March 5, 1917.

Dear A. M.! Newspaper reports speak of convening a congress of young people in Sweden on May 12 to found a new party "on Zimmerwald principles."

I confess, this news particularly agitates and infuriates me. For "Zimmerwald"
has clearly gone bankrupt, and a good word again serves to cover up rot! The Zimmerwald majority, that is - Turati and Co., Kautsky with Ledebour, Merrheim - all
have moved to the position of social-pacifism, condemned so solemnly (and so
fruitlessly!) in Kienthal. Kautsky's and Co.'s manifesto of January 7, 1917, a series of resolutions of the Italian Socialist Party, the resolutions of Merrheim - Jouhaux and Longuet - Bourderon (+
Raffene-Dujardin in unison with Renaudel*), is this not the bankruptcy of Zimmerwald? And the Zimmerwald "center" - R. Grimm, who on January 7, 1917 entered into an alliance with the social-patriots of Switzerland to fight against the left!! Grimm, scolding the social-patriots of all countries, except the Swiss, whom he covers up! C'est degoutant!** I am beside
myself with rage at these scoundrels; it is disgusting to hear them and about them; it is even more disgusting to think about working together with them. Play-acting!

We are going to collect materials for you about this collapse of R. Grimm. Answer, can
you get the Zürcher "Volksrecht." There, in the motives of the referendum and in the resolution of the left in
Toss (Feb. 11, 1917) and so on and so forth. You will find the main material.

But surely the Swedish leftists are, for the most part, sincere. This is clear. And it is necessary at all costs to
help them before May 12 to understand in advance all the vulgarity of social-pacifism
and Kautskianism, to help them understand all the vileness of the Zimmerwald majority, to help them develop a good program and tactics for the new party.

Indeed, we must (all of us, the leftists in Sweden and those who can communicate with them) unite, exert all our efforts, help, for the moment in the life of the Swedish party, the Swedish and
Scandinavian labor movement is decisive.

Since you read Swedish (and speak it too), a large dose of responsibility falls on you, if we understand "internationalism" not in the sense of "it's none of my business."

* See V. I. Lenin's article "Bourgeois Pacifism and Socialist Pacifism" (Collected Works, 5th
ed., vol. 30, pp. 239-260). Ed.

** - That's disgusting! Ed.

I am sure that you are doing a lot. I would like to unite, to bring together the leftists to
help the Swedes in such a difficult moment in their lives. Is it possible to organize for this
in Christiania, Copenhagen and Stockholm a group of Russian Bolsheviks and leftists who know Swedish and can help? To divide the work: to collect the main documents and
articles (they sent me Nerman's polemic with Mauritz Vastberg in "Politiken" 28, XI. 1916 on
the theme "first the program, then the new party," but I could not understand); to develop our own theses to help them; to place a series of articles to help them. Swedes who can write
in German, French or English could also join such a group*.

In your opinion, is this possible or not? Is it worth bothering with?

In my opinion, it is worth it, but from afar, from the side, I, of course, am not in a position to judge. I only see and know in the firmest way that the question of the program and tactics of the new socialism, truly revolutionary Marxism, and not vile Kautskianism, is
on the agenda everywhere. This is evident both from the S. L. P. and "The Internationalist" in America and from
data about Germany (resolutions of the leftists 7. I. 1917) and about France (booklet of the leftists in Paris: "Les socialistes de Zimmerwald et la guerre"**) and so on.

In Denmark, Trier and others, probably, would join in the creation of a new, Marxist,
party in Scandinavia; part of the Norwegian leftists too. The struggle against Branting and Co. is a serious matter: need must force a more serious attitude to the questions of the theory and tactics of revolutionary Marxism.

In my opinion, we should move the work of preparing for May 12 intensely and from three sides simultaneously: (1) a group for assistance, as mentioned above; (2) groups of Scandinavian
leftists: write a little article (in Swedish newspapers) about the need to immediately found such groups for preparing the program and tactics for May 12.

* What kind of figure is Lindhagen? "Socialist-Revolutionary"? "Narodnik"? "Radical-Socialist"? Hervé?

** - "The Zimmerwald Socialists and the War." Ed.

(3) - the third interests me especially not because it is the most important (the initiative from within is more important), but because we can help here. If, for example, you now,
after reviewing the main literature of the left and right in Sweden, sketched out on the basis of it
theses of this kind:
theoretical (programmatic) and practical (tactical) disagreements
defense of the fatherland; the concept of imperialism; the nature of the war;
disarmament; social-pacifism; the national question; revolution;
"mass action"; civil war; attitude to trade unions; opportunism and the fight against it
and so on.

Each thesis should include (a) what the leftists in
Sweden said ("the essence") about this; (b) the rightists there. On the basis of this, taking into account the position of the leftists in Russia, Germany, America (the main countries in this regard), we could develop our own theses and, publishing them in Swedish, help the Swedes to prepare for May 12. Some of the main passages from the most important resolutions and articles of the right and left wings in Sweden
should be translated into Russian or German, or French, or English for this.

In essence, morally and politically we are all responsible for the Swedish young people and
must help them. Your situation is extremely favorable for such assistance. Write
immediately what you think about this.

This letter may be useful to forward to Lyudmila along with your considerations.

I shake your hand firmly and wish you every success.

Yours, Lenin to Christiania (Oslo)

+

dictator- ship of the prole- tariat

I. F. ARMAND. MARCH 8, 1917

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Sent from Zurich

First published in 1924 in Lenin Miscellany II

Printed from manuscript