1 The second page of the manuscript of this article has survived. Judging by the content of the fragment, the article was written by V. I. Lenin in connection with the statements in No. 3 of the journal "Nasha Zarya" for 1914 by the liquidators F. Bulkin and L. Martov, which were directed against the Bolsheviks. V. I. Lenin subjected the statements of Bulkin and Martov to sharp criticism in a number of his articles (see Collected Works, Vol. 25, pp. 131-134, 167-170, 183-206, 321-352).

## LETTER TO G. L. SHKLOVSKY
[April 1914, after the 25th]

Dear G. L., I have just sent you a letter when I received your postcard.

I am sending you an article. Show it to Samoylov and make it legal (tell everything in the third person—"they," "the workers" do this, while I, Samoylov, only saw it and am telling about it).

Think it over three times to ensure it is legal, so that Samoylov cannot be implicated. Legality... *
* You see that I have already crossed out many illegal parts. I do not have time to finish it completely. You can easily do this during translation.

Printed from the facsimile text published in the catalog "Autographen aus verschiedenem Besitz."
Marburg, 1963, p. 171, Plate 44

1 This refers to the article "May Day and the Workers' Movement in Russia" (see the following document).

## MAY DAY AND THE WORKERS' MOVEMENT IN RUSSIA
[April 1914, after the 25th]

On behalf of the workers of Russia, I send greetings to the Swiss workers and express my fervent wish for further success in the struggle for socialism.

* The manuscript ends here.

Swiss workers have long enjoyed quite complete political freedom, and it is difficult for them to imagine the extent of the lack of rights of Russian workers. The electoral law for our State Duma [is a cruel mockery of citizens' rights] and stands out [by this law, workers are locked up]. Workers are placed in a special workers' curia, and deputies to the Duma from the workers are not chosen by the workers themselves, but by landowners and priests! It goes without saying that the majority everywhere is ensured by law (through the appointment of the number of electors) for the reactionaries. And yet, workers send only Social-Democrats to the Duma, [candidates of an illegal party.]

How is this possible? Workers elect all electors—Social-Democrats, and all electors, except for the party's candidate, refuse to participate in the elections. Landowner-reactionaries are forced by the workers [Social-Democrats] to choose Social-Democrats for the Duma!!

[Without any trial] Workers in Russia are arrested by the dozens and hundreds for participating in the workers' movement and [without trial] are administratively exiled. But the workers of Russia, nevertheless, [the first to break the arbitrariness and lawlessness in Russia with the great All-Russian strike and the revolution of 1905] continue [and now their revolutionary] struggle with such strength that no persecutions can stop them.

Legal unions of workers [the government] administration closes without any trial [arbitrariness ... *]. And yet, workers again and again establish unions. [Their illegal party, the R.S.D.L.P., the majority of conscious workers of Russia defend with all their might, covering their illegal revolutionary work in every way through legal forms of the movement.] At present [For example, now! insurance funds are being introduced everywhere in Russia, and workers only elect trusted people, "Pravdists," to the boards. The word "Pravdist" means a supporter of the "Pravda" group. This is the name of the first legal Marxist daily newspaper in Russia, founded on April 22, 1912, at the time of a huge upsurge in strikes caused by the Lena massacre on April 4, 1912. The government closed "Pravda"—workers established "Severnaia Pravda" of the same orientation. It was also closed: "Rabochaia Pravda" was founded. After countless closures, fines, and confiscations, "Put' Pravdy" still comes out, which on April 22 (O.S.) 1914 celebrated the 2-year anniversary of the workers' daily newspaper in Russia.

* As in the document.

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