V. I.

Lenin

539

To:   INESSA ARMAND

Dear Friend, Yesterday we had a meeting of the Left Germans. Mostly workers, some
young people. We haven’t got the work running smoothly yet: I have a dual,
uncertain impression. He’s a nice one, Nobs! A worker sent him a Left
article about the mean trick in putting off the congress. Nobs put the
article in over the man’s signature, and the next day printed another
article of a different trend; he mutilated the Left article, pruned it away, and I discovered this by accident at the meeting,
when I criticised the article in just those passages which Nobs
had mutilated!

And these are “Lefts”!

Incidentally, it emerged at the meeting that there were contacts with
the Lefts in Neuchâtel, who had previously come out against the
opportunists. It wouldn’t be a bad idea to take a trip there with addresses
(or letters of introduction, which I could get here) and brief them, read
them a lecture, make contacts and so on.

Did I write you that Name, at a meeting of the Parteivorstand (7.I),
had the honesty to speak against Grimm, to reproach him precisely
as “international secretary”?

Olga writes me today that Guilbeaux delivered a report on the French
congress, scathingly criticised the Longuetists (“he out-does you”, as
she writes) and stood for a split. That’s good, but he, Guilbeaux, has no
base , he is a man of moods, he has no foundations, no theory. That
is dangerous. He is expecting his wife from Paris, who is carrying on
agitation there. Guilbeaux and Brilliant have agreed to adopt a resolution
of protest against postponement of the congress. They are having a meeting
of delegates on 22.I to vote this resolution.

The day after tomorrow, Sunday, we here are having a meeting of the
Bureau of Lefts (Grigory, Radek and I) on the question of a protest against
Grimm. We shall see!

I wish you all the very best, and ask you again to make a trip
somewhere, if only for a time, if only with lectures or anything else, so
as to have a change, to throw yourself into some absorbing occupation, something useful to new and fresh
people. Believe me, work among the French is extremely needful and
extremely useful.

I have received the book and catalogues. Merci.

Yours, Lenin

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