V. I.   Lenin

Letter to Members of the Politbureau of the C.C., R.C.P.(B.) with Proposals on
The Draft Directives of the Comintern Executive for the Comintern Delegation to the Conference of the Three Internationals^[1]

Written: Written March 14 or 15, 1922
Published: First published in part in 1958 in the book 0 Deyatelnosty V. I. Lenina v 1917—1922 g. (Lenin’s Activities in 1917—1922), Moscow. Published in full in 1959 in Lenin Miscellany XXXVI. Printed from the manuscript.
Source: Lenin Collected Works, Progress Publishers, 1971, Moscow, Volume 42, pages 406^b-407^a.
Translated: Bernard Isaacs
Transcription\Markup: R. Cymbala and D. Walters
Public Domain: Lenin Internet Archive (2004). You may freely copy, distribute, display and perform this work; as well as make derivative and commercial works. Please credit “Marxists Internet Archive” as your source.
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Zinoviev

Stalin

Kamenev and other members of the Politbureau:

I propose

p. 11 (2nd part) (re changing attitude towards the Mensheviks) should be thrown out.

We cannot speak of this even provisionally just now.

In my opinion the directives should be amended this way:

1. AA) If you wish to raise the most controversial questions, i.e., those that evoke the greatest hostility of the III International towards the II and 111/2 Internationals, then we agree on condition
   1. (a) that the list of questions be arranged with us
   2. (b) ... and the most detailed rules of procedure in discussing the rights of the III International; these rights to be safeguarded in greatest detail, etc., etc.
2.   BB) We, on our part, propose raising only the least controversial questions with the aim of attempting partial, but joint action by the rank and file of the working class.

If they accept AA, we shall insert: a general appraisal by us of the II and II 1/2 Internationals, the sum of our accusations against them, etc., etc.

Further: on 25.III, i.e., at the preliminary meeting, our delegates should be extremely discreet, so long as there is still hope of achieving our purpose, i.e., enticing all 3 Internationals ((the II and the II 1/2)) into a general conference.

We should not make a break at once because of its composition, and in any case we should not break without getting in touch with Moscow, unless it is something glaringly mean, absolutely intolerable.

Lenin

Notes

[1] This letter was written in connection with the drafting by the Comintern Executive of directives for the Comintern’s delegation to the conference of the three Internationals. It is a comment on the directives which G. Y. Zinoviev drafted and sent to Lenin on March 14, 1922, with a request to express his opinion on them before the draft was submitted to the Comintern Executive. These directives, amended in accordance with Lenin’s remarks and proposals, were approved by the Politbureau, and unanimously endorsed by the Comintern Executive on March 17.