* LETTER FROM P. N. LEPESHINSKY TO THE FOREIGN REPRESENTATIVE REGARDING THE MATTER
concerning the …
CONFERENCE OF THE GENEVA GROUP ON THE FOREIGN ORGANIZATION OF THE RSDLP WITH THE EXPEDITION AND THE CENTRAL COMMITTEE.
To Comrade Olin, who signed on as secretary of the Geneva Group of the [Foreign] Organization of the R.S.D.L.P.
The resolution of the Foreign Representative of the Central Committee, which is to be read in full at the group’s next meeting

(i.e., on August 29th—today, provided this resolution is delivered in time for the meeting).
[August 29, 1905, Geneva.
Today, August 29th, 1905, at 8 p.m., copies of the letter from the Geneva Group to the Expedition Committee and of the latter’s reply were delivered to the Foreign Representative of the Central Committee.
With regard to these documents, the Foreign Representative of the Central Committee of the R.S.D.L.P. explains to the Geneva Group that it has demonstrated a lack of understanding of party discipline and has violated the Party Statute.
The Expedition Committee are agents of the Central Committee. Any dissatisfaction with agents of the Central Committee must first and foremost be brought before the Central Committee itself. According to the Statute, all intra-party conflicts are to be resolved by the Central Committee—and all the more so conflicts between members of different Party organizations and agents of the Central Committee.
Therefore, inviting agents of the Central Committee to attend a group meeting was, from the group’s standpoint, a step that was not only formally incorrect but also particularly tactless.
If, however, this invitation was not intended as a formal gesture, then it should never have been made in writing or in an official capacity.
“Personal conduct” (of “officials”) is either truly personal only when it occurs outside of official duties, independent of one’s position—and in that case, any attempt by the group to address it is nothing more than petty squabbling. Or else, personal conduct is tied to one’s official duties—and in that case, any Party member who is dissatisfied with such conduct and insists on formally and officially addressing their grievances must first and foremost turn formally to the Central Committee. The Geneva Group of the R.S.D.L.P., by allowing “questions of dissatisfaction with Central Committee agents” to arise before the group—before formally reporting these matters to the Central Committee—has once again shown a failure to understand Party discipline and the Party Statute.
The distinction I have just outlined between open, public criticism—directed openly and explicitly toward the central organs or toward the Party Congress—and the kind of underground, private, clique-based criticism that is often indulged in by Party members is, it seems, not fully grasped by the group.
For this reason, the Foreign Representative of the Central Committee feels it his duty to caution all the young comrades in the group. In the foreign “colonial” milieu, there will always be individuals prone to the disease of petty quarrels, gossip, and backbiting; there will always be those who—

LETTER TO P. N. LEPESHINSKY: Individuals who perform their assigned duties under the direction of the Central Committee or the Party Congress very poorly—but who are all too quick to chatter about the inadequate performance of other Party members in other roles.
Such people are often listened to seriously by comrades who are inexperienced, curious, or lacking in moral fortitude. In reality, however, we should not listen to them; rather, we must cut them off at once, refraining from raising formal questions about the “personal conduct of officials” until such questions have been formally submitted to the appropriate Party bodies for review and until they have been examined and resolved by those bodies.
Party members abroad are easily susceptible to the malady I have described—but all young comrades whose nerves are still fresh and healthy must keep a strict watch over themselves and over others, for the only effective means of combating this disease lies in the immediate and most relentless suppression of every tendency toward petty quarrels and backbiting, right at the very outset of such tendencies.
That is why the Foreign Representative of the Central Committee
resolves:

— to request that the Geneva Group withdraw its letter of August 28 to the Expedition Committee.
This would be the best and swiftest way to put an end to this unfortunate affair, which, by the very course of events, threatens to lead to the most unpleasant disputes and ruptures.
Of course, the group is not obliged to comply with the request I am making on behalf of the Central Committee. I venture to make this request because I am dealing with comrades with whom I have yet to experience even a single formal conflict.
II. Should my request be rejected by the group, then point I of the resolution becomes moot. In that case, I propose to the group:
1) To inform me whether it intends to abide by the above-mentioned clarification of the Party Statute—that is, to comply with the resolution I have adopted on behalf of the Central Committee (this resolution may be appealed (a) to the full meeting of the Central Committee and (b) to the Party Congress—but until it is rescinded by the higher authority, it remains binding).
2) To provide me, in accordance with Article 11 of the Party Statute, with all information regarding the group’s personnel and its “entire activities”—including votes and the like—in connection with this unfortunately contentious matter.
Foreign Representative of the Central Committee of the R.S.D.L.P. N. Lenin.

Appendix.
Copy.
* Letter II. N. Lepeshinsky to the Expedition Committee and its response to the Geneva Group.
To comrades working in the R.S.D.L.P. Expedition.
In view of the fact that a number of questions have arisen before the Geneva Group of the R.S.D.L.P.—questions directly related to certain facts concerning the personal conduct of comrades serving in the Party Expedition’s official ranks—the group has decided, in the interest of justice and in order to establish the truth, to invite these officials to its meeting, which is scheduled to take place on Tuesday, August 29th, 1905 (in Olina’s dining hall).
For Secretary–Correspondent of the Group, Olina
Geneva, August 28th.
To the Secretary of the Geneva Group.*
In response to the group’s letter of August 28, which invited members of the Party Expedition to attend the group’s meeting on August 29—with the aim of examining “certain facts concerning the personal conduct of the Expedition’s official staff”—the Expedition Committee declares that it does not consider it necessary to attend this meeting, since if the Group harbors any grievances against the Expedition, it may address them to the representative of the Central Committee, under whose direct jurisdiction the Expedition falls, and it is he who will resolve the entire matter.
Expedition Committee.