P. S. I have just reread the end of my article against Bulgakov in draft form... and I see
that my tone there is conciliatory: ... I, it seems, am an "orthodox" and resolute opponent of the "critics" (I said this directly), but one should not exaggerate these disagreements
as Mr. Bulgakov does in the face of common enemies. It is quite possible that this "conciliatory" tone—I tried with all my might to soften myself and polemicize as a
Genosse—may prove inappropriate or even ridiculous if expressions like... "abominable" come into play, if the "critics" provoke a final split. I would then appear
"guilty without guilt": not having seen Bernstein's book, not knowing all the views of the "critics," being at a "proper distance," I was still looking at things when I wrote this article in a completely "old-fashioned" way, simply as a contributor to *Nachalo*... It seems that my assertion that the theory of class struggle has not been affected by the "criticism"—is this incorrect? 33 in Orlov, Vyatka Province

Sent from the village of Shushenskoye

First published in 1925 in *Leninsky Sbornik* IV

Printed from the manuscript