V. I.

Lenin

312

To:   G. M. KRZHIZHANOVSKY

January 28, 1922

G. M.,

I have read Gorev’s work [1] and return it.

I expected more. A former Bolshevik, who captivated you so, and who, in your opinion, had once again become
a real Bolshevik, should have produced impressive, vivid,
powerful, popular propaganda, a defence of communism for France, starting from her electrification.

But Gorev’s work has turned out “professorial”.

I offer the following plan for your consideration:

(1) send it to be set at once , in order to publish it soon in
any case; (2) suggest to Gorev— if you agree —that he should write
in addition a preface or an afterword, in which he should
in very clear and popular form and a little more freely (
prescribe for him to this end three grammes of extract of
Larinism: they say it has appeared on sale in Moscow) attack
French capitalism, and say to the French workers and peasants: you could become in three-five years three times as
rich, and work not more than six hours a day (approximately)
if there were a Soviet government in France putting electrification into effect; (3) if in your (or Gorev’s) opinion, Gorev will do this badly
or unwillingly, then think over whether someone should not be asked to do this work separately (a brief
“Ballod” [2] for France); (4) send me Gorev’s article, as soon as you can, once it is
set up (to he published as a pamphlet or in some journal,
whichever you choose). Perhaps I will write an introduction. [3]

Greetings, Yours, Lenin

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Notes:
[1]
Reference is to A. Gorev’s pamphlet Elektrifikatsia Frantsii (The
Electrification of France). It was published in 1922.

[2]
Lenin refers to the book by Karl Ballod, Der Zukunftsstaat (The
State of the Future), a Russian translation of which appeared in
1920. Lenin writes of Ballod’s book in his article “An Integrated
Economic Plan” (see present edition, Vol. 32, p. 140).

[3]
The introduction to A. Gorev’s pamphlet Elektrifikatsia Frantsii
(The Electrification of France) was not written by Lenin.