V. I.

Lenin

96

To:   THE CENTRAL COMMITTEE OF THE R.S.D.L.P.

Old Man writing. I have read the letters of Zemlyachka and Konyagin. Where he
got the idea that I have now realised the uselessness of a congress, God only
knows. On the contrary, I insist as before that this is the only honest way out,
that only short-sighted people and cowards can dodge this conclusion. I insist
as before that Boris, Mitrofan and Horse should be sent here without fail, for
people need to see the situation (especially that which arose after the Council
meetings) for themselves, and not waste their time preaching to the winds from
afar, hiding their heads under their wings and taking advantage of the fact that
the C.C. is a long way off and it would take a year and a day to reach it.

There is nothing more absurd than the opinion that working for a congress,
agitating in the committees, and getting them to pass well-thought-out and
forceful (and not sloppy) resolutions precludes “positive”
work or contradicts it. Such an opinion merely betrays an inability to
understand the political situation which has now arisen in the Party.

The Party is virtually torn apart, the Rules have been turned into scraps of
paper and the organisation is spat upon—only complaisant Gothamites can
still fail to see this. To anyone who has grasped this, it should be clear that
the Martovites’ attack must be met with an equal attack (and not with fatuous
vapourings about peace, etc.). And for an attack, all forces must be set in
motion. All technical facilities, transport and receiving arrangements should be
handled exclusively by auxiliary personnel, assistants and agents. It
is supremely unwise to use C.C.

members for this. The C.C. members must occupy all the committees,
mobilise the Majority, tour Russia, unite their people, launch an onslaught (in
reply to the Martovites’ attacks), an onslaught on the C.O., an onslaught by
means of resolutions 1) demanding a Congress; 2) challenging the
editors of the C.O. to say whether they will submit to the congress on the
question of the composition of the editorial board; 3) branding the new
Iskra without “philistine delicacy”, as was done recently
by Astrakhan, Tver and the Urals. These resolutions should be published in
Russia, as we have said a hundred times already.

I believe that we really do have in the C.C. bureaucrats and formalists, instead
of revolutionaries. The Martovites spit in their faces and they wipe it off and
lecture me: “it is useless to fight!”... Only bureaucrats can fail to see now
that the C.C. is not a C.C. and its efforts to be one are ludicrous. Either the
C.C. becomes an organisation of war against the C.O. , war in deeds and
not in words, of war waged in the committees, or the C.C. is a useless rag,
which deserves to be thrown away.

For heaven’s sake, can’t you see that centralism has been
irretrievably shattered by the Martovites! Forget all idiotic formalities, take
possession of the committees, teach them to fight for the Party against
the circle spirit abroad, write leaflets for them (this will not hinder
agitation for a congress, but assist it!), use auxiliary forces for technical
jobs. Take the lead in the war against the C.O. or renounce altogether ludicrous
pretensions to “leadership”... by wiping off the spittle.

Claire’s behaviour is shameful, but Konyaga’s encouragement of him
is still worse. Nothing makes me so angry now as our “so-called”
C.C. Addio .

Old Man