V. I.

Lenin

102

To:   YELENA STASOVA AND F. V. LENGNIK

We have just received Absolute’s letter about the meeting and do
not understand it at all. On whose initiative is the meeting being arranged? Who
will attend it? Will Nikitich, Deer and Valentin be there? It is essential to
know everything in the greatest possible detail. For what may happen is this:
Deer, Nikitich and Mitrofan may transfer their votes to Nil or Valentin, which
will give them a majority, and they may carry out a coup d’état; it is easier to
do this abroad, where the Council is at hand to sanction their decisions. In
general a meeting here of the soft members [4] may turn out to be
very dangerous at the present time. Judging by the way Nil behaves, one could
expect anything from him. He says, for example, in connection with
Plekhanov’s letter: “We must reply that we do not agree with
Lenin’s policy, but we don’t want to give him up.” What he
understands by Lenin’s policy, God alone knows. He refused to discuss
matters with Falcon: “You will learn my opinion from Valentin.” He
talks to the
Minority in a very friendly way, quite different from the way he talks
to the Majority. Falcon wanted to go away today, but just now we are in some
perplexity. The “soft” ones alone may decide, if it is to their
advantage, that transfer of votes is not allowed, in which case Falcon ought not
go away—it will be an extra vote and, besides, support for Lenin is
needed. If, however, there are no grounds for thinking that the meeting will end
in a coup, then there is no need for Falcon to hang about. In the first event,
wire:
“ Geld folgt ” [1] (meaning: Falcon to travel immedi- ately); in the second event, wire: “ Brief folgt ”
[2]

(meaning: Falcon to remain abroad). The address for the telegram
is... [3]

Reply also by letter without delay and in as much detail as possible. Settle the
time more exactly. What do you mean by: prepare lodgings? Do you too think that
all the “stone-hards” can go away without everything falling into
the hands of the hard-soft “Matryona-ites”? If, for example, Valentin
remains while the others go away, he can break a lot of china. In that case,
perhaps, Falcon’s presence will be needed in Russia. Think all this over
very carefully. At present we do not share your optimism concerning the C.C.,
but we are optimists as regards our victory.

If the meeting is a general one, let Stake once more make desperate efforts to
drag Deer out here and explain to him that the transfer of his (Deer’s) vote to
Konyaga or Boris could mean a coup d’état and Lenin’s withdrawal for a
desperate struggle.