Published:
First published in 1930.
Sent from Paris to Davos (Switzerland).
Printed from the original.
Source:
Lenin
Collected Works,
Progress Publishers,
1974,
Moscow,
Volume 34,
pages 414-415.
Translated: Clemens Dutt
Transcription\Markup:
D. Moros
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
Archive” as your source.
March 27, 1910
Dear Comrade Mikhail,
How is your health? Are you getting better? Write about this, tell us whether you are putting on weight and how much.
The fog of conciliatory unity among us is beginning to disperse. I am sending you a reprint from No. 12 of Sotsiai-Demokrat[1] You will see from it that there has been an all-out fight with the Golos group. The question now boils down to whether there are any Plekhanovites in existence, whether there are any pro-Party Mensheviks in existence, or whether all the Mensheviks are Golos supporters, and Plekhanov is simply an isolated individual.
Intensified agitation has to be carried on for the withdrawal of the Plekhanovites from the Golos groups, for the replacement of the Golos supporter in the Bureau of the C.C. Abroad by a Plekhanovite and so on—and by means of such agitation to verify in practice whether Party unity will result at least in our unity with the Plekhanovites or whether nothing at all will come of it.
The group of Bolsheviks here is about to start such agitation; when it does, you will receive news of it.
The Vperyodists[2] are holding a sort of meeting here; it is said that Bogdanov and Stanislav have arrived. What they intend to do is not known. They are behaving stupidly and the Central Organ will, probably, have to fight them as well, after their first press statement. There was a letter from Russia saying that Alexinsky wrote to the Moscow Vperyod group about their plan to organise a school of their own for 50 people (they have raised money, then?) but that the Vperyod people in Moscow are said to be inclined towards a general party school.
There is no correspondence with Gorky. It is rumoured that he has become disillusioned with Bogdanov and has realised the falsity of the latter’s behaviour. Have you any news from Capri?
There are few forces in Russia. Ah, if only we could send from here a good Party worker to the C.C. or for convening a conference! But here everyone is a “has-been”.
Keep well and write,
All the best.
Yours,
Lenin
[1] The reprint from No. 12 of Sotsial-Demokrat for March 23 (April 5), 1910 contained Lenin’s article “Golos (Voice) of the Liquidators Against the Party (Reply to Golos Sotsial-Demokrata)”^^(see Vol. 16 of this edition)^^.
[2] Vperyodists—adherents of the Vperyod anti-Party group, consisting of otzovists, ultimatumists, god-builders and empirio-monists; organised in December 1909 on the initiative of Bogdanov and Alexinsky; the group had its press organ of the same name. In 1912 together with the Menshevik liquidators they joined the general anti-Party bloc (the August bloc) against the Bolsheviks, which was organised by Trotsky. Lacking support among the workers, the group virtually fell to pieces in 1913. It disintegrated completely in 1917, after the February revolution.
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