Thank Smith for the long letter. Let him write to Egorov, making one last appeal to Understanding. Let Zarin go to Egorov immediately, having obtained all (absolutely all) powers to conduct affairs in the Egorov countries. Draw all this up more fully, more strictly, and more precisely. You must conduct yourselves formally, and regarding the Egorovites** you must prepare for decisive war; you must achieve by all means that their attempt to thrust themselves into the committees immediately provokes decisive resistance. You must keep both eyes open to this and prepare all the committees. The Egorovites are continuing and expanding the boycott, they are beastly embittered, they have dreamed up a heap of injuries and insults to themselves, they imagine they are saving the party from tyrants, they shout about it far and wide, they are muddying people. Their turmoil has already deprived us (I do not know whether for long, but perhaps forever) of two of our largest sources of money. Direct all desperate efforts toward raising money—this is the main thing.

* The reference is to the article "The Forces of Russian Clericalism." —Ed.

** The Egorovites—Marchers, Mensheviks located in Geneva. —Ed.