V. I.

Lenin

TO G. V. PLEKHANOV

April 21, 1901

Dear G. V., We are very glad that your adventure ended satisfactorily. [1] We are expecting you: we need to have a talk about
a great deal, both on literary and on organisational subjects,
and about Iskra (the third issue should be ready by May 1.
Then we want straightaway to print No. 4), and about Zarya . You have the address for calling—Velika Dmitrievna’s.
Here is another (Alexei’s) just in case: Occamstr. (in
Schwabing) 1a, III, rechts bei Frau Kraft, and ask for Herrn Vernet;
only it would be better, when using this address, to write
beforehand about your call, as otherwise you may easily
not find anyone at home.

I send you Promyshlenny Mir Nos. 1–11. We have Frank— I will send it to you, if you need it before you
come. [2]

We have only one copy of Na Slavnom Postu [3] : we shall
order another, because there is a big demand for it.

We are in complete agreement with you about the priority of organisation over agitation at the present time. Listok “Iskry” is fairly cautious about any direct appeal—or do
you consider even this dangerous [4] ?

Hoping to see you soon.

Yours, Petrov

Please bring or send Narodnoye Khozyaistvo . [5]

---
Notes:
[1]
A reference to the following incident. On April 5, 1901, Russian
students in Geneva staged a demonstration in front of the
Russian Consulate in protest against the harassment of political
émigrés. The Russian Government took the occasion to exercise
pressure on the Swiss authorities to secure the deportation of
prominent political expatriates, chiefly Plekhanov, from
Switzerland. However, Plekhanov was able to prove that he had
nothing to do with the demonstration. Members of Iskra ’s Editorial
Board had feared an unfavourable outcome.

[2]
Promyshlenny Mir (Industrial World)—a financial, economic,
commercial, industrial and technical weekly published in St.
Petersburg from November 1899 to 1905.

S. Frank, Marx’s Theory of Value and Its Importance . Critical Essay , St. Petersburg, 1900. Plekhanov’s review of the book
was published in Zarya ’s double issue No. 2–3 in
December 1901.

[3]
Na Slavnom Postu (At a Glorious Post)—a literary collection
published by the Narodniks to mark the 40th anniversary (1860–
1900) of the literary and social activity of N. K. Mikhailovsky,
one of their ideologists. It contained articles by N. Annensky,

N. Karyshev, P. Milyukov, N. Mikhailovsky, P. Mokievsky,
V. Myakotin, A. Peshekhonov, M. Rafailov, N. Rubakin, V.
Semevsky, V. Chernov, A. Chuprov, S. Yuzhakov and others.
Neither Iskra nor Zarya published any review of the book.

[4]
Lenin is replying to Plekhanov on the question of Iskra ’s
tactics and slogans for marking May 1, 1901 in Russia as set forth
in May Day Listok “Iskry ”. In a letter to the Munich section of
Iskra ’s Editorial Board on April 19, Plekhanov wrote that the
workers in Russia should not be urged to demonstrate during
the May Day celebrations, because the government would jump
at the occasion to shed blood and the workers would be defeated.
Plekhanov believed that the main task at the time was to build
up local Social-Democratic organisations. The letter shows that
in the concrete historical situation Lenin was in agreement with
Plekhanov.

[5]
Narodnoye Khozyaistvo (The National Economy)—a socio– economic magazine, published from 1900 to 1905 in St. Petersburg,
first as a monthly, then as a bi-monthly.