V. I.

Lenin

57

To:   G. V. PLEKHANOV

March 15, 1903

Dear G. V., I have received your letter. You are writing “The Ides of
March”, that is excellent. The dead-line is March 25, 1903—the
article must be here. We expect it without fail.

Maslov’s book is being sent to me in a few days from
Paris (I shall ask them to make haste) and I shall send it
on to you at once . [3] It contains interesting data on the
harm of the village commune, which I quoted in
Paris. [4]

I had already ordered David’s book and am now reading it. Terribly watery, poor and trite. I am trying to finish
it quickly so as to send it on to you. Have you seen Kantsky’s articles on this
“neo-Proudhonist” [5] ?

I have now set to work on a popular pamphlet for the peasants on our agrarian
programme. [1]

I should very much like to demonstrate our idea of the class struggle in the
countryside on the basis of concrete data on the four sections of the village population (landowners, peasant bourgeoisie, middle peasantry, and semi-proletarians together
with proletarians). What do you think of such a plan?

From Paris I came away with the conviction that only such a pamphlet could dispel the perplexities about the
cut-off lands, etc.

About the Manifesto of February 26 I have written an article which will appear in No.
34, [2]

I have categorically insisted that it should be the leading article in view of the
tremendous importance of the Manifesto. It seems, however, that V. I. is wavering (!) and together with Y. O. is
deciding the other way round: first about Marx.

In my opinion, this is even preposterous.

All the very best.

Yours,

Lenin