The addressee is not indicated on the copy of the letter made by Lenin's hand and printed below. M. S. Olminsky, who worked in Geneva under the nickname Vasily Vasilyevich, recalls that the letter was written for Yu. Steklov, but not sent to him.
135«
* LETTER
TO Yu. M. STEKLOV
WITH AN INVITATION TO CO-
OPERATE IN THE CENTRAL ORGAN OF THE RSDLP — "PROLETARY".
May-June 1905 Geneva.
Esteemed Comrade!
A member of the editorial board, Comrade
[Vasily, Vasilye vich] informed me that you now stand, in general, in the current
tactical and organizational disputes among the Social Democrats on the
side of the position of "Proletary." All of us, members of the editorial
board of "Proletary," were very pleased by this message. For us,
there is no doubt that the old clashes of the circle era
should in no case prevent joint work on a common principled basis under conditions of strictly party
relations. That is why we consider it our duty to address
you with a proposal to collaborate in the Central Organ of the RSDLP, Proletary.
We would be extremely pleased if we could thereby pave the way
to uniting as many influential representatives of Social Democracy as possible through genuinely party ties.
With Social-Democratic greetings, N. Lenin.
The article "A New Revolutionary Workers' Union" was printed unsigned (as a feuilleton) in No. 4 of "Proletary" of 46 (5)
June 1905. Based on a study of the article by the editors of Lenin's Collected Works, it was suggested that the author of the article "possibly, is Vl. Ilyich" (Coll. Works, vol. VII, p. 597). The
manuscript received in the archive of the Lenin Institute confirmed the correctness
of this assumption. This article was of great importance
and is relevant not only for the era of the 1905 revolution—
it contains valuable guidelines for the correct approach to those revolutionary-minded proletarians, who
have not yet fully freed themselves from some prejudices.
The letter is written on "Vpered" letterhead. Ed.