V. I.

Lenin

Letter to Volksrecht [1]

Various German newspapers have published a distorted version of the telegram I sent on Monday, March 19, to certain members
of our Party in Scandinavia who were leaving for Russia and who asked my
advice about the tactics Social-Democrats should follow.

My telegram reads:

“ Our tactics: no trust in and no support of the new government;
Kerensky is especially suspect; arming of the proletariat is the only
guarantee; immediate elections to the Petrograd City Council; no
rapprochement with other parties. Telegraph this to Petrograd.”

I sent the telegram in the name of Central Committee members living abroad , not in the name of the Central Committee itself. Reference is
not to the Constituent Assembly, but to elections to municipal
bodies. Elections to the Constituent Assembly are, so far, merely an empty
promise. Elections to the Petrograd City Council could and should be held
immediately , if the government is really capable of introducing
its promised freedoms. These elections could help the proletariat organise
and strengthen its revolutionary positions.

N. Lenin

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Notes:
[1]

The letter was published in Volksrecht under the heading
“Feststellung” (“Factual Note”), and began with the words: “Comrade
Lenin writes...”