V. I.

Lenin

85

To:   M. S. MAKADZYUB [1]

Private, to Anton

Dear Comrade, Please acknowledge receipt of this letter if only in a couple of
words. I am not certain that your address is still good, but Zemlyachka has
asked to write her through you. Besides, it would be desirable to start
regular correspondence. This is extremely important. To make sure that your
letters do not accidentally get into the wrong hands, write on top
“Private, to L.” or “Private, to N. K.” Could you let us know the
whereabouts of Tomich (=Emmanuel =Emma)? We have lost touch with him. We
sent him several letters but do not know whether they reached him. If you
happen to know his address, please let us have it.

The Declaration of the C.C. has evidently not been too kindly received
by the Majority committees. [2]

In the Caucasus it caused an outburst of indignation, in Odessa, Nikolayev
and Yekaterinoslav it met with strong disapproval, and our old comrades
have been sending in indignant resolutions from prisons.... The
“conciliators” have succeeded in deceiving some people by their fables
about peace prevailing in the Party. Tula, Saratov and Astrakhan, for
instance, are said to have withdrawn their resolutions on the congress, but as soon
as they learn what the real state of affairs is they will of course again
insist on its convocation. Incidentally, I do not know how much truth there
is to the rumours that the above-mentioned committees have withdrawn their
resolutions. The “conciliators” do not always accurately enough pass on
information, and the Editorial Board, on the pretext of preserving peace,
does not print resolutions on the congress adopted by the committees
(St. Petersburg, Yekaterinoslav). Besides the ten points there are several
more which are in no way secret but which the “collegium” (taking
advantage of the arrest of some of its staunchest members and unlawfully
expelling one member who does not share its views [3]

)

has decided to conceal from the members of the Party to avoid unnecessary
fuss. These include the decision to dissolve the Southern
Bureau [4] and not to publish Council minutes unfavourable to the
Minority, and the prohibition of the printing of Lenin’s writings in the
Party printery without permission from an agent specially appointed by the
“collegium”.... The Majority has decided not to permit the opinion of the
Party to be misrepresented or to allow itself to be silenced; it is
sponsoring the publication of Majority writings; the publishing has been
undertaken by Bonch-Bruyevich. We shall not be short of literary forces,
the only hitch may be finances. Galyorka’s pamphlet Down with Bonapartism! (concerning the C.C. Declaration) and a collection of
articles by Galyorka and Ryadovoi have come out, and a popular pamphlet on
socialism by Ryadovoi and many other things are ready for the press.

Pass all this on to Zemlyachka if you know her address, and also inform
her that both of her letters have been received.

Acknowledge receipt of this letter without delay.

Lenin

P.S. Is your address for contacts still valid?

Are the Pedder and Dilon addresses good? Has Tsensky been to see you? Did you receive our letter? Let Zemlyachka know that her
relatives are worried about her and are sure she is ill. Acknowledge
receipt of this letter at once, and we shall send you our new address
forthwith.

---
Notes:
[1]
Written by Krupskaya on Lenin’s instructions.— Ed .

[2]
A reference to the “July Declaration” of the C. C. (see present
Volume, Document 92).— Ed .

[3]
A reference to F. V. Lengnik, Maria Essen and Rozalia
Zemlyachka.— Ed .

[4]
The Southern Bureau of the Central Committee was set up in
February 1904 with the direct assistance of Lenin. Among its members were
V. V. Vorovsky and I. K. Lalayants. The Bureau, the permanent headquarters
of which was in Odessa, waged a consistent struggle against the Mensheviks
and the conciliators, and was in favour of the immediate convocation of the
Third Party Congress despite the wishes of the central bodies—the C.C.,
the Central Organ, and the Council of the Party.

In mid-August 1904 the Bureau was dissolved by the improperly adopted
“July Declaration” of the C.C., but later in the autumn the first
Bolshevik conference of R.S.D.L.P. committees held in the South
reconstituted it. Together with the Northern and Caucasian bureaus, it
formed the core of the All-Russia Bureau of Committees of the Majority
established in December 1904.