V. I.

Lenin

285

To:   L. B. KAMENEV

Dear L. B., I am forwarding you Troyanovsky’s letter. [2]

In my opinion, that scoundrel Semkovsky (Grigory is sending you
Kampf ) deserves an answer in a full voice only , not like that given to Steklov in Neue Zeit .

Write briefly but firmly and strongly about the traitors to both
socialism and democracy, about the blacklegging newspaper Luck ,
about the bulk of the workers who are following the lead of
Pravda . If the opportunist Austrians refuse to print it, we shall
publish it in the report to the Vienna congress of
1914 [3] I am strongly against any writing “keyed to the meanness” of
the opportunists of Neue Zeit or Kampf .

What is your opinion?

Yours, Lenin

I am for writing to Kampf apart from Ryazanov. That “honest broker” will mess the thing up, complicate it by outward courtesy
and inward meanness. Better go direct and get a direct reply. If Ryazanov
wants to “help” (h’m, h’m), let him do so on the side.... [1]

---
Notes:
[1]
Manuscript partly damaged. Several words illegible.— Ed .

[2]
Troyanovsky, in his letter of May 15 (N. S.), 1913, asked Kamenev to
write an answer to the article by the Menshevik liquidator S. Semkovsky
(S. Y. Bronstein) “Die Wiederbelebung des russischen Proletariats” (The
Rebirth of the Russian Proletariat) published in the journal Der Kampf No. 8, May 1, 1913. He promised the support of D. B. Ryazanov in
getting the article published in Der Kampf .

[3]
This refers to the international congress of the Second International
which was to have been held in Vienna in August 1914. Owing to the outbreak
of the imperialist world war the congress was not held.