Written: Written January 13, 1917
Published:
First published In 1964 in Collected Works, Fifth (Russian) Ed., Vol. 49.
Sent from Zurich to Clarens.
Printed from the original.
Source:
Lenin
Collected Works,
Progress Publishers,
[1977],
Moscow,
Volume 43,
pages 598-599a.
Translated: Martin Parker and Bernard Isaacs
Transcription\Markup:
R. Cymbala
Public Domain:
Lenin Internet Archive
(2005).
You may freely copy, distribute,
display and perform this work; as well as make derivative and
commercial works. Please credit “Marxists Internet
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• README
Dear Friend,
Yesterday we had a meeting of the Left Germans. Mostly workers, some young people. We haven’t got the work running smoothly yet: I have a dual, uncertain impression. He’s a nice one, Nobs! A worker sent him a Left article about the mean trick in putting off the congress. Nobs put the article in over the man’s signature, and the next day printed another article of a different trend; he mutilated the Left article, pruned it away, and I discovered this by accident at the meeting, when I criticised the article in just those passages which Nobs had mutilated!
And these are “Lefts”!
Incidentally, it emerged at the meeting that there were contacts with the Lefts in Neuchâtel, who had previously come out against the opportunists. It wouldn’t be a bad idea to take a trip there with addresses (or letters of introduction, which I could get here) and brief them, read them a lecture, make contacts and so on.
Did I write you that Name, at a meeting of the Parteivorstand (7.I), had the honesty to speak against Grimm, to reproach him precisely as “international secretary”?
Olga writes me today that Guilbeaux delivered a report on the French congress, scathingly criticised the Longuetists (“he out-does you”, as she writes) and stood for a split. That’s good, but he, Guilbeaux, has no base, he is a man of moods, he has no foundations, no theory. That is dangerous. He is expecting his wife from Paris, who is carrying on agitation there. Guilbeaux and Brilliant have agreed to adopt a resolution of protest against postponement of the congress. They are having a meeting of delegates on 22.I to vote this resolution.
The day after tomorrow, Sunday, we here are having a meeting of the Bureau of Lefts (Grigory, Radek and I) on the question of a protest against Grimm. We shall see!
I wish you all the very best, and ask you again to make a trip somewhere, if only for a time, if only with lectures or anything else, so as to have a change, to throw yourself into some absorbing occupation, something useful to new and fresh people. Believe me, work among the French is extremely needful and extremely useful.
I have received the book and catalogues. Merci.
Yours,
Lenin
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