V. I. Lenin

Source: ru:LS/v2;es:MT
Translated: machine translation (DeepSeek) from the Russian; AI-translated.

16.

Dear Friend,

I have received your two letters of the 4th and 5/11.

Many thanks.

Regarding the dispatch of the *S[ocial]-Democrat*, I gave your letter to the secretary of the dispatch C[ommi]ssion to read.

Tomorrow I shall remind him personally and hope that everything will be done.

The Parisians promised to send you the P[lekhanov] pamphlet, and we are very surprised that you have not received it. We shall order it again and get a copy for ourselves to send to you ourselves.

Two Plekhanovites, about whom you wrote, were here. We had a chat with them.

Pay attention to the fair-haired one (they are returning the same way)—he, apparently, has been pushed even further away by P[lekhan]ov than the dark-haired one. The latter, it seems, is a hopeless windbag. But the former is always silent, and you cannot tell what is on his mind *).

From *Nashe Slovo* (published in Paris instead of *Golos*) we received a letter today with a plan for a general protest against “official allied patriotism” (on the occasion of the projected London conference of the socialists of the Triple Entente) 2).

Whether this conf[eren]ce will take place we do not know; the other day we had from Litvinov a letter from Huysmans 3) forwarded by him, who is planning something strange, summoning the E[xecutive] C[ommit]tee of the International Socialist Bureau to The Hague for 20/II, and organising there for 20-25/II personal negotiations (!!) with delegates from England, France and Russia!! Very odd!! It looks like some sort of preparations for something Franco-philish-patriotic (by the way: you are quite right that

To A. Shlyapnikov.
11/II [1915]

LENIN. — LETTERS
TO A. SHLYAPNIKOV.

now there are many “phils”, but few socialists. For us both the Francophils and the Germanophils are equally = patriots, bourgeois or their lackeys, and not socialists. The Bundists, for instance, are for the most part Germanophils and are glad of Russia’s defeat. But in what way are they better than P[lekhan]ov? Both are opportunists, social-chauvinists, only of different hues.
And Axelrod too).

We replied to *Nashe Slovo* that we were glad of its proposal and sent our draft declaration 4). There is little hope of agreement with them, for Axelrod, they say, is in Paris, and Axelrod (see No. 86 and 87 of *Golos* and No. 37 of *S[ocial]-Democrat*) is a social-chauvinist who wants to reconcile the Francophils and Germanophils on the basis of social-chauvinism.

We shall see what is dearer to *N[ashe] Slovo*—anti-chauvinism or friendship with Axelrod.

I think that both in Russia and throughout the world a new basic grouping is taking shape within s[ocial]-d[emocracy]: the chauvinists (“social-patriots”) and their friends, their defenders—and the anti-chauvinists. Basically this division corresponds to the division into opportunists and revolutionary s[ocial]-democrats, but it is *plus précis* 5) and represents, so to speak, a higher stage of development, closer to the socialist revolution. With us too the old grouping (liquidators and Pravdists) is becoming obsolete, giving way to a new, more rational one: social-patriots and anti-patriots. Incidentally, they say: Dan is a German “social-patriot”, i.e., a Germanophil, i.e., for Kautsky. Is that true? It is very likely true. It is curious that in the Organisational Committee there is a split along bourgeois lines: Francophils (P[lekhan]ov + Alexinsky + Mayevsky 6) + *Nasha Zarya*) and Germanophils (Bund + Axelrod + Dan?? etc.).

If you cannot get money from the Swedes, write: we will send 100 fr.

Think carefully where it would be better (i.e., more useful for the cause and safer for you: this is very important; you must take care of yourself!!) to wait, in London or in Norway, etc. It is extremely important to organise transport, even if only a little at a time. You ought to see the Plekhanovites 7), who will be with you in two or three weeks, and come to an agreement about all this.

I firmly shake your hand and wish you courage and all the best.

Yours, Lenin.