V. I.

Lenin

96

To:   A. G. SHLYAPNIKOV

October 10, 1915

Dear Friend, Tomorrow we are publishing two issues of the Central
Organ at the same time—No. 45–46 (devoted to the
Zimmerwald Conference) and No. 47, containing news from Russia
and the “theses” on tactics. [1]

These theses consist partly of replies to the questions which we touched on in our
correspondence, and you in your talks with N. I., etc. I shall
await your comments.

Have you received the Russian text of the pamphlet
Socialism and War ?

( In parenthesis: A. M. has sent in a criticism of the
German text, and I replied to her in a detailed letter to America.
If you are interested, ask her to send it to you. About her
leaflet I wrote to her at Bergen, asking permission to make
corrections. There is no reply. I am afraid I shall have to
write to America, and that means a big delay.)

News from Russia testifies to the growing revolutionary
mood and movement, though to all appearances this is not yet the beginning of revolution.

The most important thing for us now is to establish contacts and make them regular (this is quite possible by
correspondence; consider whether one copy of the paper and
manifestos cannot be sent in a thin binding). Let us hope
that Belenin will succeed in organising this. Otherwise
one cannot dream of any systematic, connected work.

Pay special attention to the thesis about the Soviet of
Workers’ Deputies. One must be careful with this thing:
200 or 300 leaders might be arrested!! Except in connection
with an insurrection, the “strength” of a Soviet of Workers’
Deputies is an illusion . One should not give way to it.
All the best.

Yours, Lenin

Could not one organise the transcribing of such articles
in the Central Organ as “Eleven Theses” in chemical ink,
for rapid delivery to Petersburg? Think it over well.