Letter to Gavriil Leiteisen, May 24, 1901

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24.V. 01

Dear Leiteisen,

As regards Muzykant, we believe that since he se met à notre disposition and is an enterprising man, it is of course necessary to try and send him at once to the very frontier to take direct charge of the consignments, and not only to take charge but to attend personally to conveying them across (respective: to cross the frontier with a smuggler).

Since he agrees, he should be given 200 frs. (that is, the 100+100 you wrote about) and probably sent to us. We were wondering whether he should come here or just go to Berlin to talk things over there with our representative, but have arrived at the conclusion that he will have to take a trip here; we have a number of more or less certain contacts at the frontier and near it, and without thorough consultation with the person who is to go there we cannot decide exactly where he should go and what “pretext” to choose.

We are now short of money and have to be very thrifty; we cannot afford to spend on anything but transportation. But if Muzykant gets there on these 200 frs. and lives on them for some time he will probably be able with the help of our contacts to begin deliveries at once.

Best regards,

Yours,

Lenin

P.S. Ryazanov is here and we have been discussing the plan for our organisation with him. At first he rejected our plan categorically and “resentfully”, but then, after the proviso was inserted that all this was temporary, for one year, he agreed conditionally on his own behalf but assured us that Nevzorov would not agree on any account (?). There is also—just in case—another plan: a federation of Sotsial Demokrat, Zarya and Borba, with the last-mentioned, putting out only pamphlets (not a paper), participating in an advisory capacity in the work of Zarya and Iskra, contributing, like the other members, its share to the federation’s treasury, raising funds independently by arranging socials, etc. What do you think of this latter project? To me it seems unfair—it grants too much to Borba—and I doubt whether it would be acceptable to all.

Generally speaking we believe that an understanding can be reached with Borba too; they also seem to be ready to make concessions seeing that we have no intention of giving up our position.

Yours,

Lenin