V. I. Lenin

Source: ru:PSS/v46;es:MT
Translated: machine translation (DeepSeek) from the Russian; AI-translated.

LETTER TO ARKADY FROM LENIN

Dear Friend,

First of all, my heartiest congratulations to you (and your friends) on the immense success: the beginning of the reorganisation of the local committee. This matter may become a turning-point in our entire movement, and therefore to carry this reorganisation through to the end is the most important and most urgent task. Take special care of yourself so as to be able to accomplish it.

Now to business. You ask me to help you with a “concrete outline of a plan of local work in connection with the general Russian work”. To comply with your request immediately, I am writing to you alone for the time being (so as not to delay matters by communicating with the other members of the Editorial Board, who are now scattered in different places; perhaps later they will add something themselves). I am not quite sure that I understand your request correctly. My sources at present are: your letter of June 21 and the letter from 2a 3b about the two meetings (of you, 2a 3b and Krasikov) with Vanya (the St. Petersburg Union).180 Judging by these sources (especially the second one), Vanya “has now turned out to be our like-minded person, frankly admitting the shortcomings of his former position”. Proceeding from this, I shall continue to write, addressing both you and Vanya, and leave it entirely to your discretion whether to hand over my letter to Vanya (and Manya=the workers’ organisation) now or later, whether to hand it over in full or with certain corrections, which, if necessary, I also authorise you to make (informing us of all these corrections, as far as possible, of course).

Strictly speaking, I cannot, of course, give you now a “concrete outline of a plan of local work in connection with the general Russian work”: this task is impossible for me without a number of detailed conferences with both Vanya and Manya. All I can give is an outline of what practical steps should be taken immediately and above all by Vanya, now that he has become a new Vanya or wants de facto to become one. And it seems to me that the steps outlined by all of you at the second meeting with Vanya (and described in the letter from 2a 3b) are quite correct. I fully agree that “the first thing is openly to declare oneself a supporter of definite views”. That is precisely the first thing, and it can be done only by an open declaration.181 I know well that the majority, or many, of Vanya’s comrades (i.e., the committees and their members) have a strong prejudice against such open declarations, or at least are unaccustomed to them. This feature is quite understandable from the standpoint of the stage of the movement already passed and the mistakes already rejected. But precisely because Vanya occupies such an important position, precisely because in the past he openly declared his old views, which were sharply at variance with the “Iskra” views, that is why I would particularly warmly advise the comrades (=Vanya) to overcome this lack of habit and this prejudice. Our local work has hitherto suffered most from narrowness and isolation, from the reluctance of local workers actively and resolutely to take up the elaboration of general Party questions. Let Vanya, then, in going over to the side of revolutionary Social-Democracy, at once break with this tradition and proclaim publicly that his fundamental theoretical views and organisational ideas are such and such, and that he now undertakes to carry out these ideas himself, inviting all other committees to do likewise. This declaration will be of enormous importance both for Vanya and for the whole of Russia; it will in itself be a big thing. There is no need to fear offending Vanya’s old friends who held different views: any shade of offence will be removed precisely by the fact that Vanya himself openly and frankly admits that circumstances and experience have convinced him of the incorrectness of his former theoretical views, tactical principles and organisational plans, which were in one way or another connected with Economism. There will not be a shade of attack on these old views, but simply an admission of his own evolution. The frank straightforwardness of this admission will have ten times more influence on the actual unification of all Russian Social-Democrats and on the complete cessation of “controversy” among them than a hundred protests against “controversy”.

So, first and foremost: an open printed declaration (in the local paper or in Iskra, best of all in both). This step should absolutely not be postponed for a single week, for without it all other steps may easily prove fruitless (a crash, etc.), whereas with it the new path is at once consolidated.

What should this declaration contain? If Vanya were to ask my comradely advice on this (but not before, of course, he asked me), I would reply: 1) An admission of his renunciation of his old views (theoretical, tactical, organisational) with the most general (if possible in one or two words) characterisation of these views. 2) An admission of his going over to the side of the supporters of Iskra, of its theoretical, tactical and organisational views, an admission that it is the leading organ (NB: leading does not at all mean that one must necessarily agree with it in everything. It means precisely only solidarity with the guiding principles of such and such an organ. This admission is quite compatible with pointing out particular disagreements, if any, and with pointing out that I desire such and such changes and, as a present supporter of Iskra, will work for them, strive to get them carried out in Iskra). 3) Putting in the forefront the unification, or rather the restoration, of a really united all-Russian Social-Democratic Labour Party through joint work, which should begin with grouping around Iskra in order to turn it into an instrument of genuinely nation-wide agitation, and which (the work) should lead to the creation of a militant all-Russian organisation capable of delivering a decisive blow at the autocracy. 4) An admission (already made but not yet published by Vanya) of the necessity to reorganise the constitution and functioning of Vanya with Manya (their relations, etc.), a proclamation (so to speak) of a revision of the constitution. 5) An admission of the necessity to draw closer and merge with the Russian organisation of Iskra for the fulfilment of the tasks which from now on are common to Vanya and that organisation. 6) The detailing of one or several (perhaps from Vanya and from Manya, etc.) members of the St. Petersburg Committee for the function of immediately beginning the practical implementation of the above, i.e., merging with Iskra and uniting the Party.*

Of course, of these six sections, the sixth absolutely cannot be published, and perhaps also some other points. The declaration could put dots and directly stipulate that such and such (or “further”) points are not subject to publication for conspiratorial reasons. But I repeat: if Vanya has really become our supporter, he must not postpone this declaration for a single week.

It is at this conference of delegates of the St. Petersburg Committee with Sonya (the Russian organisation of Iskra) and with the Editorial Board of Iskra (abroad) that a real concrete plan will be worked out, not only for remodelling the St. Petersburg work, but also for the direct unification of the Party, the constitution of an Organisational Committee for the preparation of the Second Party Congress, etc., etc., etc.

Further, at your second meeting it was outlined “before carrying out the aforementioned project (sending delegates abroad in July) a preliminary acquaintance with the state of affairs in various localities of our vast fatherland, in order to have a basis for judgments at the congress”. Now this decision I (frankly speaking) consider a mistake and would advise you to abandon it. That means dragging things out and trying to catch two hares at once. Let us first catch the first: come to an understanding (we with Vanya) among ourselves. That will already be equivalent to complete solidarity between Vanya and Sonya. And with this solidarity the further practical task (of touring Russia) will be carried out by Vanya and Sonya (+ or =?) quite easily. But now it is not reasonable to scatter our forces: first (1) finally convince Vanya and Manya, then (2) proclaim our standpoint publicly, next (3) come to an immediate understanding with Iskra (abroad, where Iskra already has a whole archive of data on the state of affairs in various places of the vast fatherland: do not neglect this archive, comrades!), and (4) with Sonya, and only then (5) a tour of Russia with the direct practical aim of actually unifying the work (and convening an all-Party congress).

There you have, if you like, a “concrete outline of a plan” of the immediate practical tasks. If § 2 presents difficulties, § 3 can be put in the first place (this will, of course, be a certain delay, but under certain conditions an inevitable delay). But we must insist on both 2 and 3 at all costs. It is extremely important that the members of Vanya coming here should be provided with the widest possible powers, that there should be 2 of them if possible, and not 1 (although this depends entirely on local conditions and you can judge that much better).

On this, I think, we can conclude. Please write as soon as possible your opinion: have I understood your request correctly? is my “concrete plan” feasible? etc. I am a little afraid that things are not yet so good, that Vanya is not yet a full supporter. It is particularly suspicious that Manya has not yet been given What Is To Be Done?* It would be a good thing for you to repeat the meeting with Vanya in pleno (i.e., in the full composition of the St. Petersburg Committee): this would be extremely important for ascertaining exactly whether there are opponents, who they are, what their main points are. Likewise, a direct meeting of yours with Manya would be important. Hasten Vanya’s (and it would be good if Manya’s too!) trip here as much as you can and at all costs (go straight to London: give them the address, be sure to give the London and Belgian addresses of Meshcheryakov as well, just in case).

If you achieve this, it will already be a tremendous success, guaranteeing the fruits of your labours even if you are completely smashed up now. And do not forget that such a smash-up is very possible and that therefore it is imperative, without the slightest delay, to secure as soon as possible a real first step (declaration, trip).

If Vanya actually becomes fully ours, then in a few months we shall hold the Second Party Congress and turn Iskra into a fortnightly, or even a weekly, Party organ. Try to convince Vanya that we have no thought of diverting him from local work, that St. Petersburg is a “locality” which also has direct all-Russian significance, that the merging of Vanya with Sonya will enormously strengthen local work and at the same time immediately raise the whole Party from a semi-phantom state to the level not only of reality but of a first-rate force.

I firmly shake your hand.

Yours,
Lenin

* This (§ 6) has also already been decided de facto at your second meeting: sending abroad to come to a final agreement.

* See V. I. Lenin, Collected Works, Fifth Edition, Vol. 6, pp. 1-192. Ed.