Letter to Inessa Armand, January 8, 1917

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A meeting of the CC of the Swiss party was held here on Sunday (January 7).

The scoundrel Grimm at the head of all the Rights got carried (against Nobs, Platten, Münzenberg and Name) a decision to postpone, for an indefinite period, the party congress which had been fixed for February 11, 1917 specially on the question of the war. The reasons were false. In reality it was his desire for a bloc with the Rights, with the social-patriots, who threatened to resign if defence of the fatherland were rejected!! They don’t want to allow the Swiss workers to decide the question of defence of the fatherland!!!

Name, they say, told Grimm excellently that he was cutting his own throat as international secretary.

Chairman of Zimmerwald, etc.—yet such a scoundrel in politics!

I have a mind to write an open letter to Charles Naine,[1] a member of the International Socialist Commission, to publish it, to call Grimm a blackguard in it, and to say that I don’t want to be in the Zimmerwald organisation with such a type, and am sending a reasoned statement on this to my Central Committee.

It’s important to “catch” Grimm immediately, en flagrant délit[2] —to expose him (since “they” will not let anything get into the press), to tear off his mask.

I think this will make Radek + Roland-Holst also say something to Grimm.

Of course, such a leaflet is not suitable for publishing under our imprint, it must be published separately, outside our firm.

Very, very best greetings.

Yours, Lenin

  1. ↑ See present edition, Vol. 23, pp. 220–28.—Ed.
  2. ↑ Red-handed.—Ed.