Written: Written earlier than September 13, 1915
Published:
First published in 1924 in Lenin Miscellany II.
Sent from Sörenberg (Switzerland) to Stockholm.
Printed from the original.
Source:
Lenin
Collected Works,
Progress Publishers,
[1976],
Moscow,
Volume 35,
pages 206-207.
Translated: Andrew Rothstein
Transcription\Markup:
R. Cymbala
Public Domain:
Lenin Internet Archive.
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.
Für Alexander
Dear Friend,
Try and see Belenin and tell him, please, that he has been co-opted a member of the Central Committee of the Russian Social-Democratic Labour Party. You understand, of course, that the maximum secrecy must be observed in this matter, and that you must “forget” about it after passing on the information to Belenin (I am not writing to him direct for obvious reasons). His function during the journey is very important: Trotsky and the company of lackeys of opportunism abroad are straining every effort to “gloss over” the differences, and “save” the opportunism of Nasha Zarya, by whitewashing and lauding the Chkheidze group ( = the most faithful friends of Nasha Zarya). It is necessary to set up groups in Russia (of old, experienced, sensible Pravdist workers who have fully mastered the question of the war) and take the best of them (2–3) into the C.C. If there are difficulties, or if doubts arise, then he could limit himself to setting up analogous bodies (for example, “the leading All-Russia Workers’ Group” or “Committee”, etc.; it’s not the name that counts, of course).
Your connections and your knowledge of old and experienced workers will help you to give advice to Belenin, who, of course, will treat this work with exceptional seriousness and caution. And the most important thing is that he should now be extremely careful, making a short trip and bringing back all the contacts.
Best greetings! Drop me a line directly you receive this letter.
Yours,
Lenin
P.S. The pamphlet will appear earlier than I thought. I have already received part of the proofs. Probably in a week or ten days we shall have both the pamphlet and No. 1–2 of Kommunist.
There will now be three members of the C.C. abroad. In
Russia there are a number of candidate members (workers)
and arrested members of the C.C. (also workers, leading
Pravdists).
P.P.S. Tomorrow you will get a more detailed letter from Nadezhda Konstantinovna. Treat it with the utmost attention.
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