V. I. Lenin

Source: ru:LS/v4;es:MT
Translated: machine translation (DeepSeek) from the Russian; AI-translated.

13 (1076)

June 21, 1902

I have just received your letter of the 18th. I have also received one of your letters to Julius [Martov] (with the draft), the other is not yet to hand. 1)

As I have already written to you, I am in complete agreement with your draft; indeed: what you propose is better than my ultimatum.

We shall hand over *Zarya* to Plekhanov, b u t .... let us not delude ourselves: we are hardly likely to collaborate with him, and i t i s h a r d l y d e s i r a b l e e v e n i f , f o r t h e t i m e b e i n g , h e c h a n g e s h i s t o n e (which i s q u i t e p o s s i b l e) *).

In the first place, even if it is announced that *Zarya* passes under his sole editorship, the regular contributors (especially those conducting such departments as the Home Affairs Survey, the Foreign Affairs Survey, etc.) will not free themselves from responsibility f o r t h e w h o l e o f *Zarya*, for its character and general physiognomy. And its general physiognomy—even with our continued collaboration—can only change for the worse, become even more abstract, even less interesting to the public. Further, you were quite right in pointing to the existing defects of *Zarya*, its astonishing lack of mobility, the fact that it is not so much edited as mechanically compiled, etc. And the way out you propose: to enlarge *Iskra* and publish pamphlets—is the best that can be devised.

And if that is so:
our collaboration in *Zarya* will in fact be reduced to a minimum, and *Zarya* will undoubtedly “degenerate into a freak” and wither away. We can hardly avoid this end.

It is better to enlarge the pamphlet literature, to create supplements to *Iskra*, etc., than to support and protect from rapid decline *Zarya*, which—mark this—has moved to Geneva and into the conditions of Geneva typographical red tape.

Finally: without knowing all the other contents of *Zarya*, are we really going to decide to send anything to Plekhanov *). The difficulty, it seems to me, will be this: I fear that Plekhanov will not decide to take *Zarya* into his own hands without securing our permanent collaboration, and we must on no account take upon ourselves any obligations (although, on the other hand, it may perhaps be impossible to officially announce our non-participation).

Plekhanov will certainly not write a Vademecum, and if he does write one—he will finally kill himself in public opinion. 2) For the sake of caution, I would advise you to e r a d i c a t e a s f a r a s p o s s i b l e from your article all points of disagreement, so that it will not be easy for him later to refer to them and base a split on them. 3)

I shall try to write the covering commentary and will set about composing it today.

I firmly press your hand.

Yours,

Where am I to write to you?
When are you leaving? 4)

I have not yet received No. 21 of *Iskra*. Will you reply in *Iskra* to the calf-like [Struve] manifesto?

*) There is nothing improbable in the possibility that, frightened by the consequences, he will suddenly become amiable, despite our covering commentary.
A. N. POTRESOV — V. I. LENIN.

LENIN MISCELLANY.
*) This difficulty will already confront us with No. 5.