The letter by Lenin printed below is a reply to a letter from G. M. Krzhizhanovsky that he received on the same day. We are unable to place the latter here, as it has not been preserved in complete form in Lenin's archive.

153.
V. I. LENIN — TO G. M. KRZHIZHANOVSKY *.
4 I 04 [Geneva].

The Old Man writes. I have just received a letter from Lani with a reply to my letter of 10 XII 1 and am answering at once. There is no need to ask me to criticize Lani's views! I will say outright that I am absolutely furious at Lani's timidity and naivety.

1) To write to the Central Committee from the Central Committee from within Russia — this is the height of tactlessness*. Everything must be conducted exclusively through the Central Committee's representative abroad. For God's sake, this is necessary if you don't want an absolute scandal. It must be stated once and for all to the Central Committee that there is an authorized representative of the Central Committee abroad and no one else.

2) It is not true that there was any agreement about the League protocols 2. You said directly that you were leaving the question of publication or condensation to us. (And you couldn't have "agreed" to anything here anyway. Even the entire Central Committee couldn't have 3.) You are hopelessly confused here, and if you write a single careless word, everything will go to print with an absolute scandal.

3) If in your letter to the Central Committee concerning No. 53 there is not a single word of protest against the filth about Schweitzer, against bureaucratic formalism and so forth, — then I must say that we have ceased to understand each other. I then keep silent and come forward as a private writer against this filth. I will publicly call these gentlemen hysterical crooks.

4) While the Central Committee mumbles about positive work, Nikolaev is taking away both Eremei and Martyn from it. This is absolute shame and the hundredth, if not the thousandth, warning to you. Either conquer the committees and convene a congress, or shamefully leave the stage under a barrage of vile attacks by the Central Committee, which does not let me into Iskra.

5) To talk about some sort of conference of committees and about an "ultimatum" (after they have already mocked our ultimatum!!) is simply ridiculous. Why, the Markovites will just roar with laughter at this "threat"!! What are ultimatums to them, when they directly withhold money 4, hound the Central Committee and openly say: "we'll wait for the first failure"?

Has Lani really forgotten that Martov is a rag in the hands of crooks?? And after that to still talk about Martov's and Plekhanov's attitude toward Lani and Nil! It is painful to read such naivety. First, both Martov and Plekhanov don't care a whit for all the Lanis and Nils. Second, Plekhanov is completely worn down by the Markovites and directly says that they don't listen to him (and this is perfectly clear from Iskra anyway). Third, I repeat for the hundredth time, Martov is a cipher. Why didn't the sweet good fellow [Lani] Gansky make friends here with Trotsky, Dan, and Natalya Ivanovna? In vain, my dear fellow, did you pass up this "chance" (the last chance) for "sincere," "good peace"...

Wouldn't it be smarter to write letters directly to these "masters" than to shed empty tears on the waistcoat of the ragged Martushka? Try writing to them — it will sober you up! But as long as you haven't written to them and haven't received personally from them a slap in the face, don't come up to us (or to them) with "peace." We can see clearly here who talks and who runs things among the Markovites.

6) I have already set forth the arguments for a congress before. Don't deceive yourself, for heaven's sake: it is precisely our helplessness that would be demonstrated by postponing the congress. And if you continue to drag out negotiations about peace, your enemies will take from you more than just Nikolaev.

It's one or the other: war or peace. If peace, — then you are backing down before the Markovites, who are conducting an energetic and clever war. Then you silently endure being slandered in the Central Committee (= ideological leadership of the party!). Then we have nothing to talk about. I have said in print already and will say everything, in the full sense of the word everything.

For me it is clear that the persecution which we feared would occur if I had taken Iskra alone has happened anyway, but my mouth will be shut. And relying on Andreevsky's speeches about the influence of the Lenin name — that is childishness.

Or war, and then I ask you to explain to me what means of actual and honest war exist besides a congress?

I repeat that now a congress is not pointless, because Plekhanov is not with the Markovites. Publication (which I will obtain at all costs) 6 will finally separate him. And he is already now at odds with the Markovites.

The Markovites won't even mention the Six at the 3rd congress. A split would have been better than what exists now, when they have smeared Iskra with gossip. But even toward a split they will hardly go at the 3rd congress, and we can give Iskra to a neutral commission, taking it from both sides.

7) With the League I will do everything to achieve decisive war.

8) If Nil is still for peace, let him come and talk two or three times with Dan. That will be enough, for God's sake!

9) We need money. Enough for 2 months, and then nothing. After all, we are now "supporting" the scoundrels who spit and vomit upon us in the Central Committee. This is called "positive work." Ich gratulire! *

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1 See above, document 128, pp. 45—48.
2 In his letter, G. M. Krzhizhanovsky apparently asserted that there was an agreement between him and Martov about the condensation of the League congress protocols. For more detail about Krzhizhanovsky's conversations with Martov on this subject see above, documents 117 and 137 and the corresponding notes to them (pp. 20—21 and 71—73).
3 Here Lenin points out that on the question of the League congress protocols, only the League members who took direct part in the struggle between the "majority" and "minority" at the congress could "agree" among themselves, and that neither G. M. Krzhizhanovsky personally nor the entire Central Committee as a whole had the right to decide anything about the League congress protocols behind the backs of the congress members, supporters of one or another grouping.
4 See the documents cited above, 151 and 152 (pp. 124—126).
5 Here Lenin apparently has in mind the initial, unexecuted plan of action that was proposed by Lenin to the members of the Central Committee abroad the day after Plekhanov co-opted the Markovites into the Iskra editorial board, was approved by them, and found expression in the "Unpublished Statement" of the Central Committee of November 27 ("Lenin Miscellany" VII, document 107, pp. 275—278). According to this plan the Central Committee was to take "into its own hands the Party's Central Committee."
6 Here, as in the letter of December 30 (above, documents 148, p. 116), the reference is to the publication of the negotiations of the Central Committee with the opposition.
* — I congratulate! Editor
Lenin Miscellany. X.