V. I.

Lenin

449

To:   INESSA ARMAND

1916

15/I. 1916

Dear Friend, Today the parcel containing papiers d’affaires, three notebooks sent
from Berne by registered mail to
Belinsky [1] in Paris, has been returned. The sender forgot to put the number of the
house, and those damned post-office people went and returned it!! I have
sent it off today to Belinsky registered.

We have the beginning of “friction” with our Polish friend, [2] who seems to have “taken offence” over the discussion and wants to keep
our theses out of No. 2 of the journal. [3] This looks like war with him. From Roland-Hoist an
extremely friendly letter reporting that her Dutch league on 2.I.1916 had
unanimously joined the Zimmerwald Left! Trotsky has lost another ally!!
The journal, Dutch-German, is already being set up; contributors from other
countries are badly needed, but everything and all contacts should be given
only to me or to my young Russian friend (by no means to the
non-Russian, vous comprenez?).

Now quite another story:

It is a glorious sunny day today, with a light snow. After influenza my
wife and I took our first walk along the road to Frauen-Kapellen where the
three of us—you remember?—hid that lovely stroll one day. I kept
thinking of it and was sorry you were not here.

By the way. I’m rather surprised that there is no news from you. Let me
confess, while I’m at it, that the thought occurred to me for a moment that
you might have “taken offence” at my not having gone to see you off the
day you left. I did think that, I must confess, but I dismiss the unworthy
thought, I have driven it from my mind.

This is my second postcard to you. Maybe the first one went astray? I
repeat the important advice: reread Nos. 5 and 6 of Nashe Slovo
ever so carefully!! Kollontai sends good news from America, she is
publishing Internationale Flugblätter . From Russia too there is
good news.

All the very best, Yours,

V. Lenin

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Notes:
[1]
This refers to G. Y. Belenky.— Ed .

[2]
Meaning K. B. Radek.— Ed .

[3]
This refers to the theses of the Editorial Board of
Sotsial-Demokrat drafted by Lenin and entitled “The Socialist
Revolution and the Right of Nations to Self-Determination”. They were
published in No. 2 of Vorbote in April 1916 and in Sbornik Sotsial-Demokrata No. 1, October 1916 (see present edition, Vol. 22,
pp. 143–56).

Vorbote —a theoretical journal, organ of the Zimmerwald Left;
appeared in German in Berne. Its official publishers were Henriette
Roland-Hoist and Anton Pannekoek. Lenin took an active part in founding the
journal, and after the issue of No. 1 in organising a French translation of
it for wider circulation.