Letter to Maria Alexandrovna Ulyanova, January 30, 1899

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Maria Alexandrovna Ulyanova,

Vinogradov’s House,

Bronnitskaya Street,

Podolsk,

Moscow Gubernia


January 30, 1899

Yesterday, Mother dearest, I received Neue Zeit from Anyuta and a price list from Mitya. Merci for them. Today I read an announcement about Nachalo[1] in Russkiye Vedomosti. It is a good thing I have managed to finish my “markets” just in time for the beginning of Nachalo (I finished them at long last today. On Wednesday I am sending in the last two chapters) and now I shall be free to do a little work on current affairs. I have received a little book to review, but have not yet managed to read it.[2]

I do not remember whether I wrote about Anatoly being ill all the time. He has had another misfortune; an order has arrived transferring him to the village of Antsiferovo (several dozen versts to the north of Yeniseisk on the road to Turukhansk)[3]—further banishment to punish him because an exile by the name of Makhnovets (who only arrived this winter) ran away and gave somebody Anatoly’s address. From this the conclusion was drawn in some incomprehensible manner that Anatoly must have known about the escape! So far Anatoly has not been moved because of his illness—he cannot even go out of the house. He has applied to be transferred to Minusinsk District or to Russia for treatment.

Nothing has been heard about Yuly’s transfer.

Three exiles have also been transferred from the village of Kazachinskoye (where A. A. Yakubova lives); those transferred are Lengnik, to a place not far from us, Arefyev and Rostkovsky, so the Kazachinskoye colony has been very, very much thinned out.

Kurnatovsky (he lives in the village of Kuraginskoye, some 100 versts away from us) asked to be transferred to Shusha; he has been refused; he is now being transferred to the village of Yermakovskoye (about 40 versts from Shushenskoye), where he will be quite alone.

We are having exceptionally good weather; very light frosts (10–12°), bright days and sunshine that is already springlike. This is not a Siberian winter!

Many, many kisses for you and regards to all.

Yours,

V. U.

  1. ↑ Nachalo (The Beginning)—a monthly scientific, literary and political magazine, organ of the “legal Marxists”; it appeared in St. Petersburg in the first half of 1899, edited by P. B. Struve, M. I. Tugan-Baranovsky and others. It carried several of Lenin’s book reviews and the first six sections of Chapter III of his The Development of Capitalism in Russia.
  2. ↑ As can be seen from the next letter, this refers to R. Gvozdyov’s book Kulak Usury, Its Social and Economic Significance; Lenin’s review of the book was published in Nachalo No. 3 for 1899. (See Collected Works, Vol. 4, pp. 67–69.)
  3. ↑ A. A. Vaneyev was not transferred to the village of Antsiferovo because of ill health.