9/III. 05.

Dear friend! I am unable to answer the majority of your questions, since I myself know no more than you do. As for one centre of the Voiny, it hardly seems worth it. The Russians are for it. Whether it will pass, I don't know. I lean more toward the old 20, but I attach no particular importance to it. The root of the question is consultations between the CC and the editorial board, and this in fact leads, so to speak, to a Soviet.

"We shall see about that."

I cannot write to Moscow about you, since I have no personal acquaintances there, and one must be careful with this. Better to wait until they themselves have decided.

I will send you a summary of my report ("Tasks of the III Congress") if I can find it*: it is very brief, almost the same as what was said in *Vpered* under "From the Editorial Board"**.

As for what agreement the CC gave to the Congress, I still cannot make it out. I myself was very much afraid of a clever intrigue by the CC—you saw our attitude from *Vpered*. Now the CC minority has almost entirely collapsed; only Fischer, Nikitich, and Karp survived. Stein and the Cook have also been taken 21. This will probably weaken the Mensheviks considerably for some time. Here Martushka is simply becoming hysterical in his club at

* Found it—cannot send it, because there are hieroglyphics on a scrap of paper. I advise you to rely on the experience of the II Congress.

** See V. I. Lenin, "On the Convocation of the III Party Congress" (Collected Works, 5th ed., vol. 9, pp. 283-286). Ed.