trends in Agriculture).—Ed.
[4] P. Scriptum to Orthodox’s article was written by the author, L. I. Axelrod, for her article “Why Don’t We Want to Go Back?”, on N. A. Berdayev’s article “Struggle for Idealism”, which appeared in the magazine Mir Bozhy (God’s World) No. 6, June 1901. The latter, a liberal, later became a reactionary.
Lenin and G. V. Plekhanov insisted on the publication of P. Scriptum, but on a majority decision of the Board (Y. O. Martov, V. I. Zasulich and A. N. Potresov) the article was published without P. Scriptum in Zarya No. 2–3, December 1901.
[5] Members of Iskra’s Editorial Board nicknamed A. N. Potresov and V. I. Zasulich the “Struvefreundliche Partei” (Party friendly to Struve).
[6] A reference to Lenin’s article “The Persecutors of the Zemstvo and the Hannibals of Liberalism” (see present edition, Vol. 5, pp. 31–80).
[7] E. Vandervelde, La propriété foncière en Belgique (Land Property in Belgium), Paris, 1900.
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