V. I.

Lenin

370

To:   INESSA ARMAND

Dear Friend, Hugeous regards from all of us to Abram . Let him visit friends in Lausanne . He will find interesting documents there [1] and I will address a demand to you to translate these documents in French
& send to Sentinelle (and to me send also with an occasion). [5] (What party? Where published? Is it a decent organ?
Please send me one copy of the most characteristic issues of this paper.)

I am extremely anxious & angry with the position of the European
socialists in the present War. My conviction is that all—& the German
socialists first of all & chief of all—got “chauvinists”. It is
quite insupportable to read German and French ( l’Humanité !!) socialist papers!! Extreme “chauvinism"! I
am afraid that many, too many socialists, have lost their head (if I dare
say so) in the present crisis, and that in the last end it is the
opportunism which is responsible for this extreme “infamie” of the
European socialism. I am told Martynov (liquid.) in Zurich has had a
conference (private, I suppose) and firstly at tacked German
socialists—but later on (the second day of discussion) a changé
d’avis (sons l’influence funeste d’Axelrod) et a denie tout ce qu’il avait
dit plus abord!!! [2]

Shame!! We must in that or other manner tell our opinion—but it is
extremely difficult, very difficult in such times.... Please let Abram go
to Lausanne and bring you news.

Grigory has arrived with his family . We are remaining in Berne . A dull little town, but ... better than Galicia and the best there is!! Never mind . We shall adjust ourselves . I am poking around the libraries—I have missed them . [3]

Very very kind regards and hearty shakehands. Please write more about
yourself.

Yours truly,

W. I.

I hope we shall soon meet? Do you think so?

P.S. What is weather in Les Avants? Do you make walks?

Do you feed better now? Have you books? papers?

Arrangements should be made in Lausanne to collect all Swiss newspapers in French containing socialist comments on the war, on the German and French socialists, etc. Let Abram tackle this . No effort should be spared in collecting documents!! [4]

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Notes:
[1]
* The italicised passages marked with an asterisk are in Russian in
the original.— Ed .

[2]
He changed his opinion (under the pernicious influence of Axelrod) and
denied everything he had said before.— Ed .

[3]

[4]
This paragraph is in Russian in the original.— Ed .

[5]
The reference is to the Manifesto of the C.C. of the R.S.D.L.P. “The
War and Russian Social-Democracy” and “An Answer to Emile Vandervelde”
which Lenin planned to publish in French in the newspaper La Sentinelle .

La Sentinelle —organ of the Swiss Social-Democratic organisation of the Neuchâtel canton (French Switzerland), founded in
1890. During the First World War, the newspaper adopted an internationalist
stand; On November 13, 1914, the paper (No. 265) published an abridged
version of the Manifesto of the C.C., R.S.D.L.P. “The War and Russian
Social-Democracy”.

The answer to Vandervelde in connection with his telegram to the
R.S.D.L.P. Duma group was published in the newspaper
Sotsial-Demokrat No. 33, November 1, 1914.