16. XI.

I have just received, dear P. B., your notes on the article "Urgent Tasks"**.

Thank you very much for them. What do you think about the unpopularity of this article? Will it not be a dissonance?

I am sending you the preface to the pamphlet "The May Days in Kharkov"*** (in the manuscript you have, some, but very minor, corrections were made). Please, give your opinion on it and make your remarks without hesitation, either with a pen or pencil right there.

I am also sending a document from Russia about the merger of the St. Petersburg workers' organization with the "Union of Struggle" 69. They say that the people from St. Petersburg are very excited about this, and Kyiv is said to have already adopted this program. It is necessary to write about it. Would you be willing to do this? (After reading this "document", - "fruit", as my brother puts it, please send it to G. V. if you do not need it.)
We have finally found a responsible person: Ettinger has agreed to sign two issues in any case, waiving all claims regarding the "tone" and other matters, and reserving the right to publicly express her disagreement with the content and other things after the two issues. We must hope that she will fulfill this condition (she is currently asking only that no one be told about this until the issue is published) - and during this time we will either find another person or arrange things differently. I personally conducted the negotiations with Ettinger through the mediation of Buchholz, who left the Union with the aim of taking some conciliatory steps. I will write more about these steps later, especially since there is little of interest in them.

In the coming days, we hope to start typesetting.

Sincerely, Your Petroff

* - on the agenda. Ed.

** See V. I. Lenin. Collected Works, 5th ed., vol. 4, pp. 371-377. Ed.

*** See the same, pp. 363-370. Ed.