V. I.

Lenin

Wehave received a letter from “Southern Workers” welcoming
the strengthening of the revolutionary current in Russian Social-Democracy
and asking us to convey their greetings to the League of Russian
Revolutionary Social- Democracy Abroad. Unfortunately we cannot print the
letter in full, due to lack of space. We are in complete accord with the
authors of the letter that “the methods adopted in Russia for
bringing revolutionary ideas to the masses through proclamations are not
adequate for educating the masses to political consciousness”, that
“it is essential to establish a special literature for the political
education of the Russian proletariat”. But their proposal to issue,
for that purpose, popular pamphlets of three or four pages to be
distributed “simultaneously throughout Russia” is hardly
feasible. We hold that the Russian proletariat is now mature enough for
the type of publication that is serviceable to all other
classes—viz., newspapers. Only a political newspaper can really
educate the masses to become politically conscious and, in the words of
the letter, throw light on “the whole of our social life, from the
fourth estate to the big bourgeoisie”. Only an All-Russian news
paper, if actively supported by all committees and local study circles,
can achieve distribution more or less “simultaneously throughout
Russia” and be published frequently enough to deserve the name of
newspaper. Only the firm establishment of a revolutionary organ of this
type can mark the transition of our movement from “strikes and the
economic struggle to the broad revolutionary struggle against the Russian
autocratic government”.

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