A. LENIN'S LETTERS.
1.
V. I. LENIN TO M. M. LITVINOV.
From Lepin to Papa.
[End of November 1904] 1).
Dear Friend!
I hasten to reply to your letter, which I liked very, very much.
You are a thousand times right that we must act decisively, revolutionarily, and strike while the iron is hot. I also agree that it is necessary to unite precisely the committees of the majority.
The necessity of a Russian center and a local organ is now clear to all of us. We have already done everything we could for the latter.
Ryadovoy [A. A. Bogdanov] is working to the full, has attracted participants, is dedicating himself completely, and is seeking a millionaire 2) with considerable chances of success with all his might. Finally, you are also a thousand times right that we must act openly. The controversial issue between us concerns only a detail and we must discuss it calmly, namely: a conference of committees or a direct formation of a "bureau of committees of the majority" (we like this name better than organizational committee, although the matter, of course, is not in the name) so that this bureau is recognized first by several, and then by all committees of the majority. You stand for the former, we for the latter.
If a conference abroad were possible, I would be entirely for it. In Russia, however, it is devilishly dangerous, long-winded and unproductive. Meanwhile, Odessa-|-Nikolaev]-|-Ekaterinoslav have already sung in unison and instructed the "22" 3) to "appoint an Organizational Committee." We responded with a recommendation for the name "bureau of committees of the majority" and [six] seven candidates (Rusalka [M. N. Lyadov], Felix [M. M. Litvinov], Zemlyachka, Pavlovich [P. A. Krasikov], Gusev, Alekseev, Baron [E. E. Essen]).

We are writing about this to Odessa and SPeterburg. Alekseev has already gone to you. Wouldn't it be better to hold elections for candidates through Riga, SPeterburg-|-Moscow, then immediately announce this publicly (we are sending a draft notice)4), then rush to the Northern Committee, to the Caucasus, to Saratov, Nizhny, etc., asking them to join and supplementing the bureau as liberally as possible with a pair or two of their candidates (although it is not very likely that the joining committees will demand large additions to the composition of the bureau). I absolutely cannot imagine that we will encounter difficulties due to the composition of the bureau.
The advantages of this method: speed, cheapness, security. These advantages are very important, because speed is everything now. The bureau will be the official organ of the unification of committees and will actually completely replace the Central Committee in case of a split. The composition of the literary group for our future Central Organ is also fully outlined (five or six: Ryad[ovoy – A. A. Bogdanov], Galereyka [M.S. Olminsky], I, Schwartz [V. V. Borovsky]-|-Lunacharsky – maybe Bazarov).

Take on the transport, and more energetically. Here we have adapted ONE FORMER BUNDIST, WHO WORKED VERY MUCH on two borders; promises for 200-300 rubles a month [to arrange transport] to arrange the matter [completely his own]. We are only waiting for money and will tie him to you.
The disadvantage of your method: red tape.
I consider it completely useless to present ultimatums to the Central Committee and the Soviet.
The Central Committee is hypocritical, I now do not doubt for a second that they have completely sold themselves to the minority and are going completely and unconditionally to forge the congress. Do not delude yourselves. Now when they have all the centers, they have thousands of means to forge the congress and they have already begun to do this.
We will prove this in print, analyzing the decisions of the Soviet (Nos. 73-74 of "Iskra", appendix)5). We, of course, stand and will stand for the congress, but it is necessary to trumpet everywhere that they are already forging the congress and that we will expose the forgery. Actually, I now put the congress in ninth place, and the organ and the Russian center in first.
It is ridiculous to talk about disloyalty, when we were directly pushed into this by entering into a deal with the minority. It is a lie that the secret organization of the minority has been dissolved; no, three members of the Central Committee have joined this secret organization, that's all.
All three centers now constitute a secret organization against the party. Only fools do not see this. We must respond with an open organization and expose their conspiracy**).

B. I. LENIN TO M. M. LITVINOV
Please, strengthen everyone's belief in our organization and in the future organ.
We only need to be patient a little longer, while Ryadovoy [A. A. Bogdanov] finishes his work.
[You and I] Collect and send correspondence (always with the inscription: Lenin \) and materials, especially from workers. You and I disagree on a detail, because I, of course, would only be happy with a conference. But, really, the game is not worth the candle; it is much better to immediately and immediately come out with a notification from the bureau, because we will easily agree on its personal composition and conflicts on this basis are unlikely. And once the bureau declares itself, it will quickly be recognized and it will begin to speak on behalf of all committees. Think about this again carefully and answer as soon as possible.

*) The letter was written shortly before the publication of Orlovsky's (Vorovsky's) pamphlet "The Soviet Against the Party," Geneva 1904, which appeared at the end of November 1904. (See footnote 5.)
2) The millionaire Lenin is talking about is Perm merchant and steamship owner N. V. Meshkov, who repeatedly helped with money both the Social Democrats and the Socialist Revolutionaries.
3) In the first half of August 1904, a meeting of 22 members of the R.S.D.L.P., who stood on the point of view of the majority of the 2nd Congress, took place. Having discussed the issue of the party crisis, the group issued an appeal, known as the declaration of 22 "hard-liners," demanding the convocation of a congress. For more details, see Soch., vol. VI, note 115.
4) For the draft notice, see pp. 186-188.
5) In the appendix to Nos. 73 and 74 of "Iskra": "Questions of Party Life" contains the decision of the Party Soviet on the 3rd Congress. Emphasizing that the convocation of the congress can only take place by the decision of 16 full-fledged organizations, and that at the moment it has a decision from only 6 organizations, the Soviet decided to take a number of measures when voting for the convocation of the congress, for example, "to summarize the voting for and against the congress every 2 months. To ask the committees that have already spoken out definitively and do not want their previous vote to be challenged, to submit confirmation of their resolution by the next calculation date (November 1)"... Orlovsky (Borovsky) gave a detailed critique of this decision in the pamphlet "The Soviet Against the Party."
6) The promised exposure was made in Orlovsky's pamphlet "The Soviet Against the Party," Geneva 1904. See Chapter V "The Central Committee Joins the 'Secret' Organization of the Minority."