V. I.

Lenin

155

To:   THE CENTRAL COMMITTEE OF THE R.S.D.L.P.

October 8, 1905

Dear friends, I hasten to inform you of an important change that has taken place in regard to
representation on the International Bureau. The South-Russian Conference
of
Mensheviks [2] adopted a resolution on this question in which (1)
there is a gross lie about me personally. I am replying in No. 20 of
Proletary [1]

, which will come out the day after tomorrow; (2) they ask Plekhanov
to represent their section of the Party .

This is exactly what we need! Plekhanov, of course, will accede to their
request. His quasi-neutrality, which is so disastrous to us, will be shown up,
and that is just what we wanted to prove. Let there be two representatives on
the International Bureau: one from the Majority and one from the Minority. That
will be the best thing. Moreover, if Plekhanov represents the Minority that will be better still . It is an excellent precedent for future unity. I earnestly request you: abandon now all thought of Plekhanov and appoint your own
delegate from the Majority. Only then will our interests be fully taken care
of. It would be good to appoint Orlovsky. He knows languages, he is a good
speaker, and an impressive personality. Most contacts are by writing, almost
all of them, and we, of course, would begin consultations. As a matter of fact,
there would be nothing to consult about: I assure you from experience that this
representation is a mere formality . At one time

Plekhanov often entrusted this representation to Koltsov
and no harm ever came of it, although Koltsov was no good
at all as a “parliamentarian” and an impossible, clumsy
lout in general.

All the best.
N. Lenin

---
Notes:
[1]

* See “Representation of the R.S.D.L.P. in the International Socialist
Bureau” (present edition, Vol. 9).— Ed .

[2]
The South-Russian Inaugural Conference of the Mensheviks was held
in Kiev in August 1905. It was attended by twelve delegates from Menshevik
groups and committees. The Conference adopted resolutions on the following
questions: amalgamation of both sections of the Party; the Duma; the
composition of Iskra editorial board; representation of the
R.S.D.L.P. in the International Socialist Bureau; the Articles of
Association, and others.

Lenin sharply criticised the decisions of the Conference in his articles
“A New Menshevik Conference” and “The Latest in Iskra Tactics,
or Mock Elections as a New Incentive to an Uprising”^^(see Vol. 9 of this
edition)^^.