V. I.

Lenin

230

To:   HIS SISTER MARIA

Her Excellency Maria Ilyinichna Ulyanova, Poste Restante, Vologda, Russia

Dear Manyasha, At last a brief note from you, very brief, it is true, has
reached me. Write and tell me how you have settled down,
whether you have made any friends, and whether there is
any possibility of your finding work. Have the local authorities kept their promise not to prevent your looking for
a
job? [1]

I recently received a letter from Mother who tells me that
Mark came back from St. Petersburg ill. Why is he so poorly
these days? What was he like when you left—was he, on the whole, well?

I suppose you are now suffering from “prison anaemia”, or rather from a worsening of your former anaemia. You
ought to do something about it—go skating, for instance.
That is something you must do, so do not neglect it! There
is slush where I am now, but last year, when I found myself in a “cold” place, I immediately found a skating
rink and had a go to see whether I had forgotten how to
skate.

There are now great difficulties in the way of getting translations from French and German because of the copy- right convention. In this place, unfortunately, I am cut off
from all contact with publishers. You should write to St.
Petersburg or Moscow, if you have any acquaintances there,
and try to find out from the publishers how they stand;
translation is the best form of employment and quite a large number of translated books are published. Write
and tell me what the prospects are.

Y.V. and Nadya are very anxious to send regards.

All the best, Yours,

V. Ul.

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Notes:
[1]
Lenin’s sister was banished to Vologda.— Ed .