V. I.

Lenin

123

To:   ALEXANDRA KOLLONTAI

February 17, 1917

Dear A. M., We had your letter today, and were very glad to get it. For a long time
we did not know that you were in America, and had no letters from you
except one, telling us that you were leaving America.

I wrote to you on January 7–8 (the day the letter was forwarded from
Stockholm—all the letters direct from here to America are intercepted by
the French!), but evidently this letter (with an article for Novy Mir ) did not reach you while you were still in New York.

Pleasant as it was to learn from you of the victory of N. Iv. and
Pavlov in Novy Mir (I get this newspaper devilishly irregularly;
it must be the fault of the post and not the dispatch department of the
paper itself), it was just as sad to read about the bloc between Trotsky
and the Right for the struggle against N. Iv. What a swine this Trotsky
is—Left phrases, and a bloc with the Right against the Zimmerwald Left!!
He ought to be exposed (by you) if only in a brief letter to
Sotsial-Demokrat !

I have already received No. 1 of The Internationalist , and am
very glad of it. I have inadequate information about the conference of the
S.L.P. and the S.P. on January 6–7, 1917. It appears that the S.L.P. is
throwing out all its minimum programme (there is a temptation and a danger
for Bukharin, who has been stumbling “at that there spot” since
1915!!). It is a great pity that I cannot collect all the documents about
the S.L.P. (I asked Bukharin about it, but letters clearly get lost). Have
you any material? I could return it after reading.

I am preparing (have almost got the material ready) an article on the
question of the attitude of Marxism to the state. [5] I have come to conclusions which are even sharper against
Kautsky than against Bukharin (have you seen his “Nota Bene” in No. 6 of
Jugend-Internationale ? and Sbornik Sotsial-Demokrata
No. 2 [1]

?).

The question is exceptionally important. Bukharin is far better than
Kautsky, but Bukharin s mistakes may destroy this “just cause”
in the struggle with Kautskianism.

I will send you my article about self-determination against
P. Kievsky. [2]

What a pity we have no money! We would publish Sbornik Sotsial-Demokrata No. 3 (all the material is ready and waiting ) and No. 4 (Bukharin’s article about the state, which we
rejected at first, and my article on the state)!

The Zimmerwald Right, in my opinion, has ideologically buried
Zimmerwald: Bourderon + Merrheim in Paris voted for pacifism ,
Kautsky also on January 7, 1917 in Berlin, Turati (December 17, 4916!!) and
the whole Italian party also. This is the death of Zimmerwald!! In words
they condemned “social-pacifism” (see the Kienthal resolution),
while in practice they have turned towards it!!

Grimm has basely turned towards the social-patriots within the Swiss
party (our friend in Stockholm will send you material about it), entering
into a bloc with them on January 7, 1917 ( Parteivorstandssitzung [3]

)

against the Left for postponement of the Congress!! And now he has
even more basely attacked the Left for the Begründung des Referendums [4] (we shall send it to you) and drawn up a “mid way”, “Centrist”
resolution. Have you got the Zurich Volksrecht , or can you get
it?? If not, we shall send you something, or try to.

Tomorrow (February 18) is the Congress of the Swedish party. Probably a
split? It seems as though there are devilish dissension and
confusion among the
Young. [6] Do you know Swedish? Could you arrange contributions (by me and other Lefts) to
the newspaper of the Swedish Young?

Please reply, if only briefly, but quickly and regularly,
because it’s terribly important for us to organise good correspondence with
you.

Best greetings.

Yours, Lenin

---
Notes:
[1]
See “The Youth International” (present edition, Vol. 23,
pp. 163–66).— Ed .

[2]
See present edition, Vol. 23, pp. 28–76.— Ed .

[3]
The session of the Party Executive.— Ed .

[4]
The preamble to the referendum.— Ed .

[5]
Lenin intended publishing an article on the attitude of Marxism to the
state in No. 3 of Sbornik Sotsial-Demokrata , but did not write
it. The material he collected formed the basis of his book The State and Revolution .

[6]
Lenin means the Lefts in the Swedish Social-Democratic movement, who
looked for support in their struggle against the Right opportunists to the
Social-Democratic Youth League. During the world war the Young joined the
Zimmerwald Left.