Your letter is apparently the first letter proposing a "report" on Basel!! 150
Rather late... It appears something was lacking (or something was in excess?) in Basel... I think what was lacking among the delegates was organization. And this is extremely regrettable. Kamenev, of course, was up to his neck in work, but what about the other five?? Was it really not clear that one needed to write to *Pravda* daily? Was it really difficult to distribute roles? Not a single letter to *Pravda* from the site, while the liquidators sent several to *Luch*.

Is this not shameful? Of course, since we will sleep while the liquidators work, they will have better results. Is anything being done to collect funds for *Pravda*? Nothing is visible, while the liquidators publish reports in *Luch* about collections abroad. And *Pravda* is in dire, dire, dire need.

No one from the delegates wrote here about Basel (except Kamenev). It was absolutely necessary to divide forces and write twice a day. But everyone was silent. They seem to have been discontented about something.

About what? Allah knows! I am extremely satisfied with the Basel outcomes, because the idiotic liquidators allowed themselves to be caught on the initiative group!! 151 It was impossible to hook this filth better on the hook. But the inactivity of our delegates and some unclear to me "biting of lips" on their part grieves me. Did they speak with the German delegates? (after all, 4-5 knew German!). Who? with whom? how? about what? Nothing is heard except from Kamenev. Agitation among the Germans is very important.

You write that "our affairs are not going well in the press and in the faction." Not going well in comparison to "Enlightenment". There is no money. A serious crisis. We must help, we must transport.

*Pravda* has a circulation of about 23 thousand. *Luch* 8-9. There is no reason to complain here. But *Pravda* had 60,000 in IV-V, fell in the summer to 20 thousand. It is rising very slowly. Without help it will not pull through. In the faction we are better than ever. All six workers from the curial system are ours 152. This has never happened before. For the first time we took the South.

Out of 12 - 6 and 6. Mankov - menshevik. Rusanov - unknown. We can fight. Here are the exact facts about our progress. Deputies from the workers' curia:
In the II Duma 12 mensheviks 11 Bolsheviks (= 47%) ("Protocols
" III " 4 " 4 " (= 50%) of the London
Congress", " IV " 3 " 6 ". (= 67%) p. 451) 153.

If there is anyone among you anywhere who is despondent, let him think over these figures and be ashamed of his despondency. For the first time among ours in the Duma there is an outstanding worker-leader (Malinovsky). He will read the declaration. This is not comparable to Alexinsky.

And the results—perhaps not immediately—will be great. In the III Duma we began with 0!!

In the field of illegal work, thanks to the transfer of the Bureau here, more has been done than before. Slowly, but we are moving forward. We publish illegally more than others. There is no money.

If there is help—we will publish *Rabochaya Gazeta* and others.

From abroad one can help illegal work only through journeys. Then very important is help through new connections: 1) - letters - 2) - opportunities 3) passports 4) and so on and so forth.

All of this is too little. Here the work done locally from abroad is 100 times less than what is possible. But the most important thing now is to help "pull through" *Pravda*. And it is being helped poorly. One city (Bucharin) is trying. In other cities there is nothing! No one writes regular correspondence. No one makes collections. No one gathers interesting local books and pamphlets for sending here...* for the compilation of interesting articles. You must think about this more, comrades! For example, about the s.-d. in Switzerland in Neuenburg**... who has looked after it?? What has been done about it??

I shake your hand...

P. S. Please forward this letter to Yuri, so that he forwards it to Antonov in Paris, and from there to Vienna. We still have not found out whether Plekhanov spoke at the October meeting of the Bureau about union with s.-r. (cf. Martov in No. 37 of *Luch* 154)? Surely they did not check this with Rubinstein, nor with Nemets, nor with Guésde, nor anyone else??

written in the hand of G. L. Shklovsky

Written before December 20

Sent from Kraków to Bern

First printed in 1930 in Lenin Collection XIII

Printed from a copy,