To N. G. POLETAEV *.
[October 26, 1912. Kraków.]
Dear Colleague! I am truly delighted to receive such a rare communication from you. Many thanks for the journals you so kindly forwarded. I can send you Litvinov’s book at your first request¹. As for Chistyakov’s book—
* Printed from a copy held by the Department of Police. Ed.

LETTERS OF THE ERA ((The Stars” and “Pravda”)—but I seem to have forgotten what exactly was being discussed; what book was it²? Your assumption that I am sufficiently informed is, alas, far from accurate.
In fact, it almost sounds like a mockery to me… Of course, I fully understand your reference to “feverish intensity”—but you know, political fever rarely manifests itself… through silence or withdrawal.
As a political correspondent for “Pravda,” I too am experiencing this “feverish intensity”—and that is why I cannot remain silent, even under the most discouraging conditions (especially when the editor himself has fallen into a profound silence). In my view, in the run-up to the October 17 elections³, it would have been critically important to articulate the principled platform of anti-liquidationism more directly and with greater resolve—by publishing our list once again in full, and by warning against the vacillations à la Sudakov⁴ (how strange, how very strange that you are keeping quiet here!). I am sending you article after article on this very topic. Please consider them carefully… Have they made their way into your newspaper? It would have been advisable to issue a special supplement on Wednesday, dedicating it entirely to these issues. The cost would be somewhere around 100 or 200 rubles—and even that modest sum would be repaid tenfold by the success of the electoral campaign, for we must remember: what we need are steadfast friends who will stand by us over the long haul. Do not hesitate to spend 100–200 rubles at a decisive moment; in doing so, you will save far more in the years to come… From a technical standpoint, it is also crucial to pay close attention to curbing the power of the Chairman of the Congress of Delegates. I advise you to consult with legal experts over the phone and draft an article on the rights of delegates vis-à-vis the Chairman. While I do not have access to the Code of Laws (Volume II, 1892 edition, Articles 179–191 of the General Regulations for Provincial Governments), lawyers are surely better equipped to provide clear, concrete advice on how to lodge complaints against the Chairman and safeguard one’s own rights. Do not stint on telegraphing the results of the elections.
N. L [Spín].
1 V. I. Litvinov-Falnnsky’s book, “New Laws on Workers’ Insurance.” St. Petersburg, 1912.
2 It seems that the book in question is by I. Chistyakov (“Workers’ Insurance in Russia: An Essay on the History of Workers’ Insurance in Relation to Certain Other Measures of Social Security.” Moscow, 1912)—or perhaps his work “Providing for Workers in Case of Loss of Income or Unemployment.” Moscow, 1912.
3 We are speaking of the election campaign for the Fourth State Duma. On October 17, 1912, the second Congress of Delegates representing the workers’ constituency of St. Petersburg was scheduled to convene in order to elect the deputies who would go on to serve in the State Duma (Works, XVI, 730, note 103).
4 P. I. Sudakov—a worker—who, at the First Congress of Delegates (October 18
(5)
—had been elected by the votes of “Pravda” supporters. On October 19
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his notice “At the Meeting of Delegates” appeared in “Pravda” No. 136, where he described himself as a Bolshevik. The following day, October 20
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he published his “Letter to the Editor” in the liquidationist “Luch” (LI 19), in which he retracted his earlier statement in “Pravda.” The entire episode involving Sudakov is recounted in the article “Flight” signed by P., as well as in the letter to the editor of “Pravda” titled “On Political Characterlessness,” both printed on election day (“Pravda” No. 145, October 30
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1912).