To Moscow. To Maria Alexandrovna Ulyanova.

Bakhmetevskaya Street, Sharonov's House.

Russia. Moscow
16/I.01.

Dear Mama! I received your letter along with a postscript from Manyasha dated 26.XII and was very glad that Mitya is with you and that things are more cheerful for you during the holidays. It's a pity that you're having such terrible frosts: when I tell the Germans here (or the Czechs) about temperatures of -28° R., people just gasp and marvel at how Russians manage to live. Here, cold—*furchtbare Kälte*—is considered severe when it reaches -8-10° R., and almost everyone gets by in only autumn coats (granted, most people still wear wool vests). And the houses here are completely not adapted to severe cold—thin walls, windows not sealed tightly, very often there aren't even *Winterfenster*. You worry about me unnecessarily: I eat well at a boarding house that I've been staying at since autumn. I feel fine—probably because I sit around little and run about a lot. Nadia's arrival is now not so far off—in 2½ months her term will be up***, and then I'll settle in properly as it should be.

I send my warm greetings to Mitya and Mark, and I'm very grateful to Manyasha for the books she sent and especially for the extraordinarily beautiful and interesting photographs sent by cousin from Vienna; I would very much like to receive such gifts more often 206.

I embrace you warmly, my dear, and wish you to be in perfect health.

Your V. Ul.

in the journal

* —terrible cold. Ed.

** —winter frames. Ed.

*** The term of N. K. Krupskaya's exile ended on March 11, 1901. Ed.

Sent from Munich

First published in 1929

*Proletarskaya Revolyutsiya* No. 11

Printed from the manuscript