Written: Written before March 29, 1913
Published:
Sent from Cracow to Paris.
Printed from the original.
Published for the first time in the Fourth (Russian) Edition of the Collected Works.
Source:
Lenin
Collected Works,
Progress Publishers,
[1976],
Moscow,
Volume 35,
pages 93-94.
Translated: Andrew Rothstein
Transcription\Markup:
R. Cymbala
Public Domain:
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Dear L. B.,
I received your letter today and ...[1] from the report on the Third Duma group. Thanks. I passed it on today to Malinovsky, who is here; ... is leaving today....
It’s strange, very strange indeed, about Dan! He lives quite freely, goes to the group, is the editor of Luch, etc.!! The secret police are playing some big game here!
There are heavy arrests at home. Koba has been arrested. We have discussed with Malinovsky what measures to take. The circulation of Pravda is 30–32 thousand on week-days and 40–42 thousand on holidays. There is a general cry that we haven’t the people. The liquidators have a mass of intellectuals, while all ours get arrested.
It’s been decided “in principle” to abolish the extra sheets and to publish weekly supplements to Pravda, for an extra payment, of 4–8--12 pages (in place of Zvezda); it would be a good thing if successful—but the lack of people is a hindrance.
The Six get on very well together, but complain that it’s hard going....
All the “intelligentsia” are with the liquidators. The mass of the workers are with us (40,000 Pravda, against 12,000 Luck) but the workers are producing their own intelligentsia with the greatest difficulty. Slowly and with difficulty.
Party affairs in Russia in general are obviously improving. Workers’ circles, groups and organisations are obviously developing everyhwere and growing stronger. Expanding. And the Urals and the South and Moscow Region ( particularly). In the Caucasus there is an improvement (latest information is that there are arrests again)....
There is an undoubted revival in the Social-Democratic movement. Once again people have begun to give (a little) money. News! There are signs of a revival of revolutionary organisations in the forces. But the tempo of the movement is different somehow, new in some way.
You have, of course, noticed Plekhanov in Pravda? Had his fling and ... returned. What a wobbler he is! Helped Mayevsky[2] (after January 1912)—then abandoned him (August 1912)—was mercilessly attacked by him—now attacks him in turn!! Kiselyov has sent me a long letter, reproaching me for keeping down the pro-Party Mensheviks, of whom I am supposed to be unwarrantedly demanding that they should be “Leninists”. The man’s a crank! But Gr—y thinks this is a “move” by Plekhanov....
Something new in the history of intrigue: K. Radek has put out a pamphlet Meine Abrechnung, against Tyszka, gave him a terrific lambasting. They have promised to send you a copy too.
I have read Rosa’s new book Die Akkumulation des Kapitals. She has got into a shocking muddle. She has distorted Marx. I am very glad that Pannekoek and Eckstein and 0. Bauer have all with one accord condemned her, and said against her what I said in 1899 against the Narodniks. I intend to write about Rosa for No. 4 of Prosveshcheniye.[3]
Koba had time to write a big article on the nationalities problem (for three issues of Prosveshcheniye). Good! We must fight for the truth against the separatists and opportunists of the Bund and among the liquidators.
There is a certain moving of the waters towards Russia: there are more leaving foreign parts to work at home than before.
Trotsky, they say, is offended with Luch.
But I must close. Warm regards from Malinovsky and us all. All the best.
Vonrs, Lenin
[1] The manuscript is damaged in places. Several words here and below are illegible.—Ed.
[2] Mayevsky, Y. (Gutovsky, V. A.) (1875–1918)—Social-Democrat, Menshevik. He contributed to the magazine Nasha Zarya, the newspaper Luch and other Menshevik liquidators’ organs.
[3] In March and April 1913 Lenin was working on an article to be called “Rosa Luxemburg’s Unsuccessful Addition to Marxist Theory”. He drew up a plan of the article, compiled statistical tables and copied quotations from Marx’s Capital, but the article was never published.
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