Letter to Henri Molinier, July 7, 1933

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Southern France and Corsica

Dear Comrade H. M.:

I have received your two telegrams as well as Parijanine’s. Your latest one gives details: temporary stay in southern France, and permanent stay in Corsica. Those important successes, like any success, create new problems.

To go from here to southern France for two or three months would mean roughing it without my archives, etc., and great moving expenses for the luggage, etc. To the extent that it can be anticipated, given our very placid and quiet life, it would naturally be more reasonable to go directly to the continent, if we could obtain the authorization to remain there, but we cannot be sure of that beforehand.

Another consideration: the French Stalinists will be very agitated when they hear about the liberal gesture of the French government. Stalin will force the French party to create some resounding scandal at any price. His aim would be clear: to prove to the French government the great disadvantage of having us in France; even if the French government were disposed to tolerate [the prolongation of] our stay in southern France, some scandalous demonstration could force them to cut it short.

All this seems to point to going directly to Corsica. Natalia, who needs immediate medical treatment, could go to the continent one or two weeks after our arrival. Maybe I could rejoin her one or two months later, if things went well. I would have the books and the most necessary materials in Corsica to continue my work, which is a necessary condition to insure our existence there.

I do not forget the advantages of the continent over Corsica: twelve hours away! If you think that we could set ourselves up in some part of southern France, remote enough to prevent the possibility of Stalinist (or White Russian) scandals, that our temporary stay could certainly be transformed into a permanent one, and that, consequently, we could also send the heavy luggage (books and archives) to the continent, this would naturally be the most favorable solution. But it seems to me rather questionable, and if I mention it, it is in order to present all the possibilities.

If we decide in favor of Corsica, we must prepare an itinerary. We know about the difficulties of going through Marseilles. Is it possible to go directly from Istanbul to Corsica? Through Italy? (Van states that it is very complicated and probably impossible.) Maybe we could make a deal with the French company for the ship to let us get off at Corsica in a motorboat. All this seems to me very complicated. On the other hand, going through Marseilles may turn out to be much less advantageous than it was seven months ago: the police are not obliged to give us their motorboats. They may very well apply their method: noninterference. What do you think about it?

And how to settle in Corsica? Should we rent an isolated country-house beforehand? Who will do it? And how? Or should we move into a hotel and begin looking?

I would like to send some money to Paris for the initial expenses. But now, unfortunately, with the new restrictions on exchange, we can only send some twenty-five lires from here. … I will try to send some money from London (Manchester Guardian) to Paris and I will also write to New York, but this last channel is rather slow.

All these questions and the difficulties they entail mean that our departure from here will be neither tomorrow, nor even the day after, even if we had received the visa. We will explain to the consulate that we will use the authorization only after all the necessary preparations have been made by our friends in France. For the moment, we still do not have the visa. Van came to terms with the consul, to request the answer by telegram; we will cover the expenses. Tomorrow, on his way from the consulate, Comrade Van will cable you.