On the same day, Vladimir Ilyich wrote to comrade Ganetsky in Stockholm
a voluminous letter, a copy of which has been preserved in the aforementioned copy
book. This letter had already been printed in "Proletarian
Revolution" and from there reprinted in the 44th volume of the "Collected Works,"
but the reprint was apparently made from an erroneous list.
We are printing the text of the letter from the original, written by Lenin's hand
and preserved in the aforementioned copy book.
8.
LENIN.
LETTER TO GANETSKY.
March 30/17.
Dear Comrade! I thank you from the bottom of my heart for your efforts
and help.
I certainly cannot use the services of people who have anything to do
with the publisher of "The Bell" 1). Today I telegraphed
you 2) that the only hope to escape from here is to exchange Swiss emigrants for German internees.
England will never let either me or internationalists in general, or Martov and his friends, or Natanson and his friends through.
The English returned Chernov to France, even though he had all the documents
for travel!!
It is clear that the Russian proletarian revolution has no worse
enemy than the most malicious English imperialists. It is clear
that the errand boy of Anglo-French imperialist capital
and the Russian imperialist Milyukov (and Co.) are capable of anything,
of deception, of betrayal, of everything, of everything, to prevent
internationalists from returning to Russia: the slightest trust
in this regard, both in Milyukov and in Kerensky (an empty talker, an agent
of the Russian imperialist bourgeoisie by his objective
role) would be directly destructive to the workers' movement
and to our party, it would border on treason to internationalism.
The only, without exaggeration, the only hope for us to get into Russia is to send as soon as possible a reliable
person to Russia, so that by exerting pressure from the "Soviet of Workers'
Deputies" to achieve from the government the exchange of all Swiss emigrants for German internees. It is necessary to act
extremely energetically, documenting every step, sparing no expense

LENIN. ---- LETTER TO GANETSKY.

on telegrams, collecting documents against Milyukov and Co., who are
capable of dragging out the matter, feeding promises, deceiving, etc.
You can imagine what a torment it is for all of us to sit here at such a time.
Further. Sending a reliable person to Russia is even more necessary
for reasons of principle.
The latest news in foreign newspapers is increasingly indicating
that the government, with the direct assistance of Kerensky and thanks to the unforgivable (to put it mildly) vacillations of Chkheidze, is deceiving, and not unsuccessfully,
the workers, passing off the imperialist war as a "defensive" one.
According to the telegram of the SPB. Tel. Agency of 30/III 1917,
Chkheidze completely let himself be deceived by this slogan, adopted -
if you believe this source, of course, generally unreliable -
by the Soviet of Workers' Deputies.
In any case, even if this news is untrue, the danger of such deception is undoubtedly enormous.
All the efforts of the party must be directed towards fighting it. Our party would disgrace itself*)
forever, would politically kill itself, if it went along with such
deception. According to one report, Muranov 3), together with Sko-
belev, returned from Kronstadt. If Muranov went there on behalf of the Provisional Government of Guchkov-Milyukov,
I very much ask you to convey (through a reliable person)
and print that I condemn this unconditionally, that any
rapprochement with those vacillating towards social-patriotism and
standing on the deeply erroneous, deeply harmful social-pacifist,
Kautskian position of Chkheidze and Co., in my deepest conviction, is harmful to the working class, dangerous, inadmissible.
I hope you received my "Letters from Afar" №№ 1 - 4, where I developed the theoretical and political foundations of these views.
If these letters are lost or did not reach St. Petersburg, please
telegraph me, and I will send copies.
There is no doubt that in the St. Petersburg Soviet of Workers' and Soldiers' Deputies
there are numerous, and even, apparently, predominantly
1) supporters of Kerensky, the most dangerous agent of the imperialist
bourgeoisie, promoting imperialism, i.e. the defense and justification
of predatory, annexationist wars on the part of Russia,
*) So in the original. Ed.

LENIN COLLECTION.
under the cover of a sea of sonorous phrases and empty promises;
2) supporters of Chkheidze, who is vacillating shamelessly towards social-patriotism
and sharing all the vulgarity, all the absurdity of Kautskyism.
Our party is obliged to fight both currents in the most persistent, most principled, most insistent,
most ruthless way.
And I personally will not hesitate for a second to declare and declare in print that I would prefer even immediate
split with anyone from our party, than concessions to the social-patriotism of Kerensky and Co., or to social-pacifism
and Kautskyism of Chkheidze and Co.
At all costs, I must demand the republication in Inter - even under the title
"From the History of the Last Years of Tsarism" - of the local "Social-Democrat!", brochures by Lenin
and Zinoviev on war and socialism, ("The Communist" and "Collection
of the Social-Democrat").
And most of all and first of all, the theses from № 47 of the "Social-Democrat]" (of 13/X 1915). These theses
are now extremely important 4).
These theses say directly, clearly, precisely, how we should be during
a revolution in Russia, they were said 1 1/2 years before the revolution!
These theses are remarkably, literally, confirmed by the revolution.
The war has not ceased to be imperialist on the part of Russia
and cannot cease as long as
1) the landlords and
capitalists, representatives of the bourgeoisie class, are in power; 2) as long as in power
there are such direct agents and servants of this bourgeoisie as Kerensky and
other social-patriots; 3) as long as the treaties of tsarism with Anglo-
French imperialists remain in force (the Guchkov-Milyukov government directly
stated abroad - I don't know if it did this in Russia - that it is faithful to these treaties). These treaties are predatory, about the seizure of Galicia, Armenia, Constantinople, etc., and so on; 4) as long as these treaties are not published and not canceled; 5) as long as the entire alliance of Russia with the Anglo-French bourgeois imperialist governments is not broken;
6) as long as state power in Russia has not passed from the imperialist bourgeoisie (simple promises and "pacifist"
statements, no matter how much the stupid Kautsky, Chkheidze and Co. believe them, do not turn the bourgeoisie into a non-bourgeoisie) into the hands of the proletariat, which alone is capable, on the condition that the poorest part of the peasantry supports it, to break not in words, but in deeds

LENIN. ---- LETTER TO GANETSKY.

with the interests of capital, with imperialist politics, to break
with the plunder of other countries, to liberate the peoples oppressed by Great Russians
completely, to withdraw troops from Armenia and Galicia
immediately, etc.; 7) only the proletariat is capable, if it gets rid
of the influence of its national bourgeoisie, of inspiring true
trust in the proletarians of all warring countries and with THEM to enter
into negotiations about peace; 8) these proletarian conditions of peace
are stated precisely and clearly both in X 47 of *Sotsial-Demokrat*
and in my letter No. 4.

From this it is clear that the slogan: we are now defending the republic
in Russia, we are now waging a ((defensive war," we will fight with Wilhelm, we are fighting for the overthrow of Wilhelm, is the greatest deception, the greatest fraud of the workers!! For Guchkov—Lvov—Miliukov and Co. are landlords and capitalists, representatives of the class of landlords and capitalists, imperialists, fighting for the same predatory goals, on the basis of the same predatory treaties of Tsarism, in alliance with the same imperialist, predatory bourgeoisie of England, France, and Italy.
The appeal to the Germans from the bourgeois and imperialist
republic in Russia: ((overthrow Wilhelm" is a repetition
of the lying slogan of the French social-chauvinists, traitors
of socialism, /Guesde, Sembat and Co.

It is necessary very popularly, very clearly, without scholarly words, to explain
to workers and soldiers that it is necessary to overthrow not only Wilhelm,
but also the kings of England and Italy.
That's the first point.
And the second and main thing is that it is necessary to overthrow the bourgeois governments
and start with Russia, for otherwise peace cannot be obtained. It is
possible that we cannot immediately ((overthrow" the government of Guchkov—Miliukov.
Let it be so. But this is no argument for not telling the truth!!
It is necessary to tell the workers the truth. It is necessary
to say that the government of Guchkov—Miliukov] and Co. is an imperialist
government, that the workers and peasants must first, now or after the elections to the Constituent Assembly, if
the people are not deceived with it, if the elections are not postponed until after the war;
the question of the moment cannot be decided from here', must first
transfer ALL State] power into the hands of the working class, the enemy
of capital, the enemy of imperialist] war, and only then will they be
in a position to call for the overthrow of all kings and all bourgeois governments.

LENIN COLLECTION.
For
God's sake, try to deliver all this to
Petersburg and to *Pravda*, and to Muranov, and to Kamenev, and others.
For God's sake, put every effort into sending this with the most reliable person.
It would be best if a reliable, intelligent guy went, like Kuba 5) (he would render a great service to the entire world
workers' movement) and would help our Petersburg friends!!
I hope you will do this!! Do everything possible.
The conditions in Petersburg are arch-difficult.
Patriot-republicans are straining every effort. They want to flood our party with filth
and dirt (the Chernomazov ((case" 6) — I am sending a document about it)
and so on, and so on.
It is impossible to trust either Chkheidze and Co., or Sukhanov, or Steklov, etc. —
No rapprochement with other parties, with anyone!
Not a shadow of trust and support for the government of Guchkov—Miliukov] and Co.!! The most irreconcilable propaganda of internationalism
and the struggle against republican chauvinism and social-chauvinism
everywhere, both in the press and within the Soviet] of Work[ers'] Deputies,
the organization of our party — this is the essence. Kamenev must understand
that a world-historical responsibility rests upon him.
Do not spare money on Petersburg's communication with Stockholm!!
I ask you very much, dear] comrade, to telegraph me upon receipt of this letter and generally keep *me in all respects *au courant* 7).
I hope the Swedish friends will help with this. I shake your hand firmly!

Yours, Lenin.
1) *The Bell* is the organ of Parvus, a former left-wing Social Democrat, who at the beginning of the war
completely went over to the German bourgeoisie.
2) See document *No.* 7.
3) M. K. Mkhranov, former member of the IV State Duma, who returned after the February
Revolution from Siberian exile, went to Kronstadt completely independently
of the Provisional Government.
4)
The *Theses* are reprinted above, — see note 2 to the letter to A. G. Shlyapnikov (No. 28).
5) *Kuba* is the pseudonym of Comrade Ganetsky.
6) The following document (No. 9) is dedicated to the *Chernomazov Case*.
7) Up to date.