Letter to Arkady from Lenin

Dear friend! First of all, I heartily congratulate you (and your friends) on the tremendous success: the commencement of the reorganization of the local committee. This matter could become a turning point in our entire movement, and therefore bringing this reorganization to completion is the most important and most urgent task. Take extra care of yourself so that you can manage to complete it.

I will get down to business. You ask me to help you with a "concrete sketch of a local work plan in connection with the all-Russian one." In order to fulfill your request immediately, I am writing to you for now alone (so as not to delay matters by communicating with other members of the editorial board, who are now scattered in different places; perhaps they themselves will later add something to you). I am not entirely sure that I understand your request correctly. My sources now are: your letter of 21/VI and the letter 2a 3b about two meetings (you, 2a 3b, and Krasikov) with Vanya (the St. Petersburg League) 180. Judging by these sources (especially the second), Vanya "has now turned out to be of one mind with us, frankly acknowledging the shortcomings of his former position." Proceeding from this, I will write further, addressing both you and Vanya, and I leave it entirely to your discretion whether to pass my letter to Vanya (and Manya = the workers’ organization) now or later, to pass it on in full or with some corrections, which, if necessary, I also leave you to make (informing us of all these corrections, if possible, of course).

Strictly speaking, I cannot, of course, give you now a "concrete sketch of a local work plan in connection with the all-Russian one": this task is impossible for me without a series of detailed consultations with both Vanya and Manya. All I can give is a sketch of what practical steps must be immediately and first of all taken by Vanya, since he has become the new Vanya or wants de facto to become such. And it seems to me that the steps outlined by all of you at the 2nd meeting with Vanya (and described in the letter 2a 3b) are quite correct. I completely agree that "the first thing is to openly declare oneself a supporter of certain views." This is precisely the first thing, and it can only be done by an open declaration 181. I know very well that the majority or many of Vanya's comrades (i.e., the committees and their members) have a strong prejudice against such open declarations or at least are unaccustomed to them. This trait is quite understandable from the point of view of the stage the movement has already passed and the mistakes that have already been rejected. But precisely because Vanya occupies such an important position, precisely because he openly declared his old views in the past, which decisively diverged from the "Iskraite" views, – precisely for this reason I would especially strongly advise the comrades (= Vanya) to overcome this unfamiliarity and prejudice in themselves. Our local work has suffered most of all up to now from narrowness and isolation, from the unwillingness of local activists to actively and decisively undertake the development of general party issues. Let Vanya, in becoming a supporter of revolutionary Social-Democracy, immediately break with this tradition and declare for all to hear that his basic theoretical views and organizational ideas are such and such and that he is now undertaking to implement these ideas himself, inviting all the other committees to do so as well. This statement will have tremendous significance both for Vanya and for all of Russia; it will already be a major accomplishment in itself. There is no need to be afraid of offending Vanya’s old friends who held different views: any shadow of offense will be removed here precisely by the fact that Vanya himself openly and frankly admits that circumstances and experience have convinced him of the incorrectness of his former theoretical views, tactical principles, and organizational plans, which were connected in one way or another with Economism. There will not be even a shadow of an attack on these old views, but simply a recognition of one's own evolution. The frank directness of this recognition will have ten times more influence on the actual unification of all Russian Social-Democrats and on the complete cessation of "polemics" between them than a hundred protests against "polemics."

So, first of all and most of all: an open printed statement (in the local leaflet or in "Iskra," best of all both there and here). This step should absolutely not be postponed for even a week, because without it all the other steps could easily prove fruitless (failure, etc.), but with it the new path is immediately secured.

What should be in this statement? If Vanya asked me for friendly advice about this (but not before, of course, he had asked me), I would answer: 1) recognition of his rejection of the old views (theoretical, tactical, organizational) with the most general (if possible, in 1-2 words) characterization of these views. 2) Recognition of the transition to the ranks of the supporters of "Iskra," its theoretical, tactical, and organizational views, recognition of it as the leading body (NB: leading does not at all mean that they necessarily agree with it in everything. It means precisely only solidarity with the guiding principles of such-and-such a body. This recognition is fully compatible with an indication of particular disagreements, if there are any, and with an indication that I desire such-and-such changes and I, the present supporter of "Iskra," will carry them out, seek these changes in it, in "Iskra"). 3) Putting in the forefront the unification, or rather the restoration of the actual unified all-Russian Social-Democratic workers' party through joint work, which should begin with grouping around "Iskra" to turn it into an instrument of truly nationwide agitation and which (work) should lead to the creation of a militant all-Russian organization capable of launching a decisive attack on the autocracy. 4) Recognition (already made, but not yet published by Vanya) of the need to reorganize the constitution and functioning of Vanya with Manya (their relations, etc.), a proclamation (so to speak) of a revision of the constitution. 5) Recognition of the need to draw closer and merge with the Russian organization of "Iskra" to carry out the tasks that are henceforth common to Vanya and this organization. 6) Detachment of one or more (maybe from Vanya and from Manya, etc.) members of the St. Petersburg Committee to the function of immediately commencing the practical implementation of the above, i.e., to the merger with "Iskra" and to the unification of the party*.

Of course, of these 6 sections, the 6th certainly cannot be published, and perhaps other points as well. The statement could put dots and directly stipulate that such-and-such (or "further") points are not subject to publication for conspiratorial reasons. But I repeat: if Vanya has really become our supporter, he should not postpone this statement for even a week.

It is at this meeting of delegates from the St. Petersburg Committee with Sonya (the Russian organization of "Iskra") and with the editorial board of "Iskra" (abroad) that a real concrete plan will be worked out, not only for reforming the St. Petersburg work, but also for the direct unification of the party, the constitution of the Organizational Committee for the preparation of the 2nd party congress, etc., etc., etc.

Furthermore, at your second meeting, it was planned "before the implementation of the aforementioned project (sending delegates abroad in July) to preliminarily familiarize ourselves with the state of affairs in different localities of our vast fatherland, in order to have a basis for judgments

* This (§ 6) has also already been decided de facto at your second meeting: sending abroad to finally agree.

at the congress." I (I will be frank) consider this decision a mistake and would advise you to abandon it. This means dragging out the matter and chasing two hares. Let's catch the first one first: let's agree (we with Vanya) ourselves. This will already be equivalent to Vanya’s complete solidarity with Sonya. And with this solidarity, the further practical task (traveling around Russia) will be carried out by Vanya Sonya (+ or =?) quite easily. But it is not reasonable to scatter now: first (1) we will finally convince Vanya and Manya, then (2) we will declare our standpoint for all to hear, then (3) we will immediately agree with "Iskra" (abroad, where "Iskra" already has a whole archive of data on the state of affairs in different places of the vast fatherland: do not neglect this archive, comrades!), and (4) with Sonya, and then already (5) travel around Russia with the direct practical goal of the actual unification of work (and the convocation of an all-party congress).

Here you have, if you want, a "concrete sketch of a plan" of the immediate practical tasks. If § 2 presents difficulties, you can put § 3 in the first place (this will, of course, be some delay, but under certain conditions an inevitable delay). But it is necessary to insist on both 2 and 3 at all costs. It is extremely important that the members of Vanya who are coming here be provided with the broadest possible powers, that there be, if possible, 2 of them, and not 1 (although this already depends entirely on local conditions, and you can see this much better).

It seems that this is where we can end. Please write as soon as possible your opinion: did I understand your request correctly? is my "concrete plan" feasible? etc. I am afraid that things are not so good yet, that Vanya is not yet a complete supporter. It is especially suspicious that Manya has not yet been given "What Is to Be Done?"* It would be good for you to repeat the meeting with Vanya in pleno (i.e., in the full composition of the St. Petersburg Committee): this would be extremely important to clarify exactly whether there are any opponents, what exactly, what their main points are. In the same way, your direct meeting with Manya would also be important. Expedite Vanya's trip (and it would be good if Manya’s too!) here as soon as possible and at all costs (go straight to London:
give them the London address without fail and the Belgian address of Meshcheryakov in addition, just in case).

If you achieve this, it will already be a tremendous success, guaranteeing the fruits of your work even if you fail completely now. And do not forget that such a failure is very possible and that therefore it is imperative to secure a real first step (statement, trip) as soon as possible without the slightest delay.

If Vanya becomes completely ours in deed, then in a few months we will hold the second party congress and turn "Iskra" into a bi-weekly, or even a weekly, organ of the party. Try to convince Vanya that we are not even thinking of distracting him from local work, that St. Petersburg is such a "locality" that also has direct all-Russian significance, that the merger of Vanya with Sonya will greatly strengthen local work and at the same time immediately bring the entire party out of a semi-illusory state to a degree not only of reality, but also of paramount force.

I shake your hand firmly. Your Lenin

France) to St. Petersburg in the journal

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Written between July 9 and 16

Sent from Loguivi (Northern

First published in 1924 in "Proletarskaya Revolyutsiya" No. 3

Printed from the manuscript

* See V. I. Lenin, Works, 5th ed., vol. 6, pp. 1-192. Ed.