V. I.

Lenin

130

To:   AUGUST BEBEL

Geneva, February 8, 1905

Comrade, On the very day you wrote to me
[2] we were preparing
a letter to Comrade Hermann
Greulich, [1] in which we explained how and why the split in the Russian Social-Democratic Labour Party has
now become an accomplished fact. We shall send a copy of this letter to the Executive
Committee of the German Social-Democratic Party.

The Third Congress of our Party will be convened by the Russian Bureau of the
Majority Committees. The Vperyod editorial board and the Bureau are
only provisional central bodies. At the present time, neither I nor any of the
editors, contributors or supporters of Vperyod known to me can assume
the responsibility of taking any new, important steps binding on the whole Party
without a Party Congress decision.
[3] Thus, your proposal can be
submitted only to this Party Congress.

Please excuse my poor German.

With Social-Democratic greetings,

N. Lenin