V. I.

Lenin

55

To:   THE ORGANISING COMMITTEE WITH THE TEXT OF NADEZHDA KRUPSKAYA’S LETTER

I have received the letter of the O.C. I suggest answering like this:

“ In our opinion, the question of the ‘ ordre du jour ’ stands as
follows. This question of the agenda will be definitely settled by the
Congress itself , and only by the Congress. Consequently, it is quite
useless to dispute about the right to vote on this point. Further, the
bulk of the committees have already recognised the ‘ exclusive initiative ’ of the O.C. in convening the Congress. Hence it follows that the
preliminary preparation for the Congress, including preliminary preparation (or propaganda) of the ordre du jour , is
exclusively a matter for the Organising Committee. It is, therefore,
altogether superfluous to propose that anyone should vote as well on a
‘preliminary’ ordre du jour ; it cannot have any decisive significance. Furthermore, it will merely cause both
delay and dissatisfaction, for there will be people who will be
offended (committees that were not consulted), and people who will
inevitably be dissatisfied and complaining. Consequently, from the
standpoint of both formal loyalty and tact no formal decision should be
taken about collecting the votes of the committees or of anyone at all. It would
only undermine the authority of the Organising Committee if it renounces the
exclusive initiative entrusted to it.

“ If it is very inconvenient now to alter an adopted (and formally
unexceptionable) decision, there may be, perhaps, the following way out: turn
the voting (of the commit tees) into a consultation with them, that is
to say, adopt a decision that as far as possible the O.C. will try to make use
of meetings and talks for consultation .

“ Finally, we advise making haste with the Congress. The sooner you convene
it, the better. And set to work immediately and more actively preparing the committees , nominating delegates, winning over Nikolayev and
Odessa. The important thing is to make perfectly sure of a safe majority of
firm Iskrists.”

Nevzorov disgraced himself yesterday, and Charles Rappoport and Krichevsky gave
him a dressing down. There were no
Iskrists. [1]

I shall be leaving probably on, Sunday. The trains arrive not at 6 but at 3.45
and 10.45. With one of them, probably.

Yours....

---
Notes:
[1]
Lenin refers to the dispute following his lecture in Paris on March 3-6
1903, on the agrarian programme of the Socialist-Revolutionaries and the
Russian Social-Democrats. Nevzorov (Y. M. Steklov) was one of Lenin’s
opponents in this dispute.