opinion that such an organization of the majority will be created any day now and will come out into the open. Contrary to the lying tales of the renegades from the Central Committee, the supporters of the majority are growing in number in Russia, and the young literary forces that have recoiled from the confused, hypocritical "Iskra" are beginning from various sides to gravitate toward the just-begun publishing house of the majority (the publishing house of Bonch-Bruevich and Lenin abroad) for the purpose of giving it the most varied support, transforming, expanding and developing it.

No, Comrade Simonov has lost heart in vain. In vain did he hasten to decide: though it is vile, there is nothing to be done. There is something to be done! The coarser the mockery of the congress (Balalaikin-Trotsky, writing under the editorship of "Iskra", has already declared the congress a reactionary attempt to consolidate the Iskra plans. Ryazanov was more sincere and honest when he called the congress a dumping ground), the coarser their mockery of the party and the workers in Russia, the more merciless becomes the resistance they encounter, the more closely does the majority unite, rallying all principled people, recoiling from the unnatural and already rotten in its essence political union of Plekhanov, Martynov and Trotsky. It is precisely such a union that we now see in the new "Iskra" and in No. 5 of "Zarya" (a reprint of Martynov's article has appeared). And whoever looks a little beyond his own nose, whoever does not cling to a policy of momentary interests and coalitions for an hour, will understand that this union, which engenders only confusion and squabbling, is doomed to death, and that the supporters of the trend of the old

"Iskra", people capable of distinguishing this trend from the circle of even eminent foreigners, such people must be and will be the gravediggers of this union.

I would be very glad, comrades, if you would inform me of the receipt of this letter, and also whether you have succeeded in passing it on to Comrade Simonov.

With comradely greetings, N. Lenin

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First published in 1930

in the Lenin Miscellany XV

Printed from the manuscript