and its "Partei"vorstand lost their heads, waging such a war with their political opponents.

Is it not clear now why, without delving into the essence of the "Radek case," I consider it my duty to state: the essence of this matter is political revenge by Rosa Luxemburg and her "Partei"vorstand.

Turgenev long ago characterized in Russian literature certain well-known tactics. An old scoundrel, Turgenev wrote, once gave wise advice: when you commit a baseness, shout louder than anyone else about the vileness of precisely those actions that you are committing.

When you rob the treasury, shout louder than anyone else about the infamy of embezzlement...

When the Polish "Partei"vorstand stooped to repeating Martov's methods against Comrade Radek, this "Partei"vorstand sent Rosa Luxemburg to "Vorwarts" to shout even louder about Martov's baseness! ... Es ist eine alte Geschichte*, but for us, Russian émigrés, ist sie leider gar nicht "neu"**...

Rosa Luxemburg tries to convince German readers that Comrade Radek "nie die geringste Rolle gespielt hat"*** and so on and so forth. I am obliged to respond to this elenden Altweiberklatsch**** with the exact fact: Comrade Radek worked much and successfully both in 1909 and 1910 as a collaborator of the Central Organ of the Social Democratic Party of Russia. I was one of the editors of the Central Organ, and I cannot leave Rosa Luxemburg's malicious gossip unanswered.

Rosa Luxemburg, in order to blacken Comrade Radek, praises herself under the name of "polnische Wortführer"*****. She hints at the instability of Comrade Radek's "taktischen" Ideen******.

I will say directly that I consider this instability, this readiness for "peace" with the Russian liquidators, to be a great sin of Comrade Radek. But I think it is more forgivable

* - This is an old story. Ed.
** - it, unfortunately, is not at all "new." Ed.
*** - "never played any role." Ed.
**** - pitiful old women's gossip. Ed.
***** - "Polish leaders." Ed.
****** - "tactical" ideas. Ed.

for such a sin in a non-responsible employee of the Central Organ and the Central Committee than in members of the Central Committee and the Central Organ. Among the notorious "Polish Wortführer," those who always played a dominant role were known "Intrigenführer"* like Tyszka, and their instability caused great harm to the entire party.

To avoid being unfounded, I will provide two examples. In January 1910, the plenum of the Central Committee of the Russian Social Democratic Labor Party unanimously condemned liquidationism. The only section of the resolution, which opened Tur und Thor** to opportunism (the so-called § 1), was initiated by Tyszka. What will Rosa Luxemburg say to this? Will she perhaps defend this § 1 from the standpoint of "radikale Richtung"?***
When the Bolsheviks left the so-called Foreign Bureau of the Central Committee in the spring of 1911 due to the destruction of the Central Committee by the liquidators, the Poles remained in this institution for months together with the Bundists and Latvians 580, about whom even (sogar) Plekhanov wrote: "Diese Parteiinstitution, die zum Werkzeug in den Handen einer Gruppe von Leuten geworden war, die die Partei liquidieren wollten und die daher der Sache des russischen Proletariats gro.en Schaden zuzufügen drohte, konnte diesem nur einen Gefallen erweisen: namlich das Zeitliche segnen" (Note: "Tagebuch eines S. D.," 2nd supplement to No. 15, p. 1, cited in the article: "Der Anonymus aus dem «Vorwarts» und die Sachlage in der Soz. Dem. Arb. P. Ru.lands"; this article was sent to the editorial offices of all S. D. newspapers in Germany)****.

Readers can judge from these facts how much truth there is in Rosa Luxemburg's boastful words, as if

* - "intriguers." Ed.
** - door and gate. Ed.
*** - "radical direction." Ed.
**** - "This party institution, having become a tool in the hands of a group of people who wanted to liquidate the party, and thus threatening to cause great harm to the cause of the Russian proletariat, could do the revolutionary proletariat only one favor: to die in time" (Note: "Diary of a Social Democrat," 2nd supplement to No. 15, p. 1, cited in the article "The Anonymous from 'Vorwarts' and the Situation in the Social Democratic Workers' Party of Russia," this article was sent to the editorial offices of all S. D. newspapers in Germany). Ed.

the Poles "mit starker Faust die liquidatorische Richtung in Ru.land niederzuhalten geholfen haben"*.

In reality, the Poles did much more harm with their intrigues to the struggle against this "Richtung"**. Even now, 8 months after the formal exclusion of a certain group of liquidators (the journal "Nasha Zarya") 581, the notorious "Polish Wortführer" have not been able to give a direct answer as to whether they want "peace" with this group or not. To give a direct answer, of course, is not as easy as committing plagiarism today from the anti-liquidators, tomorrow from the liquidators, and declaring oneself on this basis "above" both "factions"!

Rosa Luxemburg uses the "Radek case" to convince German readers that from the "russische Partei"*** nothing remains, "außer Trümmern"****.

In response to this, I must state the exact facts. The "Trümmer" is the Polish "Partei"vorstand, for it has not belonged to the party for a whole year. For a year, it has not been in organizational connection either with the Central Committee of the party, which was elected at the January 1912 conference 582, or with the so-called "Organizational Commission" of the liquidators.

The party of the Russian social democratic proletariat, freed from the liquidators and the intriguers of the Polish "Partei"vorstand, is so little like Trümmer that precisely since January 1912 it has developed particularly successfully. Since some - and sometimes, unfortunately, influential - comrades from the German party often listen to biased stories and Klatsch***** from the outside-the-party Wortführer des polnischen "Partei"vorstandes******, I will limit myself to a brief indication of the facts.

The only open measure (Maßstab) of the influence of the S. D. in Russia and their connections with the working masses is the legal Marxist newspapers. In Russia, only 2 "currents" are represented: the party and the liquidators. All the rest is Schwindel*.

The liquidators published 21 issues of the newspaper in the first half of 1912, while the anti-liquidators published 100. In the 2 months of the second half (July and August): the former - 4, the latter - 60. The former, over 8 months (I-VIII 1912), could print about direct support from 16 workers' groups, the latter - from 551**.

Let Rosa Luxemburg, with her stories about "Trümmer," try to refute these facts!

The stories of the Polish "Partei"vorstand about the Russian party are even less deserving of trust than their stories about Radek.

N. Lenin