V. I.

Lenin

We have just given the Bundist contact with you. This concerns the congress. You and he (+a bureau or someone
else) must form a Russian Committee for preparing the congress. Behave as impressively as you can and act with
caution . Take on yourself the greatest possible number
of districts in which you undertake to prepare for the congress, refer to the bureau (giving it some other name), in
a word, make sure that the whole thing is entirely in your hands , leaving the Bund, for the time being, confined to
the Bund. We shall begin negotiations here about a rapprochement over here, and will inform you immediately.

And so, for the time being, have in mind the composition
of a Russian Committee for Preparing the Congress which is
most advantageous for us (you may find it convenient to say
that you have already formed this committee, and are very
glad to have the Bund participate or something like this).
Take on yourself, without fail , to be secretary in this
committee. These are the first steps. And then we shall see.

I say have the composition “in mind” to have as free a hand as possible: don’t commit yourself to the Bund right
away (you can say, for example, that connections have been
established with the Volga, the Caucasus, the centre—we
have a man from over there—and the South—we’re sending two down there), and make yourself master of the
undertaking. But do all this most carefully, without rousing
objections.

Write whether your role is clear to you. Perhaps we shall yet have time to exchange letters.

Make certain to send the weekly paper regularly to
Rögner’s address: we need the most regular correspondence.

And we should like to send a special weekly: let us have
as quickly as possible the address of a doctor, a technician,
a cyclist, an artiste, and so on, and so forth.

Yours ever....

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