LEPPP. ---- LETTER TO A. M. KOLLONTAI.

In No. 1 for 1916 of the Menshevik-Defensist journal "Delo," A. N.
Potresov, in an article "Notes of a Publicist. The Old Idol" (pp. 56-66),
lamented that we have now returned to the times of
Narodism and *N. — ona, expecting a social revolution from us.
7) Refers to A. Bogdanov's article "World Crises, Peaceful and
Military," published in a series of books of the "Letopis".
8) Skobelev, M. I. - one of the Social-Democratic Menshevik deputies of the 4th State
Duma.
9) Makar is the pseudonym of V. P. Nogin.
10)
"Volna" was a Bolshevik publishing house in St. Petersburg, organized
in 1916 by a number of Bolshevik writers (L. Stark, N. Skrypnik
et al.) with the participation of workers' groups of insurance bodies.
It released a number of brochures by Kamenev, Zinoviev, et al.
11) Vladimir Ilyich directed a brochure entitled "Statistics and Sociology"
to the "Parus" publishing house at "Letopis," copies of the first pages of which have been preserved in Vladimir Ilyich's papers.
It has not been possible to establish which second brochure Vladimir Ilyich had in mind.
12) V. D. Bonch-Bruevich then had the "Life and Knowledge" publishing house.
13)
N. I. Bukharin went to America, where he remained until the revolution
of 1917.
19*

Dear A. M.! We received your letter today and were very
glad to receive it. We did not know for a long time that you were in America, and had not
received any letters from you except one with the news of your departure
from America.
I wrote to you around the 7th - 8th. I 1) (the day the letter was sent from
Stockholm - the French intercept everything going straight from here to America!),
but this letter (with an article for the "New World") 2)
obviously did not find you in New York.
As pleasant as it was to learn from you about the victory of Nikolai
Ivanovich [Bukharin] and Pavlov 3) in the "New World" (I receive this newspaper devilishly irregularly because of the fault, obviously, of the post,
and not of the newspaper's own dispatch), — just as sad is the news
of Trotsky's bloc with the right wing to fight against I. Iv.
[Bukharin].................... — left phrases and a bloc with the right wing against the goals of the left wing! ! It would be necessary to expose him (You) at least with a brief letter to "S.-D."!
I have already received No. 1 ("Internationalist" 4) and was very pleased.
I have incomplete information about the conference of the Socialist Labour Party5) and Socialist] Party 6)
6 — 7 .I. 1917. It seems that Sfocialist] Labour
Party is throwing out the entire program-minimum (here is the temptation and danger for Bukharin, who has been tripping up "in this very place" with us since 1915!!). It is extremely regrettable that I cannot collect all the documents about the Socialist] Labour Party (I asked B\-
harin about this, but the letters are clearly lost). Do you have any materials?
I could return them after reading them.
I am preparing (almost prepared the material) an article on the question
of the relation of Marxism to the state. I came to conclusions even
41.
A. Kollontai.
17-11-17.

LENIN. ----LETTERS. A. KOLLONTAI.

sharper against Kautsky than against Bukharin (have you seen his "Nota
Bene" in No. 6 of "Jugend Internationale"? and "Coll. S.-D." No. 2?) 7)
The question is arch-important; Bukharin is much better than Kautsky, but Bukharin's mistakes
can ruin this "right cause" in the struggle against Kautskyism.
I will send you my article on self-determination] against
P. Kievsky 8). Ah, it's a pity — there's no money! We would publish Coll. S.-D.
No. 3 (all the material is lying there) and No. 4 (Bukharin's article, which
we rejected at first, on the state, and my article on the state) !
The Zimmerwald right, in my opinion, ideologically buried Zimmerwald: Bourderon -{-Meerheim 9) in Paris voted for pacifism, Kautsky also on 7 .1.1917 in Berlin, Turati 10) (17. XII. 1916!!)
and the entire Italian] party too. This is the death of Zimmervald! 1
In
words they condemned "social-pacifism" (see the Kienthal
resolution), but in fact they turned to it!! 11)
Grimm basely turned to social-patriots within the Swiss [party] (our friend in Stockholm will send you material
about this), joining in a bloc with them on 7. I. 1917 (Parteivorstandsitzung),2)
against the left for postponing the congress!! And now he has attacked the left even more basely, Pegründung des Beferendums (we will send it) and compiled
a "middle," "centrist" resolution.
Do you have, can you get "Züricher Volksrecht" 13)?? If not, we will send or try to send something.
Tomorrow (February 18) is the congress of the Swedish] party. Probably, a split?
It seems that the young people have devilish disarray and confusion. Do you know
Swedish? Can you establish cooperation (mine and other leftists) in the newspaper of the Swedish young people?
Answer, please, at least briefly, but quickly, accurately, for it is terribly important for us to establish good correspondence
with You.
Best regards! Your Lenin.
1) The aforementioned letter of Vladimir Ilyich is not available to the Institute.
2) "Novy Mir" - a newspaper published in New York by a group of socialist emigrants from Russia.
The newspaper initially occupied an undefined, wavering position; with Bukharin's arrival in America, the revolutionary internationalist trend prevailed in the group publishing the newspaper.