Date: 1922-10-28
Source: ru:ND; en:Pipes

Comrade Radek!

To be sure, you’re not acting in the best interests of our cause. You’re writing feuilletons of monstrous length—about L.L. George, no less. Nobody reads them; if you want to publish such pieces, they belong in a journal, not a newspaper—though you’re perfectly capable of crafting concise, pithy articles in just fifty lines.

Then there’s today’s editorial—on “Martov and Dan”¹: Utterly appalling! Absolutely dreadful! You should have relegated their piece to the third page, printed in small type. Everyone would have read it and smiled. Instead, you’ve inadvertently elevated them—right up to the point of absurdity. The editorial ought to have featured one of the neighboring articles instead.

Now for something else. In my view, the decisive battle in England is now upon us—the elections.

In my opinion, we must send back as quickly as possible every British citizen who’s currently traveling here.

Here’s how we should arrange things: twelve hours in Russia, then off you go back home.

It’s utterly foolish to linger here even a single extra hour when elections are taking place over there.

Within those twelve hours, let’s agree on a unified strategy: 1) vote for the Labour Party¹; 2) grant complete freedom of campaigning; 3) ensure absolute freedom of speech—even if a candidate is a notorious charlatan; that’s precisely why I’m voting for him—after all, the masses will learn from him; 4) distribute leaflets to the masses in a light-hearted, humorous tone, at rock‑bottom prices; 5) determine the cost of our support; 6) mobilize every member of our party: go door‑to‑door, spend the entire day on the streets, and so forth—and similar measures.

I ask all British comrades who are arriving to please send their contact information to me.

Give me a call.

Yours, Lenin.

Fund 2, Inventory 2, File 1255 — autograph.

1* The Labour Party

1V.I. Lenin is referring to the editorial “After Martov, Dan” in Pravda, No. 244, dated October 28, 1922.