V. I.

Lenin

January10, 1905

Mydear friend, Atlast we have launched Vperyod , and I would like to discuss it with
you in greater detail. Issue No. 2 will appear the day after tomorrow. We intend
to bring it out weekly. We have sufficient literary forces for the task. We are
all in excellent spirits and at the top of our working form (with the slight
exception of Vasily Vasilyevich, [2] who has a touch of the blues). We are sure
that things will go well, so long as we don’t go bankrupt. We need 400 francs
(150 rubles) per issue, but we have only 1,200 francs all in all. We shall need
the deuce of a lot of help for the first few months; for, unless we can make it
a regular publication, the entire position of the Majority will be dealt a
terrific, well-nigh irreparable blow. Do not forget this and get whatever you
can

( especiallyfrom Gorky ).

Next.It is particularly important now to let Rakhmetov [3] know that
he should push on as hard as he can with the arrangements for literary
contributions from Russia. The success of a weekly depends largely upon the
energetic collaboration of Russian writers and Social-Democrats. Write to
Rakhmetov that he should mobilise both Finn and Kollontai for the purpose
(we badly need articles on Finland), as well as Rumyantsev and Andrei Sokolov , the latter especially and particularly. I know by long
experience that the people in Russia are devilishly, unpardonably, and
incredibly slow at this sort of thing. It is therefore necessary to act, first
of all, by personal example; secondly, not to rely on promises, but to see that
you get the things written. Let Rakhmetov be sure to order the articles and the
correspondence himself, and receive them himself, and send them off himself,
keeping at it until he gets the material. (I would also add

Suvorovand Lunts , but I am sure Rakhmetov knows many others besides.) We badly need: (1) articles on
questions of Russian life, from 6,000 to 18,000 letters; (2) paragraphs on
the same subjects, from 2,000 to 6,000 letters; (3) correspondence of
diverse length about everything; (4) interesting passages and quotations
from local Russian and special Russian publications; (5) paragraphs on
articles in Russian newspapers and magazines. The last three points are
quite within the range of contribution by working-class and especially the
student youth, and therefore the thing should be given attention; this work
should be popularised, people should be roused and filled with zeal; they
should, by concrete example, be taught what is wanted and how necessary it
is to utilise every trifle; they should be made to see how badly needed the
raw material from Russia is abroad (we shall be able to work it up
from a literary angle and make use of it ourselves), that it is foolish in
the extreme to feel embarrassed about literary shortcomings, that they must
learn to speak simply and correspond simply with the periodical abroad if
they wish to make it their own journal. In view of this I would consider it
simply necessary and positively essential to hand out a Vperyod
address (a foreign address, of which we have many now and shall have more)
to every student circle and to every workers’ group. I assure you that there is an idiotic prejudice among our committee-men
against handing out addresses on a broad scale to the periphery
youth. Combat this prejudice with all your might, hand out the addresses,
and demand direct contact with the Editorial Board of

Vpe.ryod.

Unless this is done there will be no newspaper. Workers’
correspondence is very badly needed, and there is so little of it. What we
need is scores and hundreds of workers corresponding directly with
Vperyod .

Wemust also get the workers to communicate their own addresses to which
Vperyod may be mailed in closed envelopes. The workers will not be
afraid. The police will not be able to intercept a tenth of the envelopes. The
small (four-page) size and frequent appearance of Vperyod make the
question of envelope delivery a most vital one for our newspaper. We should make
it our direct objective to develop workers’ subscriptions to Vperyod ,
to develop the habit of sending the money (a ruble isn’t something God knows what!) and one’s address abroad. If we
tackle this properly, my word, we could revolutionise the distribution of
underground literature in Russia. Don’t forget that transportation, at best,
takes four months. And that’s with a weekly paper! As for the enveloped
copies. probably from 50 to 75 per cent will be delivered at postal speed.

Now,as to the writers. They ought simply to be obligated to write regularly
once a week or once a fortnight; otherwise— so, indeed, tell them—-we cannot consider them decent people and will have nothing more to
do with them. The usual excuse is: We don’t know what theme to choose, we’re
afraid to waste our effort, we think “they already have this”. It is
against these trite and idiotic pretexts that Rakhmetov must wage a personal, a
definitely personal, fight. The principal themes are the domestic topics of
Russia (of the kind that comprise in periodical literature reviews of the
domestic political scene and reflections of social life), as well as articles
and brief comments on material appearing in Russian special publications
(statistical, military, medical, prison, ecclesiastical, and other
periodicals). We are always in need of copy for these two sections. Only people
living in Russia, and such people alone, can conduct these two sections
well. The keynote here is fresh facts, fresh impressions, special materials that are inaccessible to the people abroad, and not just arguments, not evaluations from the Social-Democratic point of view. Therefore, such
articles and comments will never go to waste, for we shall always make use of
them. It is Rakhmetov’s duty now to organise this thing at once and give us at
least half a dozen good, useful contributors, who would not be lazy or try to
shirk their jobs, but would each get in direct touch with the Editorial
Board. Only by direct contact with contributors can we arrange all the details
of the work. People should be enlisted by being made to realise that nowhere
else can they “get into print” as quickly as in a weekly newspaper.

Inconclusion, a word or two about the organisational slogan of today. After
the article “Time to Call a Halt!” ( Vperyod , No.

1), [1]

this slogan should be clear; but people are so inert that Rakhmetov, here again, will have to explain and explain again, and
hammer it into their heads as hard as he can. The split is now
complete; for we have exhausted all means. It is the Third Congress against the will of the Central Committee and the Council
and without them. Complete rupture with the Central Committee. An
open statement that we have our own Bureau. The complete removal of the
Mensheviks and the new-Iskrists everywhere. We did everything we could to
get on together, and should now declare openly and bluntly that we are
obliged to work separately. All trustfulness and naivet6 can only cause
tremendous harm.

For Christ’s sake hurry up and issue an open and emphatic statement on
the Bureau. [4]

It is necessary: (1) to line up fully with “Time to
Call a Halt!” and re-issue its appeal; (2) to declare that Vperyod is
the organ of the majority of the committees and that the Bureau is working with
it in complete and friendly agreement; (3) that the C.C. and the Council have
deceived the Party in the most disgraceful way and sabotaged the Congress; (4)
that there is no way out now other than the convening of a congress of the
committees themselves without the C.C. and the Council; (5) that the
Bureau undertakes to help the constructive work of the committees; (13) that the
Central Organ has utterly lost the membership’s confidence by its vacillations
and lies.

Believeme, we highly appreciate Zemlyachka, but she is wrong in her opposition
to Papasha, [5] and it is for you to correct her mistakes. Let us hurry up and
break with the C.C. all along the line, and publish a statement about the Bureau
at once to the effect that it is the Organising Committee and that it is
convening the Third Congress.