V. I. Lenin

Source: ru:PSS/v46; en:CW/CW34;es:MT
Translated: machine translation (DeepSeek) from the Russian; AI-translated.

Reply to Comrade Martov

Dear Comrade, I received your undated letter while travelling, without having the Council’s minutes at hand. In any case, I consider it absolutely impermissible and illegal for members of the Council to cast their votes or come to agreements on any matters within the Council’s competence outside a Council meeting. Therefore, I cannot comply with your proposal to vote on candidates.

If I am not mistaken, the Council decided that all its members

*—Meiringen, poste restante. Ed.*

TO M. K. VLADIMIROV. AUGUST 15, 1904

represent our party at the congress. 272 Hence, this question is settled. If any member of the Council cannot go, in my opinion he may appoint a substitute: I do not, of course, know whether such substitution is permissible under the customs of international congresses, but I know of no obstacle to such substitution in our Party Rules or in its customary law. I personally cannot go either and would like to appoint as my substitutes Comrade Lyadov, the authorised representative of the Central Committee, and Comrade Sergei Petrovich, a member of the Moscow Committee.

With social-democratic greetings,

Member of the Council, N. Lenin
P.S. As regards communication with the Central Committee, I shall write to the Geneva agents, who handle all affairs in my absence.