Letter to Inessa Armand, July, prior to 10th, 1914

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Dear Friend,

I have just sent a letter off to Papasha (Mr. Harrison. 35. Mornington Crescent. 35. London. N. W.)—he is a member of the I.S.B.—asking him to send Popov (Popoff, rue du Beff roi. 2. A. Bruxelles) a mandate for 5 persons.

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Petrova (=Inessa; it is not advisable to let the liquidators know the name!)

Popov

Vladimirsky

Yuriev

Volodin (Safarov).

The latter two will probably not go.

Forgive me please this disjointed letter. We have many guests and I am extremely nervous, almost ill.

I am sending the CC report by registered post. Please translate it, i. e., start translating it at once (making it as polite as possible and toning down the too sharply worded passages and name-calling)—and send the Russian text to Popov as the translation progresses.

(I have left myself my rough copy in order to send amendments and addenda and so that I could take a counsel of Mr. Chairman who is not yet here but must come soon. )

I advise you to translate for your speech, and not for the press or for the Bureau (Popov will afterwards make a fair copy from your rough one and submit it to the Bureau)—try to make it sound as if you were making a speech and referring to your notes. (Take the Russian text with you, but don’t give it to the liquidators; say you didn’t bring it along, and that you only have the translation.)

Start translating from Section IV (“Conditions”). This is most important of all, and it should be sent as soon as possible to Popov (who is to study it and prepare himself, and talk it over with Berzin).

N.B. [[ In making the rough copy of the report in French leave room for amendments and addenda.

Better be in Brussels on the 15th. But if you can’t, then let it be 16th. Get in touch with Popov.

N.B. [[ The figures in pencil stand for the pages of my rough copy here in case of amendments and addenda.

Please keep me informed more often (if only by the briefest of letters) of the progress of your preparations, of any points that need clearing up, etc.

Yours very truly,

V.I.

P.S. I advise you to ask for the floor to make your report first, on the plea, if necessary, that your children are ill and you may have to go home at once in the event of a telegram arriving.

I am writing to Kamsky asking him to collect all the material. I shall send the packages to you and Popov from here tomorrow and the day after.

Read the other side, it will come in useful—I wrote to Popov by mistake on the back of my letter to you!!