All communications about Us have so far gone through intermediaries, which always somewhat complicates mutual relations.

Our Party affairs have been disgraceful all year, as You have probably heard. The minority definitively wrecked the second congress, created a new Iskra (have You seen it? what is Your attitude toward it?) and now, when the vast majority of the committees that have expressed themselves at all have resolutely risen against this new Iskra, the minority has wrecked the third congress as well. It has become all too clear to the minority that the Party will not reconcile itself to their organ of gossip and squabbling in the struggle, a return to Rabocheye Dyeloism in principles, the notorious theory of organization-as-process.

Now the position has clarified. The committees of the majority have united (the 4 Caucasian ones, Odessa, Yekaterinoslav, Nikolayev, St. Petersburg, Moscow, Riga, Tver, the Northern and Nizhny Novgorod). I have begun here (with new literary forces) to publish the newspaper Vperyod (the announcement has come out, No. I will appear at the beginning of January, New Style).* Let me know what Your attitude is and whether we can count on Your support, which would be extremely important for us.

The approximate date has been established on the basis of the indication at the end of the letter of a series of facts (the conference of the northern committees, the start of publication of Vperyod, the release of the announcement of Vperyod's appearance), which could only have been reported as having already occurred at the end of December.