Letter to Maria Alexandrovna Ulyanova, August 2, 1898

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Author(s) Lenin
Written 2 August 1898


MIA-bannière.gif
First published in 1929 in the journal Proletarskaya Revolyutsiya No. 4. Sent from Shushenskoye to Podolsk. Printed from the original.
Source: Lenin Collected Works, Progress Publishers, 1977, Moscow, Volume 37, pages 181-183
Collection(s): Proletarskaya Revolyutsiya
Keywords : Letter, Maria Alexandrovna Ulyanova

August 2, 1898

A few days ago I received your letter of July 15, Mother dearest.

I hope Mitya will have been released by the time you receive this. His release has been promised so many times that he will probably be free by autumn. The investigation of his case is dragging on much too long.

I think Manyasha’s plan to go to Brussels is a good one. She can probably study there better than in Switzerland. She will probably soon be able to cope with the French language. They say that the climate there is good. Nadya has an acquaintance[1] who lived in Belgium for about five years and is now preparing to go back there from Russia (to Liége). He is married to one of Nadya’s close friends.[2] Nadya is writing to her today asking her to write to Manyasha (in Podolsk) and give her all the information and addresses that might be useful to her.

If the janitor at your old flat says that the postman brought “a yellow book” in May, it must have been the Voprosy Filosofii that I sent. So we may hope that the book has not been lost and that we can still get it back. I will wait another week to see what Mark can find out about it at work, and then report the loss.

I am very glad Anyuta intends to inform everyone not to send anything to the address of S.M.[3] That foolish person recently received something for me and wants to make a whole “affair” of it.... Of course I pay no attention to these foolish antics (probably caused by our quarrel with the Minusinsk crowd) and I shall receive the books that were sent to her. But it would be pleasanter to manage without her. If there are still people who have not been informed, let Anyuta write to them. A few days ago I received some of the books (mostly on philosophy) that Anyuta bought for me. The books for me that have now been received are still in Minusinsk; they include the continuation of the philosophical series.

Among the books the following got in by accident— I think they are Anyuta’s—Baedeker, Suisse, and Jahrbuch des Unterrichtswesens in der Schweiz, 1892, 1893 and 1894 (three volumes); Anna should write and tell me what to do with them. If I am to return them to her, should it be now or in the autumn (when we intend sending a box of books by rail).

[Apollinariya Alexandrovna Yakubova][4] is being sent to the village of Kazachinskoye, Yeniseisk District (I believe I wrote this before); it is on the post road a hundred or more versts upstream from Yeniseisk. The political exiles there are Lingling, Rostkovsky and others. She has not yet written to us from there.

The Tes people expect to get transferred in the middle of August.

A detailed letter has arrived from the doctor in Verkholensk in which he describes the death of N.Y. Fedoseyev, and returns a letter from Anna to N.Y. which arrived after his death (he does not know whose letter it is) and asks what to do with the 25 rubles. (They are collecting money there for a memorial.) They (the comrades in Verkholensk) have also undertaken to pay N.Y.’s debts (about 80 rubles).

The doctor writes that the filthy accusations made against him by some scoundrel (also a political exile) concerning money affairs had a very adverse effect on N.Y., and he decided not to take any money from anybody (and he stuck to his decisions), so that he suffered extreme hardship, could not work, and, as the doctor put it, “when he realised he could not work he decided that he would not live”.... After his death a telegram arrived in Verkholensk to the effect that Maria Germanovna[5] had been given permission to join him....

Kisses for you and regards to all. I wish Mark a pleasant journey and a good holiday.

Yours,

V. U.

Y. V. and Nadya send regards.

  1. ↑ For purposes of secrecy Lenin’s relatives removed names from his letter. The “acquaintance ” was N. L. Meshcheryakov and the “friend”, his wife, A. I. Meshcheryakova (Chechurina).—Ed.
  2. ↑ [DUPLICATE "*"] For purposes of secrecy Lenin’s relatives removed names from his letter. The “acquaintance ” was N. L. Meshcheryakov and the “friend”, his wife, A. I. Meshcheryakova (Chechurina).—Ed.
  3. ↑ This refers to S. M. Friedmann whose address was used by exiles to receive literature and money. The “trouble” Lenin mentions was caused by the flight of S. G. Raichin (see Letter No. 49), who received money from abroad at Friedmann’s address without her permission. In view of this the Minusinsk colony of exiles requested other exiles not to use Friedmann’s address so as to avoid drawing the attention of the police to her.
  4. ↑ For purposes of secrecy Lenin’s relatives removed this name from the letter.—Ed.
  5. ↑ M. G. Hopfenhaus.—Ed.
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